CompleteName: Hitman: Absolution
Developer: IO Interactive
Publisher: Square Enix/ New disc in the CIS
Platform: PC, X360, PS3
Genre: Stealth action
Release date: November 19, 2012
Pros:
Multivariate gameplay | clever stealth | interesting plot and excellent direction | creativity welcome | five available difficulty levels | character development of the main characters | black humor | crowd realization | voice acting and soundtrack
Minuses:
A small number of classic missions | lack of a quick save system | optimization problems | rare bugs| some simplifications in gameplay
Verdict GameWay: 9 /10
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Buy Hitman: Absolution“A name is for friends, that’s why I don’t have one...”
Everything has its price, even human life. And if there is demand, there will be supply. All that remains is to find a cold-blooded person, devoid of moral principles, who will do the dirty work without any questions or hesitation. I think you already guessed who we are talking about. The gaming community has been waiting for the return of the dear and familiar bald head with a barcode for six whole years. Naturally, while the 47th was holed up in a shelter and cleaning his Silver Ballers all these years, the gaming industry did not stand still. This means expecting the same “Hitman” from a new game only in a new package would be naive. Absolution turned out to be a little different, but it’s still about the same thing – about the art of killing.
Impenetrable barcode
The game begins with the completion of the first and last task assigned to the 47th Contract Agency. There was a traitor in the organization and, as it soon became clear, it was Diana Burnwood - the same coordinator who gave our bald friend contracts for murder. 47 was entrusted with removing the girl.
Before her death, Diana asked to fulfill her last wish - to protect a certain girl, Victoria, who for some reason was needed by the Agency. The hero agrees, making new enemies and a lot of problems for his bald head. The plot as a whole turned out to be interesting; the gorgeously choreographed videos between missions deserve special praise.
In my opinion, IO Interactive, when choosing the name for its new game, made a little mistake - the project should have been called Revolution, not Absolution, there were so many different changes and innovations in it. Most missions are now divided into episodes in which, in addition to the usual “kill the target - escape” scheme, we have to secretly make our way to the exit (read: a walk from point A to point B) and occasionally participate in short dynamic scenes, such as escaping from a burning hotel or playing hide and seek with a helicopter on the roof. On the one hand, such moments well dilute the gameplay, on the other hand, you get the feeling that you are not playing Hitman, but some kind of action movie.
Classic missions of Hitman: Absolution, in which we need to eliminate a specific target by any means, as before, delight with their variability and welcome a creative approach. Poisoned food, damaged electrical wiring, a fallen chandelier - fortune can turn its back on anyone, even if this very fortune has a barcode on the back of its head.
Death in a Tuxedo
I don’t know where exactly 47 disappeared all these six years, but there he learned to open his chakras and strengthen his instincts a hundredfold. Now the bald man can easily monitor the location of opponents, their routes and key objects directly through walls. But don’t immediately shout “Accused!” Instinct, in fact, is a kind of replacement for the map, on which previously we could also observe the movement of patrol officers and main targets. The sixth sense is clearly not superfluous here and should not be neglected, since there are many more enemies, and it is much more difficult to slip past them unnoticed.
Being discovered in Hitman: Absolution is doubly offensive, since the developers have completely abandoned the quick save system. Now, instead of them, rare checkpoint activators are located at levels. By the way, if the 47th is caught by a lonely guard, then you will still have the opportunity to get away with it. We don’t panic, we defiantly raise our hands up, let the onlooker come closer and snatch the weapon from him. Then you can either stun the poor guy, or use him as a human shield if his friends arrive by this time.
Fans of disguises and dressing up - elements without which it is difficult to imagine a game in the Hitman series - will be pleased. I remember well the mission in which you can put on the costume of a defendant and appear in court in order to get into the detention center required by the plot. How do you feel about the prospect of dressing up as a scarecrow in a cornfield? Looks very funny.
