I have played this game for 4 hours. I am completely bored out of my brain and very surprised. I have been spotted through walls twice now. Brick Walls. The frame rates are so up and down (im using a 680 + i7+16gb ram). The story is dull and constructed using nothing but boring hollywood cliches. The first 'kill', which could have been so fun is just a cut-scene. YOU CANNOT LOOK THROUGH KEYHOLES ANYMORE. Why IO? Are you mad? NO SAVES = NO EXPERIMENTATION WITHOUT TOTAL RESTART. The gameplay is utterly frustrating and contradicts itself. your disguises are now NOT disguises
unless you hold control - but you can only hold control for about 30 seconds before it runs out and the only way to recharge it is to kill people, but guess what - you lose points for killing people! - so you are both encouraged AND discouraged from Killing simultaneously!!! it makes no sense. Should be called Hitman: Absolutely Ruined. DO not believe the ''official' reviews - most of whom will have been paid and treated to previews in order to get a gain a good review. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid.… Expand

Don't bother buying this game! You won't be able to play it!
People (including me) can't pass the intro screen.
It's so buggy that I'm not even able to play the game.
Not buying another game from Square Enix anytime soon!

I was really looking forward to this title... Sadly, i got disapointed. This is just not Hitman. First of, the graphics are outstanding abd the atmosphere is great too. But thats about it, as far as good points go. Negative aspects imo are:
Totally dumbed down game, shifting the playstyle towards the Splinter-Cell franchise.

No Map -> no mission planning or planning of tactics.
No Sandbox-Levels -> Very linear gameplay
No Weapon Selection or Equipment Selection prior to a mission -> WTF? Why do i even unlock the stuff in the first place? Why preorder? So i only can use the stuff in this contracts mode.... this is a bad joke!
Totally dumb and silly story -> Wtf the Hitman suddenly becomes a like-able, daddy-like character? Sorry, this is the worst Hitman ive seen. Whoever came up with this stuff ruined just an other great Franchise.… Expand

As a long time fan of the hitman series, Absolution feels like a kick in the teeth. Gone are the sprawling sandbox style killing grounds of Blood Money - they have been replaced with tiny linear corridors where your goal very rarely even involves taking out a target. The story is embarrassingly bad and full of more holes than a wheel of swiss cheese, yet IO seems intent on forcing you to absorb it. Each of Absolutions mission objectives is focused on advancing to the next pre-rendered cutscene. I could also mention the **** quick time event driven combat, the broken disguise system where enemies will recognize you from 15 meters away even if you're wearing a mask and have your back turned to them, and the total lack of weapon / equipment selection prior to a mission. If you liked Blood money, stay far away from this It'll break your heart.… Expand

I found in the review of v00d00m4n exactly what i wanted to say. If you were a fan of blood money, don't buy it there is nothing left for you here!

This is honestly the biggest disappointment in my entire 25 year experience of gaming. Hitman was never good because of flashy kills, big drama or fancy graphics. What made this game stand out was the sandbox-like environment where you have to use analytical thinking and make the circumstances work for you. What I had the unpleasure to experience with Absolution was quite different.

Q: How to get the Silent Assassin rating in this game? A: Evidently it's to jump into a wrestling ring in front of a hundred spectators, take off your mask revealing your face to everyone, and conspicuously breaking your target's neck.

This is not a Hitman game anymore, it's rather Splitman Cell: Absoviction, full of linear sneaking levels instead of open world assasinations, quick time events replacing real gameplay and of course the great mechanic of killing multiple enemies with a single mouse click.

This is not a bad game, if it weren't part of the Hitman series I would rate it much higher, but since it has to compare itself to the brilliant Hitman: Blood Money, this is only a 5/10.… Expand

The murderer becomes more detailed and exquisite, Hitman: Absolution is a big jump in the franchise of Agent 47.

A story much deeper and more intense than in previous installments, a technical section and amazing gameplay that offers a number of options like few games can.

Notably, the great work of optimizing the PC version.

Definitely the best game of murder so far.

I've only completed around 20% of the game, but so far its been pretty fun. Anyway, here's a list of the good and bad stuff: The Good: - Some excellent non-linear missions - Excellent graphics - Superb crowd mechanics - Controls are generally fluid and there are some awesome moves such as faking surrender and subduing people with an elbow to the fact - Fluid melee combat - feels freaking awesome bashing peoples faces in with bottles and bricks
- Shooting mechanics are pretty good, and it's the most amazing feeling to blow someone away with a shotgun when stealth is no longer an option

The Bad:

- Fairly graphically demanding (I'm running 30 fps on medium with a Radeon 6850, which isn't bad), but cutscenes and loading when respawning is so laggy that it drops to 1 fps. - Can't select equipment before your mission (so even though I spent 15 hours in the Sniper Challenge unlocking everything, it isn't available in the story missions)
- There is a slight feel of "console port" (but this maybe just because of my mediocre FPS rate)
- Large equipment can be concealed? This is a step back from Blood Money, where you had to hold anything bigger than a sub machine gun or drop it I'll add more stuff to the review as I complete the game.… Expand

I had my doubts before the release but now I am relieved that all the negative reviews of the game were nonsense. The game is great and if you loved the previous ones, you will probably enjoy this one too.

A hitman game where you spend 80% of the time not assassinating people, and 15% of the time watching the people you're supposed to assassinate get killed in cutscenes. Nice linear piece of crap. The creativity aspect of other hitman games is mostly gone. Contracts mode is the only redeeming factor. It's interesting that the best part of the game is the part where IO isn't trying to tell a crappy story and we are free to actually be a hitman.… Expand

Hitman: Absolution is one of the biggest gaming disappointments this year. All I wanted was a sequel for Blood Money and instead got a failed experiment of mixing Hitman and Splinter Cell: Conviction. The open-world choices of Hitman games going back a decade are now replaced with a mediocre story and a game on rails. I wish I didn't get this on Steam so I could return it.

This game is a big step backwards from Blood Money. It's over simplified and waaaay too story driven. The open ended gameplay is gone and the whole experience is like riding on a rail. Big mistake, avoid!!!

I'm a big fan of the series. I am 5 missions in and it absolution has been a bit disappointing. I really don't care about the story, only about the hits. And the hits have been pretty bad until now. There really has been only 1 mission out of 5 that you actually get to do a hit. First mission you play for like 45 minutes so you can get to the target and a cutscene cuts in (excuse the pun) and you watch while he actually kills the target. That pretty much has been the most anti-climatic mission end in the whole series, and possibly in gaming lol.

Since the disguise system is abysmal, the levels are pretty linear, the game feels more like a stealth puzzle rather than a sandbox hitman game. You just can't improvise and do a hit that it is your own... not that the levels are actual hits mind you. First lvl cutscene hits, second lvl is the only true hit, third level you play to get to a shaft, fourth level is about running on rails from the cops, and so on and so forth.

Next no weapons selection before the level which makes sense since the levels are so linear it wouldn't make sense to let you bring something that will break said linearity.

In essence, you do no true hits, highly linear, bad disguese system, bad save system. All in all it is a pretty frustrating puzzle game where you have to replay long stretches for the smallest mistake.… Expand

Hitman: Absolution fails to be a great game because of some annoying game mechanics decisions. The absence of a quick save option has been filled with a cheap checkpoint system that only saves your position and mission status. Whenever you reload a checkpoint, the whole world around you is back to its initial state: all mobs are respawned. This would not have been such a big deal if the designers implemented some
sort of fast forward option, but since that lacking too you'll find
yourself spending alot of time rewatching dialog events. The game is
(in the later levels) quite unforgiven and it takes quite some skills
to finish them as a silent ninja. If you don't time your attack
correctly you'll be spotted in a second and set back 15 minutes for
the zillionth time because you've got to reload a checkpoint. I do not
know annyone in my personal life who enjoyed the previous Hitman games
more then me and this is probably the first one I'm not going to
finish. The game is far from a bad deal, but it probably should be
renamed to Hitman: Absolute Frustration.… Expand

The series is pretty much dead at this point. The Agent 47 character has been ruined. The gameplay has been ruined. Its very daunting. They would have done perfectly only making Blood Money 2. It wasn't that hard. And they blew it.

The absence of a quick-save or even a proper working logical checkpoint system makes the game HUGELY frustrating... unplayable in my opinion, unless you like to redo LONG parts of the game over and over. Ridiculous. Such a shame.

Hitman absolution is not the best hitmn game it it is defiantly not the worst, The game play is fun and killing people has never felt so delightful, This is an awesome game with so much replay value defiantly would recommend this game, PLUS I GOT WITH THE OTHER HITMAN GAMES SO EVEN IF THIS GAME WAS **** I WOULD STILL BE ABLE TO PLAY TH OLDER GAMES

Hitman Absolution has the same relationship to the hitman series that splinter cell conviction had to the splinter cell series to me. This game is a great stealth action shooter with an engaging story and amazing graphics. But as a hitman game, it is not up to par. Some of the biggest gripes I had were for one, no longer are you spending money earned from missions to upgrade and expand your arsenal, but now you are picking up things as you go. No more poison or mines always at your disposal, now you must improvise. Now this isn't terrible because it goes with the theme of, "hitman is on the run from everything and he has nothing to help him" blah blah blah. Which brings me to my next point. In Blood Money, you entered a massive level and went throughout it to creatively kill your targets, then leave the same way causing no alarm. Now you are going from point A to point B in a much more linear fashion. Now even though I have all these complaints, if you are looking for a nice stealth action game, (and don't worry, being a silent assassin bad ass is still possible) with a fantastic story and stellar graphics, this game should defiantly be worth a purchase.… Expand

The game is brand new and presents good graphics though, it is not as good as Bloodmoney. Also it has too many bugs. The gameplay lacks lots of details. For example, when you select your weapons or items they just appear in 47's hands without drawing them. This is definitely not acceptable for a game with such reputation.
I would describe it as a very disappointing game, especially for fans.

