This is hitman. There are so many paths to assassinate your target and if you were to step back and look, you would see all the hard work that has gone into designing the levels. Hitman's only downside is the disguise system, police officers should not know everyone in the whole police force and because of this it gets a 9.5. I love hitman and if you decide to play this stealthily, you will find it quite a challenge and most games today lack challenges.… Expand

Hitman is dead, Police suspect Blood Money isn't involved. Remember that beleoved Hitman series? Well it's been killed! This game is the worst Hitman in the series by a long way. They've taken all the Hitman out of Hitman. Well i'm off to play Hitman Blood Money....you know the proper Hitman game.

Firstly i would like to point out that i started playing Hitman games with silent assassin on the PS2, later I had contracts and finally blood money on the PC, i love the game series. So i had to get the latest version for my Xbox.

Well it pains me to say it but this is just not the game it was, 6 years later and this game is NOT as good as the previous ones. Its a watered down version in the same way the all the Tom Clancy games got watered down. Gone are the strong elements of tactics and planning, gone is the reward for exploration and experimentation, in their place there is the illusion of these things. This game attempts to add tense action sequences but it does so with scripted, triggered action points, by funnelling you down one route or situation instead of allowing the previous sandbox anything goes game-play to shine through. The beauty of a Hitman game was that two players could take completley different routes to the objectives, the action and tension they encountered was completley a consequence of their play style and timing. In this game the experience is contrived, forced and scripted to the point that everyone will get the same experience bar a few areas where the leash is loosened enough for you to get a brief taste of what made the game great. To often are you forced into situations that are not becoming of a game series that once carried silent assassin as a game title, well there's nothing silent about being forced into being chased by a helicopter and countless police men through numerous early stages. By attempting to turn the tables on agent 47 and make him vulnerable in this new narrative we are robbed of what made the series great; selecting your gear, scouting the location out and making your way to your target.

Gone is the load-out, your weapons are pre-selected for you, so no more sniper briefcase but dont worry because someone will have left a high-powered sniper rifle in the room overlooking your target and the window is open, the weapon will also be according to its description in the menus agent 47's choice sniper rifle, how convenient...and lame. Also on the subject of lame is the new disguise system; now you might thing the best way to blend in with some police men is perhaps to grab one of their uniforms, act normal, keep a relative distance so they dont see you up close etc. Well actually if you put a police uniform on every time you are in eye sight of a police man at any distance you arouse suspicion and attract unwanted attention, the same goes for any disguise, dress up as a bodyguard and all the bodyguards immediately seem to be onto you, however if you just dress as someone else they let you pass unnoticed...so the point in dressing up is what exactly? Case to point: I put on a police uniform to access and area guarded by police men, nothing but suspicion is aroused, i come back dressed as a drug dealer and i'm fine to walk through unnoticed. These scenarios happen throughout the game yet you can negate it somewhat by using an intuition bar that when used de-pleats but allows you to....wait for it.....cover your face as you walk past in a rather awkward and obvious attempt to hide your identity. Yeah, that's right, and if the bar or your 'intuition' de-pleats? yeah you can no longer put your hand over your face.

Also hiding works as stupidly, climb through a window next to a guard in a restricted area and he will turn, question you, become suspicious, but if you quickly read a near by pamphlet hey everything is fine, no problems! Stop reading the pamphlet though and the guy will draw on you and shoot in seconds.

The A.I then as you may have guessed is lame, predictable boring patrol patterns, nothing dynamic, higher difficulties mealy mean they notice you faster and shoot more accurately for the most part.

Agent 47 used to feel like a real pro, you had the element of surprise and could use it how you wanted, with the load out you wanted, on the path you chose. Now you get the weapons you given along with anything you can scavenge, you get limited paths and worse of all levels are no longer large sandboxes but separately loaded sections where if you return to a previous area anyone you killed or subdued is back alive.

Despite all this there are still some nice elements to the game, there are some small sections where the game plays like its predecessors and its here where it creates its own dynamic drama and tension just like the old games did. Its a sad modern trend in gaming that sees strategic, stealth games getting watered down into stealth/action games. Hitman as a game has always had the tools for action, the moments where we messed up would bring the fight, or where you had to quickly dispatch two approaching guards, we dont need scripted action in a sandbox, just give us the tools and freedom and we'll make our own, just like the old days. Please IO keep the formula to what it was, its not Hitman any more. 7 from a series fan.… Expand

To those that give this game a bad review, I just wanna say... you don't know what good games are! This game is just amazing! Great graphics, great music, and a great storyline. Just an amazing game.

If you want to play a Hitman game then keep playing Hitman Blood Money or Hitman Contracts. As a fan i really wanted to like this game but so much of it annoyed me i just couldn't enjoy it.. 6 and a half year wait for this, i've never been so dissapointed in a game like this before!

