New game about Agent 47 causes only good feelings. Developers created new game engine for Hitman. Graphics in this game is nice. New elements organically was added in gameplay. Story was surprised for me. But I can't to choose best game in this year about killer/assassin? Hitman or Assassin's Creed? On my mind, today we have two perfect action games. When was the last time?

This game is simply stunning from the atmospheric graphics, to the all out action. Not to mention the the background sound that is pretty amazing too. The point shout killing feature and the slow motion effect is just amazing. Overall this is one of my favorite games, And the best one in the Hitman series I've ever played. Looking forward to the sequel of Hitman: Absolution.

I dont get why people rate this game down ...

Its a masterpiece from beginning to the end ...

Never had so much fun with a STEALTH game since Splinter Cell 1

Very nice and not at all dumbed down or anything ...

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.

Awesome game, finally difficulty makes a difference in a game. Beat it on easy, beat it on normal, and then DIE! And then two more difficulties after that! On easy you can certainly blast your way through anyone, on normal you can shoot your way out of a situation or two, but hard will take you back to everything that has made the hitman series great. All these people complaining about the death of the series should stop playing on easy. Playing on hard is awesome, you can't just blast your way through levels, and the hours of strategy are enthralling. Could I take this guy out before the other guard walks by? Where could I hide him though? Would they see that? Could I get a clear shot up there? So many means to the same end, perfection. And you will pay dearly for perfection. Did they just see those legs slip around the corner? Did they hear that? Will they buy your disguise? Quite often those questions are followed by a fatal barrage of bullets, or a score shattering shooting spree. Anyone can kill, but killing quietly, and with discretion, is much more meticulous and entertaining than massacres (After the first playthrough at least ;D) And contracts makes the game exponentially larger than just the campaign, which is also awesome. After all, who could come up with more twisted and greuling challenges for the players, but the players themselves. Awesome game, awesome melee and combat system, great variety, and challenging and addictive gameplay. And for all those whining about the differences between this and blood money, there is one word: CONTRACTS!… Expand

im just writing this because i am enjoying the game so much , and it looks great on pc , if you have nvidia gpu just use fxaa and 2x msaa shadows on medium or high, looks like ultra but better performance ,and looks 10 times better than consoles! if you enjoyed splinter cell conviction. this is for you , great game!

I find it pathetic that some folks still can't take off thier nostalgia goggles for seconds to review this game fairly instead of hating on it and giving it a low score because certain moment in the story that i won't spoil here annoyed them, it's sad to see games like this, Darksider 2 and Assassin's Creed III get bashed while generic military first person shooters get praised by the same people, this game isn't perfect but it's one of the best games to release this gen imo, great story, great graphics and gameplay, absolutely no bugs/glitches, just perfect.… Expand

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!

Best stealth for me in a long time. To make things clear - when I see a stealth game, I want clean and silent killing, being able to stay unseen though out my mission and game itself should be really challenging. Other things are not so important. Hitman: Absolution delivers it.
Some things were dumped like sniper rifle case, ability to carry all weaponry at once, map, looking through keyhole and maybe something else i forgot to mention. But those are just minor tools. What really matters is gameplay itself - goal and how we can achieve that. Game is till about killing people in different ways, sometimes making it look like accidents. People complain about nerfed masquerade? Well deal with it. Now getting security/police uniform is no longer an "I WIN" button. Admit it - in iconic Blood Money, 90% of succes in a mission was finding a suit that was granting access to whole area, or atleast it's main parts. That was security guy in most cases. After that we only had to choose how to kill target and dump its body. Now people with same outfits will become suspicious about you, and after brief time will start calling for help or shoot you. To avoid that you still stay out of their sight or use "instict" which is a precious resource you should learn how to manage. I've been playing on expert through out main story line and to stay unnoticed in smaller location or get silent assasin on larger ones, i had to invest ALOT of time. Overall i've spent around 48 hours of game time to complete campaign on expert without being noticed a single time and get silent assasin mark on every kill mission. In my book that is really long singleplayer, especially nowdays. Sure thing if you play on medium and you are not so obsessed with clean work then i think it can go down to somewhere around 20 hours which is good, nevertheless. Contracts mode is nice, but has a lot of room for improvement. People tend to make easy contracts like killing 3 first NPC with pistol, then get out and get money. It takes like 30 sec to complete, and provides same amount of money as a pice-of-art assasination contract that requires skill, planning and flawless execution from players and contract creator. I think IO should implement not only likes/dislikes on contracts , but some sort of difficulty voting and search system, so people can look for what they really want. There are also contracts that are made by random pulling of NCP from crowded to isolated areas. It results in silent kill, but finding that exact same spot on the wall to throw brick into is just stupid. Apart from that, contracts provide additional play time to itself long story mode.
Tech. part of the game is good. Surprisingly low amount of bugs, none of which are gamebreaking, good visuals, nice sound. This game is solid 9/10 with some room for improvement, but it gets 10 just to compensate for morons giving it 0's.… Expand

This is an amazing game with great graphics and: Great gameplay(!). The story is not the best but the gameplay is such amazing...... Killing people in dozens of possibility. You have to play this awesome game on hard or harder, 'cause it makes more fun!!!

best game ever.hitman absolution isnt good becuase of its story (not that the story not good) its good becuase of the assassination.every kill is very setisfieng and there are a lot of ways to kill your enemies.contracts mode is very good but a littile hard.never mind.so anyway hitman absolurion deserve a 10/10.so buy it.

big thanks to the developers! Hitman is the best in the series. Keep it up! Recognition honestly, your game was one of the few I bought licenses, and I do not regret the money spent, super! It is a pity that the short .... (((

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..............

Amazing. This Is Much better then Blood Money. I Know That You Could Have a playground in Blood Money but every mission felt like an add on to a game. Absolution has great cover mechanics like gears. The Story is Riveting and deep. The Levels are fun and highly re playable. People complain about the disguise mechanic but there are ways of getting past it. The Point System isn't an annoying coach telling you what to do. If you care for score then learn from mistakes. The Glacier 2 engine does a great job with graphics even on low. The checkpoint does re spawn enemies but you can do better points wise. The only flaw of this game is the combat but the goods of the game just make it awesome. It can be hard on purist and using instinct and smart thinking is key. I recommend playing easier difficulties. DON'T DIVE INTO PURIST. I Loved this game from beginning to end and i might be one of the very few 10 out of 10 but i'm gonna spend 17 hours wasting my life playing it again. (:… Expand

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

Hitman Absolution is a game plagued by two things, people who want games to be able to change without HUGE backlash from old and new fans alike, and people from /v/ who expect games to never change and always be about the same thing and never even begin to try and change how they are played or even what your goal is.


I can do anything i could do in blood money but now i have even more options, game play wise this game stayed more of the same than it changed the instinct had some interesting results and i can see were it effected level design.