They have effectively changed everything that was good about it and turned it into a simplistic action-shooter for the Call of Duty generation who have ejected any semblance of intelligence in game design in exchange for constant, mindless, shooting action. Here is a run-down of
how old Hitman did things and the new Hitman counterparts:

OLD HITMAN
Vast open maps to explore with multiple ways to make your way to the destination. A genuine feeling of being given a sandbox full of environmental oddities and independent AIs, with numerous ways to pick your way through them.

HITMAN: ABSOLUTION
Constantly being thrown from one linear corridor to another with (if you… Expand

It is beautiful to look at...but that is where it's beauty ends. A travesty of a game that is just a mash up of every other quick time event,stealth game out there. Might as well have called it Splinter 47: Assassins Conviction.

IO have seemingly thrown away everything that made the Hitman franchise so wonderfully unique. Terrible

Poor design decisions makes the latest installment of the Hitman series a huge disappointment. Gameplay has been dumbed down like we have seen in countless other modern installments of popular franchises and we seldom see any improvement from the original games that made the series. The first thing I noticed is the game crashes on average about once every 5 minutes on my GTX670, which is certainly not a good introduction to a full price release. Controlling Agent 47 when locked behind cover is a chore, as you cannot move him when your camera is at a certain angle, feeling like you are snagged on something. For a stealth game such as Hitman, the checkpoint system is nothing short of disgusting. Reloading a checkpoint causes all of the enemies that you have previously dispatched, including the ones prior to the checkpoint to respawn, resulting in the need to sometimes start the level all over again. The AI is absolutely terrible, after reloading a checkpoint and everything respawning, I was caught in a gun fight with a few guys in front of me. The AI behind me, clearly hearing the gunshots, become totally confused and make no attempt to surround me whatsoever, instead just standing at their posts. Visuals are fairly nice, though commenting on graphics has no place in a review, the gameplay comes first. If you are new stealth junkie to the series, go and play dishonored, if you are a fan of the Hitman series like myself, avert your eyes and forget that this ever happened.… Expand

I tried to like this game, even convinced myself it was good, but I'm only deluding myself. This is understandable as I've just spent £30 on it, it should be good...right. Wrong.

I am a longtime fan of stealth games and I always though Hitman was the best series of the genre. But this was a major step back. It feels like I'm playing Splinter Cell Chaos Theory on expert without quicksave. Which means you have to repeat things over and over until you do it right, and most of the time you are waiting behind cover for something to play out. The strong points of Hitman were: fluidity, flexibility, exploration. Now it's about going through linear levels, with a LOT of repetition because of the lack of quicksaves (sure, saves were limited in higher difficulties on the old game, but I could choose when I wanted it). Today I was playing a level, and I repeated like 15 time the same easy, but long segment because I had a checkpoint before it. If I could choose, I would save it just before I started the hard part. But instead, I gor so bored I turned on the TV to watch while I waited for the same scenes to play out over and over again. And that kills exploration. It kills the spirit of the game, which was to blend in, walk around like a boss, like a predator, only analyzing how to catch the prey and then act on your plan. Also, stop making 47 be hunted. It breaks the game. The disguise system is awesome, but the fact that missions are often linear with loads of people wearing the same disguise as you means you have to hide all the time. So most of the time, disguise is almost useless. Also, not having a silenced pistol is a real pain for a game where you have to sneak all the time - it takes way too long for you to get it back. Anyway... Hitman is about being set loose in a "playground" where you have to figure out how to infiltrate and kill targets without anyone seeing. Sneaking is something to be done only a fraction of the time, usually just before a kill: certainly not all of the time. They took that away and took a lot of the fun with it. That said, I did give it a 7, so it's a respectable game. It's got a few improvements: the fact that taking out all witnesses means other people don't know what you did; the new objects/weapons and attacks; the graphics; the awesome throwing knife kill, the instinct targeting system, the contracts system. The game also has some nice missions (most of them toward the end), but frankly, I'm pretty disappointed. This was a major step back in the key aspects. Bring back the old game.… Expand

The changes in comparison to previous games of the title are vast and **** We've got a simple stealth game. There is no pretty simulation of locations like hospitals, hotels, parts of cities and people's behaviour in them anymore. We won't excuse such **** up. It's a serious step of a degradation of game industry/ People who decide to make it should be sacked and do not work in game industry anymore. I won't by any game of Square Enix untill there would be public excuses, public sacks, and a normal version of hitman.… Expand

Hitman Absolution is a mixed bag: It's definitely good by today's standards, but if you judge it by its pedigree, only Hitman Contracts (that map pack they insist on calling 'Hitman 3') can beat it in terms of mediocrity.
Three missions in, I'm baffled by the linearity. Seeing so many cutscenes in the middle of the action takes a great toll on the satisfaction. The gameplay design is contradictory, with Instinct draining really fast, being used for arbitrary things and being almost impossible to refill on higher difficulties. In retrospect, it was a terrible idea to make every person wearing the same clothes as you able to see right through your disguise. I defended it before, and it may add to the realism (you know, since people working for the same security agency might know their colleagues), but it also makes disguises damn near useless. I'm not commenting on the level design, since the levels might open up later on, but so far, it's looking grim, and maybe they should have just omitted the console release entirely and just created bigger levels, without dividing them.
Oh, and there is no excuse for the inclusion of a checkpoint system.

Overall, I wonder just how much feedback from hardcore fans they actually listened to. I'm afraid it cannot have been too much. It's okay, and I guess I'm still gonna have fun with it, but it lives a very bitter aftertaste, because I can already tell from the start that a lot of bad design decisions were made - It's not the Hitman 5 it could have been.
Dafuq, IO?… Expand

the worlds best assassin is back wid more action n stealth gud game just graphics is dissappointed bt still a gud game very nice hitman rocks..............

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If you are a CoD fan then you should give this game a try - because it is designed for you. The game will hold your hands through from the beginning to the end and it is designed for a literally dumb audience. With the press of a button you can use wallhack and see where all the gaurds are about to go, and you instantly have hints within the corridoor shooter levels where literally everything is scripted. If you expect a true Hitman title then you will most likely be dissapointed, though.

Absolution shines in graphics, improved stealth system, animations, lightning sound, and a few other features. But it falls short in many other areas and it literally throws much of what makes a hitman game a hitman game - out of the window - while it embrace and directly copy and paste features and even partly formulas from batman AA, splinter cell conviction, and even Red Dead Redemption
with its 'draw gun' minigame and other games. The storyline is uninteresting, uninspired, contains a lot of childish and rather idiotic characters telling a lot of cliché lines. (exmple: Dexter Blake, the great villian, had a masterplan to sell genetically superior kid assasins for 10m bucks each.)
The levels in the game is often very small and streamlined and you often have to sneak in pre-defined, corridoor-like paths. Weapon, dumpsters, gaurds, cover - all of it is place at convinient places. More focus on stealth and kills, and almost no focus on strategy and creativity. The type of gameplay has more in common with Splinter Cell Conviction than Hitman. Disguise system is broken. Gaurds can see through walls at times. Your cover gets blown all the time because everyone - and I mean everyone - for some reason raises suspicion against you. You can't choose what type of equipment and weapons you want to use. You can't pick locks anymore. You can't look through keyholes. You can't open or close doors. You can't save the game manually. Sniper rifles and other weapons are magically drawn out from thin air. Weapons and dumpsters are placed at very obvious places. Gameplay is extremely linear and offers almost no challange. In terms of innovation this game does not impress me. They've copied and pasted features from other games, such as xrayvision (Batman Arkham Asylum), draw-grun function (RDR) and many aspects from Splinter Cell. They abandone the unique hitman formula and made it to another generic game. This game shines in the visuals, but lacks in many other ways, and its pathetic to see how much it lacks in innovation compared to previous titles.… Expand

Excellent take on Hitman, it takes a slightly different direction towards a more story driven narrative but it has many hitman moments, in fact the purist difficulty makes the game substantially harder than Blood Money so far.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The first hour of Absolution was like "Finally! After six years of waiting 47's back and I'm crawling through the linear tutorial mission as always! Wow, the guards AI is fine!" etc. I was waiting for the real game to start. For now, I've edended up in orphanage and I got to turn on four electrical switches. This is the goal of the level, switches. Ghost-like, urban legend killer is now forced to pull switches or open doors on a ratcage-like levels, that makes absolutely no sense! There is no freeform gameplay anymore, you are, literally, forced to do the thing that developers tells you to do. At the Purist difficulty, there's even more of absurdity: you got ONLY ONE way through mission that really works. There's no Hitman anymore. I just wish the Real 47 will come and kill that bald bandaged clown disguising as him in Absolution. The most awful fact is that you can see all the buried potential of the game. Levels are cutted to parts with doors with NO loading, which signs that the game once WAS open-ended Hitman that we once liked. As the Hitman game, this piece of poo gets 0 from me. As the Deus Ex HR with bald guy instead of Adam Jensen it gets 6 points. P.S.: Actually IOI already released Jensen suit as DLC, what an irony.… Expand

Very nice Splinter-cell game. Two Thumbs Up. Very bad Hitman Game. Two Thumbs Down. Really, if 47 had the gadgets Fisher had this would be a kickin Splinter-Cell game. Unfortunatly 47's gadgets are for stealthy take downs and not much else and facing down a 30 NPCs (cudos to the Glacier 2 engine) when you've been spotted for umpteenth time, and no hit in sight, only cutscenes?

Don't trust the IGNs and Kotakus this time around - the PC version has flaws, my friend.

Here's the problem - the game tries to shoehorn it's story in everywhere, and in so doing, ruins the Hitman genre. You can't choose your kit at the start of a mission - you aren't with the Agency - so your starting gun every mission is always some POS unsilenced pistol. Want a sniper rifle? Hope the level designer left you one - often it's in the perfect sniping spot too, so you don't have to use brain cells finding one yourself. You can't carry weapons over from mission to mission, either. This Killed it for me.

