Difficulty:

Hard

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Mixed reactions"

Hitman is probably my favourite game series of all time. With that said, perhaps my expectations were too high (given a 5 year absence and the gameplay videos from E3 and what not). I'll start the review with the positives.

Strengths:
- The maps are grand and beautiful. Every stage has it's own charm to it with many things to explore.

- Instinct adds to the flavor of the gameplay.

- Great voice acting by the overall casts. Lots of funny in game dialogues as well.

- Many levels which are broken down further into parts. This makes the game feel long and satisfying.


Weaknesses:
- Disguise serves little purpose. Enemies tend to notice you even from far away if you're in disguise. The difference between being in disguise and not is that the enemies don't shoot at you straight away.

- Storyline doesn't fit Agent 47's character (at least to me it doesn't)

- Rating system is weak. Doesn't state that you cannot obtain Silent Assassin rating in some levels. Allows you to get Silent Assassin even after killing/knocking out several non-target enemies (killed 2 and subdued another 5 - 7 in one stage).

- Levels even though big, can feel constricted and closed since you're not allowed to move freely into another part until completing objectives first.

- Lacking realism. Snipers don't go into briefcases, they just disappear when unequipped. No security checks. Agent 47 almost always gets a gun and never has to abandon it.

Overall the game was still good but it didn't feel like Hitman. The essence of Hitman was not present. Perhaps due to the storyline or maybe the little things that were missing like going in unarmed and walking out the front door when the target is dealt with. Hitman Absolution would have been justified if it was released 2 years after Blood Money but not 5 years.