The story is pretty simple but the characters make it more enjoyable. Contracts mode is also one of the most clever ways to give a single player game a Multiplayer mode without it feeling tacked on in a long time.… Expand

Sure, the game is little different, but does it means it's a bad game? No. It's a wonderful stealth game with great graphics, it is the best looking game on PC. Missions can be finished many many ways, stealth feels very satisfying. There is a lot of replay value. Difficulty options for the game are perfect, almost everyone can enjoy this game. The things I don't like are not being able to buy weapons at the beginning of the mission, also the fact that I can hide sniper rifle and other large weapons, why? I actually like new disguise system, it feels challenging. It feels like Hitman's 2 disguise system but done better, in my opinion that is. Sound and music are superb.… Expand

This is by far the most ambitious Hitman game yet and wow! what a compelling story that keeps you on the edge, a none stop tour de force.
At first i was expecting gun load outs and a map like before in other games but then i realized what they were going for, a man on the run left to his own devices procuring weapons along the way.
For those who say harsh things about this game either miss what the makers were going for or they are just one of those fast pace teenaged COD players that have a lack of patients and witt.
Contracts is a very fun online addition to the series that brings life into the world of hitman and give you the ability to create your own contracts on the targets you wish, and create and a storyline for other players to read and enjoy.… Expand

This is the best Hitman ever! the + Good history Nice level design the voice acting is beautiful! the lightning level i perfect there is many ways you can complete the level (etc. you can go stealth and use the environment as your weapon or you can just shoot your way out!) many cool disguises many cool weapons funny easter eggs This game is the very best game from the HITMAN series!

the -

- Need more chicks! ;)… Expand

I'm not a fan of the Hitman series. I never played the other Hitman games. However I was impressed when completed the game. I loved the story, and the developer put in subtle humour here an there, which I liked very much. After completing the game on normal, I have moved on to the hard difficulty and am finding the game very fun to play through a second time (on the harder difficulty). Also my main is to get perfect scores every level but that's pretty hard :P All in all I think its a really solid game. Maybe if you liked the old games, you won't like this one (taken from what other people are saying), but if you are a newcomer, such as me,I think you will enjoy this game very much.… Expand

I don't understand the low ratings. I've played all hitman games on their respective era I won't talk about graphics its a must. But the game play I think is an improvement. Its much more realistic. You don't see all the people on the map via your machinery instead you sense nearby enemies and use your senses to guess their movement. When you put up a cop suit you just don't instantly turn into a cop but still a suspectible person (think that you are the chef of the kitchen and you don't recognize a different face among your crew, impossible) I think game deserves a better user rating and its been overly underrated.… Expand

Impossible. Yeah, with some negative moments, but they mean little. Everyone who writes about those details that really do not matter idiots
Brilliant!

Dont get me wrong this game is not a game 10/10 its a 8/10 but there are reviews of user that gave 0/10 that is just stupid Comn dudes this game is good

what a game! enjoyed every minute and was sad when it ended. compelling storyline, endless replayability, good graphics, challenging AI One of my favourite games ever

As most reviews say, this is not the Hitman you know, this is very different. The levels are not as big as some of the previous games, but if you ask me, they are way more detailed and more options than the previous Hitman games. You don't get to much of an open world anymore, but more a, get from point A to Point B style. i was skeptical about this at first, but grew to love it, even though it's a From point A to B, you still get alot of diversion and ALOT of choices on how you wanna get there. The new disguise system is 50/50, i love how it adds to the realism. The cop will know you are not one of his colleagues, but how is the civillian to know that you are not a cop? It is a bit to sensitive though, even though you are standing with your back to a guy who is 6-7 meters away he will still notice that you are not one of them, and that is a bit to much. You don't get to choose what weapons and equipment you wanna use anymore at the start of the game though, but i think this adds to the fun, and it works well with the story, this also means that you don't have a pocket filled with thousand coins anymore, instead you gotta find objects around the world, that you can use as distractions/weapons, this is also a welcome change.
The story is also a big part of Absolution, in the previous games. You got your mission and then you executed it, however you felt like and that was that, and that was good, cause that's why you played it.
I felt alot more motivated to keep going in this one, cause of the story and what happend in it, and even though i mostly try to do it stealth with none or a few extra casualties , there was just places where i went in guns blazing cause i didn't think the ones i was up against deserved to live. I also had some really heartpounding moments, cause i was so focused on killing my target for one reason or another and that rarely happens to me.
On that note, it also alot funnier to do fire fights in Absolution: When you empty your 45 cal. UMP magazine into a guy and you see him spasm all over the place as he falls to the ground, feels really awesome.

All in all I will give this game a 9/10 it is a great game, but with a few things i would like tweeked, but these things are so minor that they can be looked through pretty easly. Don't expect the next version of Blood Money, but a deeper more involved game.… Expand

Many things have changed since Hitman: Blood Money. The graphics have improved immensely, each room is full of details that are unique to that room, not the classic standard decor that repeats in the whole game. The character moves more fluidly, and it includes features like the quicksooting (i think that's what is called). There are many more levels than in HM: BM, however, they are shorter and more linear. The door feature makes it impossible to finish the mission the way you want but rather the way they designed it to be finished. The contracts mode makes the game much more replayable by creating new objectives and the community seems very involved when it comes to create new contracts.
As you can see, this new release is a mixed bag of new changes but I believe the pros clearly outweight the cons.
Absolution is a title worth buying if you take it with an open mind and dont expect Blood money with better textures.… Expand

Wow, amazing game. I'll get the bad THING out of the way first and that is the DISGUISE system. You are too easily recognized by people wearing the same clothes, realistic, but ridiculous.
Second of all red reviews should be ignored because they are mainly complaining due to the game "crashing" or "bad controls" or "bad graphics". Crashing? Your computer's fault. Bad controls? Play it with a controller. Bad Graphics? Get a better computer. Make sure you have an ideal computer before even trying to review a game. Not their fault.
The game itself is amazing, Good story, clear view on who's the "bad guy" and the game's audio and visual are stunning. Unlike the past Hitman games you seem to be more interactive with the environment. 9/10… Expand

Yes this Hitman is too much corridor. Also selection of weapons (no mods) and the embarrassing fact that large sniper rifle (and any other big guns), you just hide it under a coat . But if I have to evaluate the game as a whole its great, and I still have the urge to pass it again and again. I went through it twice already and now i have started playing on the purist difficulty with any support off .. AND THIS IS WHERE THE REAL HITMAN BEGINS. At this moment, you forget all the shortcomings of this game. It is definitely not a dumb Console shooter but you will get a decent amount of paranoia, anxiety, and you will need logical and tactical thinking. If i evaluate the AI in Blood Money and Absolution (the hardest difficulty)Absolution is the winner, relates to the reality of a response and adversaries alike. A graphic is just amazing. Great gameplay, AI, reality of environments and graphics. For me it's 9/10.… 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

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.

