A chilling journey into the mind of a hired assassin.

User Rating: 8.8 | Hitman: Contracts PC
The Hitman series started back in 2000 with Hitman: Codename 47, a PC-only title that spawned mixed reactions from the gaming community. It introduced an interesting gameplay system that allowed the players to dress up as the characters you killed in the game and pose as them to gain access to restricted areas and ultimately to the specific target you were sent to assassinate in that mission. However it received relatively low ratings in reviews due to numerous bugs and flaws the game suffered from and also a lack of any save game system during the actual missions. The producers later declared that save games were not implemented to make the game more realistic and force the players to plan their moves wisely. But it was enough for the European developer IO Interactive to make a second game and so, two years later, Hitman: Silent Assassin came along, this time making the series' first entry into the console market. Almost all of the shortcomings of the first game were resolved and a save game system appeared during the missions. The second game received much better ratings in the media and it was an instant hit. Meanwhile, IOI was already working on the third game in the series, Hitman Contracts.

Story
Hitman Contracts is like its predecessors a third person sneaking game in which you have to complete a series of assassinations in different parts of the globe. The game starts with 47 in Paris, shot while doing one of the contract assignments. After finding refuge in a hotel room he passes out and this is where the game begins. He starts having flashbacks of his previous assignments and almost the entire game actually takes place in 47's mind. The missions have no connection one with another but between them the players always get a view of 47's hotel room and his condition. You do not have to necessarily play the first two games to understand the storyline, but it does help if you want to know different aspects from the life of agent 47.

Gameplay
If you played the original Hitman: Codename 47 you will remember some of the missions in the flashbacks. Many may consider this tactic to re-make older levels cheap, but the levels themselves look and play almost completely different from the originals. While some of the ways you could complete them in the first game are still present, there are many new ways to finish the missions so both new and old gamers can have a satisfying experience.

The game encourages you to use stealth and enemy disguises to infiltrate guarded areas but you have to be careful not to do anything out of the ordinary (like running around too much, fooling around with your weapons etc.) or the guards will become suspicious and once a gun fight starts it will be very hard to finish the level especially on the tougher difficulty settings. Of course players have the option to just go into a level guns blazing and try to finish it that way but it takes away much of the enjoyment from the game and you don't get the unlockable weapons you can get when you achieve the "Silent Assassin" rating for winning a level completely undetected. And speaking of weapons, a lot of new close combat weapons have been added, most of which are improvisations, like the shovel. Also, after missing from the second game, the suitcase which carries 47's sniper rifles makes a triumphant return! One bad aspect however is that you cannot select the weapons you want to use at the start of the levels until you complete the game at least once, so you have a limited choice of weapons for each level the first time you play through.

The levels are extremely well done, it is obvious by now that IOI are experts at level design. All the missions have multiple paths to complete them, both silently and messy. Most of the areas in the game are populated with lots of civilians. While they can not directly harm you it is always best to avoid them while performing your dirty tricks because they can and will alert the guards and your cover will be blown. There is an in-game map you can access at any time to see the positions of the various characters found on the map. But on the higher difficulty settings you are not given that privilege. Also the number of save games possible during a mission decreases with each of the harder difficulty settings.

The series has evolved from the last game, this time the player has many new ways of doing the missions and most of the levels are much bigger and with multiple targets than in the last parts of the series. Also the game is much more forgiving with disguises and it takes a lot more to make the guards suspicious when impersonating a character. The first person camera mode is still present, but this game was really made to be played from a third person perspective.

Graphics
Oh the visual side of the game the improvements are not that big, but are certainly noticeable. The producers included a special "post filter" option in the graphics menu that enhances the visuals in the game adding new effects like depth of field. However all this comes at a price because the post filter dramatically reduces the frame rate on older graphics cards. The game supports resolutions all the way from the old 640x480 up to 1280x1024 for LCDs.

I'd like to mention here that the overall theme of the game is much more dark, all the missions take place at night (even though some of the remade missions originally took place during day time) and it rains or is snowing in all of them except for one. I actually liked this aspect because it lets the players get a feel of the way 47 remembers each assignment: dark and disturbing. It helps us better understand the way he thinks when performing a hit.

Minor graphic glitches are present in the game with some clipping problems so make sure you have the latest graphics drivers installed for your video card.

Sound
The first thing you notice about the sound is the super music composed by the genius that is Jesper Kyd. He has been working with IOI since the series started and the music got better and better with each game. Kyd actually won a BAFTA award for the soundtrack in this game. Yes, it's that good!

The second thing is related to the voices of the characters. As in the previous game, each of the characters in every country speak their native language! It is one of the few series that actually use the real language for each part of the world you visit in the game. While the lines are not too varied, it really adds a lot of realism to the game and it just feels more immersing. Also you can pick up various hints on some levels just by standing hidden and listening to the characters talk so again the game rewards you for using a stealthy approach. On a technical side, the game supports EAX if your sound card supports it as well.

Value
While Hitman Contracts can be considered a little short especially with the remade missions, it is definitely satisfying to go back to the game and try finishing the missions in a different manner. Basically by playing it only once you are missing out on a lot because this is what this game is all about: having the freedom to go into a mission and finding out all the possible solutions to it. Some of them are obvious and safe, while others might take longer to figure out and have a bigger risk involved. Other times you may just want to load a level and go crazy, kill all the civilians (at one point or another you will be tempted to do this), see how long you can last in the level or how fast you can beat it. The possibilities are endless. I still play this game from time to time and i have already spent days trying to figure out new ways to win the missions.

Closing comment
After playing all of the first three games in the series i can definitely say that this one is the best so far. This time they got the balance just right with the disguises, the arsenal of weapons is very large, the levels are beautiful and extremely well made and the numerous ways of completing them will make you come back over and over. While the game suffers from some minor bugs, they are eclipsed by the positive aspects of the game. It is advised to install the latest patch from the EIDOS website before starting to play. If you are a fan of the Hitman series this is a must-have game and you will surely feel familiar with it in a matter of minutes. If you are new to the series you can try the demo of the game to see it in action. I strongly recommend getting this game.