Considering getting Hitman

hey ive recently beat assassin's creed 3. it was a good game but they pretty much turned it into an action game cuz theres barely any focus on stealth anymore. im looking for a good stealth game and hitman looks really good. i have a few questions though so if anyone could give me some answers i would appreciate it.

is the disguise system really as messed up as they say? should i even bother with disguises? I've never played a hitman game before and honestly i don't really mind if i can't use disguises. can you go through the game with your suit only? cuz if the disguises don't work i plan on just playing through with the suit, i mean it looks more awesome anyway and honestly id rather just keep the suit on lol.

how long is the game? im the type of player that really likes to take my time and explore and perfect the assassinations. i usually play games like rpgs. will i get my moneys worth?

what is your guys opinion on the multiplayer contracts mode? oh and is there an online pass for this game or can i buy it used and still access multiplayer?

thanks.

You can play it without disguises (there's even a 'suit only' reward on each mission), although it'll be really challenging to do that -and- get through missions without killing or knocking anyone out. Maybe not impossible, certainly worth a try.

I personally don't hate the disguise system. It works in concept (nobody except a cop is going to notice a fake cop, etc), but there are a bunch of levels where there aren't enough types of people walking around to make disguises useful. Because of that, disguises can't be relied on as much as they used to be in the previous games - they're a temporary way to get through a crowded room, but you've got to mix them with stealth and Instinct use. It's different, and sometimes broken, but not horrible.

Your playtime will vary. The campaign doesn't seem that long, but if you want to complete every challenge and master the silent assassin rating on every level...expect to be replaying the missions many, many times (which has always been the appeal of the series - the levels are always full of different ways to approach the target). Contracts mode adds to the replayability too - it's basically a level editor, with people posting new challenges online. There's no actual multiplayer mode, just these online challenges.

Anyway, I don't think the game is better than Hitman Blood Money (which was spectacular), but it may be worth checking out.

Disguises

Disguises do work, but they are seen through a bit too quickly - the devs have acknowledged this and plan to alter it in a future patch. I should add that they are only seen through quickly by people in the same uniform - if you take a cop uniform and the level is full of cops, then it's not a great disguise as the game is now because they all seem to get suspicious pretty quickly. On another level if you disguise as a hotel janitor you can walk throughout the hotel with almost no problems at all - walking past armed goons, electricians, hotel maids etc - they aren't suspicious of your disguise at all unless you walk into a prohibited area.

Having played all of the previous Hitman games the ultimate challenge always ended up being completing the level silently only wearing your suit - and that's kinda stuck with me playing Absolution - you don't need to use disguises to complete levels if you play stealthily instead.

Length / Contracts

I've played about 60 hours so far, though most of that has been in Contracts mode which is great fun.

If you only wanted to blast through each level once to see the story then you could probably get through the game in 10-15 hours. But this isn't intended to be a rambo FPS, and every level has additional challenges, weapons and disguises to find, and often multiple ways to take out the target(s). Take your time, watch the guard movements, learn when to take them out silently without alerting others and try to get the highest scores on the global leaderboards for each mission. I've probably spent about 2 hours per level for the first 10 (first half of the game), with the rest of my time in Contracts mode (about 500 contracts completed ~ 40 hours).

Contract mode builds on what you learn in single player - the time spent learning the guards routines will help you to set your own challenges, or to beat the scores of others. Whether you know a group of people with the game to compete against, or just want to try to get the high scores on any contracts there are loads of people playing and setting scores. It's all about finding the quickest way to take out up to 3 targets and make your escape.

I think any online pass type thing was scrapped just before launch, but depending on what platform you get the game for you may need to go onto Live or PSN to get a free DLC to activate it.

Hitman: Absolution is amazing. 9/10.

I haven't heard anyone saying the disguise system is messed up. If so, they're wrong. It works really well.

The single player if played properly (stealthily) will take about 13 hours.

Contracts mode is good fun, allowing you to participate in user created content involving taking out specific targets with certain limitations, such as using only the suit and not getting spotted, or using specific weapons. Overall it extends play time, and is a great game that must be played.

This thread exists for a reason, you know.