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

I've never played the other Hitman games, but I thoroughly enjoyed this game. I really didn't expect to, as I figured the entire franchise was slow and clunky, but this was fun and engaging.

Darkness, violence, freedom, diversity. More features. Great atmosphere. There is still a lot of room for improvements but would it be still enjoyable if it was more difficult and realistic ? For me it's a must have.

I'll start off by saying up front that this is my first Hitman game. I just finished it this evening. There are so many games that I don't enjoy and struggle through to the end (like Assasins Creed 1+2, or Mass effect 3), or just abandon all together because they just aren't fun (too many to list unfortunately). I found this game a lot of fun, and I kept coming back until I had beat the SP campaign, and will keep coming back to play the contracts mode and improve my hitman skills and scores. Most of the time, my attempted hits turned into massive bloodbaths, usually because I was impatient, or because I was wearing the wrong disguise and didn't stay out of sight.

When things turned into a massacre, I thought to myself "That's ok, I can play this level again, but differently the next time". Next time...See, most single player games I play, then forget about and generally never play again. This game, I find myself wanting to come back and play it, find new ways to play it, master etc. There is a lot of challenge there, and it's compelling.

Disguises work fine. You just have to find a disguise that won't get you sprung as easily. I found that each level usually has at least one unique disguise that allows you free reign of a level, or at least most areas of it.
The story was deliberately ham-fisted and tongue-in-cheek and the sections people are complaining about are either very short and inconsequential, or they can be approaching in a completely different way (the quick-time event wrestling match could be done in multiple ways).

I will make a point of playing Blood Money now, as I have it on Steam, but as a noob to the series, I had no problems with Absolution at all. It offered many different ways to complete objectives, and the firefights were very engaging and satisfying thanks to great animations, ragdoll physics and an amazing visual engine in general. I thought it was excellent, as well as being one of the best looking games I have ever played, and very well optimized too. It ran on average at 100fps on my HD5850 and i5 2500K, at 1080p on the highest settings, bar MSAA.… Expand

An excellent game on PC if you take it on its own and quit moaning about how its not exactly like the ones from 10 years ago. Graphics are amazing on a beast machine this game is your showcase game. GORGEOUS. Story is good enough that you know why your doing what your doing and thats the key element. Your actually a sneaky assassin and its damn fun trying to figure out all the ways to kill your target! In short, this is one of the best games in 2012.… 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

all i can say is that the wait was worthed and worthed to full price. why? 30+ hours of single player and you can have 60,100 hours because theres a insane ammount of ways to do your objective you can play each level in hundred different ways and so you can replay and replay and have new experience. the downside is the disguise system isnt what i was used to be, but lets be honest here, on previous titles it almost made you like in god mode, now it works but you've limits, its meant now for last resort and sudden situations where you stumble into an enemy. you can't choose loadouts on SP but you can on contracts mode, wich is the same of SP but you've more freedom. lenghty, fun and sandbox....... you'll find yourself playing it for years!!… Expand

For all complaints This game may not the best out-there, but is just amazing.
We're not talking about graphics (they're pretty good), we're talking 'bout playability, and that my friends its a nice point.
Ok play in lower levels of difficulty ...hitman sense, enemies paths, objects sub-lined, you can go on...
WE must play on Purist!!! there's were lives and shines the real game.
No map, no sense, no nothing...only you and your brain. Extremely hard tough guys, no place to run, no time to disguise...think before u shoot. I've spent a lot of hours replaying and creating new ways to kill to get unnoticed.
So go for it guys...this games rules.… Expand

I dont have no idia why people are arguing. THIS GAME IS AWESOME! Beutiful gameplaygraphics and good storyline. Contracts is **** boss. Probably because they are cod fanboys.Dont listen to them....

It's about time Agent 47 took a new direction. Admit it, after four games of stealth it gets boring fast. Much like Sam Fisher on Splinter Cell: Conviction. Fast paced, action and a good shoot-em-up time. Disgusting that the brain raped Crap of Duty console gamers have a say in this. If people don't like it, the go shoot everyone in Blood Money's painfully short levels.

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

any one how givs this game less then 8.0 is not worth reading!!
Hitman: Absolution is an exellent game and rghit on time becuse all other games that came out to this time are boring maby axcept medal of honor warfighter also great game
you cant say any thing bad about this game, the graphichs awesome flowed game play and great sound.
i never liked the hitman franchise but this one is different from all aspects.
so if you are looking for a good game to play current time play this one you will enjoy it.… Expand

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

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.

You all have to be the biggest gang of babies on the face of the Earth. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, IT'S NOT BLOOD MONEY VERBATIUM, WAAAAAAAAAAAAA! THY PUT AN ACTUAL STORY LINE THAT DOESN'T BLOW WAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! Just stfu. Play the game for what it is. If you get over yourself, you see it's got some great mechanics, visuals, storyline, and endless options.

I know it is probably getting to sound redundant by now but I am a series Hitman fan. I've played every one and had tons of fun with every title. I played the Sniper Challenge to DEATH got all the challenges. Anyways I honestly say this game is amazing in almost every aspect. Yes they have taken some things out, adjusted some things and changed the way disguises work. Out of all they have changed the only thing that is really a stickler is way disguises work. Now I won't go into it too much because by now everyone knows how it works now, but to defend the change just a little bit it makes the game even MORE challenging especially on the harder difficulty settings. Personally I love a game that challenges me and this is one of those games. To complete the challenges on any said one level of single player your looking at INSANE re-playability. Heck I believe it took me around 7 hours to get every challenge on the Chinatown level. Contracts is very addictive and fresh in its own right, just the vast amount of options that can be created is astonishing. You can have up to three targets and each target can have their own specific way to eliminate, such as method of kill and the disguise you wear to kill them. You will find yourself playing these multiple times just to figure out each kill then trying to string them together in the fastest time possible. Overall Hitman has been dormant for a loong time now and the release of this is a COMPLETE breath of fresh air among the endless tide of FPS titles and FPS franchise sequels that are almost always too afraid to be bold and mix things up. Bottom line if you are or were a fan of any of these Hitman games I strongly recommend getting this one.… Expand

Very good game, from start to finish, this is the best we've played already the franchise, and not hear comments like this: hitman is like splinter cell! because it is not true. play it =]

Hitman: Absolution is a beautiful game, stunning graphics and the awesome thing is you dont need a monster pc to play. That is the first thing to notice. If you are a fan of the old hitman's this game will feel a bit dumb downed compared to the old ones. But set aside on its own, its a well designed game with all the old hitman tools and tricks with a few new one for the casual gamer. The game starts off feeling a bit liner but as you progress so does the levels, witch is awesome for a new gamer. If you looking for a rework of the first hitman, this is not it. But if you looking for a game that will challenge you, thats replayable and give you jaw dropping graphics this is the game for you. I love Hitman, and i love this game. If you want your old hitman don't play on normal, play professional then you are a true hitman fan.… Expand

I played all the Hitman games and I loved them all and I also love this one. Only problem I see is that IO seems to have forgotten about Blood Money and I was really hoping they'd continue the story. But if you ignore that fact and only look at Absolution on it's own, I think it's a pretty damn good Hitman. It's hard, it's cool and the story gives a nice new aspect to the whole thing, even thou it might not be the most innovative and logical one.… Expand

These reviews are absurd. I've been an avid fan of the Hitman series since the first release and was afraid that the same would happen with Absolution, with what happened to Conviction- To conform and accommodate the generation of casual gamers who don't wish to do a lot of thinking and run through good looking levels without too much effort.