Levels are small, cramped, and linear, often culminating in you opening a Door - it's cutscene promotion. You can spend all day being as stealthy as possible, dealing with a total lack of autosaves, and in the cutscene you SCREW UP THE HIT - The devs want you to play a story, not Hitman. Disguising well runs off "Instinct". You get more instinct by killing people. Hitman Absolution puts you in some crappy cycle of killing people you don't have to, and losing points for doing so (they kept that), to get the "Instinct" you need to disguise well. Dumb.

But you need to do this because the guard AI is hyper-suspicious of similarly dressed people now. Often, you'll have the guard disguise and find yourself sneaking and action rolling from cover to corner - in plain view of guards - just so they don't look at you too closely. Walking anywhere near them blows your cover, but they don't care about a similarly dressed person action rolling around lol. There's still a few AI bugs - I've been spotted through walls, thus having to restart the whole level because there's no autosave feature, even on PC. When you do reach one of the few checkpoints in the game, even they are dumbed down - the game forgets who you killed, what you have, guards respawn and bodies disappear - it's the worst checkpoint ever.

The graphics are a nice improvement. Hitman 4: Blood Money was a fantastic game - you did all the planning, all the killing, the level design was huge and open, you picked your guns and thus your strategy, you could autosave before a difficult part (and that cut down a lot of repetition). Whoever designed Absolution decided these were all negatives - a story does the planning; a cutscene does the killing - sometimes, because the story has people survive; the level design is narrow and linear to promote a single, definite path; you don't pick your guns - the designers give you only what you need, often in the place you'd use them anyway (goodbye Silverballers); and whoever designed the save system should be shot repeatedly and thrown off a balcony, because the autosaves are gone and what remains is a broken shell of a checkpoint system as we know it today. Hitman: Absolution is a stealthy shooter with nice graphics. But it's definitely not Hitman - it's been dumbed down so much that what's left is the bald guy and the title. In all honesty, if you liked the "plan your own kill" part of the genre, fire up Blood Money again - it's not so dated that your eyes crawl, and it's the essence of what a good Hitman game is. I just wish someone told the developers of Absolution.… Expand

This is truly one of the most definitive Hitman experiences out there, there are so many more options compared to the previous games, what would you like to do? Subdue a target discetely then take his clothes and attempt to walk straight through? But what if they notice you, what then, shall you proceed to use instinct to blend in and move away or perhaps find an alternate route? If you're caught, what then will you do, melee quitely and hope you're note widely discovered, fake surrender and take him as a human shield and blast your way out, or perhaps you skip the fake surrender and go straight for guns blazing? That's not even half of what you could do either, there are just so many more options in this sequel than the others. Sure, it doesn't have as many "simulation" features such as the inability to hide heavy 2 handed weapons on you, or having animations manually put your guns away along with other small features, but it trades those in for smoother gun control, more gameplay options, with a more complex melee system that works out for the better. One thing I would say that detracts, which I believe was intentional, was that if you put two bodies into a locker/closet together, you can see just before the doors close that they are positioned purposely in a way so as to make it look like they are having standing "doggystyle" sex, something which I think is a small detractor because the comedy feels so out of place and random that it doesn't blend well. If it wasn't intentional, which I doubt, I would very much like it to be fixed, for atmosphere's sake in a game such as this which has such a serious tone.

The AI has been given a major overhaul, truly reacting to each and every thing you do in the environment, reacting accordingly to it as well, although with a few minor hickups and glitches that aren't all too noticeable. It's hard to go in depth about the AI because of how diverse and complex it is, given the multitude of situations that they react differently in each and every time. One thing I do like though, is now other people in the environment may notice you or become suspicious if you're wearing a certain disguise.

Finally, the story. The characters are all unique in their mannerisms, voices, and look, each with their own feel and flavor to them. Their voice acting is all great and manages to make them feel alive and animated.

One flaw that was fatal in the game for me, detracting it an entire point, was the checkpoint system. This checkpoint system doesn't save your progress, it simply records your character up to that point and places you in that position, let me explain. Say you clear a room of guys, then you get a checkpoint. You die, naturally, and come back to it, and now all of the guys you just got through killing in the previous room before the checkpoint are back. This I felt detracted greatly from the sense of accomplishment if you pull off a very smooth gunfight sequence, only to find out all your efforts were in vain after dieing past the next checkpoint. A good amount of the levels are sectioned off though, so the checkpoint system seems to work in a way that doesn't hamper the player in those parts, but in the larger sandbox maps, it becomes very frustrating.

Finally, there is contracts mode, which enables you to cutsomize and create your very own hits and share them with the community. This is something that I wouldn't of expected to come from a game such as this, and works so well in so many ways as to be entirely unique, and hopefully becomes a permanent addition to the series from now on.

Overall this is a fantastic game with tons of content and as much polish as possible for the date they had set, very few bugs of any kind have been encountered and the everything seems to work as it should. Hats off to the developers for making such a fantastic game.… Expand

I had to create an account at Metacritic to explain why I feel I just wasted 40

The early critical review of this game was right. it's "Doorman : absolution"
This game is not the hitman. it absolutely sacrificed the free style of hitman franchise for storytelling.
If you're fan of hitman series, you'll not like this one-way style at this time.

Very, very, very dissapointing.

Immidiately ran into bugs with character model textures often not loading, leaving only floating guns, and onscreen quick time commands dont show up in combat sometimes, with no way to disengage, just leaving you to die from the games' sheer buggyness. Couple these unfair deaths via bugs with the fact you cant quicksave anywhere you like, but instead are limited to checkpoints and it makes for quite an infuriating experience indeed.

I just don't like ANYTHING new they have brought to this game... the instinct meter is a rediculous idea, in normal and easy mode it over simplifies the game to basically holding Ctrl to not be spotted, making any advanced efforts to sneak feel quite pointless, and in harder modes your survival relies too heavily on it. As it diminishes far too quickly, and there is no way to regain it in harder modes; the game becomes trial and error, knowing where/when to use your instinct by trying it out, dieing, then trying again. (I class being spotted as dieing essentially, as would any hitman enthusiast) Now you'd think that the gameplay being simplified to trial and error of where/when to hold the Ctrl key sounds bad? Well it gets worse! Due to the absolutely pointless omission of quicksave, youll be restarting from the same checkpoint over and over, hearing the same long winded conversation over and over. Absolutely boring, and timewasting. I have to work and sleep, I can't waste all my time waiting for some god forsaken AI conversation on a game to end, lest of all on a game that really doesnt compel me to keep playing.

And like everyone else and their dog has said, even negating the terrible instinct meter thing, the levels have become very linear, the majority being down to sneak around walls in a room where enemies just stand in the middle, and when they turn away, do a swat twist to the next cover.

So let down by this game... words just cant describe my dissapointment. I give the game a 3 because it starts out promising, but then comepletely blows it soon after. I also encourage the idea of the contracts mode, although I have not tried it, as it's nice to see they attempted a competitive aspect to the game. And it at least shows they did SOMETHING good with the time spent developing the game.… Expand

Play Blood Money after playing Absolution, and then tell me which one is a better reflection of how games should be in 2012. Absolution is technically, amazing. ~700 NPCs on screen in China Town. Great graphics. Don't get me wrong, I loved Blood Money.. I loved Blood Money almost as much as Hitman 2 when it came out... but now? Blood Money > Hitman 2... in time, Absolution may have the same effect.… Expand

The story of the game is good (sometimes silly but it keeps you entertained.) I think the developers put a lot of work into the game. The maps are detailed and the graphics are really nice. I did not really like the way stealth mechanism worked in the game (It was really difficult not to get caught by some guard all the time, and once they noticed you it was difficult not to get engaged in a fight with everyone.) I did not like the way maps were 'cut up' to smaler sections (I wish there would be bigger maps the player could explore... Like in the previous games.) The player can't choose weapons or other equipment before starting a mission.The game has a console port feel to it (push 'q' button repeatedly to choke out someone.) Overall not a bad game but they mainstreamed it for wider audiences. I give it a 6/10.… Expand

When I first clicked on Hitman: Absolution in my Steam Library I was fairly certain about what I could expect from the game. The previous 4 installments of the game series followed the same pattern, and there was no reason why the 5th shouldn't do the same. (Un)fortunately, it turned out to be quite different.

(-, +)First off, there's the linear gameplay. You no longer play in one big area, but rather small areas, which are led by checkpoints. The areas are, however, fully packed with opportunities to kill your targets, but in most areas you don't have targets at all. It usually contains 2-3 areas you have to pass through before you get to your target area, and after you've found a satisfying way to end your target, there's a 3-4 areas to go through so you can escape. In many of these areas there are tight corridors which only have a few ways of approach, sometimes with only one plausible solution. (-, +)The checkpoints in the game removes a lot of the Hitman feeling instantenously. One of the key aspects to the Hitman series was to explore the world and keep your head calm, lest you blow your cover and everything is over. Now you can just reload the checkpoint as if nothing happened. There's now room for imperfection. It's a good way to explore the world though, as if you get caught sneaking in an area off-limits, you can always reload and try again.

(--)Now, as for weapons I was just plain disappointed. One thing I liked about the previous games was to smuggle my weapons inside places. Now you can hide a huge shotgun inside your jacket as if this was GTA, and no guards check you for weapons. It feels as if the weapons are kind of stuck onto you, instead of something you could lose any moment. You also don't get to buy guns or upgrades before a mission, nor choose between an arsenal like in the previous games, atleast not in the story mode. You always gotta start from scratch when you enter a new mission. There's a decent selection of weapons, though, and the introduction of environmental weapons like your average vase is a good one.

(+, -) Cutscenes seem like a welcome addition to the game, except for a few cases where they take over the gameplay completely. Sometimes you just want to do something else than 47 decides for you, which can give you a headache. Still, it adds up to the dark and deadly feeling of Hitman, instead of weird half-assed animations.

