Halo 2 

The original Halo was a driving force in creating a substantial market share against Sony and Nintendo, and expectations for the sequel were naturally high. Halo 2 delivered upon those expectations in spades, combining an adrenaline-pumping story with a comprehensive suite of multiplayer options making for an experience that keeps you hooked and doesn’t let go. Hundreds of thousands of fans would have fond memories of duking it out against friends, and Halo 2 might just be the defining Xbox experience for a majority of those fans.

Developed by Feral Interactive, Reprisal is billed as a “revitalized” version of Blood Money, the fourth mainline Hitman game, which originally released in 2006. The developer describes Reprisal as “a comprehensive reworking” of the original game, which will feature various enhancements, including a new minimap, the addition of Instinct Mode, and several gameplay improvements from later instalments in the series being retroactively implemented.

Reprisal is being developed for iOS, Android, and Nintendo Switch, and will, as such, feature a fully customizable touchscreen interface, as well as controller support. Keyboard and mouse support has also been confirmed.

Hitman: Blood Money – Reprisal will launch this Fall for iOS and Android devices, and this Winter for the Nintendo Switch.

Invisible, Inc.

Invisible, Inc. is a turn-based tactics game where two agents are selected to complete increasingly challenging espionage missions. You have three days to find out what led to your organization being compromised, find the enemy headquarters and insert the AI Incognita into their systems to ensure her survival. With various missions providing different intel and resources, it’s a tense and thrilling race against the clock to find out the truth.

Bathhouse – Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

Of the many places that Sam Fisher has infiltrated, you wouldn’t think a bathhouse in Tokyo would provide many challenges. Nevertheless, Chaos Theory’s Bathhouse mission, which involves gaining entry into the location and discovering Douglas Shetland’s contact, is surprisingly tense. After Fisher eavesdrops on the conversation, he’ll then need to survive a battle between the I-SDF and mercenaries before subsequently neutralizing Shetland’s bombs. On the plus side, at least the player can decide to stab or throw Shetland off the roof instead of shooting him since Sam finds it more courteous (we think).

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

The Metal Gear Solid franchise had always been known for its cinematic story-telling and excellent stealth mechanics. But Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater took things in a somewhat different direction, removing the series’ signature radar and emphasizing the environment as one’s greatest tool. Camouflage, CQC mechanics and even some light survival mechanics also added to the feeling of being behind enemy lines while delivering the signature characterization and complex plot that fans loved.

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.

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory – Panama Bank

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory had its fair amount of action but the Panama Bank level is where stealth reigned supreme. Your mission was to steal $50,000,000 in bearer bonds, which must be done by authorizing vault access from three different panels in the building. Getting into the bank is going to be your first obstacle – the only real option is through the roof and once inside, you’ll need to deal with laser sensors, cameras, motion sensors and guards. Though Chaos Theory wouldn’t end a mission if an alarm was triggered, Panama Bank was still nerve-wracking in its own right.

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.

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