World of Tomorrow – Hitman: Sapienza

Set in a fictional Italian town, your main mission is to sneak into the mansion, eliminate Silvio Caruso and Francesca De Santis, and then destroy the DNA-specific virus. With imaginative opportunities – like making Caruso believe his deceased mother is haunting him or stealing a uniform and keycard from a grieving scientist to infiltrate the lab – Sapienza is immaculately designed. Its gorgeous scenery makes subsequent playthroughs all the more enjoyable.

BioWare – Anthem

Say what you will about Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age: Inquisition and even Mass Effect Andromeda – on some level, all of those games had something going for them. Not so in the case of Anthem, which released in a horrible state and probably has the worst post-launch support of any games-as-a-service title yet. It’s not the terrible loot drops, boring combat, lack of customization, barren end-game or plentiful glitches that gets us – it’s that BioWare, famous for some of the best RPGs ever made, couldn’t even string together a decent story to tell.

Let’s take up Hitman Blood Money first. On the PC, the game recommends a Pentium 4 2.4Ghz or Athlon XP/64-bit equivalent, 1024MB RAM, ATI X800 series or Nvidia GeForce 6800 series or higher video card. Obviously, these requirements are outdated compared to our test build which includes a GTX 1080Ti, 16GB of GDDR4 memory and Ryzen 1700 CPU. There is a specific reason why we are listing out these requirements which we will get into in a bit. The PS4 Pro and Xbox One X versions on the other hand feature resolution support at 4K and a rock solid 60 frames per second with increased texture resolution and heightened shadow map and mirror resolutions compared to their predecessors. These kinds of improvements are expected given the modern hardware’s capabilities. What is not expected is the fact that the original PC version still manages to top the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X versions in a couple of noticeable parameters. First up is the anti-aliasing solution. The PC version presents a crisp image quality with very little jaggies. The console versions however have noticeable jaggies on distant objects. The overall lighting effects seems to be better on the PC version as well. We are not entirely sure why such an old game is able to excel on the PC and the remastered version is filled with the shortcomings mentioned above. This is rather surprising result given that an almost 13 year old PC port is able to render better visuals than the ones found on the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X.

There is also very little to differentiate between the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X versions. Besides the resolution difference, both platforms run at solid 60 frame per second and share the same quality of assets.

So, overall, in the case of Hitman Blood Money. A 13 year old port is shockingly a better version than what we have now in 2019 on the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. This comes off as a big surprise to us given that the recommended requirements of the PC version are simply outclassed by the hardware found in the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. This was the reason why we mentioned the hardware requirements of the original PC build. But does this narrative continue in Hitman Absolution? But before we go into that, let’s talk a bit about the game.

Besides being a drastic deviation from the core Hitman experience, Absolution was our first real look into current generation technology. The crowd rendering tech along with crowd AI was simply put ahead of its time. The level of visual fidelity, partial support for physical based rendering and post processing effects was at an all together different level. So, it’s interesting to see how a maxed out PC build compares against the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X versions.

The PC version requires an Intel Core i7 or AMD Athlon II X4, 4GB of memory and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 or ATI Radeon HD 5770. Our test build was similar to the one we used for Blood Money. Revisiting Absolution almost 7 years later was a rather pleasant experience. It’s shocking to see how good this game still looks. The lighting model along with detailed character models and rich environmental design makes Absolution standout even in 2019. There are a decent number of graphical settings that can be tweaked to your liking. For the purpose of this test, we notched up everything to Ultra and the results were surprising. The PC version of Absolution, just like Blood Money boasts better anti-aliasing solution, lighting model and anisotropic filtering. In fact, the anisotropic filtering solution seems to be inconsistent on the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X with distant ground surfaces showcasing broken filtering or late filtering.

Between the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X versions, there is hardly anything to choose from. Both versions target 4K resolution and 60 frames per second. Performance is solid across the board except in some intense sequences where there is  a lot of explosion and destruction. The frame rate drop during these sequences wasn’t drastic but noticeable. Also, we came across a sequence in the PS4 Pro version where a loading screen popped up whilst opening a door. We are not sure whether this is a bug or not but it certainly was jarring.

So, overall, just like Blood Money, the PC version of Absolution is the better version to play on. This is not to say that this collection is a bad effort on current gen consoles. But the truth is that these consoles are powerful enough to run 7 to 13 year old games better than the original PC versions of that time. Overall, this collection seems like a missed opportunity. Hitman games have always served as benchmark for assessing the capabilities of consoles. Hitman 2016 was the perfect benchmark for the PS4 and Xbox One, and the recently released Hitman 2 did the same for the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. This collection does not do justice to these upgraded consoles, specially when one puts the original PC versions in context.

