Preview: 5 New Things We Learned About "Hitman: Absolution"

Whether you like to be out in the open or if you're the stealthy type, there are various ways to approach a mission in the Hitman universe.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Intro

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A Single TargetA Single Target

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Tools of the Stealth

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Tools of the Stealth

Stealth in Absolution excels when it comes to the tools available to Agent 47 whether it's through his own abilities or using the environment to his advantage. This has always been a major tenet of the franchise and Absolution looks to enhance it further. He can hide inside and peek through  closets as well as crawl through vents with a lighter in hand. If 47 finds himself discretely snapping necks, the bodies can be dragged and hidden in freezers, garbage chutes and in the case of orphanages, a large playpen with those plastic balls. 

Certain rooms would be packed with thugs, which gave us cause for concern that a stealth playthrough could potentially be a frustrating exercise in trial and error. This was the kind of heavy foot traffic where it feels impractical to study NPC foot paths. But Agent 47 has gained a bit a special power since Hitman: Blood Money. Known as Instinct, this ability allows 47 to see enemy silhouettes through walls as well as predicted foot paths of enemies. Yes, these talents are a bit superhuman, but maybe we can chalk this up years and years worth of assassin experience. Of course this becomes much less of an issue if he manages to don a disguise, usually by taking the clothes of someone he just killed.

A Louder Alternative

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A Louder Alternative

If there's a factor that might encourage a player to take the enemies head-on, it's the fact that there are a lot of people to execute in this orphanage. In fact, this level might feel overstaffed, unless these henchmen were anticipating taking on Agent 47. With this non-stealth approach comes the less discrete options to kill, such as using a trusty shotgun or knocking out a guy with a crucifix. 

Whatever the case, he's equipped; not only is the Instinct feature helpful, but once 47 makes an entrance, the player can turn on a slow down effect to mark and execute several targets. We got to witness this in action during a cafeteria shootout, which also included the obligatory explosive gas tank.

With this kind of aggression, it was of little surprise to see the guard saved this time around. That made me wonder: is there the possibility of saving the guard on a stealth playthrough, the kind of outcome that could potentially lead to the sought-after Silent Assassin rank?

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Final Takeaways

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Final Takeaways

While Hitman: Absolution is coming along in many promising ways, the game should hopefully be allowed a generous polish period. When I asked an IO spokesman about the care that has gone into the production values, he replied that they're "taking Hitman to the next level." At the risk of sounding entitled, "the next level" is the least of what Hitman fans should to expect from Absolution

There were some AI designs that were more amusing than questionable. You can have a cacophonous shootout against a dozen thugs in one room but still have the opportunity to sneak past henchmen in the next large room, as if the guys in the latter area didn't notice all the yelling and gunfire. I also noticed that it takes very little time to get 47's enemy alert status down to 'Clear' in very little time, provided he found a hiding place to begin with.

It is also of minor note that Hitman: Absolution appears to have an ambitious goal of outclassing House of the Dead: Overkill for the Guinness World Record for the most obscenities in a video game.

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