It is worth noting that the opponents in Hitman: Absolution have become noticeably wiser and from now on, if you put on a police uniform, you will no longer be able to calmly parade among other cops. They will begin to look closely at you and soon, not recognizing any of their colleagues in 47, they will raise the alarm. You will have to hide often, fortunately the game has a full-fledged system of shelters with rifts. The above-mentioned instinct will also help to remove suspicion from your person. Having caught incredulous glances, the bald man may cover himself slightly with his cap or casually rub his forehead. However, you won’t be able to abuse such tricks for long - the scale of intuition is not infinite.
HitmanCell
But what can really be called a clear simplification is the so-called offhand shooting. Time stops all around, allowing the player to mark targets for elimination. Then we just press the button and watch as the hero savors headshots to the poor fellows. By God, Hitman Cell looks like something. Instead of thinking and finding a solution on how to sneak past the security post unnoticed, an impatient gamer can simply press a couple of keys and mark the unwanted ones - the poor fellows won’t even have time to raise the alarm. On the other hand, no one forces you to use this thing. The Hitman series is famous for allowing the player to choose the style of play that suits them.
In your free time from exploring the main plot, you can indulge in completing additional contracts created by other players or come up with your own. For this purpose, there is a simple editor where we are allowed to select a level, indicate which targets need to be eliminated and in what way. For the successful completion of such missions, money is awarded, which is spent on purchasing and improving weapons.
The technical component let me down a bit. Bugs and shortcomings are rare: for example, the game freezes when trying to take aim with a sniper rifle. In order to have fun, you have to replace the Russian language of the text with English. Optimization in Hitman: Absolution is also not ideal - a drop in frame rate in certain locations threatens even owners of top-end video cards. The graphic performance itself is generally at a high level. The updated Glacier engine allows an incredible number of people to be present on the screen at the same time. The crowds in Chinatown during the Chinese New Year celebrations are very spectacular. The musical accompaniment and voice acting, both overseas and Russian from Novy Disk, are also excellent.
Following modern gaming trends, the Danes from IO Interactive have added many fashionable innovations to their new project, which may not please the smoky fans of the bald franchise, or they will, but not right away. Despite this, it cannot be denied that Hitman: Absolution is an excellent and well-thought-out stealth action game with varied gameplay and an interesting plot. The developers faced a very difficult task: to modernize the series and at the same time preserve the best features of the previous parts. Perhaps we should applaud - they succeeded.
Publication date: 12/09/2012
Game rating: None
Game genres, like us, change over time. Therefore, it was impossible to naively believe that six years after the release Hitman: Blood Money, IO Interactive They will serve us the same dish, made according to the old “grandfather’s” recipe. After all, no matter how delicious it was in the past, modern technology and new chefs have long invented new tricks and tricks to please the clientele. Stealth in its pure form has long ceased to exist - now it is offered to players only as a seasoning for shooters and RPGs, and not vice versa. IN Hitman, as you remember (or if you’ve been a gamer for less than five years, you’ve probably heard) the emphasis was placed on quiet passage. Agent 47 is an emotionless, cold-blooded executioner who operates from the shadows, leaving no trace. Hitman Absolution tried to preserve and develop this legend, but it could not do without the necessary innovations that are designed to make the game competitive in the market.
Last will
In previous games in the series, the plot was nothing more than just a series of missions to eliminate targets on which Forty-Seven was sent by his Agency. We listened to the briefing, selected weapons, went to the desired point on the planet, completed the task and returned to the shelter. Only in Hitman: Blood Money the developers began to make more or less clear plot inclusions. IN Hitman Absolution The narrative is almost the main aspect of the game. Diana Burnwood, the coordinator and the only person on the planet whom 47 could call his friend, betrays the Agency and goes over to the side of Jack Lilland, the main antagonist Hitman: Blood Money. After she declassified all the organization's data and jeopardized the very fact of its continued existence, the Agency decides to eliminate her and sends on a mission the one who knew Diana best - 47. This is our first task in Hitman Absolution . We go to Copenhagen, where Lilland has arranged for her to take refuge in a luxurious mansion, kill the girl, and then find a letter addressed to the bald killer in which she begs to take care of Victoria, a young Hitman girl who is being hunted by the Agency and Blake Dexter (a rich and influential businessman , owner of a weapons factory). 47 kidnaps the girl and becomes the main target of both Dexter and the Agency. Why do they need Victoria so much - find out for yourself. Our bald hero “reduces” his famous tattoo with a razor and tries to slip between the hammer and the anvil, which are about to flatten him and deprive him of the opportunity to fulfill Diana’s last will.