However, this collection serves as an opportunity for players who have missed out on playing these games. The gameplay in Blood Money has aged quite well and in hindsight Absolution feels and plays like a solid package too. Overall, there is great value for players here. We only wished that developers did more with the package rather than simply improving basic parameters like resolution and frame rate.

After a surprise announcement earlier this month, the Hitman HD Enhanced Collection is now out on PS4 and Xbox One. The package contains the two titles- Hitman: Blood Money and Hitman Absolution. These two titles have been remastered and now play in crisp 4K at a steady 60 FPS. There has been some streamlining of the controls in order to make it more accessible and less cumbersome for newcomers but game balance hasn’t been altered at all. This experience is the same one that long-time fans should be familiar, but only at a much-appreciated higher resolution.

"There has been some streamlining of the controls in order to make it more accessible and less cumbersome for newcomers but game balance hasn’t been altered at all. This experience is the same one that long-time fans should be familiar with only at a much-appreciated higher resolution."

Let’s start off talking about Blood Money. Long considered to be the high point of the franchise, this title is comprised of multiple mini-sandboxes that require you to use cunning and creativity in order to take out your targets. You play as Agent 47 as you stealth, disguise, and kill through your missions in pursuit of your assigned target. You’ll globetrot across plenty of locales and won’t be wanting for variety in levels.

There is a story to Blood Money but it’s mostly used as a means to introduce more and more interesting missions throughout the game. The story is told through a present-day format and gameplay takes place as you flashback and realize these hits out. These also another assassination entity known as “The Franchise” that you must contend with during your play. Though the story does take some interesting turns, you can tell that the crux of this title lies within its gameplay rather than its compelling storyline.

But as it turns out, the title isn’t too hurt by this focus on gameplay. Not when the gameplay is so strong. You start off each mission by selecting the weapons that you’ll have access to, from your classic Silverballers to a high-power sniper rifle. After that, you’re given a target or two and set down in the level, free to plan and prepare however you wish. Though this may be imposing for a newcomer to the franchise, most of the areas are actually quite easy to digest. Levels usually follow a formula of being fairly simple on the surface but with many hidden routes dispersed through as you become more familiar with the area. If this isn’t enough, you can also purchase hints from the pause menu which can lead you in the right direction.

Classical music is central motif in Blood Money and that’s not by accident. Just as a composer needs to carefully place each note in its designated place, employing the right instrument and the appropriate amount of volume, you must set up and execute your missions in a sensible way, using the right tools and not allowing for any unexpected variables. This means taking out enemies quietly, hiding bodies, taking the clothes of others in order to gain entry into restricted areas.

"Long considered to be the high point of the franchise, Blood Money is comprised of multiple mini-sandboxes that require you to use cunning and creativity in order to take out your targets."

You are graded on how expertly you finish a mission and you can tell how well you did by reading a newspaper article talking about the murder. If you were sloppy and left witnesses, the newspaper will include more details about you and the following missions will have tighter security. In this way, you’re rewarded for playing as stealthily as possible.

Stealth fans should definitely give Blood Money a go. Even those sitting on the fence should give Blood Money a try. Despite the hardcore reputation that it’s received from fans, the game is surprisingly forgiving to mistakes and you almost always have the tools at your disposal to worm your way out of a sticky situation. Blood Money is all about giving you the freedom to kill your targets how you want. And whether that be from tampering of a victim’s food or through a machine-gun massacre, both are accepted by the game.

The second game in this collection is Hitman Absolution. It’s an interesting choice to pair up with Blood Money because in many ways, they are each other’s opposite. While Absolution does give you choices and lets you loose in situations that have multiple potential solutions, the games could not have more different priorities. This is a title that may have been a result of the times when it was being developed or maybe due to publisher demands, but in a franchise that has essentially been refining the same formula repeatedly over each entry, this title is a huge deviation.

Whereas Blood Money’s storyline was more-or-less window dressing for the gameplay, Absolution is far more interested in telling a story and having a protagonist with pathos. The cold-blooded killer Agent 47 is given a “daughter” character to protect and is suddenly very forthcoming with the doubts that come along with his line of work. Absolution also leans heavily on dramatic set-pieces that see Agent 47 escaping exploding building and running away from helicopters on rooftops. These choices all come together in a way that don’t seem to coincide with the Hitman brand. This title probably would have been better received by players had it not been called Hitman, but that doesn’t mean this is a bad game at all.

"Compared to Blood Money’s loose structure, Absolution is much more directed. Due to the more streamlined approach Absolution takes, you’re focused down a direct path and the possibilities for creativity are more limited. However, what the game gives up in creativity, it makes up for in variety."

Compared to Blood Money’s loose structure, Absolution is much more directed. Due to the more streamlined approach Absolution takes, you’re focused down a direct path and the possibilities for creativity are more limited. However, what the game gives up in creativity, it makes up for in variety. You’ll constantly be going through new areas and will encounter more carefully constructed guard rotations and obstacles. So while Blood Money had levels that were sprawling collections of choices, Absolution is more like a series of environmental puzzles you must figure out before you move onto the next.

