HITMAN [Game review]
Some time ago, no one would have thought that series games would gain such popularity. It would seem that what is special about such games… These are quests that have been divided into pieces. But it’s more strange to see how such a scheme of presentation and distribution begins to penetrate other genres and, moreover, into class projects B And AAA. The first such project was HITMAN 2016.
In March, I already reviewed the first episode of this game and it came out quite excellent. Now it’s time to look at the rest of the released episodes and finally figure out whether this game needs an “episodic” distribution model and whether it benefited it.
I already mentioned in the March review that the new part is a continuation of the series. The game takes place 20 years after 47 was admitted to the Agency. All the events of past games have already happened, but if you were waiting for the sequel Absolution, then these events remained behind the scenes.
Yes, HITMAN (2016) tells a new story, which, oddly enough, is partially connected with the past of the 47th. A certain mysterious person begins a hunt for people of the same mysterious organization, using the Agency and 47 to clean up the tails and eliminate those whom he cannot reach. In general, this is all that can be said about the plot of the first season without any spoilers. The developers once said before the release of the latest episodes that “this is just the beginning”. And indeed, in the end everything just begins to develop, as if you had watched the first act of a full-fledged film. Not that this is anything critical, after all Hitman they don’t play for the sake of the plot, but after 7 months of waiting I would like something more complete.
The game’s plot is mainly presented through short CGI clips. The production and dialogue are quite good, but the quality of the animation leaves much to be desired.
Gameplay-wise, nothing has changed since March. The camouflage system works, all gameplay mechanics work Absolution fit in like a glove. During this time, the developers only corrected some shortcomings in the AI and improved the interface so that it would be clear to the naked eye that you are prohibited from carrying this weapon, but this is possible, and that interaction with that item will not arouse suspicion if you are, say, a waiter.
My only gripe is the lack of other familiar elements from past games, such as a case or the ability to hide items in portable items, such as a grocery basket. Otherwise, the gameplay of the new part is the best in the series.
Sometimes the game presents opportunities that require direct contact with the target. And also sometimes you will have to play very non-standard roles for this, which not every killer can cope with.
AI (Artificial Intelligence) was corrected as best they could. At first, especially in the first episode, he was very bugged (for example, he saw a murder being committed while in another part of the map) and he had obvious weaknesses (for example, it was possible to carry a weapon through a search simply by picking it up nearby after this process). Now the AI behaves more strictly and got rid of bugs (at least in the future I did not notice any AI bugs).
“You can’t really see anyone from this window.”
Locations in the game are one of its most important advantages. The first season offers you to visit 6 locations, not counting training levels: a mansion in Paris, small town Sapienza, bazaar Marrakech, hotel in Bangkok, farm in Colorado and health complex in Hokkaido. Each of them has a very good design, structure and all of them are well worked out in detail. Wherever you go, there will be something different and, most importantly, useful.
You can’t see all the beauty of the locations in my screenshots. Unfortunately, optimization on PC remains at the same mediocre level, if not even worse. You have to sacrifice image for higher frame rates.
There was a place for all sorts of Easter eggs in the game. These can be either obvious references to past projects of the IO interactive studio, or more complex ones that require a certain sequence of actions. For this “miracle”, for example, you need to drive out all the “occupiers” of the top floor of the hotel, and then play the synthesizer there.
Or, for example, you can arrange a disco in Marrakech
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However, if the mansion is something unique to the game and partially unseen in the series, then starting from Sapienians the locations began to look like a collection of the best levels that were in other parts. In the same health complex one can easily recognize a private treatment center from Blood Money (even Agent Smith appears in person), and one of the ways to kill a target is a direct reference to the legendary level Codename 47 "Trading Traditions". And so with all other locations of the game. I’m not saying it’s bad, I personally miss nostalgia for those times. They just could have given the levels more personality.
Each location has its own starting costume. Quite an interesting solution that adds a dose of realism to the game. If you’re going to mingle with the crowd, you’re definitely not wearing a funeral suit.
And now I would like to talk about the episodic system. I deliberately did not talk about how many methods of killing there are in the locations, what size they are and how many NPCs there are on them. All of this, and some other things, has a lot to do with how the game was released.
The episodic system personally showed me one important detail: HITMAN (2016) – this is a very budget project. With the release of each new episode this became more and more visible..
Let’s start with the most important thing – the size of the locations. Paris, Sapienza, Marrakesh – the largest locations in the game. Question: why? Perhaps because they were created before the game was released in March, and after that they were only supplemented with details. This is evidenced at least by the fact that the same Sapienza players were shown in a trailer long before the game was released. But as for the rest, their development apparently began immediately after the release of the first episode. Of course, the small size of each episode can be explained by the location itself. The same farm, which has most of its fields, is difficult to fill with something interesting, scattering it over a large area. However, this does not change the fact that the developers initially stated that they would make large locations with about 300 NPCs, but the episodic model said otherwise..