Silent Assassin
During the entire process of passing, a certain dissonance with what is happening on the screen looms in the background: it seems that the opponents have become much wiser, but the game has not become any more difficult. Previously, in order to complete a mission, you had to either follow the “correct” algorithm of actions, or simply kill everyone on the level. Now a third, intermediate method has appeared, which is suitable for almost all episodes Hitman Absolution - change clothes in a secluded place, waylay the victim, eliminate him, hide him and leave the location. This method is good for those players who are not familiar with proprietary stealth and do not suspect that in fact, everything can be done much more sophisticated. For each victim of the 47th, the developers thought of elegant methods of reprisal, as it was before: a poorly secured chandelier will fall on someone, someone will end up in an elevator shaft, and someone, sorry, will relieve themselves on exposed live wires. As we wrote in preview, now the number of points gained during a mission can be seen at all times in the upper left corner of the screen. They reward us, of course, for quietly carrying out murders, ingenuity and covering our tracks, and they take away points even if we simply catch the eye of security or other NPCs without being declassified. Based on the results of the level, the player is awarded the title: veteran, shadow, etc.
Hide and seek
IN Hitman Absolution Agent 47 has mastered something like a “third eye” - the Instinct ability, which is only available at a low difficulty level. This analogue of Eagle Vision is activated from Assassin's Creed key Ctrl. and allows the bald hitman to identify the location of all enemies nearby and “highlight” useful items that may come in handy. For example, an ashtray - with its help you can effectively crush someone's skull. Instinct also shows the direction of movement of the NPC in the form of a flaming stripe on the ground. But don’t rush to shout that this simplifies the gameplay and makes Hitman Absolution casual. No way. Remember how the area map was implemented in Hitman: Blood Money - the location of enemies and their movements were also displayed there. And last but not least, the advantage of Instinct is the ability to distract suspicion from oneself for a short time. Just in Hitman Absolution even if you disguised yourself as, say, a cook, and entered the kitchen, your “employees” will declassify you in the blink of an eye if you hang around in front of them for a long time. But, having called up Instinct, Hitman folds the visor of his cap down, covers his face with his hand for a second, or pretends that he is transmitting something on the radio, in case you are dressed as a policeman. This confuses others and they calmly go about their business. But “masking” won’t work for long, since the ability bar quickly depletes. You can replenish Instinct by killing or successfully completing tasks. If the law enforcement officer or anyone else still realizes that in front of him is a masked bald clown, there is no need to rush to start the mission again. It is enough to quickly run away to a secluded place and pretend that you are surrendering (false surrender is activated by the key X). The guard will come up to you to arrest and handcuff you, and 47 will knock the weapon away from him, cover his mouth with his hand and cover himself like a human shield. You can simply stun the poor fellow and shove him into the nearest closet or chest. By the way, there are an incredibly large number of these placed throughout the levels, and they fit into drawers, freezers, chests, wardrobes and other places where you can hide a corpse - two bodies at a time. The option of a ghoul plus a 47th hiding from enemies is being considered. It is impossible to drag the dead back out. Another new product is an analogue of the “mark & execute” system from Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction. We mark several targets and Agent 47 shoots them in a spectacular slo-mo with a demonstration of all the juicy details. The number of targets that can be eliminated at one time also depends on the number of Instinct points available.