Fortunately, to my pleasure, this is absolutely not the case. The game mechanics, presentation and playability is nothing less than excellent. Those who claim the game is too easy, dumbed down or not "Hitman" any more, is either not playing it on a hard enough difficulty or was expecting a remake of a previous Hitman with new levels and a new graphics engine. The difficulty in Absolution plays a huge role in the actual game-play. Accommodating for two very different players. For those, like me, who've been waiting for a new instalment in the Hitman series, I highly recommend you play the game on Expert or Purist mode. For those wanting to play casually through Absolution without too much retries and with lots of guidance, pick a lower difficulty setting. Referring to higher difficulty settings; The realism and AI is amazing, wearing the same outfits as enemies would make them get suspicious when you're getting to close- this is where instinct is mainly used (by turning 47's head to the side or by raising his elbow to evade a direct face to face detection). This really makes sense to me as "people" in a certain group/job category tend to know each other and would become curious/cautious to whom this "new guy" is. Things I liked : - Animations
- Game-play mechanics - Story and level design - Realism
- Fire fights are insane
- Graphics goes without saying
- 5.1 will blow you away. Dislikes - No suitcase ? This is very sadistic of IOInteractive
- Not clear on how much points are needed to achieve the different ratings (Silent Assassin, expert, ...)
- Accidental deaths count towards your "kills" *
This game is meant to be played on a high difficulty and begs for you to achieve Silent Assassin rating. **
Hope this help anyone in doubt :D… Expand

I have written this review because I completely disagreed with the harsh negative attitude towards this game. To give some perspective. I have finished the game. I have played all the hitman games since it was released. After spending 2 days downloading on some average ADSL connection I finally hit the ground running. I had waited for this game for a long time. I was excited.

I found that initially I was ticked off that the game didn't allow me to save how I wanted. After an hour of play I didn't care. The check points were evenly spaced to allow for trial an error with out much punishment.

The cover system was smooth, the combat system was ok. Allowed for great variation even with out using firearms. If a person cannot play this game on easy and dies continually it's not the games fault you're just bad at this game. I died maybe 7 times through out the whole game. It was easy. Blood money was the only well made hitman game. The others were clunky. I loved them but they were horribly clunky. I felt this change in direction could have been how i wanted hitman to be all along. I wanted that greater interaction. I wanted smoother transitions between hunting, hiding and execution of the target. I hated waiting 15 minutes around corridors for soldiers to move out of the way in uninteresting environments. (Hitman 2) This is not the same as Blood money. It has changed game play style and sometimes that can cause reactions and have a backlash from people who cannot handle experimentation in a franchise. However there is nothing deeply wrong with this game. Visually its pleasing. The game play moves more fluidly and it feels like an execution. The story line doesn't add or detract from this game in my opinion. Its there. It was really all about doing the task and finding a way to do it through experimentation.

If you start on easy it's not hard at all. Compared to the other Hitmans where it was always hard even on easy. I am convinced that this was a good move for Hitman and that if you could bring the current game mechanics inline with more of the old games ability to plan hits, Hitman will continue to be a vibrant franchise. The hitmans story was average, the gameplay was involved allowing players to perform tasks how they wished. Problem is hitman never really did have a storyline that was delivered exceptionally well. It was ok. It certainly was very interesting conceptually. I felt this game did make me more interested in the storylines compared to the previous onces with the exception of the original.

I would not have wanted this game in any other way. It was what I wanted in a Hitman game.… Expand

Great game. innovative and new but still Hitman and a great stealth game. Definitely has good replayability with contracts mode and multiple ways to finish each level. Graphics are impressive as well. Don't listen to people hating on it, I only encountered a few minor bugs. Story line is great, especially the ending.

I have been playing all the games in the series and I was fairly disappointed in blood money. But this was a really way of moving on and a lot of working new game engine ideas. Of course a lot could use some tuning and some things away but to have all sort of ways to finish each map is really great. Stealth works both with and without using the new "instinct" function. One major mistake is the revival of enemies after a restart of checkpoint as well as some of the maps without alternatives, but I really enjoyed this and will play this over and over.… Expand

A true silent assassin doesn't need a sniper rifle or a machine gun. Actually, you can get away without a single shot fired or disguise used. And stop complaining that you can't choose weapons for your missions in Hitman: Absolution

I think Hitman is great. Awesome climate just like in previous part. I bought it for 17 euros at http://www.go2arena.com/hitman.html . Some people complains for its animation, but i think it suits for this type of game and its climate.

To all the nostalgic fans out there: no, this isn't Blood Money. And I'm a nostalgic too, but hope isn't lost. On the contrary, with Absolution you'll get a very mature and engaging plot, you'll see an Agent 47 driven, probably for the first time, by human feelings. And that's what makes the story so strong. With stunning graphics, of course.
The Contract mode is quite fun, if you have some friends to compete with. Not that the contracts created by other users are boring. It really makes you discover every little thing of every level. Every detail, every weapon, every situation that can be used to your advantage.
There are downsides, though. I would have liked to hear a little more variety of voices. You'll see my point after a few missions spent walking through crowds of people.
You can hide a sniper rifle in your pants? This is supposed to be Agent 47, not Guybrush Threepwood! I miss the old sniper rifle case, it looked so cool!
The disguise system surely has been improved, but it's far from perfect. Chicago is quite a big city, how comes every damn cop knows each other? And how can a normal cop be suspicious about me when I'm wearing a SWAT disguise? Seriously, my whole face is covered by the ski mask! He can only see my eyes!
In conclusion, it's not perfect, but it's a damn good comeback for 47. Really hope to not have to wait another 6 year for a sequel.… Expand

I really do not understand all the negative reviews here. Maybe this game was just poorly put together on release? I'm about 4 hours in and having a blast. The graphics are spectacular, music + sound + ambiance are great, the story is silly but enjoyable, the controls are fairly nice (for keyboard + mouse)... for those of you complaining about the 'FPS' mechanics, you can choose to be as stealthy or as shooty as you want, the game leaves options open. The multiple achievements for each mission is especially nice as it encourages you to explore all the different ways you might complete a mission.

