Hitman: Absolution

Hitman is a stealth franchise with a pedigree so serious you can ruin the reputation of a sequel with just one wrong step.

Many believe that Absolution made that step, yet the game is still one of the best of its generation. Let's take a closer look.

The game remains a competent stealth action with unique mechanics of "social" gameplay where you disguise yourself as someone else to get to a well-guarded target and assassinate them. The mechanics introduced back in the first game still work, and updates to smaller details are very welcome. The protagonist, Agent 47, can now move, fight and hide more effectively and smoothly, as the limitations of previous versions of gameplay have been dealt with. The experience of simply controlling the protagonist is one of the most comfortable I've ever experienced.

The problems come, however, from the larger new elements of gameplay. The instinct mode replacing the map both makes the game too easy and impossible at the same time. Using instinct, you can predict the enemy's movements and see through walls, but you absolutely have to use it when you're in disguise, as now every person wearing a similar set of clothes can spot you and blow your cover. It's easy to see why this mechanic is almost universally hated by old-school fans of the franchise. In its turn, the slow-motion chain shooting mechanic copying that of Splinter Cell: Conviction feels almost useless. Some people even take issue with quick-time events during hand-to-hand combat.

The strongest point of the game, however, is its story exploring the character of Agent 47 in a stylish grindhouse-inspired environment, where he takes on a quest to protect a young girl against the corrupt assassin agency and a greedy war industrialist. The cast of characters is memorable, the dialogues and cutscenes are acted pretty well.

To sum it up, Absolution may not be the best game in the Hitman franchise, but it's certainly damn good.