Saturday 22 December 2012

GOTY 2012 #09 - Hitman: Absolution

 
Agent 47 returns in splendid fashion.

Hello and welcome back as I continue the countdown towards the best game of 2012! With Resident Evil 6 opening our list the standards are already pretty high. In at number 9 to pip Capcom’s action horror adventure is the ever-popular Agent 47 in Hitman: Absolution.

Absolution is literally one of the last high profile titles to have been released in 2012 and what a monster of a game it turned out to be. Packing an impressive storyline, narrative and gameplay mechanics, this welcome divergence from the generic first-person shooter made gamers leap for joy as they were forced to strategize every move, learn their environments and come up with a variety of unique and sometimes horrific ways to assassinate their targets.

Disguises play a massive role to keep Agent 47 hidden.
The truly impressive thing about Hitman: Absolution was how the developers IO Interactive really stayed true to the original Hitman formula, just adding enough new content and additional gameplay elements to modernize what was already a really impressive set of foundations for a video game. The introduction of Instinct Mode gave Agent 47 heightened senses to learn about his surroundings, while Point Shooting gave our assassin precise accuracy should the need arise for open conflict. IO Interactive also made sure Agent 47 interacted with the environments much more naturally, now being able to use cover and weave his way around surroundings.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Hitman: Absolution was the awesome Contracts mode. This allowed players to participate in custom missions created by other gamers. Players focused on achieving the fastest times and the highest scores just like in the campaign, but these user-created scenarios were a whole load of fun to participate in and create too.

Sexy nun trailer that pissed everyone off -- awesome.
It was also nice to see a development company not shy away from a steep difficulty curve. On the easier settings Hitman: Absolution was fairly simple, guards had poor reaction times and there were way less of them. Ramp the difficulty level up however and you’re in for a serious battle. Hitman: Absolution was no walk over in the slightest when it came to its hardest difficulty settings and this had the potential to test even the most hardcore of gamers.

Hitman: Absolution was the perfect sequel to Hitman: Blood Money and it provided the perfect balance between familiar and new content for fans of the series and newcomers looking to dip their toe in for the first time. Hitman: Absolution was an experience unlike any other this year, providing challenging, interesting and thought-provoking gameplay that shouldn’t be missed by anyone who calls themselves a gamer. Well done IO Interactive, you’ve placed number 9 in our list of the best games of 2012!

The future is bright for Hitman after such a wonderful return.

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