Run for your life
But there is also something that, obviously, the developers sacrificed for the sake of casual players. For example, now the 47th can carry with you 4-5 types of different weapons “in his bosom”, as in some Grand Theft Auto. Forget about a stylish case with a sniper rifle, too. By the way, shootouts in Hitman Absolution implemented just as crookedly as in previous games in the series. It’s inconvenient to aim, and cover actually doesn’t protect you from bullets as well as you’d like. But this is good - there is less temptation to grab a heavier gun and shoot every living thing on the level. Moreover, this is not so easy to do, because there are usually a lot of enemies and even if you deal with more than half of them, reinforcements will definitely arrive and crush you. The health bar regenerates very slowly, and the first aid kits with medicine, which seem to have been removed from the walls of the first two locations Max Payne’ov and moved here, are not found very often.
Voice of truth
The developers were right about one thing - the new version of the Glacier engine looks just great. The picture is realistic, the textures are high resolution, and the effects look believable. Is it with graininess? IO Interactive slightly overdone, which makes what’s happening on the screen look a little unnatural. Finally, the character animation in the series has begun to reach the level of its competitors! And the videos look natural, facial expressions are well implemented and perfectly synchronized with the voice acting. Speaking about the voices of the characters, I would like to once again complain about the selection of actors from our localizers. I definitely want to change the voice acting to the original one after a couple of missions, because if 47 was chosen an actor with a voice to match his, then the rest of the game’s heroes were much less fortunate. Sometimes it seems as if the translators have not seen the video sequence at all. But all this does not apply to the developers, so it will not affect the evaluation of the game in any way. But what can confidently be added to the list of sins of Danish developers is the physical model. In the game, you can pick up various objects, like, say, a brick, and throw them in any direction to distract enemies. If you have the opportunity, be sure to watch the flight process of something more closely: it feels as if some things have had their weight reduced by at least half. As for the soundtrack, don’t expect the brilliant Jasper Kyd as a composer - all the music is for Hitman Absolution written by Peter Kyd (also worked on Kane & Lynch: Dead Men), Peter Peter ( Neverwinter Nights), Povl Christian and Tomas Barczy ( Mini Ninjas). They all come from Denmark. The duration of the game is approximately 15-20 hours.
Contracts
In addition to the single player campaign Hitman Absolution There is a very interesting “Contracts” mode. It is notable for the fact that anyone can develop tasks for themselves or other players. That is, it’s as if you are writing a script for what is happening: choosing a target and describing the conditions for its elimination, indicating the type of weapon, and so on. A kind of level designer, if you like. A pleasant addition to the plot, which extends the life of the project by five to six hours.
***
Well, the return of one of the most famous game series to the market was quite successful. Agent 47, as best he could, adapted to the realities of the modern gaming industry, although he lost his former elitism and style. Instead, we got a modern engine, a full-fledged (albeit not outstanding) plot and such a long-awaited opportunity to hold the famous silver ballers in our hands, albeit virtual ones. But what will happen to the series next? This is where I want to go into more detail. Less than a week after release Hitman Absolution game publisher, studio Square Enix, stated that now franchise projects will be released annually, and the company will work on them Square EnixMontreal. "Fathers" of the series - IOInteractive- will keep an eye on the development for some time Hitman 6, but will eventually retire. And this is just bad news. Moreover, Square Enix they openly say that the series is unlikely to be preserved in its original form. There are even a couple of working arts for the sixth part of “Hitman” and they look like something very “Japanese”. If so, then why continue to pull the cat by the tail? It would be more logical to do Hitman Absolution the final game in the series. In the meantime, one can only guess about the further fate of the bald killer.
Finally! The most famous killer in the gaming industry is back. 47 hasn't been seen in five long years, but the fifth Hitman installment was definitely worth the wait. Studio IO Interactive has made the best part of the series this time, and here's why.
Hitman: Absolution
Developer: IO Interactive Genre: 3rd person stealth action Official website: hitman.com Release date: November 20, 2012 Similar games: Hitman, Hitman: Blood Money
How many years have we known games about a gloomy “genetically gifted” killer who only improved his deadly skills with each new part? I remember even the very first Hitman surprised by the idea of contract killings in various parts of the globe. At that time, the game offered fairly spacious levels with the possibility of non-linear progression. The second part did not repeat the success of the original, but it significantly expanded the arsenal and, most importantly, added to the plot.