(++) The story has an interesting turn, and without spoiling anything, it shows a different side of 47. Although you no longer kill for money, you have another goal, which 47 can very much relate to. You also feel as if you come to a conclusion to how 47's life has been, which is a welcome addition as the previous games have kept that between the lines, mostly.

(+++) The graphics are superb, atleast when you max out. You get the dark, gloomy feeling of being a killer, and the Hitman series have never looked so real. 47 has officially gotten a high-resolution face, and my doesn't he look like a true killer. Without doubt amazing, and it makes the world in the game look very alive and real.

(++) The sounds were indeed very good aswell, without doubt another thing that makes the gameworld feel alive. Varied speech for NPCs, good voice actors, good integration with AI, and good sound effects made the game's sounds very realistic.

In short, Hitman: Absolution is not a bad game, but it didn't blow my socks off, either. It seems a bit new, which is good for some and bad for others. I wouldn't mind playing in bigger areas and rely on saves if I needed a checkpoint. The only things that will make me remember this game are the stunning visuals and the enthrilling story. Things that we liked in Codename 47, Silent Assassin, Contracts and Blood Money may and may not be gone, but all in all, Hitman: Absolution is a game well worth playing. Just don't expect the world.

Graphics: 9/10
Gameplay: 6/10
Story: 8/10
Audio: 8/10
Other annoying crap (things existing in previous Hitman games that were not present for unknown reasons: 4/10

Overall score: 7/10

Recommended. Good replayability with Contracts mode, not so much storywise.… Expand

I was a fan of Hitman series a long time but with Absolution they made a huge backstep. They removed essential features like customizing weaponloadout before a mission, modifying weapons (only available in contracts mode now), looking through keyholes. The new level design is awful! It's too linear and you dont have freedom like in previous hitman games. Also the new disguise-system is pretty **** - enemies blow your cover in 2-3 seconds thats not fun. Of cause they brought a bunch of new features and improvements: graphics are very nicely, the glacier2 engine is also a lot better than glacier1. Also the new contracts mode provides additional gameplay and especially with friends it is really fun. But all in all IO turned the classical tactical hitman into a pure action game. As a hitman game it sucks but it is a nicely done action game. My review: 8 out of 10 points (if i had reviewed it as a hitman game it would have got only 4/10 points).… Expand

This game lacks the magic of the previous Hitman games. It's plagues with problems that any rudimentary check would have found. As is typical, another franchise gets completely dumbed down so that it can be shipped to a wider audience, compromising it's original flavour.

The game screws most of what used to give me pleasure in the Hitman games to focus on a story that is embarrassingly bad. I just hated it. After 3 hours playing in hard and trying to do it "as it has to be done", i just decided to run to the end killing everyone in my way, just to end it. And i know i'm not the only one. I played the 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 Hitman, have it in CDs, have it on steam too, have the DVD of the movie that i also saw in a cinema. I pre-purchased Hitman absolution the day i could and i played the sniper challenge to get all i could in it and 3 millions points : I AM A HITMAN FAN AND I AM ANGRY !!!
I actually played more to the sniper challenge (13 hours) than to the real game (12 hours).
I can detail but v00d00m4n did it very well, 100% of what he says is correct.
I will add that i feel abused : that is not what the sniper challenge was promising us. The sniper challenge was showing diferent ways to kill some targets, to hide them, to unlock weapons for the actual game (so in the inventory right? Nope, there is Absolutely no inventory in hitman 5...).
And it was obviously a reference to the first Hitman 1 mission which was a snipe mission, telling us that there would be some snipe missions in hitman 5. Nope.
I give 2 for the sniper challenge, the nice graphisms (even if they could have been darker), and the knife throwing system (even if it really make the game easier, it make sense).
And because i don't like to be that negative, i will now write what would have been nice :
- the story : it has never been important in the Hitman serie. But since it was the main concern of the developers, it should have been better. We have to protect a girl that as been created like us. It is a bad plot (indeed "inspired" from leon the killer movie), but let say we keep it. I would have like to see good reasons to do that : a nice cinematic showing 47 and her taking good time together watching a movie, playing a game or something. A cinematic that shows what she can do, at the very begining : that would explain better why 47 want to keep an eye on her, as a student killer or as a threat for him. The best would have been to be able to play her like we can play catwoman in batman, supposing she would have had other "powers" than 47 (women disguises for a start).
HITMAN SHOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE A PROFESSIONNAL KILLER AND NOT A STUPID NOOB
Spoiler : in the game story, they are actually 2 times at least when the bad guy can kill hitman after a stupid cinematic where hitman is awefully bad. And he just doesn't... When running out of a place, hitman uses the elevator. And if the elevator doesn't work, he repairs it with pieces strangely sprayed all over the building. PLEASE TAKE THE STAIRS!!!!
- the gameplay : the disguise system is 90% of time a handicap compared to keep your own clothes. The idea was not that bad : if a small town cop sees a cop that he doesn't know, he will be suspicious. That make sense in some cases, but do all the CHICAGO policemens know each other? And the plummers? The AI should have been programmed mission by mission, differently, and with a briefing : "be careful 47, this is a small town where most people know each other"; or "Note that a lot of people come for a short time in that hotel, you should be able to walk free in most of it's parts"
And there could have been a way to talk, to try to lie to people before they start shooting at you. At least a 3 sentences choice, find the one the guy can believe in and let you go (or leave witout harm). And not for every NPC but some of them. And in real life, some people stop asking questions with a litle tip. That could have been easy to put in the game, if we had got some money like in Blood Money. That would have been an easy but expensive way to go in a place. Again, not for every NPC, just some of them. And who can be bought and who will do his job whatever the price is something that the 47 instinct could have told. "This guy looks like a dealer, i can probably buy him."
- there should have been an inventory like in blood money rewarding you : good work = money = the gun uppgrade you want. Being a professionnal killer without a silent gun sucks. - the close fighting should have been thought differently. this aze space system sucks. I would have liked different attacks to choose : fist in the face, kick in the legs and so on. This is not a priority, but it sucks to be a professionnal killer that can't fight properly. - the linear action sucks and should have been avoided at any cost, even with a focus on the story. I could have liked a Mass Effect like system where my actions would have impacted the story. I would have liked to be able to guide Victoria in a way or the other : get a normal life or become like 47.
- there HAD TO BE a snipe mission in addition to the sniper challenge. And no, i won't buy a DLC for that.
Not enough space here. Just don't expect more from hitman absolution than a bad sneak/shoot.… Expand

This is the best entry in the Splinter Cell franchise to date. Wait, what do you mean Hitman? No, this isn't a Hitman game, those aren't painfully linear with silly unlock systems and scavenger hunts. No, no, I'm sure you must be wrong, this is definitely a Splinter Cell game. It's a really good Splinter Cell game too. It would make for a pretty poor Hitman game though...

I'm going to be very unfair here but this game made me very angry very quickly. First, 47 actually has MAGIC POWERS now, he can see enemies through walls, remove their suspicion levels and do other tricks, and it actually requires MANA (cleverly dubbed "Instinct") to do it. Agent 47 is Corvo now. But that's not the main problem. The main problem is that checkpoints don't work at all since a lot of the stuff that you've done is simply reset. How are you supposed to construct a precise plan when every single mistake means that you have to restart the entire goddamn level or start killing left and right, which, as you might notice, is the exact opposite of what you're supposed to do in Hitman. It seems that you simply can't play this game without improvising and that's something that 47 should never ever have to do. If you have any love for our bald assassin, skip this game.… Expand

I have to say for players like me who consider the hitman series one of THE outstanding pieces of digital art produced in the last decade (shoulder to shoulder with games like planescape:torment, fallout and similar giants) Hitman:Absolution is nothing less then a grave insult. Taking all the elements that made Hitman its own unique style of murder adventure - all essential features, like free roaming in extensive levels, multiple VIABLE paths to dispose of ur victims without being noticed, hiding in plain sight have either been done away with or nerfed into oblivion
as somone who preordered the game months ago and has been fired up for it for more then a year I have to express my deep disapointment and can only warn u to not buy it and save ur money for a more worthy title… Expand

I waited for this game for years, being not aware of the fact the original development team is gone. Almost all of the features that made the original series so interesting, are gone in Absolution. I uninstalled the game after 30 minutes of playing.

When I saw the first trailer, and it showed the cover system, and the helicopter chase I said "Oh, well this certainly looks likes **** and isn't what Hitman is about" Then I was assured it wasn't the case, but it was, and I knew it. Let me make this clear for future purchases you might be buying: When devs show off, or implement a certain game mechanic, they intend for it to be used, and therefore the game is based around it. Gameplay is the core of any game (not that anime novel), everything else is secondary, so when you see something and go "WELL GOSH YOU DONT HAVE TO USE TO IT OMG CALM DOWN"; dont kid yourself.

A lot of people who like this game didn't have the pleasure of playing the first ones, and I'll let that explain the ratings.… Expand

1.This not a open ended or open world game any more.
2.there is no map.
3.disguise does not properly work any more without bloody instinct.
4.You cant see through key hole.
5. everything re spawns after loading a save point and therefore you cant experiment.
6.And the list goes on.. Graphics alone cant save this game.They have totally destroyed a fine game.

I'm disappointed in this. The graphics and audio are nice, however the actual gameplay is somewhat point and click...the game leads you like a carrot in front of a donkey on how to take care of your objectives. There is no save option, only occasional checkpoints. The AI is not good. There are those 'invisible walls' that I find so annoying. The bottom line is that it just isn't fun to play.… Expand

Hitman Absolution looks great... But it feels "wrong". This game walks the dangerous path of an other popular stealth game : Splinter Cell conviction. Forget the subtle stealth gameplay of previous games. Now... we have "instinct". A Meter bar that allows you to blend in. Or should i say... forces you. Like previous Hitman games, you can wear a disguise. Problem is, that diguise will be useless 90% of the time unless you use the new flashy instinct bar. The instinct system would be great in some games. But in hitman? It just feels wrong. It's distracting, breaks the immersion completly and if anything it's frustrating without being challenging. Fortunatly, the game still allows you to be creative with the way you take down your target. Sadly the stealth in this can be resumed to how well you manage the instinct bar. Absolution is the perfect exemple of what happens when you try to reinvent the weel. I can only hope that the next game (if there is one) will try to get back to what made "blood money" so good : the fact that it was an assassin simulation game. Not a dumb action game with bar management as a stealth system.… Expand

I have to say, I am very disappointed in this game so far... I am only about 30 minutes in and so far it feels like I am playing a game on rails. Way to linear.

