Welcome to High Definition, Agent 47.
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin - 3/5
Having never played the original Hit-man: Agent 47 when it came out way back in 2000 I originally played the sequel for the cheap thrills of blasting enemies halfway across the screen (those silenced Ballers really pack a punch). Upon playing it again I'm sorry to say that the game has not aged well in the past 11 years. I guess I have been spoiled by HD graphics and higher resolution so much that the bland-ish environments didn't do much for me. The game takes place in a variety of locations around the world but never feels atmospheric. There is some really poor AI and glitches all over the place too.
From fans of the franchise I have gathered that the fun in the Hit-man games is the variety of ways you can infiltrate the target's safety and wipe them out. Well...not in Hit-man 2. There's only a couple of levels where you get more than one option, and most of the time it's quicker and easier to just go in all guns blazing than waste precious hours with stealth.
I have no doubt that the Hit-man games have become more immersive as the technology refined over the years, but Hit-man 2 is an unspectacular reminder of that era between CD-ROM shooters of the late 90s and the current generation HD consoles. Fun to play through one, and then inevitably forgotten forever afterwards.
Hitman : Contracts - 3.5/5
Coming 2 years after Hit-man 2 it's hard to believe that a game from 2004 could look and feel so 1998. The story has Agent 47 collapse in a Paris hotel room where he has flashbacks to previous missions (including 4 remakes from the first game) while an unseen doctor helps him recover. The tone is darker and more personal, and it feels tighter, I just wish the lazy programming didn't spoil it.
There are 12 levels in total, and if you're just in it for the 'thrill' of mass murdering then you'll whisk though the entire game in a single day. If you're going for the 'Silent Assassin' rankings then you'll get a bit more mileage out of it. Your efforts might be spoiled by security guards and cops seeing through your disguise FOR NO REASON! You better be rock solid on your controller with no twitchy fingers if you want those rankings, and be prepared to scream at the monitor until your larynx disintegrates.
Hit-man: Contracts came in at the tail-end of the Sixth Generation of console video gaming and thus became dated very quickly. It's a lot tighter than the expansive, and slightly overwrought, Hit-man 2, but IO Interactive really should have refined the programming.
Hitman: Blood Money - 3.5/5
Two years later this, the 4th game in the popular series, came out - right at the infancy of HD gaming. It shows, but it's still a noticeable graphic improvement. For this entry IO Interactive have changed the controls and gameplay, which annoyed me at first, but you get used to it, even though they are still rather fiddly and you'll often select the wrong command by accident.
The story bounces around in time as Agent 47 travels to various locations around the world offing evil-doers. It ties into the story of Hit-man: Contracts rather tightly, which is not something I expected it to do. The killing and gameplay is still very similar and the game doesn't offer anything new in that regard. I think it is time that Hit-man starts introducing gorier deaths that obliterate victims or feature noticeable damage instead of the ragdoll effects after a sudden burst of red.
I liked this game, but for Agent 47's first jaunt into HD I would have preferred new methods of killing that would benefit from the better resolution. Maybe next time.
The reformatting of Hitman 2 and 3 into a 1.78:1 aspect ratio is mostly flawless, but the peeking-through-the-keyhole shots have not been reconfigured, making the crucial visual details left out of view. The remastered Dolby Digital sound is good enough, but there is a deafening error during the Rotterdam level in Contracts that was pure torture on the ears.
Previous to purchasing this collection I had only ever played Hitman 2 on the Gamecube 9 years ago. Contracts was planned and then cancelled for the Gamecube, so to make this most of it I was determined to get the Platinum trophy for all three. It's a tricky, and sometimes extremely infuriating goal, but the nature of the gameplay lends itself well to trophy hunting.
Now lets bring on HD collections of Resident Evil 0-3, Sonic Adventure 1,2, and Heroes (already available on the PSN), Scooby-Doo, The Simpsons, Die Hard Trilogies/Nakatomi Plaza, Batman, etc...