Then the Tobias Ripper ceased to be just a perfect murder weapon. The third part became the most controversial in the series, offering half of the recycled missions from the original and an overly inhospitable atmosphere. But Blood Money unexpectedly shot in such a way that everyone again wanted to get into the skin of an extremely inventive and cold-blooded mercenary. Then, in 2007, it seemed that more nonlinearity could no longer be desired, everything was so good.
It's serious
But what do you think? IO Interactive I didn’t sit idly by all this time. absorbed all the best from the first and fourth parts, and at the same time evolved. The fact is that this time we were pleased with a real “plot” Hitman. In previous games in the series there was no plot as such, so shouldn’t a set of various tasks with short video inserts be considered a full-fledged story? Now everything is much more serious.
Firstly, from the very first minutes of the game the main character becomes more “human”; he shows emotions, despite the still gloomy and sometimes simply ferocious expression on his face. Moreover, on his new bloody path he comes across “partners”! This in itself is unprecedented. But don't rush to get upset. 47 has not lost any of his charisma and coolness; he simply takes the killer’s story to a new level. The production, script and, of course, action outweigh any doubts about innovation.
Innovations
And there are many of them. The locations have become smaller, but at the same time they are full of small events and potential targets. Scattered throughout each scene are a large number of various assistant objects that can be used against almost any living person. This has already happened in Blood Money, but everything worked there at the experimental level. I rarely wanted to use knives from the kitchen, but how wonderfully the “accidents” were implemented. So, surprise! In the new one there are fewer such “accidents”.
The game has added more action and stealth. In some places Absolution reminds Splinter Cell: Conviction, and at first glance it might seem that the series has lost its hardcore feel. But! This would be your biggest misconception! The most important feature of the new Hitman- this is just the notorious hardcore. The developers designed the game in such a way that without 47’s new abilities, it is almost impossible to complete the campaign at a difficulty level higher than simple. At least if you don't want to cause a massacre.
Hardcore?
There may be a little less opportunity for sudden deaths, but stealth and shooting have been taken to a whole new level. Controls, interface, graphics, sound - all this is done so that it is convenient for players to eliminate given targets. There are clues everywhere. And the funny thing is that without them Absolution could turn into real torture for the uninitiated. Of course, fans who have completed all previous games as the “Silent Assassin” are ready for anything. But if we talk about everyone else, then there’s a new one "Hitman" provides very flexible gameplay.
Each task has a large number of achievements that are not required, and you can simply fight your way through the enemies to the “exit” from the level. But they are made in such a way that you just want to go through and explore each level in every possible way. And given that they are quite compact, this will not be difficult. All sorts of situations are constantly unfolding before the eyes of 47, and the atmosphere of an action-adventure thriller is felt everywhere.
Movie or game?
The main character constantly drives his powerful car, carrying an impressive arsenal and people in the trunk. They are hunting him. The game has a huge number of interesting and sometimes simply comical characters. There are obvious references to some famous films. And all this IO Interactive They did it by hand - in all seriousness. You won't find a single crappy episode here. The story is very integral and rich, and each new task throws up new surprises.
In addition, the intelligence of opponents has been improved. This time the guards simply do not allow passage; disguise practically does not help. This, by the way, is a controversial point - there is practically no point left in dressing up, they reveal it very quickly here. And it’s easier, and sometimes even more effective, to simply eliminate the “observers.” The only moment IO Interactive still remains unresolved. IN Hitman there is no single correct path. Although maybe that's a good thing.
Killer rating
New technologies and the main character’s impressive abilities make it possible to deal with anyone. And here the question arises: why would such a tough killer hide? This, of course, is very important for the most brutal difficulty level, but for those players who just like to enjoy the passage, it’s easier to kill beautifully, almost forgetting about stealth. But in this case, you get too few rating points, and a lot is based on it.
