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Hitman keeps the stealth-genre alive and kicking | HITMAN World of Assassination - Full Review

11K View2023-01-30

In a world full of disappointing sequels, reboots, and spiritual successors. We have one of the rarest examples of a franchise that has gotten better in time in HITMAN World of Assassination.

🟩Pros

+Three games for the price of one

+The best the stealth genre has to offer

+Open-ended gameplay with an abundance of choices presented to the player

+Unique open-world sandbox levels each with their own layers of variety

+Highly replayable

🟥Cons

-Minor production problems in the second game that affected the storytelling presentation

The classics were all great and memorable in their own right with their innovative gameplay and unique sandbox levels. The one considered the black sheep of the series in Hitman Absolution, also had a great impact in the series by attracting a new generation of audiences thanks to its streamlined controls and mechanics. Now, the developers - IO Interactive - have combined the best aspect of all those games in crafting the new Hitman Trilogy.

Three games for the price of one

There are three games in the recent Hitman trilogy. Owning any title in the trilogy will allow you access its ported content in any later titles. You can play Hitman 1 levels in Hitman 2, and you can play both Hitman 1 and 2 levels in Hitman 3, including all the minor gameplay and graphical improvements.

Now, the three games have been merged into one game named HITMAN World of Assassination. The base Hitman 3 has been converted to that title, with the two previous games included already as playable levels, free for Hitman 3 owners.

HITMAN World of Assassination, or the series as a whole, is a stealth-action sandbox game series that puts us in the shoes of the genetically engineered clone named Agent 47, a highly skilled assassin working for an organization called the International Contract Agency. The entire premise of the franchise is centered around Agent 47 taking different contracts across the globe, setting the stage for the different multinational sandbox levels that acts as our stealth murder playground.

Gameplay Analysis

The sandbox setup for the level of HITMAN World of Assassination is its trademark gameplay style, where you are free to experiment and do your own style of assassinations. You are just given the target(s) and placed in an open world sandbox map with varying degrees of openness and map design that will keep you busy for hours, especially if you like to experiment and explore the possibilities of the map.

Some maps will even have two or more varieties in them, layer after layer; for example, you might find a laboratory, hidden inside a cave, under a mobster mansion, located on an Italian seaside tourist spot open world map. Giving you immense freedom and engaging you like no other stealth game.

Hitman’s levels will take you to multiple locations across continents. Ranging from a typical American suburb or a luxury Thai hotel, to a densely packed fashion show in Paris or a secret society meeting on a private island, most of them are usually either heavily guarded, a public place, or a social event. It’s a nice thing to be able to alternate between different locations and cultures level after level, providing a lot of map variety both visually and mechanically.

The abundance of options the game gives you are almost infinite in possibilities. Whether it be in stealth where you can either go loud or silent, use disguises taken from almost any NPCs, distractions, or pure sneaking prowess; In killing where you can use a high caliber sniper from a far, stage an accident using the environment, or just simply poison your target.

The progression system

While the entire gameplay setup is entertaining enough on its own just like the classic Hitman games, it doesn’t just end there, as Hitman features a deep progression system that is filled with different types of gear and gadgets to unlock just by playing the game; Trying to achieve decent ranking at the end of each level or completing the different unique challenges, like trying to kill the target with a specific weapon, or causing a specific event to happen. You might even spend hours and hours replaying the same mission trying to experiment, all while mastering the layout.

New Game Mode

And as if the game isn’t sandbox enough, there is also a sort of an endgame rogue-like mode called Freelancer where the campaign and levels are truly sandbox and randomized. There are minimal scripted events and no more narrative driving it forward. You also have a personal hideout / safehouse wherein you can customize and personalize to your liking. This is a separate mode that is almost a game of its own and breathes another life into it.

The Narrative

Aside from the creative gameplay or the addicting progression system, there is also the overarching story of Agent 47 that divides the levels into three campaigns. One that deals with Agent 47’s personal relationships and history, with an intriguing mystery that goes deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole, culminating in the third campaign.

Due to budget issues during the production of the second game, Hitman 2’s cutscenes were severely affected, going from Hitman 1’s photorealistic CGI cutscenes to somewhat static slideshows to tell the story. Fortunately, Hitman 3’s cutscenes have found a middle ground between the two, and just used an enhanced render of the in-engine graphics for the cutscenes.

This story is actually decent despite being simple: just your typical revenge / digging-into-the-past cliche. Unfortunately, it is largely overshadowed by the amazing gameplay, ultimately becoming something that just serves to move the gameplay forward and jump between different levels. If you repeat a level enough times, you might even actually forget about the story.

Technical Analysis

Despite being heavily CPU bound due to its sandbox and simulation nature, HITMAN ran exceptionally well on my system. (RTX 3080, i7-8700k, 32GB Ram). It also has proper support for all the niche PC features that one might expect like DLSS, FSR, and Ultrawide resolutions. The current-gen looking graphics have been mostly retained throughout the three games, with almost no discernable differences, aside from the added ray tracing support.

It's a great deal, especially for those who haven’t gotten around to playing the whole trilogy, or have started it at 1 and have not been able to continue playing the sequels. That means 21 sandbox levels are available for you to play, along with 3 campaigns and a couple of side and bonus missions. If you buy the deluxe pack, you even get more missions.

Conclusion:

The current peak of the Hitman series, HITMAN World of Assassination keeps the stealth-genre alive and kicking with its creative open-ended gameplay and a delightful collection of sandbox levels to explore, experiment, and master. All bundled in an incredibly good deal.

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