And, ultimately, the game is just fun. It's a lot of fun.

The only game mechanics I don't like: the you can't just adopt a disguise and walk around willy nilly, as people (with the same disguise) will see through it. And mashing a button to 'subdue' a person is kind of silly. Just let me press the button and be done with it. And some missions drift away from the open-ended 'figure out how to kill these guys'. But I'm okay with that.

I suppose if you were looking for a clone of Blood Money with better graphics you might be disappointed. But regardless, if you judge it as a game on its own merits, it's very well put together, well presented, and very fun.… Expand

Some people complain about it being too much like splinter cell but I like splinter cell and it still have everything that I liked from the first Hitman games. The movement system is like a combination of "DeusEx human revolution" and the old "Tomb raider" games. There are many ways of completing a mission. The only bad thing is that it does not matter how easy bodies can be found when there is no place to dispose them. The close distance to the enemies combined with the high accuracy with the silenced gun gives a feeling of perfection when being able to get 5 headshots in one second. It was much better than "MaxPayne 3" because 47 is not so stupid.… Expand

Having played all the previous titles, I thought I knew what to expect. Fortunately, that went out the window with the first "woah" moment. And you'll find in Absolution plenty of them. The story is very well made and it feels like you're watching a good action movie. One of the most impressive features of Hitman Absolution is the voice acting. You don't see the same quality in most other games; really well done. Graphically, it ranks high when compared with games launched around its release time. Every frame of any cutscene can be transformed into a beautiful art piece to hang on your walls. The cutscenes connect the gameplay seamlessly. Gameplay-wise, it's a good improvement from its predecessors as 47 feels more natural than ever. The cover system is really well made even though sometimes your head is way above the counter you're hiding behind. Intuition, as a gameplay mechanic, is great. It will convince even the most brutal player not to kill every NPC and it also serves as a "tutorial" for new players or for those who want to get their hands on the highest difficulties. If you finished any other Hitman game, be sure to try the tougher challenges too. The multiplayer part of it consists in creating and completing contracts made by your friends. Not only will it challenge your friends but creating a good contract will also challenge you to complete it first, to prove that it can be done. If playing on PC, I highly recommend using a controller when playing Absolution. Not that keyboard & mouse aren't great, but you'll get the most out of its cinematic experience. In conclusion, a great game, polished and not a full 10 because of a couple bugs.… Expand

Hitman Absolution is a great game, the graphics are very good. But unfortunately they've made it more storyline based rather than like Blood Money. The disguises don't work unless you have a certain amount of instinct. But most of the time you always run out and start a huge firefight. Which completely ruins the stealth of this game. I understand that if there is no instincts bar then it'll be just like Blood Money where you can wear a disguise and go wherever you want without being caught. But they should at least make it last longer, especially in out door areas.

The way stealth has been implemented in this game is that it's more cover based stealth. You cant be seen 99% of the time. But in a good way it makes the game a lot more harder especially in the hardest difficulty Purist. It's all about trial and error, waiting for that person to move, what you can do there and where to go etc. The weapons are ok, but there needs to be more silenced weapons, rather than un-silenced loud weapons which you pick up from the NPCs on the level. You cant choose which weapons you can have before you start a level, which is slightly annoying. You can only do that on contracts mode.

The levels are also quite linear, but in a good way on some. There are many weapons in the environment that you can kill people with which is awesome.

The voice acting of Bateson is also pretty good but in some cutscenes there could had been more opportunity for him to speak. You can listen to him speaking when you press F1.

The game runs fine, but I hope in the future that Nixxies improves it because I only get around 45-60+ FPS but the game runs fine. (Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz. ATI Radeon 6950)

Overall, the game is pretty good. It's just that it could had been better if the disguise system wasn't so annoyingly broken, and getting caught ALL the time.… Expand

I don't understand all of the hate here for this game, go back and play contracts, then boot this up and I dare you to say this game isn't better. It's a solid game with a **** ton of single player campaign to play through. It's not perfect but **** - 0 scores? Come on now, don't be so quick to trash it because a new dev tried something different, give it the credit it's due. This is a solid game that has a lot of variety, and it's a ton of fun. Name one other game besides grand theft auto maybe where you can run around an entire map and kill every single person you see with a bong.… Expand

Departure from the Hitman we knew in Blood Money but nonetheless a good game. My only big issue is with the disguise system and some minor interaction issues. Allows you to be creative with the kills and presents a good enough challenge that I will go through again and try and achieve perfection on all of the missions.

A sometimes underrated game. Although changing from previous instalments, it is an enjoyable and complex game that allows you to go through levels in many different ways (if you are lucky enough to find them), often leading to me taking completely different routes after restoring checkpoints etc.

The openness of previous games is taken from this Hitman, but it doesn't ruin the game, considering the story, and I'm not sure whether it's on purpose that levels get better and better on the way through, or whether it's you adjusting to each situation. Worth a thorough playthrough… Expand

The graphics are awesome, the game is very ruthless, but you can manage to go through a mission without actually doing it 'the right way'. Lots of options on how to kill your targets if you are patient and spend time exploring the maps. I like the story aswell. I didn't play any of the other games though, so I have nothing to compare it to, other than the fact it is a better stealth game to me, than most. It held me entertained through the campaign the whole way and I wanted to know more of the story as it went along. I liked the gunplay and the options that I had for killing my targets.

It isn't exactly perfect, but it was a great experience, 8/10… 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

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.

The toughest Hitman game you will ever play if you are the stealthy guy and like to go for silent assassin. This is because the overhaul of the disguise system. Lets say you're disguised as a cook: All other cooks will see through your disguise as they know all their colleagues. This gets silly when you are wearing disguises that fully cover your face, like a special forces combat suit. There is always like one uber-disguise in the level, that will work in 90% of the areas, but it's impossible to get on purist mode. IO said that they will fix the disguise system. That's the sole reason why I will give the game an 8 for now and hopefully return giving a 10. See it for yourself. As soon as you play on hard the game will screw you over.… Expand

I have played and own all the Hitman games and love them all. From the go I could not wait for this game to be released, constantly excited for it! So when it did finally come out I installed it and got playing it at roughly 1am.

First thing to hit me was the Graphics. I run a i5 2400k, 2GB 460GTX, 8GB ram PC. I can play it on High if I want some frame rate drops or on normal/med if I want it smooth. Either way, the game looks stunning. The environments, the setting, the atmosphere, Agent 47s barcode all done to an amazing detail. Everything looks amazing and polished. However, the bloom effect were slight over-powering, with the bloom bouncing off Agent 47s shiny head being a slight distraction, but you get used to it.