The rating of each player is taken into account in the statistics. The game is designed in such a way that gaining points, not forgetting about interesting achievements, is almost the most interesting activity in . This was already clear in Sniper Challenge, where finding interesting “secrets” in a level turned out to be even more fun than blowing off the guards’ heads. After all, Hitman is not a mass murderer.
General impression
There may be a slight contradiction in all this, but the new one is both hardcore and accessible to a mass audience. If you just want to kill beautifully and enjoy the story of the slightly aged 47, turn on the game on a simple level and have fun. The plot, the hero, all the other characters, graphics, tasks, murder weapons - all this is gorgeous! And if you are interested in feeling the spirit of the first parts, use the most brutal difficulty level, and then more than once Absolution will give even experienced “killers” a light. The six year wait was worth it. And for me it is also the best 3rd person action game this year. Welcome back, 47th!
Advantages The most charismatic killer Variability of passage Excellent script Rating system Thoughtful stealth Really different difficulty levels Graphics, music, sound Disadvantages There are fewer “random murders”
Before the official announcement on May 10, 2011, the game Absolution was known as Hitman 5.
Back on October 31, 2010, fake art of the future game appeared on the Internet.
The first official screenshot was released on March 21, 2011.
Hollywood actors were involved in creating the video for the game.
Hitman: Sniper Challenge, released this summer, is a spin-off of the series.
Information about the plot was deliberately distorted before the game's release, in particular regarding the key role of Diana, Agent 47's main "acquaintance" from previous games.
Absolution- the first game in the series running on a completely new version of the Glacier 2 engine from the developer studio.
Hitman: Absolution does not begin with amnesia for Agent 47, but in the six years that have passed since the release of Blood Money, the memory has become dull, apparently among the developers themselves. How else to explain the fact that the new game does not show the connection thanks to which the series once earned its popularity. Hitman: Absolution is responsive, cool, a little glossy, and in some places the best stealth game of the year. Taking into account even . But traditionally, the development of Hitman games is not without a number of compromises, and this will make some players quite nervous.
The concept of the new Hitman is simple: someone sets targets, and you eliminate them. The whole point is in how it happens. The banal choice between “hiding behind people” or “starting a shootout” is a thing of the past. In the new game you will have to slowly monitor the movement of people across a vast territory, and also look for ways to manipulate them and influence elements of the environment in order to provoke another death. You can plant explosives where the victim likes to walk, or, for example, “accidentally” be in the right place at the right time and lightly push the poor guy right into a dark alley for a quiet and unnoticed reprisal. You can even borrow someone's clothes - this disguise will help hide your identity from many prying eyes. Except perhaps for detectives conducting a thorough investigation.
On higher difficulty levels, you'll have to figure out most of these tricks without help. 47, disguised, wanders and sneaks through police stations, court buildings, destroyed gangster hotels, corn farms, factories, scientific laboratories, extracting information about his target from overheard conversations and all sorts of objects lying around. And finally, he develops a plan and then tries to implement it. In case you haven’t played Hitman for a long time (or maybe ever), it’s worth saying that for the first time you can simply try to stay alone with the victim and introduce him to your garrote. But keep in mind, the game can offer much more creative and elegant methods of execution: “suicide”, an industrial accident, expired medications and, who would have thought, an unexpected breakdown of previously trouble-free equipment!
Thanks to convenient controls and clear rules, you can find your own style. The movement and camouflage system are fully in line with current standards for third-person games: guards and people in the crowd will only become suspicious of you if you give them a reason to be so, for example if you are wearing the exact same outfit as one of the NPCs . In this game, only drawers, cabinets and trash cans are allowed to look alike. The new Instinct system (which is difficult to use on higher difficulties) allows Agent 47 to see through walls the movement of the target and other NPCs, marks interactive objects in the environment, and also helps to avoid detection by special characters who are more suspicious of you than others. Your Instinct gauge will replenish whenever you do something right according to the local scoring system, such as moving corpses out of sight.
