Hitman returns to Xbox in this latest instalment in the series. You control the actions of hitman Agent 47 (the bald guy in the black suit) as he travels the globe taking out certain targets for cash. Not really following the story from his last outing in Hitman 2 but more a look into Agent 47’s past, the story begins with a scene of Agent 47 bleeding and in serious trouble from a gunshot wound. As he drifts in and out of consciousness the player delves into his mind and relives some of his past missions.

Gameplay:

Hitman is a mixture of third person or first person action as the player steps into the shoes of Agent 47. Able to control the viewpoint at anytime during the game offers players the best of both worlds. In my opinion the viewpoint is really down to personal preference. Controlling Agent 47 is easy for anyone who has played a computer game before and allows players to get to grips with the mission rather than fiddly controls and menus.

Your objectives across the levels remain pretty much the same as with all the Hitman games whereby the player has to take out certain heavily guarded targets. This can be easy or hard depending on your play style as the game features a wide variety of choice in which to complete your tasks. Players are given a wide assortment of weaponry to choose. These range from deadly pistols, assault rifles, sniper rifles to your more subtle fibre wire, knives, poisons and a tranquilliser. Now the player decides on how they are going to tackle the situation. As I said before this is all down to player preference as the game offers a lot of choice here. Do you rush in with no regard for anyone and clean up? Or do you sneak in unnoticed and take out your targets only leaving the patrolling guards to themselves?

For those of you wishing to take the stealth route (which many proclaim is the correct way to play the game) will be pleased to know that Agent 47 prefers to use subterfuge instead of hiding in the shadows like some of his peers. This is what separates Hitman from the Solid Snakes and Sam fishers of this world. For those of you unfamiliar with the term subterfuge then in a nut shell translates into infiltrating using some form of disguise to blend into your surroundings. In game terms this means that any downed foe can be stripped of their clothing for Agent 47 to wear. This usually grants him access to areas which are barred. However there is a suspicion meter included to indicate how well his disguise is holding up. Should Agent 47 be in the wrong area with the wrong clothing then guards will get suspicious and perhaps see through his disguise. This tends to mean end of stealth and time for some gun play as the guards don’t hesitate to open fire. For purists this usually means restarting the level and learning from the mistake.

The Hitman series has always offered players alternatives to simply hunting down your target and taking them out manually. Contracts is no exception as it seems the developers have included more points of interaction. These can range from switches to cut power maybe to distract a guard to finding poisons or explosives for that indirect kill. In fact there are a number of hidden ways to complete your tasks on all of the levels and it’s through exploration and multiple plays through the levels that the player will discover these, some being more obvious than others.

Graphically Hitman looks the part with some nicely detailed looking levels. The whole look of the game is very crisp and clear. Some moderate lighting and shadow effects are employed which adds to the atmosphere. The character models are still looking very basic but adequate. Perhaps a few more frames of animation would have made them more realistic rather than the robotic feel that they display.

There are some nice touches of blood splattering walls when enemies are shot and the rag doll physics make a return. However I find these totally overused as sometimes bodies will react as if shot by a grenade launcher when really its only a single pistol shot. The ability to drag and hide bodies makes a welcome return as its also possible to leave a room full of bodies on the floor. Overall the graphics are an improvement over Hitman 2 but only in a subtle way.

Sound:

Jesper Kidd makes a return as the composer for the soundtrack choosing a different style for Contracts. Whereas Hitman 2 opted for a more orchestral flavour Contracts is a lot more electronic and modern sounding. For the environments that Agent 47 has to work in I think the music works well here although I do miss some of the grandeur that the Budapest Orchestra provided last time.

Other sound effects are of a high standard with a lot of voices used for the enemies, all of which speak in their native tongues. The ambient sounds are also well realised and offer to heighten the tension and realism of the game. Although I would recommend turning up the volume to get full effect of this.

Longevity:

Hitman Contracts offers no multiplayer in any way. Unlike Splinter Cell offering players the chance to go head to head, Hitman focuses its replay on the single player alone. As mentioned earlier there are plenty of ways to carry out your tasks which the player will have to discover themselves. Also upon completing each level you are awarded a ranking, this is to encourage player to try again until they gain the highest rank possible, rewarding players who do so. The game features three levels of difficulty meaning the player will have to rethink their plans playing on a harder setting. Overall there is enough here to mess around with to keep you occupied for some time. However if you simply gun your way through the game on the normal difficulty then you will probably end up feeling a little short changed as the game can be completed quite quickly this way.

Overall:

Hitman Contracts is a worthy addition to the series especially for fans still waiting for Hitman 3 to continue the story from the previous game. Most of the changes made to the game are subtle and don’t really add anything new. This can be seen as a good thing seeing as the formula works.

My only real complaint is that they took out a lot of the tension in the game. I guess making it more accessible to the casual gamers that lack patience. In Hitman 2 you were not able run past guards without blowing your cover. This did slow the pace down a lot but made for a more realistic tense experience. Removing this feature has really suffered the game in my opinion and should have had some kind of option to turn it on or off.

Hitman is definitely worth a look and I would say worth buying if you like stealth. For those of you looking for a little more action that requires less brain work then I would say rent this as you will still have a fun few days playing it all gung ho. A solid entertaining title.