1. The cut scene murder in the first mission is LAME. I don't want cut scenes, I want to execute hits!

2. Disguises don't mean anything... Heck, when you go through the first level and put on a disguise the game forgets you ever wore one, cue cut scene and you're back wearing 47's suit?!?

3. The checkpoint system is stupid, I feel like I am playing Cabelas Big Game Hunter.

4. Did I say this game feels like it's on rails?

I'll force myself to continue playing to see if the gameplay gets any better, but my initial impression is that they really messed this up.

All I really wanted (and I'm sure many other gamers too) was another bunch of levels added to Hitman Bloodmoney and maybe some updated graphics... Instead they radically changed the game for the worse.

Bloodmoney was almost the perfect hitman game... Why didn't they build off that?!?!… Expand

Hitman Absolution
It is safe to say I have played all of the hitman games by now. I will say for a fact this is not a hitman game. There are tons of elements that Hitman: Blood Money introduced that were stripped in absolution and that made the hitman franchise "fun". Its fair to say everyone was expecting a Blood Money 2, but not everyone was willing to compromise for anything less. There are gamers out there who because they are influenced or drawn by the media will select absolution because of the Hollywood style action or the mainstream hype that brought them to the game. And then there are gamers who played the series and have fundamental passion for playing over and over again the addictive and challenging sandboxes. The problem with Absolution: There are no sandboxes. In fact, all the maps are linear. Each map forces the player to move forward in one direction without having the chance of going back and re-experience the same level. Each map is a build up of smaller maps which are all joined together by checkpoints. So by having checkpoints, the developers have destroyed the one peice of formula that made hitman a sucess. A Sandbox. (start taking notes square enix)The developers have also made the gameplay into a "duck and covering" system, where the player is forced to hide and go seek wall after wall, hiding in terror instead of hiding with Absolution. By doing this the player is unable to get any proper "hits," has to use non-refillable instinct in order for a disguise to work, and above all loses points for attempting to kill anyone other than the target. Square Enix has demolished anything that was memorable or likeable about the hitman series and has suggested it all be shoved down a gumball machine for the player to experience. It is too bad that Eidos found its best interest for SE to take over, but im sure this game will please very much the mainstream audience as it was designed to do.… Expand

What a disappointing game. Disguises won't work only when you use your 'instinct'. How do you get instinct? By killing and hiding bodies. Contradiction in terms... There might be multiple ways of finishing levels but you can't experiment as there is no save option. When you fail, you will have to restart all over again including all the cut-scenes etc. Why did they have to destroy this franchise?

I'm never pre-ordering a game ever again. Don't be fooled by the marketing and all the trailers. Don't fund this developer tendency of over-hyping a game to make a quick buck. The only reason I completed the game, was to appease the feeling of regret it gave me for wasting perfectly good money for this poorly crafted "game".

The only reason why there are negative reviews for this game in the series is that it's no longer an easy game. The mechanics are much harder now, you can no longer just grab an outfit and do almost anything you want. Police also can recognize a bald man with a bar code on his head now. With that, the kills are much more rewarding. You really have to think to figure out how to assassinate your targets because the stealth aspect is a lot harder now. The real break from the previous installments is how much harder it is to figure things out when you are constantly trying to sneak pass people. A lot of people complain about being on the run all the time, that's because this game is hard and they're just stuck on the earlier missions. If you want to be a mass murder instead of a silent assassin, the game also sets it up perfectly by putting you in crowded streets and access to explosives. The shooting at this point is very similar to any modern day fps. There are story levels that's pretty linear but there's definitely a good mix of levels that's traditional Hitman. The new fun ways to take out your targets are creative and fun. Of course that also means you need enjoy solving puzzles because it's no longer as obvious. With the exception of the few plot driven levels, there's multiple entries and many different ways to kill your target. The only reason why it might seem like there's no options is if you're going for the perfection kill, no disguises, no blown covers and only kill your target. Otherwise, there's a ton of options and the only downside is that some civilians might get killed when you drop a chandelier down. The only complaint I have is that if you killed someone by making it look like an accident, it shouldn't take points off for the kill. You're still a ghost if a horrible "accident" happens to kill civilians.… Expand

Don't be fooled by shiny graphics of Hitman: Abomination (or Assassin's Conviction: Saboteur Lynch Retardation), there is nothing good besides graphics. Gameplay is totally broken dumbed down, its not even hitman anymore, everything we loved it for was removed, only some barely working rudiments was left. It is yet another Conviction, but worse, everything you hated in Conviction, Saboteur, Assassin's Creed and Kane Lynch in terms of Stealth and gunplay is here, concentrated in extreme doses that may kill you. Also lensflare madness, started by Kane Lynch 2 and continued by Syndicate is here, head of 47 shines like supernova explosion to blind you from truth THIS GAME IS UTTER TRASH. It not just abandoned old Hitman gameplay, its simply broken everywhere and doesnt work, and its so primitive and generic. Let me list you few of many game design flaws: 1) Saves doesnt work, once you restart checkpoints every NPC object will be respawned, your stats would be reset to state of beginning of level, so you better to restart level completely and dont die or exit until you finish it. 2) Disguise doesnt work, its connected to stupid INSTINCT MANA that could be gained by killing and hiding bodies, or not gained at all on professional modes. Without using instinct, which magically removes suspicion, your cover will be blown in 5-10 second from 30 meters. So you are forced to use instinct in any mode, but cant on pro modes, and without instinct there you would not be even able to blend into area. It only barely working on easiest mode. 3) Pro modes and especially PURIST broken and rushed addition, game was not designed with these modes in mind, these modes not balanced at all, they simply locking features for retards, without even thinking that game designed that way so it cant be played without INSTINCT, and without thinking to compensate somehow lack of these features. It cant be played on PRO mode if you want to use disguise, blown covers makes game really frustrating, and pushing you to reastart, which will lead you to flaw 1 broken saves. On pro mode you will have only option to use covers Conviction style. 4) 80% of game is linear stealth cover shooter, only about 20% of levels reminds old Hitman games sandbox, but they all made using generic objects and repetitive pattern, lacking about 80% features you had in previous game, so its simply boring, primitive and most likely you will screw up trying to go Silent Assassin way. 5) AI is deaf and blind, totally dumb, glitching a lot. They dont see and dont hear anything except for you in disguise or killing. 6) You cant select inventory for levels and only limited to very few objects you can find on level. Most of unlocks and tools useless and can be only used in contracts mode. 7) Due of nature of stupid prerendered cut-scenes, where 47 appears only in his suit or any pre-defined suit, once cut-scene over you will loose your disguise and default suit will magically appear on you, same happens with guns, you enter the room dressed one way, but after cut scene you dressed another way. Really stupid, even cheapest games from 90th era never had such a flaw, Hitman 1 was better than this. 8) Scoring makes no sense, its not what it used to be in previous game. You are encouraged to do not stealthy things and some stealthy things not awarded at all, other non stealthy things not punished. 9) Level design is very bad, it may look good it terms of art, but its really bad in terms of gameplay logic. Every possible guard have always dumpster nearby to hide their bodies, how handy... for retards, very few, like 3-5 objects that allows you kill somehow are available per level, generic dumpsters, fuseboxes, pits, balconies, there is no unique content that we saw in Blood Money or previous Hitman games, every gameplay object is just a copy-pasted repetitive trash. 10) Whole instinct gameplay is retarded and must be removed from game, but instead it was not even removed from purist mode. 11) UI is huge, ugly and was designed by captain obvious, why in the world you need to have giant icon of equipped weapon or disguise if you can just look at hitman's and see his weapon and suit? 12) You cant peek through keyholes (surely, u now have magic wallhack cheat to replace that) 13) You cant even close doors, they only closed automatically 14) Worst thing most of your assassination targets are killed in FREAKING CUTSCENES, or not, actually most of time you will see cutscene where BEST KILLER IN THE WORLD, FAILING TO KILL HIS TARGET 15) Story may look like good one, but in fact its typical set of hollywood cliches and yet another plagiarism with nonsense ending. 16) Realism was lost completely, no briefcase, weapons spawns of Hitman ass, ammo picked up by legs. There are more issues, i cant compact them in 5000 chars limit. This game is near 5 of 10, but since it called Hitman, and since its not Himan at all, only 0 of 10.
P.S.-MC was bribed to remove my review from top?… Expand

Whilst the transition to more modern gameplay elements does skew the Hitman formula to a degree, it still all works quite nicely. Disregard what others say about the game being "Agent 47 on the run", that's literally exclusive to the first chapter of the game and even then it's broken up between standard missions that you'd expect to see in Hitman.

Sure, the developers made it feel rather different by having the plot progressed by 47, but I personally feel this engages the player more, not just practically random missions connected by news reports and briefings. It's still Hitman, but the developers wanted to try something new.

As for the people complaining about frame rates, I've had zero issues with an AMD phenom ii x4 995 BE, AMD Radeon HD 6970 and 4GB RAM (on high settings). Computer optimization people!… Expand

absolute sign v00d00m4n critic!

"Assassin's Conviction: Saboteur & Lynch - Retardation"
"head of 47 shines like supernova explosion to blind you from truth"
"INSTINCT MANA"
"magic wallhack cheat"
"THIS GAME IS UTTER TRASH"

hope this was 150 letters of flaming. thank you.