Speaking of this system. It encourages any kind of optional but creative and challenging kills, and by the way, it's funny in itself that even in 2012 you can still find a big game that gives you points at the end of each level. And most of the side missions on your laptop can give you some interesting ideas about how you can use the environment to defeat your target. All of these missions cannot be completed in one game because you cannot try on every costume in a level. But they can be ignored if you prefer to remain completely unnoticed before dealing with the victim.
Several times during the game, all these advantages merge together to give the player an absolutely unforgettable experience. In one mission, 47 dresses up as a scarecrow to hunt down heavily armed guards in a cornfield, and even ties himself to a wooden pole for extra camouflage. In another, without unnecessary witnesses, he drops a heavy piano lid right on the head of one of the thugs, attracted by the beautiful melody. In the third, he leaves a safe open and full of money in a dilapidated drug den to distract the police. In the fourth, not without irony, he uses the tools of mad scientists against them. The game is similar to a series of edifying dark stories, where the central character is a bald killer, carefully sneaking from one shelter to another. Overall, it's incredibly fun.
Unfortunately, the enjoyment of the game is often overshadowed by a simple and hackneyed plot, which for the first time in the history of the series cannot be simply ignored. Agent 47 is trying to protect a young girl from his former clients and all kinds of arms dealers. This means that in between dealing with those involved in her imprisonment and her current miserable situation, she will have to spend a lot of time playing hide and seek with the guards or trying to take long detours instead.
This is Absolution's weakest aspect. Imagine, the game has already teased you with its advantages, but instead of them you are offered simple “stealth” tasks, like “hide and watch”. You have to spend minutes wiping your jacket on the walls, looking at the mini-map and turning on Instinct to finally find loopholes in the enemy defenses, and then kill and hide a couple of corpses in secluded corners. From a technical point of view, these moments are worked out well and sometimes it becomes quite interesting to play. However, other games boast a much larger variety of environmental elements that keep the player from getting bored. Absolution doesn't have that. In addition, instead of the usual save system, checkpoints are used here, because of which, after loading a level again, you have to practice the same “stealth” tricks over and over again.
Unfortunately, levels where you only have to deal with killing also suffer from these shortcomings. For example, the mission about halfway through the game where you have to kill a scientist with funny guns loses its charm every time you have to load from the last save point after another failure. And all because the cutscenes are played anew every time. It's interesting the first time, but then it only causes irritation and annoyance. Of course, if you are noticed, you can always hide and replay the situation, or use reliable guns, but this is not the same. And again, the next loading of the checkpoint entails the miraculous resurrection of all already defeated opponents.
It's not clear why the game doesn't have a proper save system, but if this was a limitation that had to be dealt with during development, then it might also explain why most of the levels are split into such small sections. In one of them, 47 is holed up in a motel while he is attacked by a group of spandex-clad killer nuns. They come from everywhere: from the motel parking lot, the crazy neighborhood golf course, the gas station, and the farm, but each of these levels is very small. So small that it poses a serious limitation on the flight of design ideas, and subsequently on your enjoyment of the game. Without a doubt, the developers gave it their all, and this level, again, features a fun cornfield. But he's not perfect.
However, if you don’t get involved in the main campaign and go straight to the Contracts mode, then you can take from the game exactly what it does best. You choose a level and a weapon (which was not in the campaign, which for this reason looks like an evil puritan), and then determine a contract that other people will fulfill. You need to assign a target (which can be some special NPC, which is preferable to just a plot character), means of execution and other conditions. Therefore, players who download this scenario will be judged according to the success criteria you define. If people enjoy this mode and find many unexpected uses for 47's skills, then Contracts is potentially the best component of Absolution in the long run. Although now, playing the press release, I cannot say for sure. I hope the funniest scenarios quickly make their way to the top of the list. You know, the kind that makes you feel like a silent killer with a morbid sense of humor.
