![]() Even with the changes in Hitman 3, which are perhaps more significant than any changes in the previous games, it’s hard not to have a slight feeling of “been there, done that” at times. I’ve put so many hours into the Hitman games, played every variant on established maps I can, and drank in the wonderously decadent bonus missions IO produced. The underwhelming part is largely down to having too much of a good thing. The finale offers up the biggest shift in structure of the entire trilogy, with a remarkable blend of concentrated freedom. ![]() I’ll be a little more discreet on the final two levels, but I will say they are perhaps the clearest examples in this trilogy of IO Interactive’s desire to make a James Bond game. Before you even get in the front door, a murder has occurred and a Poirot-esque super sleuth has arrived to solve the case.Ĭhina’s neon and rain-soaked level bring another spin on the now-classic Sapienza formula of a public place with an underground secret. It takes place in a sprawling country mansion in Dartmoor, England. The early standout showcase of these changes is found in the second episode. Hitman 3 plays with that structure, not only feeding narrative consequences from one stage to the next, and offering up even more varied runs from A to B, but also offering interesting tweaks such as persistent shortcuts that, once discovered, permanently open up new routes around areas, giving you a greater amount of options to approach your mission from. Location, Location, LocationĪs good as Hitman 2’s levels were, they still fell broadly into the same kind of structure as the first game. After all, nobody puts throwable bananas in a game without daring you to find a way to make amusing use of them. The important thing is that IO designed its levels with this in mind. I enjoy the game just as much when I’m clobbering guards with a wet floor sign as I do when coolly slipping past security to close in on my prey. There are satisfyingly calculated assassinations where it looks entirely like an accident, and then there are times you just send a target plummeting off a roof by lobbing an expertly timed breakfast muffin at their head.ĭespite its story’s stoic approach and the fact that your job is to be a professional murderer, Hitman 3 is still very much a master of dark slapstick comedy. Either way, experimenting in different runs through a level unlocks more places to start from, new gadgets to play with, and better knowledge of the level’s inner-workings.Ĭompleting the six episodes is relatively quick and easy, but Hitman’s combination of immersive sim tomfoolery with sandbox murder puzzles is what makes each so immensely replayable. If that’s too much hassle, the game does allow for the player to be directed to potential opportunities for a perfect kill. Agent 47 can acquire disguises, keys and keycards to get into off-limits areas, but he can also simply sneak in an open window, pry open a locked door, or blast his way in (which is not really the point of Hitman, but it’s always nice to have that option).ĭepending on how much of a challenge you prefer, the game will either let you figure it out on your own, exploring every nook and cranny, listening in on NPC conversations for clues, and trying your luck. The beauty of the levels is discovering just how many options they offer to accomplish your task (which is mostly ‘kill these people’, but also requires you to pick up some vital information or an important item). ![]() These episodes are self-contained levels, mini-sandboxes that have their own extra rules and quirks to crack. In that respect, the trilogy tag is perfectly suited, but each entry has six individual ‘episodes’ (the one constant kept over from the original episodic model).
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