This game is an excellent addition to the franchise. Yeah, some of the older favorite options are gone (purchasing guns pre-mission, open world maps), but I think the pacing of the game was handled very well. I can see how not liking the story could make the game blah for some people, but I was hooked from the start and had a blast all the way through the game. It felt great taking control of 47 again, and after a few clumsy take-downs I was able to sneak/blast through whatever situation I found myself in. I plan to re-play the game, and would recommend it to newcomers and silent assassins alike :)… Expand

most worst game ever played....
i think "hitman 4 blood money" in 2004 was farrr better than this game....
i can't feel that i'm playing as a hitman...
this game changed the hitman like a ****
squre enix fooled us with those high graphical video.....
never going to play game from squre enix from now....

TL;Dr version: Well the story mode is kind of meh but the true gem here is Contracts mode which is pure nirvana for fans of the series.

Obligatory Wall of Text: As a 30 something member of the Nintendo generation I have an instinctive revulsion to publishers and devs defecating on the classics just for a quick buck. I was especially concerned about the Hitman ip as I list Blood money and Silent Assasin as two of my all time favorite games. Luckily, they didn't do to 47 what they did to poor Sam Fisher. This game is actually quite good, perhaps an 8.5 or even a true 9/10 (not that kind of 9/10 that paid 'critics' give to nearly every game released), but I'll rate it a 10/10 just irritate the 13 year old hipsters jumping on the hate train to awesome town.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. WTF !!!

Honestly WTF, the game is not compatible with Windows XP.
3 H to install, 1h 30 to update and then nothing !
I asked Amazon to give me my money back because in the product description the game is compatible with XP...… Expand

Hitman: Abomination

I really wonder if the creators of this game ever played a Hitman game before of if they even really grasp what it was which made them iconic games. It is all well and good a video games developer trying to take something in a different direction but the Hitman games are very unique in many ways but it looks like none of that has really been conserved and what has has been diluted to the point that its almost unrecognisable and barely serves a purpose in this game. Putting previous Hitman games aside, this really is a sub par game and will soon be sold on offer and be thrown in the bargain bin. It really begs the question as to why this game was even made if the only credentials it has is riding on the back of previous titles. The best bit about this game would have to be the sniper challenge, which despite being quite a nice simple little level, actually manages to show off some little quirks, creativity and general personality of a Hitman game.

You can tell a lot of effort has been put into the graphics, nice action sequences and cut scenes, but that is where all quality ends. To compliment the expensive graphics and cut scenes you have a truly terrible story filled with badly voiced characters each and everyone of whom is a brain dead idiot. It is a very different aeshetic from previous games which generally able to add some humour and creativity into the mix; this game is dull, dark , grey, linear and definitely lacks a sense of humour and is an all round ball-ache to play.

Despite being an elite assassin, in this game Agent 47 has turned into a complete amateur who apparently pull off an assassination to save his life.When you're not failing to assassinate people you spend much of the game finding door ways and doing other exiting things like running from the police, who happen to be incredibly abundant with fantastic eyesight. Owing to 47's new found incompetence he does not have a map, however don't worry each area you find your self in is small enough you likely won't need one; in addition there is the new senses mode which will point out every object of interest in the environment for you, so don't worry about finding out how to take out a target. Killing someone in order to take their clothes as a disguise is now a waste of time as each policeman, bouncer, chef, etc in the game appears to know one another intimately and so are able to spot you as an imposter at 100 yeards.Moreover you cannot change your load out and you are very limited in how you murder someone and the ways you can are already pointed out by senses mode. Above all the game has lost its creativity, its quirckiness and personality and become something dull and linear where you spend far too much time getting from A to B.… Expand

Much smaller levels, very few paths to your target, very linear level design, no black market, no syringes or other interesting assassin tools, not many interesting ways to kill your targets, little and more often than not zero history behind your targets or any motivation to kill them besides them wanting to kill you.

Environments and targets have very little variation, most of the environments are in the US, the vast majority of which are in North Dakota and New York. Has an odd underlying crude sexual theme which simply doesn't fit very well with this game. The game's story focus essentially throws out the premise of being a hitman until its very end.

You can still be spotted by people wearing the same outfit as you as though every gardener on the planet knows one another, and being spotted in any difficulty besides easy is almost always certain death.

Contracts mode puts you in the same levels obviously designed with a linear story in mind. The only freedom it allows in the game's constrictive levels here is the contract's name/description, who you're killing, what single weapon you can choose to start with, and what you are wearing.

All in all, a serious disappointment and downgrade from Blood Money.… Collapse

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. My expectations were very high. I admit. I wanted Blood Money with new graphics and new missions. I wanted larger areas, more weapons, more accident setups. Even excuses you can say to guards, depending of your knowledge of the level, mention that the shower is broken upstairs, that's why you are in a restricted area to fix it, social engineering, additional ways to sneak, maybe even hack computers and technology devices, like spies, carry new and ingeniously hidden weapons on your person.

What did I get? A dumb-down arcade version of one of my favorite game. A broken disguise system, a ridiculously unrealistic instinct system, which would get you banned in most online games. I never wanted easy. I wanted to walk around a level, explore it, save a certain points to try things over and over to perfection, than replay the level and attempt to complete it as a silent assassin. I don't want a checkpoint system like ID Software… Expand

Big fan of the series. But this isnt hitman anymore, its a whole new game. Very disappointing for fans of the series. The game completely ignored what fans enjoyed in all of the other games. You can no longer save your game, you can not customize your weapons, you can't select the weapons you want, every disguise is automatically detected, it is a short story line and levels are chopped up and completed in sections.… Expand

This is the worst game i have ever played. By Worst i mean, Worst in HITMAN FRANCHISE. This is not a Stealth Game, it forces players to pay like Calll OOOO DOOOTYY, plus everything about this game generally sucks. Kane & LYnch devs have infiltrated hitman and RUINED IT.

All right, I believe some of the green reviewers are paid, really (all quoted from the same...) :

"This is truly one of the most definitive Hitman experiences out there, there are so many more options compared to the previous games"
- All the spirit of the hitman series is gone. Each map of this game is a path which leads you to a cut-scene full of ridiculous clichés. "there is contraacts mode, which enables you to customize and create your very own hits and share them with the community."
- Are you kidding me?! The contracts mode consists of killing someone in a level already made by the developers and not customizable at all.

"It's hard to go in depth about the AI because of how diverse and complex it is, given the multitude of situations that they react differently in each and every time."
- Wow, I laughed at this one. The AI always react the same way! They can notice you even if you wearing a disguise, 30 m away and shows your back! They added this stupid system where you have to press Ctrl to make the disguise work seriously! And when you're out of "adrenaline" or whatever they call it, you have to kill to be able to disguise yourself again.....

I really feel like we did not play the same game, bud389. I give a 2 because the graphics are fine, that is all.… Expand

Too bad they have taken a different route and moved away from an open world innovative disguised 47 and moved towards a more mainstream action-stealther with flawed disguise-system and forced linearity. It isn't a bad game but don't expect a Hitman Blood Money 2.

Don't uninstall Hitman Blood Money because Absolution isn't even close! It is a decent action-stealth game with some good moments and is worth playing through but as a Hitman game I mostly can't stand it. It just feels like Agent 47 got assimilated into the barely indistinguishable pool of action-stealth games. Having played and loved the Hitman series since day 1 on its original PC platform, many of the gameplay systems and input styles in Absolution have the stink of console development all over them. The usage of quick-time events and button hitting just for the sake of it made me think "this is so annoying and stupid, why the hell is is this in a Hitman game?" at least every 30 minutes. The levels are broken up into small linear sections instead of big playgrounds; there is no big inventory full of items and weapons to work with; no customized weapon lovin' for the missions; no briefcase and sniper rifle; the disguise detection system feels like a contrived third-wheel; no regard for the magical concealment of long guns; there's plenty more but no need to pile on here. There are indeed improvements to some important systems such as movement, shooting, body concealment/disposal, distraction options, and throwing things. Sound, graphics, framerate, stability and controls are all very good. It's just that...as a Hitman game...Absolution is a huge disappointment after Blood Money which I still play 6 years and hundreds of hours later. They traded some of the deepest and most distinctive elements of being Agent 47 for console game pacing and lots of cutscenes to tell a crap story. If these tradeoffs turn out to be permanent for the series, then Agent 47 just jumped the shark. Still, even with all the Hitman-series-related disappointments, Absolution a good game on its own and you should play it and think for yourself.… Expand

Like Kane & Lynch without Lynch. Pretty as hell and that's about it for the upsides. I'd rather watch a good movie. This has too much filler, the game mechanics (especially disguises!) are rather unsatisfying, it's very linear and difficulty levels above hard are essentially broken due to the new gimmick not working anymore.