The music is great! Fits the scenes perfectly and extremely adaptive to how the current situation plays out. Sneaking through the level? No problem, here some suspense background music, oh wait, you just strangled a guy with fibewire - here;s a sudden 5 second dramatic piece to add to that tension. Oh look, your blasting your way out of a firefight! Here is an dramatic action music piece to match the scene. So whatever your play style, the music fits with it perfectly.

The biggie, Gameplay. What the previous Hitman games have are still here. Some parts are more up to scratch and actually improve on the originals while other are either dumbed down or actually don't seem to work. Lets start with the negatives, and the most easily look at one. The disguise system. So in past Hitman games, you could easily walk around with people like you and blend in and out of a scene. However, not so with Absolution. Now the game assumes all police officers know all police officers. If you are in a police mans outfit and another policeman spots you, you get a suspicion indicator slowly grow. This make the disguise system, especially on the difficulty Hard or above, broken. Sometimes it easier to just use cover throughout the whole level or simply kill everyone with your weapons. With such interesting disguises I was looking forward to playing about with them, but it felt more trouble than it was really worth. Now my second kind-of negative point is the instinct. Or at least it was a negative point when I first heard about it. Then I remembered that in the old Hitman games there was a thing called a map showing where everybody was. Instinct is a great feature to replace the map with as it makes the game more difficult and challenging while also being a helpful tool to predicting enemies movements and, as a last resort, run away/gun everybody down.

Onto the more positive gameplay aspects. Its still Hitman. You still get assigned targets in most missions and still have many ways on taking that target down. And man is it fun taking down those targets, either with a sniper **** or by making it look like an accident and exploding a gas cooker. The crowds, well, this is where it aces the previous Hitman games. The crowds are amazing. Remember in Blood Money, that level with the crows? The Murder of Crows? The crowds in that was impressive. Now in Absolution they are spectacular. And they feel so alive. Most of the crowd interacts with each other, and you cxan just stand idle listening to them gossip which in actual fact can turn out to help you. One time I was in chinatown and over heard these couple of bystanders talking how the target gets his usual hit from a drug dealer who lives on the 2nd floor. So right then I had a window of opportunity, just by listening to the crowd. There were also a large number of hilarious moment I **** at while listening to people. It can be funny but it certainly makes the world feel much more alive and living.

There are hundreds of challanges and unlockables to get. Things such as going through a level wearing just a suit, but to get another challenge called Chameleon which is to put on every suit in that level, warranting another playthrough. Then there's Contracts mode. A fantastic multilayer edition to the game. The creator of the contract has played through the level and targeted selectable people who are the contracts, the creator then kills these targets in a way he wants then makes for one of the few exits scattered across the level. This ends the contract and then it gets uploaded, allowing players to try and beat the score or the leader-boards. It is a lot of fun to play and to create contracts.

Quickly the mention the story. Yes, there is one and play a significantly bigger role then in previous games and It actually is good. A good story with great characters and settings you can't go wrong with that, and absolution doesn't.

Overall, Hitman is still Hitman. It may feel different in parts and with a core mechanic of the previous Hitman games broken in most places, the game does set itself apart from the previous games but only slightly. Its a welcome edition to the series and its glad to have Agent 47 and his red tie bac… Expand

This game was fun and full of action, but it did have some problems. The worst part of this game is probably the lack of manual saving. I've had this game crash THREE times in under 30 minutes, but nothing else after that. The disguise system works, but was sometimes annoying because people would notice you anyway, but it can be saved by using the Instinct key. The points system was also very tedious, as I always wanted to do the best I could, but I'd have to start over if I made a mistake. However, it doesn't ruin this entire game full of explosions, gun kills, silent kills and more.… 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

This game reminds me of like when bands release an album that part of the fans dislike... No.. Hitman Absolution is not a lot like the previous games when it comes to gameplay and such. But F*** IO Interactive can construct a game with awesome non-liner missions, awesome detailed, rich maps unlike a lot of game etc. Farcry 3. It has likable and dislikable characters as every good game should have. If you like story-driven intense singleplayer games this is for you! Wait a second i forgot to mention the beautiful, rich and dense graphics. It's been a long long time since anything looking this good, besides BF 3 and to some extend The Witcher 2. There are minor bugs but really nothing serious, and as every game it could be better optimized but what the hell. As of right now i'm proud to be a dane!!… Expand

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

Agent 47 is back, and now he’s out for revenge. Hitman: Absolution focuses on the infamous unknown killer himself as he travels through an emotional story of regret, anger, turmoil and despair. The storyline of Hitman: Absolution revolves around the assassin and his plight to save Victoria from living the same harrowing life as 47. Being created within a laboratory, Victoria was engineereded for one purpose, to become the next level of high grade assassin out for hire. Follow 47 as you stealth your way through shadowy side streets and abandoned hotels seeking revenge upon those who would force such a gruelling lifestyle upon another living being. Hitman: Absolution is for audiences of 18+. Hitman: Absolution is a game in which you can kick your feet up and enjoy, allowing yourself to soak in the storyline and have huge amounts of intense fun with, the number of possible takedown manoeuvres are truly fantastic, whether you’re making your assassination look like an accident, going for the critical headshot with a sniper rifle, or closing in for the kill with 47’s signature silent assassin fibre wire, you will never be stuck for possibilities or new and fresh ideas of how to advance onto your target. Hitman: Absolution is a game for the critical thinker, promoting further brain functionality into strategic thinking, problem solving, as well as time and risk management, requiring the player to think before acting. Players will have to deal with the consequences of their actions, whether that’s killing extra targets or escaping and trying again, the smarter gamers will find that they are just as at home within this environment as they would be within any other strategy based game. The many different levels of the game each have their own theme and background, making for a large library of interesting possibilities and hugely detailed level design, boasting incredible graphics allowing the characters to look incredible, as does the level design, weapon sprites and the locations. The characters each have their own distinct personality and capabilities allowing you to really believe in their existence. As well as a highly in depth and griping storyline, you also have a creation feature, in which you can walk the streets and assassinate your own targets however you see fit, whether you want to blow a hole in Chinatown and your targets along with it, or you want no-one to know you were even there, you decide how to proceed in your assassination attempts. After designating your own targets you can upload the assassination contract to allow your friends and enemies to compete, allowing you to see who’ll be the next best assassin in the online leader boards. Will you step up and accept the contract? I give this game 8/10, the graphics are amazing everything within each level is absolutely beautiful. The level design allows for a huge number of possibilities, the storyline is a perfect ending to a well known and hugely loved series, and the game play and controls fit the game extremely well. The only problem I have with this game is the fact that the replay-ability of the game is lacking but the overall experience of the initial play through easily makes up for this minor pitfall.… Expand

First off, let me just say that the graphics are absolutely stunning. Environments are well detailed and the crowds look so realistic. This is a very polished game and i would recommend it to anyone looking to have a fun time. There are several flaws though being that this isn't really going the same path as the other hitman games so some fans might be disappointed.

