At this years E3, IO Interactive released a trailer for Hitman: Absolution showing a few minutes of CG footage of our favorite anti-hero, Agent 47. It was interesting to see, but many fans felt that the trailer looked too similar to Splinter Cell: Conviction. When someone leaked a bit of shaky-cam footage showing the game in action, well… unfortunately that cemented my impression of this game being largely action oriented. What we see today is the entire first level of the game, and after having watched this, I feel a lot more confident that IO Interactive didn’t fuck this game up.
Hitman: Absolution – Run For Your Life Playthrough
The premise of the level is simple. Agent 47 needs to escape from the Chicago Library by any means necessary, but what differs between this footage and the leaked footage we saw months ago is that Agent 47 is actually being stealthy. Sure the player chooses to kill people along the way, but at least we see that stealth is still a practical, and even desirable, option.
The graphics look absolutely fantastic, and the music and sounds are as impressive, with a few minor caveats. Though I have no issues with the dramatic orchestral music, I do have a few complaints with some of the world sounds. I find the *swoosh* that Agent 47 makes as he drops from a ledge very unrealistic, as an example. It’s a minor thing in a sea of awesome audio, though, and I believe that the rest of the experience will make up for it. The voice work alone makes the game worth the price of admission, with a seemingly endless stream of chatter between the various police as they search the library for our bald-headed friend. “Everyone is always yelling at me, just like my mom!” says one police officer, before Agent 47 slips past. I love that kind of stuff, and it reminded me a lot of Max Payne.
If IO Interactive is smart, they’ll keep the things that made the original Hitman games so great, while bringing new and useful elements to the table, such as a proper cover system. I’m glad that Agent 47 can finally press himself against a wall instead of awkwardly standing around while trying to remain stealthy.
Hitman: Absolution has no known release date, but we’ll keep you posted.
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one of the best for the xbox360,ps3.