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Hitman: Absolution Review

Agent 47 still behaves like a silent assassin despite a different disguise system and warped mission structure.

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The save system is regularly disruptive to the world’s best assassin. It’s not so much a save system as a teleport system that ignores almost everything that happened in the level. Reloading checkpoints may position you between resurrected guards. You might be stuck in a corner with an ineffective, unchangeable disguise. Weapons return to their original spots and bodies vanish. The only things preserved are your current arsenal and major targets you assassinated. It’s often easier to restart the whole level than continue from one of these teleport saves. The save system is broken and the only time it works is when it doesn’t matter what has happened in the preceding areas.

Contracts mode turns every story level into a player created sandbox with up to three targets. It allows you to take sanctioned revenge on pesky civilians or guards that caused you grief during the campaign. You can play friend or global challenges, earning extra points for haste, exploration or following set rules. These points give you money to buy or upgrade weapons that can be equipped before missions. There is a simple elegancy to this mode but it also demonstrates how many contrived accidents are designed for the story targets. Perhaps future Hitman games could let players create accidents in a freeform, natural way. Contracts mode further improves the replay value but doesn’t counter all the problems.

Hitman Absolutionr
Time for a Judge Dredd quote; "I'll be the judge of that"

Despite all the flaws, Absolution is a game that rewards replaying sections dozens of times. The search for perfection or alternative solutions drives you through missions in much the same way it did in Blood Money. Absolution needed more open sandbox assassinations and less evasion levels. Some levels are clustered together to provide unnecessary continuity. Continuity that breaks when the save system ignores events or the level transitions change your clothes or arsenal. There is still satisfaction when stealth, disguises and assassinations work. It doesn’t get much better than strangling your target and escaping undetected in a police uniform. Once you acknowledge Absolution’s sins and virtues, you will see a worthy entry in the Hitman franchise.

Our ratings for Hitman Absolution on PC out of 100 (Ratings FAQ)
Presentation
85
Amazing textures, excellent detail in environments and some great looking characters. Music and sound is fairly good although minimal use of signature Ave Maria. Terrible bloom effects are at odds with the amazing lighting system. It’s easy to stare at 47’s bald head.
Gameplay
78
Disguises are very different and aren’t quite flawlessly implemented. You’ll be challenged in disguise and this will lead to many mission restarts. Shooting combat is quite good and intimate kills are satisfying. AI has solid reactions and the game is best when replaying sections.
Single Player
70
Agent 47 isn’t taking on targets from around the world, he’s protecting somebody and things get messy. The story takes you through Chicago and South Dakota as you face loathsome characters. At around 15-20 hours long, depending on your affinity for perfection, it offers excellent value.
Multiplayer
NR
Performance
(Show PC Specs)
CPU: AMD Phenom II 955 @ 3.2GHz
GPU: Gigabyte 7950 OC 3GB
RAM: 8GB DDR3
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
PC Specs

80
Absolution runs pretty well on high settings and doesn’t slow much during action or crowds. Numerous glitches, mostly minor in nature, prevent flawless execution. No crashes but the save system is broken by design.
Overall
77
The world’s greatest assassin has to work hard while in disguise. Linear evasion levels take the 'hit' out of Hitman, but the few sandbox assassinations are about as good as they were in Blood Money. With further modifications to the new formula, Absolution could have been amazing.
Comments
Hitman Absolution
Hitman Absolution box art Platform:
PC
Our Review of Hitman Absolution
77%
Good
The Verdict:
Game Ranking
Hitman Absolution is ranked #701 out of 1957 total reviewed games. It is ranked #65 out of 145 games reviewed in 2012.
700. Twisted Metal
PlayStation 3
701. Hitman Absolution
702. Child of Eden
Xbox 360
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Screenshots

Hitman Absolution
28 images added Dec 2, 2012 06:35
Videos
Hitman: Absolution - E3 Debut Trailer
Posted: Jun 8, 2011 15:59
Hitman: Absolution - Run for your lif...
Posted: Oct 11, 2011 23:22
Hitman: Absolution - A Personal Contract
Posted: Dec 17, 2011 21:19
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