This Hitman is good. It would be very good if it would have kept good thins from Blood money, for example guns assembly, silencer etc. Sound quality is not the best and music should be made by Jesper Kyd!

i dont get people with there story its hitman only thing you need to now is your target and how much money you get from killing it.
its not a movie its hitman but the thougt it was a movie i think bad gameplay

In my opinion,this game is brilliant. BUT if you're expecting a true Hitman,you're in for a shock. Disguises are no longer almighty,where in all previous games,once you've changed your clothes,you were practically invisible,in Absolution enemies actually know each other,that means if you disguised yourself as a cop,the cops will quickly see through you,but guards won't,unless you start acting suspiciously,forcing you to sneak a lot more than in Blood Money for example. Whole game is a lot more cinematic and story driven (however I found the story to be a bit generic,similar to a lot of Hollywood high budget flicks,but for me it's just a binder for the next levels) ,there are a lot of missions in which you just have to get to a specific point (personally I didn't like them,but it's not like they're badly made). I think that Absolution is also a bit more realistic,thanks to the AI changes,enemies can finally spot blood (they could in Blood Money as well IIRC,but that didn't seem to work most of the time),as mentioned before,they know they're colleagues and generally,they seem a lot more human. Also the fiber wire is the only completely silent weapon,so if,for example,you'll stab a cop and there's another cop nearby,he'll hear it and investigate. Using firearms was improved,they actually have individual feeling,enemies react to wounds and they're simply more fun to use now. There are 5 difficulty levels,I'm playing on expert right now and the game is hard,it's almost impossible to boldly go in,all guns blazing,on a group of enemies and walk out alive,unlike in Blood Money,where it was as easy as hiding behind a doorway and shooting the s:):)t out of your enemies. Now let's move on to the flaws. There are some quite annoying restraints,I'll explain that with an example. In one of the first missions,you have to first get to the upper floors,after which you get a checkpoint and it's a one way road,you can't go back to ground floor. Aside from that,I absolutely HATE some of the animations,even though I stopped paying attention to them after a few hours. If you take out a pistol,there will be a really fast animation of taking it out of the holster,but if you want to conceal it,it will miraculously disappear from your hand,same goes for all the objects. Also walking animation seems a bit strange at first and I didn't like that fact that you can conceal large firearms like assault rifles or even sniper rifles,I think it would be great to patch that up and give the players a suitcase,which could hold one large firearm,instead of putting it in an amazingly deep pocket somewhere inside 47's suit. And I didn't like the animation of shooting one pistol,which is one handed and seems very unprofessional (but that's just my deviation : D). So,to sum it all up,this game differs from the previous installments by putting a lot more weight on the sneaking,instead of disguising and going up to your target,more limited freedom,partially caused by the fact that enemies can actually see through your disguise and smaller levels. But it still requires you to think,I'd even say that a bit more than in the previous games (especially on higher difficulty settings) and is really enjoyable. Oh,I almost forgot,gun upgrading,which was great and detailed in Blood Money and actually had an impact is nonexistent in Absolution. So basically,as a standalone game I give it a 9,but as a part of the Hitman franchise,I'd say 6+,maybe 7 is more appropriate.

EDIT: I decided to change my mark after a few more hours. I still enjoy the game very much,but disguises are lot less useful when compared to previous games,some would even say they're useless :D I wouldn't agree with that,but the whole detection system should be toned down a bit because enemies are eagle-eyed and can see through your disguise at quite a distance in a record time even on normal difficulty,forcing you to go in blind quite a lot since you can't practically do any reconnaissance.
And I thought I'll add a few words about how well the game is optimized. My PC: GTX 260 216 OC,4 GB RAM and a quad core Intel Q9400 @ 2.66 GHz can dish out an average of 30 FPS on high to ultra settings (with trilinear filtering though),so,considering the quality of graphics,is quite astonishing… Expand

I decided it was worth creating a Metacritic account just to add another 0/10 review for this game. I bought Absolution on Steam as soon as it came out, because I had faith that it would be a Hitman game (or at least something close). I wish I could go back in time and warn myself, not so that I could save my money, but just so that I wouldn't be one of the many gamers who actually rewarded the people responsible for this enormous stab in the back. The fact that the developers had the audacity to call this "Hitman" and the fact that so many people seem to love it is about the most depressing and disturbing thing I could have possibly imagined. As a massive fan of all four previous Hitman games, I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that Absolution betrays virtually everything that made Hitman so special. Instead of amazingly open-ended self-contained missions, complete freedom of exploration and experimentation, careful planning and execution, and everything else that (until now) has made Hitman so great, we get a linear, typical, mainstream, and utterly forgettable pile of garbage with the worst story of any game I've ever played. Even 47 himself acts nothing like the real 47, even losing his signature look after the first two missions. But the most depressing thing of all is, because so many people seem to love Absolution, I think it's safe to say that Blood Money will be the last Hitman game. I had to give Absolution a 0/10 not because it's the worst game ever made, but simply because it pretends to be a Hitman game. To any true Hitman fan reading this review, please don't make the same mistake I did. Save your money for a real game.… Expand

There's some to like and much to not like about Hitman: Absolution. First, I feel the Instinct mode it's a better alternative than the overview map of the older games. They put in the option to increase difficulty to shut it off, which is good. One big let down for me, is there is no save system in the game, just a stupid check point system which really awful. In reality, only your position in the area is saved, though, not who you killed or anything else it seems. I found out that if you get guns in one area and then go to the next area, you lose everything you just got. There is not selection of guns when you start a new part either, and gone is the briefcase-- the sniper rifle just appears out of the thin air-- just terrible. That other NPCs you dress like are most suspicious of you sounds like a good idea, but it completely ruins the game because you have to constantly use instinct to try to avoid being detected or sneak passed them anyway. Because of this, you will probably just end up killing a bunch of people, and find yourself not really giving much care about using disguises...I found myself staying in my suit and just sneaking around, and using cover...which really got kind of boring. The game tells you that turning your back to someone will stop them from being suspicious usually, but that rarely worked for me. You can use certain places to 'hide' when someone is getting suspicious, but these places are too few. The AI didn't seem like it was very consistent either. Sometimes I would play through an area and everyone was suspicious of me all the time, and other times I'd play through the same way, and it was like I was just blending in without effort. The storyline is pretty good, the voice acting is good, and the graphics are good. The lighting seemed a little 'off'- perhaps it was the overuse of reflective surfaces that gives the world a sort of washed-out look sometimes. Some areas didn't seem like they offered many different ways to complete them, unlike other Hitman games where it seemed like there were many ways to complete an assassination (which kept you coming back and playing it over to try to figure out all the possible ways)-- here it seems like there might be 2 to 4 ways at most, and that is about it. It feels like a very linear game, instead of the classic sandbox style game Hitman has always been. The world you play in is not very interactive at all-- most of the objects are just for decoration and 47 can't mess with much or rig things up to have 'accidents' happen-- the choices seem limited, and very shallow. Many of the areas are not very large, and most buildings can't be accessed to explore. The Contracts feature was a bit of a let down. Instead of creating some unique locations for the Contracts, they just used the same areas and same people from the storyline-- hardly any real effort was put into it. Basically, Contracts is just a a boring 'social' element they added to the game, which feels more like an after-thought rather than something planned from the beginning. I am hoping that there will be DLC that will expand this game-- not just guns, suites and disguise packs either, and some patches to fix it up. In the end Hitman: Absolution is nothing but a mediocre game, that is good for a couple of play throughs at most. Well, if you can tolerate the check point system, the poor AI performance, the lack of options and linear game play, and the disappointment of approaching your target, only to watch 47 kill them in a cut scene. I can see myself playing through it again maybe one more time, and trying a few more things out. But ultimately it will end up being deleted from my local Steam library in the very near future. Maybe some DLC will resurrect it from the Steam Cloud and I can play it once more, or perhaps the game will get the Steam Workshop on PC, and provide hours of replay with mods and user created content, and improvements. I highly doubt that will happen though...still one can dream of better days.… Expand

Its a shame how brutally square enix murdered this once beautiful franchise and wats worse they have overhyped this trash for almost 2 years.Game is absolute trash as die hard fans have been rating on that page.The best thing i did after finishing absolution was to reinstall Blood Money and realize what die hard fans have loved about this hitman franchise for a decade now been ruined by linear gameplay n trashy broken mechanics with sandbox levels gone(i wont go in detail as u knw already i ur an old hitman fan).20th November marks the eulogy of hitman franchise.There goes another iconic character just like Sam Fisher :(… Expand

i think everyone who played the old hitman games could tell very fast that hitman absolution was a new direction. this is bad because i wanted sandbox levels where i have to kill my target anyway possible. i got maybe several parts or sub levels that were sandbox old school hitman style. the rest of the game was mainly get from point A to B. this made me very sad i wanted to open levels not small segments of evading cops or going from one place to another. the old hitman games had way better story and they did not even go into the detail or base every mission around that story. also the new disguise system as everyone is saying should be, in my opinion, removed. it was implemented poorly and i do not get how the game testers were like i am getting spoted while in disguise, while in a crowd, from about 30 feet away... i mean its cool idea but terrible handicap for this game. the worst part is the lack of open hitman style levels, too much broken up levels where your doing nothing. i got bored really fast and did not bother to try to continue throught the game to try to reach that next sandbox level.… Expand

Dull. Requires no lateral or constructive thinking what so ever, unlike some of its predecessors.

These days the intelligence required to play a video game is indirectly proportional to its advertising budget and Absolution makes a good example of this.

Just sad, The storyline straight out of a movie zo bizarre series, about the game mechanics very fair and very unfree across the stage.
The nuns left over, this is not the movie machete, please.
And most importantly, do not miss this game have 47 kills not speak!

Hitman Absolution gives a challenge for sure. The play style and updated graphics make it an overall appealing game to play. Although there are a few changes to the game like tossing a coin, there are plenty of other things to toss around. The one thing I will say about the game is it's difficulty. The missions are quite a challenge to get through and sometimes downright annoying, so I guess it's the incentive to want to play it more. Overall I gave it an 8 as its not a game that's keeping me glued to the computer but if you're thinking of buying it and have enjoyed the previous hitman games then I think overall you will like it. If you're not up for a challenge and just want a game to walk through don't bother with it. It's going to take you some time to play. Great job Square Enix on a great title!… Expand

Beautiful game destroyed by its UI/HUD. Don't get me wrong. The menu interface is one of the best interfaces I've seen; but the game UI is terrible. It removes all immersion. And I'm too bad to play purist. Why didn't they just make customizable difficulty that would suit everyone instead of making 5 different difficulties that almost doesn't suit anyone?

It is not Hitman. It is Splinter Cell: Absolution. New developers just don't understand the idea of Hitman series. As Splinter Cell: Absolution it is not a bad game, but as Hitman: Absolution it gets 0 from me.

Don't waste your money. Don't waste your money.Don't waste your money.Don't waste your money.Don't waste your money.Don't waste your money.Don't waste your money.

