Reviewed On: Xbox 360
Available For: PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: IO Interactive
Genre: Third-Person Action
Age: 18 (PEGI)
SILENT but deadly; this has been brewing for a long time. Finally Square Enix have dropped one.
It's been almost six years since we were last blinded by the dazzling bald head of Agent 47. He's back with a fifth adventure into the sleazy and dark underworld of contractual killings, but once again it's more than just business – this time it's personal.
Agent 47 is a slave to money with a penchant for killing, a suit donning bad-man with a smouldering silenced pistol. He’s like James Bond, but with fewer scruples, less chinks, and less hair! His cold-hearted demeanour and merciless ability to take lives makes Bond look like Barbie.
That said, in true Gok Wan style, he can sport all manner of different outfits. It won’t help him to look good naked, but it may help him sneak past guards without arousing suspicion. As ever, the need for subtle blending and the call for disguises play a major roll.
The silenced pistol hardly scratches the surface of Agent 47’s murderous repertoire. Poison for instance, is a much more discreet way to dispatch an enemy, but it takes plenty of patience to do it undetected and reach the ultimate prize of Silent Assassin. Sure he can just run in and machine gun the mark in the face, but it’ll bring heat down on him and the score will reflect that.
Every mission and every target is a challenge which takes thought, skill, and the patience of all the saints combined. To get it right is deeply rewarding.
The new Glacier 2 engine brings people, cities, and scenarios to life in a visually impressive and great feeling way. Coupled with great scriptwriting and voice acting, it makes the characters and their movements seem incredibly lifelike.
‘Instinct’ by Agent 47 – not a new fragrance, but instead a new feature. It’s the fashionable ability of having a video game character see his enemies through walls. Not only does this help to figure out guard patrols and accessible routes, it also allows for gunshots to be lined up before Agent 47 pokes his unmistakable shiny dome round the corner.
So now the invisible cloud of Hitman Absolution hangs upon us – it’s certainly not a stinker. It’s one we all should be happy to wallow in for a while.
SCORE: 8 / 10
PROS: Pros here.
CONS: Cons here.
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