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View Full Version : Hitman: Contracts reviewed, 8.4 by IGN



OuFtb
04-17-2004, 05:14 PM
If hurling millions of bullets per second at aliens has got you down lately, and you're bored of first-person Vietnam war games, than IO Interactive's new Hitman: Contracts will be like a cool breeze on a hot summer day. By that, I mean a cool summer breeze with a Garrote around your throat, but you get the picture. Hitman: Contracts, the third game in Eidos' series, is by no means a revolutionary step in the stealth genre, in fact, it's only a little more than a basic upgrade from Hitman 2: Silent Assassin. But the pure exploration of stealth gameplay is relatively unmatched in any game on any system. IO has once again created a strategic game of ploys, guises and choices, tailor made with a genuinely brilliant sense of pacing, intelligently designed levels, each layered with dozens of ways to beat them, and enormous sense of style and delivery.

Gameplay
IO Interactive's title is a vaguely named game for a reason. I'm not certain how good that reason ends up being, but thought was put behind it. When I first heard the name, I thought it was going to be a collection of random levels, like a "best of" game. It turns out that's not far from the truth. The story begins with Agent 47 limping into an apartment with a serious body wound and need of a doctor. During this period of pain and suffering, Agent 47 flashes back to missions he once completed, and you get to play them out. Some of them are indeed levels you have played before, or close to them, anyway, including the first level wherein our bald killer escapes from the hospital in which he's just murdered his maker. A little Biblical, perhaps. The level is from Hitman 1 and players must get out of the complex before getting caught. Seems like a well disguised repackaging of goods, no?

The answer is not all that simple. Agent 47's flashbacks, and his pain, grow more and more intense, and each one transforms into a former mission, predominantly ones you've never played before. The story is told in this scattered, hazy fashion with a concrete sense of pacing and logic, but also with a purposely hidden motive, which his to bring Agent 47 back into the present and then progress. I'll spare you the story, but the story, it turns out, doesn't really play that big a role in this effort. I had figured IO would dig deeper with this Hitman, but that's not the case.

http://xbox.ign.com/articles/507/507246p1.html

Thats just the first couple of paragraph's click the link to read the whole thing, 4 pages, I thought it would get a better score than that, guess I'll have to read the review to see why it got it :D

ScorpionX
04-17-2004, 05:23 PM
The pillow and the meat hook are the best of the bunch. The pillow works in a number of ways. Players can simply suffocate an enemy, or they can take a handgun and shoot though it against someone's face

OMG yes :hail: :hail: :hail:


I know a lot of people will disagree with this, but I'd choose Hitman over Splinter Cell any day. This game looks incredible, be sure to pick it up April 21st. www.hitmancontracts.com :cool:

SoundX
04-18-2004, 07:55 AM
Sweeeeet! Gotta get this one, what's the age on it? I'm guessing a 15, in which case I might get away with a copy from Game, but if it's a 18 then I'm screwed.

OuFtb
04-18-2004, 09:37 AM
Not sure what you mean about age but the game is rated M for Mature so you have to be 18 to buy, unless you find a store that doesn't care, but all you have to do is get a parent, friend or somone over 18 to buy it for you, thats what I have to do.

CarGuy
04-18-2004, 10:30 AM
I'm looking forward to this. I really enjoyed the last one and I played it long after I beat it. However the last one dropped to $20 incredibly fast so I'll just sit back and wait for the price drop..

Snake Eyez
04-18-2004, 01:54 PM
I recently played the second installment of the hitman series and noticed all that I had been missing. I'm looking forward to this game coming out, even though I sucked at the stealth aspect of the last game.

Sigma
04-18-2004, 11:37 PM
I didn't care for the first two Hitman games much, but Contracts looks like it fixes alot of the problems with the past two games. I will give it a rental.

ghost 009
04-19-2004, 06:32 AM
I had hitman 2 and I plan on getting 3 around my birthday if I have any money.

skorp
04-20-2004, 01:02 AM
That's it?!..

An 8.4?... O C'mon now... :yikes: hehee...


I really enjoyed the last Hitman game Silent Assassin and looking forward to Contracts in two days...

A balance between Stealth and Chaos! :cheers:

Unreal
04-20-2004, 10:24 AM
I plan on getting it, but RalliSport Challenge comes first.