Tedious, Repetitious, monotonous, linear, Non-realistic with a very bogus absurd story...
you weapons just vanish once you start a new mission, Combat and engaging is relatively easier then stealth playing.. the disguise system is useless, and nonsensical, why can't you keep hiding your head if you have no instinct left? Does agent 47 need some sort of a super-power energy to lift his hand? And naming that "thing" as instinct is clearly ridiculous, it's more of an ESP! And the ranking system is fu*ked, i usually get "Professional" in a perfectly stealthy playing, Yet i did get "Shadow" more then once when i killed all enemies and surely engaged in an open combat during the process.. And agent 47 character does help a lot in making the game much more boring, he always has the same expression, lacks charisma, and the creators are clearly trying so hard to make him look like a fearless badass, but all that came was a vague emotionless dull robot.. I don't recommend buying the game, and if you did i recommend you through it through the window and RUN RUN RUN! cuz agent 47 executes everybody, even the redundant useless least-important villains in the game just to make the game longer.… Expand

After having played the first few levels, I was very disappointed. Almost everything I loved about the previous Hitman seems to have gone. The exploration of sandbox stages and finding interesting ways to perform the kill in a world full of possibilities. Here I have to infiltrate buildings and evade stuff through segmented and pretty linear levels. I hated it at first and as a classic Hitman game this one deserves
something around 4/10.

But it would unfair to condemn Absolution, because as game
it's really good. The control and gunfights have been improved
considerably. Visually and artistically its stunning, even
on older cards like my gtx260. All those little conversations
among enemies create a dense atmosphere. Many claim the
disguise system is broken. At first I thought that too, but
its not. It just takes time (and good will) to adjust to the pretty merciless mechanic, especially on higher difficulty settings.

Despite all the strengths this tile has, I seriously hope
IO reconsider their design approach for future Hitman games.… Expand

Look, i'm not going to lie, okay? this game isn't perfect but it's one of the best games this gen imo and i'm not exaggerating, it's sad that most prefer to play generic first person shooter instead of actual good games like this, this game deserves a 9 but i gave it a perfect score to counter all those 0's coming from trolls that haven't even played the game.

Hitman: Absolution isn't perfect but it's one of the best games to release this, it's kinda sad that most "gamers" prefer to play generic, bland and crappy military first person shooter instead of really good games like this, this game deserves a 8.5 but i gave it a perfect score to counter all those 0's coming from trolls that haven't even played the game.

After waiting for 5 years for the new hitman game,"Hitman Absolution" is rather disappointing.
i am never played the first hitman game or the third in the series,but i have played Hitman: Blood Money which much better than this new absolution.
in term of Graphics,The new hitman game is better than all the previous hitman game combined including Hitman: Blood Money. the graphic is great which made agent 47 looked more realistic.also the landscape looked more stunning than ever before,each level is designed with detail which bring places in this game more alive.beside graphics,the new hitman also has triumph in term of sound effect and voice acting.the sound of broken bottle,knife throwing,gun shooting, etc is much more improved. overall,"Hitman: Absolution" is a triumph in term of technical aspect.but unfortunately,the gameplay is not as good as its graphic.
if you had played Hitman: Blood Money,this game will surely be a disappointment.everything about what makes Hitman Blood Money thrilling and exciting,is all been erased.instead the developer choose to make agent 47 like a super assassin which can killed or subdued enemy with a single button.unlike Blood Money where you must carefully planned your stealth action since it takes more than a single press of button to subdued the enemy, the latest hitman is more like a button mashing instead of a stealth game.
"Hitman: Blood Money" is thrilling,suspenseful,pulse-pounding stealth game that also supported with terrific musical score and novelty stories.while "Hitman: Absolution" is more of monotonous button mashing action game with lack of suspense whatsoever.
for those hitman veteran,the latest installment of agent 47 might be one of the worst or disappointing game of 2012,while new player will crave this used-to-be great stealth game.nevertheless,Developer should pay more attention to game play instead of enchanted graphic.a great hitman game like "Hitman Blood Money" is more than just over the top graphic and sound effect.… Expand

disguise system is appalling hence the whole game is pointless. if that was to be fixed the game would be mediocre OK. graphics are great but gameplay wise it feels like a step back compared to the previous installment.

6 years of waiting... is it worth it? When they announced the game, I was so excited, but when I played it... I have to say it:
another game created for the masses.
Hitman was a great game, now they converted it into some kind of good garbage.
Very bad performance, quite good graphics, good gameplay (but not as funny and good as its predecessors) and it finally has a story. The problem is that they have ruined a lot of great sagas, now the Hitman's one. It was better if they stopped it with Blood Money, which already changed too much.
Also, the scoring system is VERY disappointing.
Overall, it's a good game...
... for the new generation gamers.… Expand

I don't think you should consider this a hitman game in anything other than name. I think it plays a lot more like manhunt, if the violence was completely unsatisfying and it had a visit from the chest-high-wall-fairys. Among the worst aspects of this game are:
No ability to save the game. I appreciate this game was probably developed for a console crowd with PC as an afterthought but consoles have had plenty of save game space for years. The "instict mode". I think it is meant to replace the map but doesn't provide any of the functionality of maps in previous games, or for that matter, an actual map like you can get of town centers in real life.
Disguises. I often got caught with disguises in the old games, but in this one I will spend ages smashing bottles to get a victim alone, kill them, and it won't let me take their clothes. If I do get their clothes I have to burn up all my instinct to get anywhere in the disguise. If I do get caught I cannot load I have to start the whole level from the beginning again because saving is so 2000 and late.
Can't choose to start with a sniper rifle or shotgun or M90... or anything but a wire and pistols. Maybe this happens in later levels but I am sure agent 47 could find another gun SOMEWHERE. How about the ones I picked up before the latest cutscene?
Cover based shooting pop up gallery. Ugh.
v00d00m4ns review is a good summary of other failings that while still bad annoy me slightly less than they do him.

Finally I have an AMD 8120, Radeon hd7970 and 8GB ram and really don't think much of the graphics either. They bog down far too much in plant areas to set it to ultra and I just don't think they are that good. I would say ME3 has far better graphics with a similar perspective and that runs nicely on max wherever you go in the game, so I think the people saying "nice graphics but..." are being too kind.… Expand

So, Splinter Cell: Absolution... sorry, I mean Hitman: Absolution is disappointing for a fan of the series. In itself, it is by no means a bad game: it looks great and may be fun to play, unless the player expects the feel, depth and non-linearity of the previous Hitman titles. Unfortunately, as was already said many times, it does not feel like a Hitman game anymore. Why? There are several reasons, but the BIG one is that the game is schizophrenic in its relations with reality. For example, now every person on the level knows their every colleague, in fact, they know each other so well, that can identify the outsider (you) in several seconds from the other side of a crowded street, blowing off your disguise. At the same time, they do not recognize you if you are disguised as a person of another profession, even though they were chatting moments ago, you know, before one of them went to the WC to be dispatched with a crowbar. 47 now also possesses mystical "Instinct" power, that allows him to see through walls and identify his target (by smell?). Now, that's so much more realistic than the map, dynamically showing target position, isn't it? Besides, "Instinct" allows our bold hero to blend with the crowd by scratching his head for a moment. It is to avoid being recognized by the aforementioned colleagues. The only problem is that 47 can only scratch his head for 3-10 seconds, depending on the difficulty settings, otherwise his "Instinct" runs out.

Finally, now a bottle, an axe and a sniper rifle can all be concealed under 47's suit. Momentarily.

Has Conviction become a "Call of Duty of stealth shooters", so that now developers feel their game should be like it? Using disguise is discouraged, exploration options are minimized and so the players, especially on the higher difficulty settings have to resort to linear sneaking.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Well Where to begin ?
the good : Great mechanics the new engine feels a lot smoother then previous ones
Nice idea adding the ability to estimate your enemy's location with the "Hitman Sense"
The Bad: There is a lot to say here ,First of all and this is the most important part the inability to choose your equipment prior to your mission and plan in advance what kind of game you want to be playing turns this game from hitman to just another pretty shooter , shows me the developers are not listening to their audience
the fact that you give us a cool new way of interaction doesnt make this part the main part of the game and infact the single player feels as though its the "no so important" part of the game the AI is either too smart or too dumb (depending on what level you play)
the weapons don't feel like the cool assassin's weapons they where in hitman
and since you cant choose them they simply feel forced on you shooting someone directly in the head before he even notices you (like i could do in blood money) like a true weapons expert is really difficult
as a true hitman lover i have to say i HATE this game
the only similarity between it and the hitman series is the Main character and even there it starts to feel like they are trying to make him less of an expert assassin and more like a mortal man learning his way around the world - its been done before and its pointless
maybe they are trying to introduce a new character to the series (i hope not) but this is a really bad way of doing it
all in all im giving it a 5 simply because i do not want to kill the review completely im going to stop ranting now (i have a lot of bad things to say)
the only thing i want to say is : THIS IS NOT A HITMAN GAME… Expand

Dear IO interactive,
Please get your heads out of your asses and give us the game you promised. You know, the one where you said "Absolution would be easier to play and more accessible, while still retaining hardcore aspects of the franchise". Seriously, what the **** were you guys thinking? I'd buy DLC for Blood Money any day over this pile of sheet. Thanks for ruining another great franchise. Sincerely,
Pain McPain.

PS. The DLC costume for the Deus Ex character is the most retarded ****ing thing I have ever seen in a game. Way to go.… Expand

How it went from Hitman Blood Money to this is beyond me, this is one of the most disappointing games I have ever played in my life, everything that made the other Hitman games good are not in Absolution, your best bet is to play the old Hitman games and pretend Absolution didn't even happen.

i'm a big fan of series. hitman see between walls!?! mmm.. good graphics ok, but the heart of the game: the strategic planning of the killing, the map, the chosen of the weapons, they are deleted. i don't see a big difference between agent 47 and ezio auditore; the game is end in the same mode of resident evil games. too much action, too less contracts. bad for me