Agent 47 is back and as creative as ever. Hitman: The Complete First Season is a great box set that combines all six chapters and locations from 2016’s episodic releases. Initially the decision to release the game via six different chapters ranging from the spring to fall of 2016 seemed like a long winded approach, but now the decision by IO Interactive appears to be a great move by improving the final product in more ways than one.
Since IO Interactive separated each episode from each other they had time to further optimize and improve each chapter and it definitely shows. Each chapter you progress through gets more creative and enjoyable as Agent 47 seems to have a endless array of possibilities to complete each contract.
Hitman has returned to the formula that many fans of the series love. Agent 47 is given a big open area to explore and find interesting opportunities to target and execute your targets. The different locations however are nicely designed. The Paris chapter displays arguably the best design and gameplay of Hitman’s long series.
Replay ability is the common theme throughout the Hitman’s six different episodes. Each contract gives the players an insane amount of ways to go about executing your mission. You really feel like you have the power to tackle your mission any way that you would like. Still even with the vast amount of possibilities, figuring out a way to silently execute your target and getting out without anyone ever knowing you were there is still extremely satisfying. Would you like to poison your target, or perhaps replace his golf balls with exploding ones? You can do just about anything your imagination allows you to think of. Playing each chapter multiple times gives the player a higher mastery level on each level which awards you new and additional gear.
It appears that Io Interactive wanted players to play each level multiples times over and over again. The decision to release the game episodically allows players to truly experience and see every detail and option that each level has to offer, and as I said before each level is definitely filled with a vast amount of different options and detail.
Hitman’s actual story itself is nothing to get excited about. The story mainly consists of flashbacks how Agent 47 and his handler Diana Burnwood met, and the mystery of who exactly is behind Agent 47’s contracts and missions. Don’t expect to reach a full conclusion of the complete story since this is still just season one.
Io Interactive also improved the disguise system. They finally seemed to find the perfect blend of being spotted when in disguise and perfectly blending in the crowd. Gone are the days of equipping Agent 47 with an uniform and suddenly you erase any suspension they may have had of you. Gone are also the days of being spotted by anyone wearing the same uniform as you. Now the disguise system seems much more balanced. Now while wearing a uniform there are only a few people who are scattered around the area that will be able to see through your disguise.
Another improvement to the game is how the A.I. reacts to you when Agent 47 actually does get spotted. No longer will they immediately open fire on you the moment you get spotted. Instead the reaction will differ based on what your doing. For example a small offense like trespassing will result in them simply asking you to leave. If you get spotted wearing a disguise they will try to figure out who exactly you are. These scenarios are more realistic and add to the overall experience of Hitman.
We reviewed the game on the Playstation 4 Pro and right away you can tell that this might be the best feeling Hitman game ever made. The controls simply feel smooth. The gameplay itself never dipped below 30 frames per second and sometimes even reached up to 60 frames per second.
Io Interactive also touts that this game offers over 100 hours of gameplay, and they are absolutely right. The game offers much more content besides just the story missions as well as three other modes that include Contracts, Escalation, and Elusive Targets. However all of these modes do prohibit the player form saving the game during the mission.
Contracts mode allows the player to play though any of the story mission but they can mark their own target in order to create their own mission that other players from around the world can view and play. If you don’t want to create your own mission you can view and play other players made missions.
Escalation mode assigns a player a target that they must execute. These also take place that the story missions due however this mode will assign you restriction as to how you can take out your target. There are a total of 5 levels per escalation mission.
The final mode is elusive targets. These mission are built exclusively for this game mode and don’t revolve around the story. The difference with this mode however is that your only allowed to attempt these missions just one time and for a limited of time. There are no restarts or replaying previous missions published by Io Interactive. Each mission truly gives you the pressure of creating the perfect strategy of executing your target.
Overall for $60 you will definitely get your money’s worth if your a fan of stealth strategy games and want a game that you can replay over and over. If your not into this type of genre Hitman doesn’t do anything that will make you a fan. It’s a very rewarding game and one of the best from the series.