Gameplay is quite a bit different in Absolution as well. You control much more smoothly than in Blood Money and have more options for stealth and combat in this title. Due to story circumstances, you don’t have access to your arsenal during missions and have to find usable equipment strewn throughout the environment. While this allows the developers to more carefully craft your experience, it sometimes streamlines a playstyle too harshly. You usually end up finding equipment when it would be most useful. So when you find a sniper rifle left out on a table, you know that the best place to use it is right nearby. Again, this isn’t a bad thing but it is a massive deviation from the Hitman gameplay of titles past.

Another tweak to gameplay that Absolution brings in is with its Instinct mechanic. With a button press, enemies and environmental objects are highlighted. While this already has the risk of making the game too easy, the mechanic doubles down by showing you the walking path of an enemy as well, letting you know exactly when a guard will be past your position. This mechanic is a good tool for letting newcomers to this genre enjoy the game but it is easily abusable. Having such a powerful tool at your disposal at all times can end up deflating a lot of the tension from sneaking around dozens of enemies at a time. Instead of Sam Fisher, you end up feeling like Frogger, watching your enemies from safety and only moving when you’re positive there’s an opening.

Disguises also work a little differently in Absolution. When you are disguised, other NPCs that share that uniform will be able to see through your disguise if you stay around them too long. The Instinct mechanic also ties into disguises as well. By using instinct, you can walk by suspicious NPCs without any alarms being raised. Though it’s not a bad idea by itself, it’s far too easily abused. If you have a lot of instinct saved up, you can end up walking right by a large group of enemies that would otherwise need to be stealthed around. So while this is an interesting idea, the Instinct mechanic once again neuters the tension involved with it.

"Those players who live for the freedom to do whatever they want will balk at Absolution’s restrictions. And those who are looking for a more structured title will find Blood Money’s unfocused gameplay unfulfilling. Ultimately, I think that both of these games are worth playing."

Although it was initially derided by fans upon its release, looking back with hindsight shows off a much more competent title. Though it is worlds away from the more open gameplay of Blood Money, Absolution is a worthwhile title all on its own just for the refined gameplay and the constant new obstacles thrown your way.

Earlier I said how I thought it was an interesting choice to include both of these titles in the same package. It’s interesting because both of these games will appeal to completely different players. Those players who live for the freedom to do whatever they want will balk at Absolution’s restrictions. And those who are looking for a more structured title will find Blood Money’s unfocused gameplay unfulfilling. Ultimately, I think that both of these games are worth playing. They’re both quality titles in their own ways. But however good they both are, you should be prepared to only really love one of the titles in this collection.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

If you’re still busy burning through IO Interactive’s Hitman 2 but want even more Hitman after that, then there’s good news for you. The developer has announced the Hitman HD Enhanced Collection, which offers Hitman: Blood Money and Hitman: Absolution in 4K and running at 60 FPS. An announcement seemed a given, since both games were rated by PEGI back in November.

Along with 4K resolution and 60 FPS frame rate, both games will have various other improvements to their visuals. Texture resolution has been increased and texture formats have been upgraded. Upscale support, super-sampling, improved lighting, updated controls, and “heightened” shadow map and mirror resolutions also make up the improvements.

Hitman HD Enhanced Collection is out on January 11th for PS4 and Xbox One, so we won’t have to wait long to get our hands on it. Meanwhile, Hitman 2 continues to see updates – the last one in December offered numerous fixes and tweaks to the game. That’s not including the various Elusive Targets and Escalation Contracts added thus far.

https://twitter.com/hitman/status/1081188502237339650

With Hitman 2 almost upon us, for those who’re looking to relive the old days of the Hitman series, there might be some good news coming. Hitman: Absolution and Hitman: Blood Money might be receiving the remaster treatment soon, if recent ratings by the Pan European Game Information ratings board, or PEGI, are anything to go by.

Age ratings for both Hitman titles have been put up by PEGI. Hitman: Blood Money’s rating suggests that the game is going to be released for PS4 and Xbox One, while Absolution’s rating mentions a PC version as well. Both have a release date of 25th September attached, which is, of course, more than one month in the past, but it’s possible that those could be placeholder dates, since neither of these two remasters have been announced officially yet.

As it stands right now, both games are playable on Xbox One via backwards compatibility, with Absolution being added to the program last year and Blood Money following in September of this year. The PEGI ratings for both also list Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment as the publisher, who’re also IO Interactive’s publishing partners for the upcoming Hitman 2.

Of course, this isn’t a confirmation, but if this were to be true, it’d be very good news indeed. Hitman: Blood Money is often considered by fans of the series to be the best game in the series, and while Absolution is more of a black sheep, it’s still a pretty good game that series fans might enjoy.

