HITMAN: Definitive Edition is available now from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and IO Interactive for PlayStation 4 Pro, PlayStation 4, Xbox One X and Xbox One. This is my review (on Xbox One):
Developed by IO Interactive, the HITMAN: Definitive Edition brings together all previously released content and game updates from the first season of HITMAN, in addition to new in-game disguises for Agent 47 inspired by classic IO Interactive titles – Freedom Fighters, Kane & Lynch and Mini Ninjas – celebrating the Danish studio’s 20th anniversary.
The HITMAN: Definitive Edition features the following content:
- IO Interactive’s 20th Anniversary Outfit Bundle – Three new outfits inspired by Freedom Fighters, Kane & Lynch and Mini Ninjas
- HITMAN Season One (Main Game) – Seven exotic locations from the first season, including Paris, Sapienza, Marrakesh, Bangkok, Colorado and Hokkaido, along with the ICA Facility
- HITMAN Game of the Year Edition Content – Four missions from the Patient Zero Campaign, three themed Escalation Contracts that unlock three unique weapons, as well as the Clown Suit, Cowboy Suit and Raven Suit from the recent Game of the Year Edition digital release
- HITMAN Summer Bonus Episode – Featuring ICA bonus missions in Sapienza and Marrakesh
- HITMAN: Blood Money Requiem Pack – Including the Requiem Suit, Pale Duck Explosive and ICA Chrome Pistol
- All featured Contracts, Escalation Contracts, Challenge Packs and game updates from HITMANSeason One and the HITMAN Game of the Year Edition
Review:
Turns out I suck at murder. Initially I thought this was a bad thing after constantly failing the various complex assassination missions throughout Hitman: Definitive Edition, but maybe this is a great thing. Do we really want to be great at murder? I think we do not. Hitman: Definitive Edition collects all of the material released from various packs and downloadable content that was made available during season one of the game and I love how jampacked this sucker is right off the bat. You really do feel like you’ve just hit the Hitman jackpot in terms of bang for your buck and the game looks absolutely stunning in high-definition. From the massive crowds of NPC’s who all look and act VERY real for the most part, to the gorgeous and varied locations all over the world, this latest Hitman game is easily one of the most beautiful videogames I’ve ever played. It’s shocking to see how far the Hitman series has come over the years.
The game kicks off with some snazzy recap of previous contracts that Agent 47 has pulled off from past games, before you’re recruited by a mysterious handler and you immediately begin training on how to pull of various kills in the game. The variety and volume of ways in which you can pull of your assassinations is staggering. You can certainly go in guns blazing and just start blasting through a crowd of people to nail your target (though guards or police will likely take you out long before you have a clear shot at your main target) or you can sneak in as part of the staff and either poison your victim, strangle them, drop a chandelier on their face, bomb them, stab them, throw a crowbar at their head, you name it – there are so many clever and fun ways to KILL in this game that John Wick would blush just thinking about that one time he infamously used a pencil.
Now, because there are so many ways to get to your targets, there are also just as many ways to fail or blow your cover. It happened to me time and time again just from wearing the wrong outfit and walking towards the wrong people after just taking 10 minutes of time to perfectly set up my kill scenario. It was maddening on more than one occasion to see my beautifully laid plans go up in smoke because I looked at the wrong guard while wearing the wrong set of clothes etc. Hitman rewards perfection and innovation: these things are tough to achieve in a game like Hitman: Definitive Edition when most gamers are used to just plowing through a game machineguns blasting in all directions – no shits given. On the flipside of failure however, when you actually do pull off a Silent Assassin reward (eliminating your target perfect and precisely) the payoff feels glorious. There’s something incredibly satisfying walking to a mission exit unnoticed after pulling off the kill of the century. I did manage to achieve this a couple times, but for the most part you’d likely find me resorting to blasting my target in the face with a firearm and then trying to run out of a crowded location while security hunts me down and eventually kills me after I’m cornered in a bathroom or closet somewhere.
I’ve played nearly all of the older Hitman games and this latest definitive edition is hands down the best of the franchise. From the beautiful graphics and exotic locales, to the incredible assortment of kills you’re able to pull off, the game succeeds in spite of it’s difficulty level for impatient jerks such as myself. I did have issues with the controls as well and when I entered panic mode it became a nightmare trying to find the right weapon without being spotted. It’s no fun pulling out a coin when I should be reaching for a silenced gun but it happens… It would be nice to have Hitman move a bit more athletically too – ala The Assassin’s Creed games, but Agent 47 moves with the grace of a murderous idiot Frankenstein. That being said, even though the game is flawed mechanically and the difficulty level can be daunting, the positives still outweigh the negatives and specifically here with the definitive edition – the amount of content included is glorious.
Rating: [star rating=”4″]
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