Get your sporks ready cause dinner is done. Spicy creole cooking to make you sweat. Sure, it's gritty and sticks to your teeth like a mix of sand and bugs and you'll be convinced that your tounge is going to melt but that's the kind of cooking we love. That down home, mom is trying to kill you style.

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

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 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

Pretty nice game. I have to agree with the rest of the players, the instinct bar is a huge game design blunder and should never have entered the Hitman universe. The engine however is great and it fits perfectly for the Hitman-genre. The levels could be bigger with more freedom, however, I think the levels are pretty cool because they really do award exploring before planning an assassination. Great game, not on par with game of the year contender Dishonored though.… Expand

It seems like once this game came out, everyone, including PC Gamer, just wanted to complain that it wasn't Blood Money 2. This is a fantastic game, great graphics, an engaging story, loads of ways to take out your targets (when you have them, a lot of the game is simply stealth action) or general enemies, disguises and improvised weapons, and multiple routes through each mission. The game rewards you for utilizing every possible option as well, so it screams replayability. Let me tell you something, if you enjoyed Conviction for what it was even though it didn't follow the same exact formula, then you will highly enjoy Hitman: Absolution.… Expand

Hitman: Absolution provides an experience that is rich in action and on the edge of your seat suspense. Of course, it's not without it's flaws. Everyone automatically thinking you're suspicious gets a little irritating at times, and it constantly feels linear. Though it has some rough spots, Hitman: Absolution is enjoyable experience, but may be a let down for hardcore fans of the series.

Though filled with Splinter's Cell -like sneaking, the real fun is after completing the game, when you really get to dig into the Contracts mode. 8/10 for the overall, but 10/10 for the Contracts.

Having played every other Hitman game, Absolution seems to me a little lacking in freedom and open environments. Now Hitman Absolution is an amazing game, updating everything from Blood Money, and adding new features like instinct and cover. But the level design is limited an there isn't much to find in the level. In Blood Money you could explore, find mysterious weapons and an unknown viewpoint on the target in his office. Now if this review was for me personally, Absolution would have scored a 6. But because most will play this having not played the other games, it is a good game with good mechanics. I wouldn't pay more than £30 or $40, but for anything under, it will be a good weekend with it.

But for us previous 'Hitmen' the game isn't as expected. If you have played any other Hitman game then Absolution will disappoint. The 'costumes' and 'disguises' that only work if you hold down control, smaller mission areas than Blood money or silent assassin, and the fact the you can't choose weapons before an assignment. Overall, a good game in itself, but it doesn't live up to Blood Money.… Expand

Easily the best hitman in the series and ive played them all. I do agree however with a few of the nagative things people are saying. No case for sniper rifles? Where does 47 hide those big guns, not to mention the baseball bat? It does take some of the fun and realism out of it and could be potentially painful for 47's rear. Also the disguises, i think theyre good but i agree you shouldnt have to go into absolution mode just to walk past some dingbat NPC guard, particularly true when wearing a disguise that covers 47's face. But at the end of it, the graphics and the gameplay are a severe improvement upon the older games in the series and despite its faults, Absolution is a joy to play. Im not sure why people are saying the game is on rails, im almost at the end, there have been a few linear sections but in most cases the player has a lot of freedom in the way they can take out their target and navigate the level, although i also do wish they allowed us to save anywhere in level as used to be the case. In my opinion this is the best hitman game yet and i give it 8/10, penalised for the flaws mentioned above. Also, im running a GTX 570, i7 quad core and the game runs on ultra settings with no noticeable frame rate drop in most places even with all those NPCs walking around the joint. A very very nice game to look at indeed.… Expand

This is a step back in the series from Blood Money. It's a good game, but not up to par in terms of the Hitman series. I'm not a complete fan of the way the new disguise system works. It's a realistic feature to have members whatever disguise you're wearing recognize you when you're too close, but not for all disguises. For example, a police disguise. There are hundreds, if not thousands of police officers in a big city and there is no way that every officer would recognize every single one of his fellow officers to know that you're not who the outfit suggests the hitman is.
How powerful they made hitman in this game is also disappointing. Seeing through walls and whatnot. Also, the point system is a little strange to see in a Hitman game.
To rate this game a 0, like many are, is completely unfair. It's definitely not a complete fail by any means, but didn't live up to my expectations.… Expand

A good game in it's own right, but too linear and simplified compared to it's predecessors. Loses points for elements of linearity, unappealing storyline, awful save-system, overuse of pre-rendered cinematics and un-enjoyable disguise mechanics. Gains some points back for great performance and graphics, solid gun-play mechanics and beautiful (albeit overly linear) level design. An underrated game, because it is not loyal to the original fan-base.… Expand

I enjoyed playing this game. Hitman Absolution is a stealth game. Lots of sneaking around and different ways of killing your target. There are parts in this game that can frustrate, like there being few checkpoints in a mission. I died a lot and would sometimes have to repeat certain sections over and over again.
Even though I was frustrated at times, I enjoyed the story and wanted to see it through to the end.
The graphics were excellent, really nicely done.… Expand

this is a great stealth game!!!! the game is really good and fun. the story and voice acting in the game are amazing!!! the story is interesting and original. the gameplay is really good as well. animations are great. the game has one of the greatest stealth systems i have ever seen. the only issue with the stealth mechanics is the outfits. this is great idea, but it isnt perfect yet. if you change your clothes, every other enemy from that type nows you. i get the point of this, but sometimes it just doesnt make sense. all the cops in the same city dont now each other!!!. i really appreciate IO interactive for making the outfit system, but it does need some work, the graphics in the game are amazing. the game looks really impressive, and the lightning looks great as well. another good thing the game does is the crowd sections. blending into the crowd is done masterfully.
the best thing about the game is the options it gives you. the game gives you endless ways to do your objective. from shooting your target, to electricuting him, there are a lot of ways to do assassinations. most of the games levels are big enough. on the other hand, some of the levels are too little. im not refering to special action sequences hich by the way are done great) but some stealth levels are just too little which is a bit dissapointing. dont take me wrong! most of the levels are really open, but some of them should have been bigger. the last complaint i have about the game is the save system, the save system is just bad. it should have been better or it should have given you the option to save manually.

overall the game is great!!!!! this is the best stealth game to date. its not perfect, but if you like stelth games you should definetly buy it!!!!!
note: the game requires a lot of patience!!! if your not patiente you will hate the game!!… Expand

This game is a lot of fun, great graphics, the game-play and story could use a bit more work they could have made the game a bit longer as well. But other than that this game is really fun and it is worth the money.