Content on locations (tests, opportunities, methods of killing targets) is also not encouraging in terms of quantity. Again, taking the farm as an example, the developers advertised it as the most difficult level of the game with as many as 4 goals! Of course, when you say “4 targets,” you expect that for each of them there will be as many options for killing (this means non-standard methods, excluding killing with a weapon) as there are for one target in other locations. As a result, for each victim from these four there are 5-6, or even less, non-standard methods and this is just a laugh… It’s no better with other locations… And although all these methods are not lacking in originality, I would like there to be more of them. The richest locations in terms of content are, of course, Paris And Sapienza.
Mission "House on the Sand", which is one of two additional episodes released in July, turned out to be better than the story mission "Golden Cage" at the same location. However, there is even less variability here. This suggests that it is not quantity that is important, but quality, but I would like more of this quality.
The most difficult thing in the game is not finding and eliminating the target, but completing “secret” tests. In the screenshot above, for example, the challenge is that the player must throw a coin into the fountain three times so that the coins fall “correctly”. For this you will receive gold coins in the preparation menu. And yes, I did it. More than a dozen coins were thrown into this fountain… By the way, rating "Silent Assassin" (He’s "Silent Assassin" in our translation) migrated to these very tests, and in two types: normal, using disguise, and “suit only”, where disguise cannot be used.
Now about smaller things that affect the atmosphere of what is happening and which more clearly show what kind of budget the game had.
Voice acting of NPCs.
Wherever 47 goes, English-speaking residents will be waiting for him… In episode 6, the developers, of course, got out of it by saying through the dialogue of one of the NPCs that there are a lot of people from the West in the complex, but this is not the case with other locations. In Marrakech, wandering around the bazaar, absolutely everyone speaks English with almost no accent. Moreover, they speak it among themselves. The same situation in Sapienza, Bangkok, Paris.
No gun license.
There is not a single licensed gun in the new game. All weapons in the game are either invented by the developers and only partially resemble the real prototype, or are similar to the real prototype, but are called differently. This partially affects the perception of the game as part of a series. After all, in all previous games all weapons were called and looked the same as in real life. MP5 was MP5, M4 was M4, WA2000 was WA2000. And what do we have in HITMAN (2016)? WA2000 became in the game Sieger 300.
In addition, the developers clearly have little imagination in relation to weapons. Most of the unlockable barrels are the same weapons, only with different properties. And how many explosives are there in the game that differ only in appearance, mmm… Just take it and insert a quote from "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"… But this is true, speaking of unlockable equipment in general.
“There are definitely no three identical machine guns and sniper rifles here”
Music.
In March, I already mentioned that the music for the game was written by some no-names and that they completed their mandatory program. Nothing has changed! Moreover, the music in almost every location is the same, which does not reflect the general atmosphere. Jesper Kyd, where are you when you are needed??
That feeling when a specially written song for a game turns out to be better than the soundtrack.
In general, this is all sad.. Square Enix They obviously didn’t allocate a lot of money for the project, and they put the developers within a framework – one episode per month. Perhaps if the game had been released as originally planned, releasing new locations as they were ready, the game would already have Paris And Sapienza minimum (and, believe me, they are more than enough for many hours), everything would have turned out differently and not just “the best Hitman", and the new standard of the series.
And yes, I was not mistaken, this is truly the best Hitman. This game took all the best from the previous parts, bringing to life the camouflage system and increasing the number of ways to kill the target (even the farm is superior in the number of ways at least Absolution). Almost all of the above claims pale in comparison to how detailed each location without exception is, how diverse and original some of the methods of killing are, and how the game is actually played.
I’m looking forward to next season. And while it is in development, there will still be something to do in the game. About "Exacerbations" And "Contracts" I already mentioned it again in the March review and I won’t repeat it (there’s nothing special to talk about), but then the most delicious thing was not tasted – "Elusive Targets". This is a special contract, available for a certain period of time, which allows you to eliminate a special target that has not previously appeared there in the same locations. The trick is that if the player fails the contract by dying or missing the goal, it will be impossible to go back and repeat it. In addition, you will have to look for the target yourself; it is not marked either on the map or in the mode "Instinct". All this adds a kind of excitement to the contract. Some players not only fulfill the contract, but also do it on "Silent Assassin", which, as you understand, is difficult to do when you have almost one attempt (you can restart the contract, but as long as you and the target are alive). For eliminating a certain number of such targets, costumes from previous parts are unlocked.
This concludes my review.
My rating for the game: "8/10".
According to the Stopgeim rating system: "Amazing".
If anyone hasn’t seen my review of the first episode, here it is.
“This is my subjective opinion and it may be completely different from yours”.
