Dubai: The Hitman game series has a lot of dedicated fans, and hard-core fandom is notoriously difficult to please.
I am not a hard-core Hitman fan. I got into the series with 2012’s Hitman: Absolution, an instalment which delighted me but was considered disappointing by vocal fans.
With the new, episodic series prequel, simply named Hitman, I gain an understanding of why the older fans weren’t thrilled with Absolution; it was too action-oriented.
IO Interactive has turned back the clock in more ways than one.
While graphics are modern, and some elements of later Hitman instalments have been kept, the game feels like a return to its roots: a sneaker full of options encouraging assassination with style. And, as mentioned, the story is a prequel, set at the very start of protagonist Agent 47’s career.
Remember the way Casino Royale launched Daniel Craig’s James Bond in a way that had the old Sean Connery fans drooling? This is what Hitman achieves.
The episodic nature is an interesting approach. The initial release is a prologue and a first chapter, set in Paris as Agent 47 is tasked with assassinating a fashion designer and his partner.
Six more episodes will follow, with a new release every month.
Although episodic releases are not new, this is the first time I can recall a major title going for the model, and it’s the first time I’ve actually felt comfortable with it.
Part of that is the cost — you can either buy the entire game for $59.99 (Dh220), getting new episodes free as they are released, or buy the first episode for $12.99 and subsequent instalments for $9.99 each.
That’s actually a pretty good deal when you look at the cost of a triple-A game and its downloadable add-ons.
The initial episode is certainly not skimpy. While the main assassination can be carried out fairly quickly, there’s a lot to explore and so many different ways to achieve your objective that it’s almost crass to blitz. And, of course, there are all sorts of challenges to meet (or set) among your gamer friends.
Gameplay is great and graphics are gorgeous, if occasionally a little glitchy.
Where the eposidic structure does need some work is in the storyline; IO haven’t quite got the hang of serial stories, and although I suspect the designers were going for a cliffhanger ending they didn’t quite pull it off; the story just feels unfinished.
Episode 2, which will be set in Italy, is due out in mid-April.
Ranking 8.5/10