I really enjoyed this game. I have not played any Hitman games before until this one so I am not sure what the others are like but this one was a lot of fun from my perspective. The graphics were good and the objectives were fun. I didn't follow the story too well but from what I gathered it was pretty good. No bugs or issues. The one criticism I have is that the "disguises" you wear almost never work. There were too many instances were I was wearing a disguise that the people saw that it was me and then a giant gun fight occured that either resulted in me dying or me getting a really low score. I might just suck at the disguises but it happened far too many times. So in general this was a good game I would reccommend it.… Expand

hitman is back for another installment 6 years later.. this game was a great stealth game... it just lacked the story telling.. one minute a guy not wanting to kill a hitman.. next minute trying to kill him.. makes no sense... he doesn't want fame.. why doesn't he kill hitman and then put the knife in his hand so it looks like hitman commit suicide? anyway the game was fun and took well on the third person mechanics.… Expand

Jeden z początkowych hitów skradanek powraca z piękną grafiką, ciekawymi misjami, wciągającą fabułą i najważniejsze, z zabójczym agentem 47. Nadzieje do tej gry były naprawdę duże, fani starych Hitmanów oczekiwali że twórcy nie zmienią strasznie systemu zabójstw czy samej gry. Twórcy na szczęście pamiętali co to Hitman i bardzo dobrze zrobili jego kontynuacje wykorzystując przy tym ładny systując przy tym ładny silnik graficzny dzięki któremu naprawdę miło się gra(chodź mógłby wyglądać ładniej). Twórcy pierwszy raz w serii podeszli tak poważnie do fabuły, w która można naprawdę się wciągnąć, lecz...po pewnym czasie jest po prostu przewidywalna, nie zaskakuje. Jest ciekawa ale czegoś jej brakuje, a szkoda bo potencjał był duży. Jeżeli chodzi o rozgrywkę, to również ma ona pewne zmiany, są to przyjemne zmiany, jak i rzeczy których ze względu na poprzednie części, nie powinno być. Jest klimat Hitmana, są jego ciekawe zabójstwa, lecz brakuje tu po prostu czegoś. Wiele map jest za małych, sposobów na wykonanie niektórych misji również mogło by być więcej. Twórcy jednak odwalili kawał dobrej roboty. Moja ocena 8/10… Expand

This being my first Hitman game, I don't know what I am talking about. That being said, I thought this game was alright. I finished it, what more do you want? I felt like the stealth mechanics were a little broken and I found myself over-relying on the instinct vision mechanic, and the scoring system was completely useless. However, overall it looks good, plays well and was fun for a few evenings, but it's not changing the industry.… Expand

As a game of it's own it's ok. But Hitman Blood Money is still the best in the series.

It's clearly been aimed towards console gamers and lacks much of the depth of the previous games. Including the weapon and equipment customizations we had in blood money.

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

I found this to be a challenging game with lots of action and super graphics. My only problems were: (1) each mission became somewhat repetitive (2) annoying way in which melee battles switched to slow motion (may be due to playing on the easy level). Otherwise, very entertaining, but not quite worth the new release price. I suggest waiting until it goes on sale.

Being an avid Hitman fan, having played all the games through at least 3 times each, I can say that my initial fears of this game becoming yet another cinematic shooter and losing its unique identity amongst the vastness of mediocrity has been proven wrong. This game is drastically different from other Hitman games. Where Blood Money was more conservative in its advancements from the previous three games, Absolution is a much more radical jump from Blood Money. There are many things different. The game engine is much more modern than the dated Glacier, because it not only features DirectX11 with gorgeously lighting, but enables the developers to craft more detailed cutscenes, environmental manipulation and superb crowd simulation. Facial detail is no longer bland, but very realistic. The same goes for virtually all aspects of the game. You see, in previous games the vital factor in determining your performance was your understanding of the game's mechanics. The levels seemed to have distinct approaches and pathways which were set in stone, unless you could successfully manipulate the AI's field of view. In Absolution, IO have continued the emphasis on environmental interactions as they did in Blood Money, but to a much greater depth. They've tried to make it so that if you've never played a Hitman game, you can rely on your instinct of what you'd actually do if you were in the level in real life. Almost every aspect of the game is very realistic and your approach isn't subject to your knowledge of the game's limits. Sure, it's no longer as technical as Hitman 2 or as steep of a learning curve like in Codename 47, but I think in the current generation and context of gaming, Square Enix have been wise with their decision on the direction of this franchise. There are 20 levels (which is more than usual) but now that there is an actual story holding it all together (and not some lazy flashback storytelling like in Contracts or Blood Money), you actually get a game which flows like Hitman 2 rather than a random culmination of levels. But don't be expecting anything good; the story is just to glue together the levels rather than the main focus of the game (it's a BAD story). Gameplay is very modern, hwoever. That means there's friend leaderboards for each part level (checkpoint), an unlock system (rewards for certain actions, challenges etc.) and achievements. Everything you do in the level is assessed. The way it's done does give you a lot of scope for approach and replay value to improve your score, but requires a robust scoring system and solid game mechanics. There are a few major issues with the game though. The first is the disguise system. Whoever thought getting spotted immediately and losing points for it when you walk anywhere near someone with same costume clearly didn't understand the idea of a disguise. Sure it's realistic, but now you'll find yourself trying to do levels suit-only much more often. The second problem is how the scoring system penalises you for trespassing even if the boundaries were not immediately obvious; forcing you to restart checkpoint. My final complaint is the poor effort in the level design department. There might be 20 levels but my god they're long. And it's not the suspenseful kind of long, since there's none of Jesper Kyd's beautiful work to keep you happy while waiting. You spend most of the game sneaking from one spot to another, and the occasional parts where there is some actual target involved it's very lazily done. Often bits of level design are copied from previous Hitman games, but dumbed down to be almost trivial. There's very little thought required to silent assassin a level, but I guess that's to appeal to brainless newbies who think this game is a shooter. Aside from that, the game is definitely a great step forward for the franchise which has really moved with the times. The instinct mode instead of a map, the cover system, the point shooting, the combat mechanics etc. are all good advancements. As for controls, there's no first-person view any more and there are a few too many buttons rather than scroll menu like in Blood Money, but at least in the PC version you don't have to hold down a button to do something everything has a unique button assigned to it. To sum up, Absolution is very different from previous games and it's quite clear that Square Enix's agenda was to heavily promote it as a stand-alone game rather than trying to please hardcore fans. However, Contracts mode is the place to go for competition as it allows you to create your own missions within each level. The essence of Hitman is still here, but much less about level design and more about a game which anyone can easily pick and play to their taste.… Expand