Hitman 2, meanwhile, is out on November 13 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Hitman Absolution

To be perfectly clear, it’s not like Hitman Absolution was terrible. It just failed to really capitalize on what made the series so popular – the sandbox levels that encouraged experimentation and all manner of interesting assassinations. The story was fine and the visuals top-notch but without its rich sandbox, Absolution felt like a stop-gap rather than a real step forward.

There are a few spoilers ahead, a few of them major, others not so much, while there are also none at all in some cases. In any case, if you see us beginning to talk about a game you don’t want spoiled, go away.

ORCS- (MIDDLE-EARTH: SHADOW OF WAR)

Shadow of War is centred around one concept- the domination of orcs. Whether it’s through disintegration of their forces by killing their captains, or by recruiting them to make them fight for you instead, that’s the central theme of the game. One other way to do that is by using a mechanic called “Shaming”, which essentially allows your character to break an orc mentally to lower its level. If you do it enough, though, it can have truly horrific consequences. An orc can go from vowing vengeance against you for shaming it, to eventually begging you to stop the constant torture by just killing it once and for all, to ultimately literally losing its mind completely, and not being able to speak. No one deserves this- not even the Uruk-Hai.

Another day, another game has been offered up for the Xbox One backwards compatible program. This time around, that game is Hitman: Absolution.

The game was first released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC back in 2012 and when it released it had quite a few issues. Once those launch problems were fixed, Absolution ended up being a pretty great game. Some might even say it’s one of, if not the best Hitman games on the previous generation.

IO Interactive announced back in February of 2016 they would eventually be bringing this game to the Xbox One backwards compatible program. If you have never played this game before and you’re not sure it’s worth the cash to get it on the Xbox One, you can always check out our five reasons why you should play the game. Then you can grab the game and go to town.

Over the years, Agent 47 evolved into a character, his missions, methods and the world he occupied expanding ever more. Players had more creative means to take out their targets. Worlds were more open than before, prompting different ways to kill off your opposition. That was until Hitman: Absolution implemented a fair amount of linearity into missions.

"With Hitman 6, IO Interactive seems poised to go back to the open nature of the franchise. More details are pending but the new Hitman game will rely on the power of the Xbox One and PS4 to carry its open-ended maps."

Though the crux of the game still encouraged different methods for bypassing encounters, it was by and large a single-player rollercoaster ride and not the open world sandbox that the Xbox 360 and PS3 could potentially deliver.

With Hitman 6, IO Interactive seems poised to go back to the open nature of the franchise. More details are pending but the new Hitman game will rely on the power of the Xbox One and PS4 to carry its open-ended maps.

On the one hand, we’re happy that the developer is going back to what made the series popular. And who doesn’t like the ability to do things differently at more than a few points in the game?

However, there have been several other games in the past few years which have tried to implement more open-ended levels for players to hop, jump and kill through. Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes got it right for the most part but it was severely impacted by its overall length. Assassin’s Creed: Unity had the right idea but flubbed it all with its repetitive missions, glitches and a story that chose to focus on its Romeo & Juliet-esque leads more than the historical significance of events transpiring in the shadows.

At this point, you would wonder if there are many open-ended stealth games that have gotten it right. Dying Light has a good amount of hype around it and it will be worth seeing just how well the stealth plays out. However, it would seem the best example of a game where you can truly plan out your assassinations in an open ended environment – albeit in a campaign of short length – is Arkane Studios’ Dishonored. That had the benefit of magic and steampunk – what will Hitman 6 rely on?

"IO Interactive has, for the most part, always delivered a compelling release devoid of bugs and other issues. For the problems that Hitman: Absolution presented for the franchise, it was still one of the best games of 2012..."

How often can IO Interactive rely on the same gritty settings, the same Gotham-like noir and the same grim characters to carry its tone forward? Granted, there’s plenty you can do with those elements when it comes to presenting a well-rounded story and game. How different will it feel from Hitman: Absolution except that you have more options and freedom for planning out your killings?

It’s not as though severely changing the tone will automatically make things better – there are many who found issue with Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes’ emphasis on explicit violence and the all too real consequences of war.

Thankfully, these are only a few obstacles plaguing the Hitman franchise. IO Interactive has, for the most part, always delivered a compelling release devoid of bugs and other issues. For the problems that Hitman: Absolution presented for the franchise, it was still one of the best games of 2012, carrying the franchise forward with its visuals and mission editor. It sold 8 million copies worldwide since its release so there’s plenty that IO Interactive did right.

The question now remains as to how the franchise will be carried forward in light of all the advancements – and all the glitches – that many open world games have been seeing. Hitman 6 could very well redefine the franchise or even the genre. It could also just be really, really good. Is either a bad option in the end?