Ahh...remember all the wonderful things in Hitman games..? The Vast, open, multi-faceted, multi-tiered, funhouses of planning, deception and creativity? Well IO Interactive took all of that, threw it into 47's sniper case and set fire to it. From the ashes they cobbled together 'Absolution' . Something which the developers should be praying for. Levels are linear and streamlined, rigidly objective (go to point B, collect 4 fuses, exit door) based affairs. Even the more sandboxy levels are watered down and/or butchered into non-returnable sections. Take the 3rd level set in a hotel. On the ground floor there is only one way up to the target on the eighth (or 2 if you count catching the same lift slightly lower down). Once in the lift the ground floor and everything you did is erased, sucked into a black hole that you may never return to. The cutscene then removes any choice dictating that you shouldn't go directly to the 8th floor but get off at the 7th and find another way up. Once you do that the 7th floor disappears into the same blackhole as the ground floor. The horrible checkpoint system respawns enemies, actively discourages exploration and punishes experimentation.
The 'disguise' system is broken to the point where they now serve as nothing more than a 'stealth power-up' allowing you a second or two chance to bail into cover before you're rumbled rendering them all but useless. All of which render the game into a more generic cover-based stealth game, where throwing objects to distract guards is now your greatest asset. You get no loadout choice, and the game seems painfully short on inspirational, memorable ideas.
If you enjoy the more by-the-numbers stealth games that have you commando rolling between cover you may find much to satisfy you in HItman Absolution, but let's be clear: . It may look like it, sound like it and offer a few nostalgic nods in it's direction, but this is not a Hitman game.
Agent 47 has lost his way. Which may be considered ironic considering how linear his world has become.… Expand

Update: My first review was just with a couple of hours of gameplay, now after finishing the game I can tell you that there are 3 or 2 missions segments that are old classic hitman style, the others however suck, and suck bad, let e put it like this, if I could get my money back I would

I created an account just to review this game. I'm sorely disappointed. It's not a terrible game. It just isn't "Hitman." Blood Money was very open and allowed you a lot of flexibility in not only how you killed your targets, but in what order. The game dropped you into a level, told you who to take out and you figured out ways to do it. Disguises made you invisible. It wasn't extremely realistic, but it was fun. After six years I still play that game a few times a month.

This game is nothing like that. Remember the Dance With the Devil level in Blood Money where you had to go to two parties (Heaven and Hell) in that huge building? In Blood Money you could go to either party first or go back and forth between them. You took out targets in whichever order you liked. Dressing as one of the guards allowed you to come and go. Not in this game. If that level were in this game, you would first be given an objective to make it to the garage. Once you go there, there's no leaving. The imaginary door/wall appears and you're stuck. Then it would tell you to go to the "heaven" party. You'd take out your target and then it would tell you to get back on the elevator. You'd go down to the "Hell" party and from there it would tell you to take out your next target. Then it would tell you to leave. By the way, disguises won't help. For some reason every person in the game knows who should be dressed like them. It makes sense with a close knit group like a group of plumbers on a later mission, but makes no sense that every cop in Chicago would know one another. Logic would say that you should just pick a costume that no one around you has on, but that's not an option. There is always a mix of people walking around. So that forces you to use "Instinct Mode." That's 47's magic power to hold his hand over his face and lower his head so that no one recognizes him. Apparently it is very tiring so he can only do it for 30 seconds before you run out of "instinct." (How is that even possible?) You'll find yourself in cover most of the time. You can't pick your weapons, you can't modify your weapons and just about everything you do makes noise. I shot someone with a silenced Silverballer and a guy about 50 feet away radioed "We have a report of gunfire." I stabbed someone and the guy in the other room heard it. Most of the levels seemed designed as if they want you to have a firefight. Even when you take everyone out a message pops up "Backup has arrived." It's frustrating because there isn't even a save feature like before. If you die before you find one of maybe two or three checkpoints then you have to start all over. I used to love just walking around a level in disguise and trying to find new ways to take people out. That's gone. Be somewhere that the game doesn't want you and you'll be spotted. Once the alert is up, that's it. Restart. It's less Hitman and more Kane and Lynch 2.… Expand

This is NOT a Hitman game. The levels are small an not really sand box ,the AI is bad, the story is bad. If you want a bargain then head on over to Ebay to grab my copy.Ebay is full of second hand copies already an its the first day of launch,what does that tell you?

As a long time fan of the Hitman series this new outing is very disappointing. Graphics: This game looks good and you can tell they have worked on the visuals. Overall the game looks very good and the whole game runs smoothly. Sound: The game sounds great from the sounds of the weapons to the music. The only annoying things is some of the voice actors voices got on my nerves but I think that has to do more with their personalities than anything. Gameplay: The most important element of any game and this is what disappoints me most about Hitman Absolution. The first thing that annoys me is that for this doesn't feel like a Hitman game. The most obvious criticism is that too many of the levels are linear, which goes against what the Hitman series is about. There are sandbox style levels but for me they felt too small and restricted in comparison to previous Hitman games. There is a checkpoint system within the game that does't need to be there. The most annoying thing about the checkpoint system is that as soon as you pass a checkpoint you usually can't return to the area you have previously visited. The suspicion metre in this game is extremely annoying. It's amazing how many Chicago cops know each other. This disguise system makes it extremely difficult to pass anybody that is wearing the same uniform as you and especially if they are guarding an elevator. You can use instinct mode to evade suspicion but if you are playing in the hardest setting which I did then it only last for a while. The melee combat is extremely frustrating, every time you want to attack someone you have to enter an annoying quick time event which gets boring very quickly. This game has moments of brilliance and at times I realised why I fell in love with the game but overall I just felt disappointment . You can tell the developers wanted to broaden their audience for the new Hitman but in doing that they have compromised on what made Hitman great. Overall impressions:

I've had some fun with Hitman Absolution but overall I'm very disappointed in the latest outing. If this was a brand new game and had no association with the Hitman Franchise then I might have enjoyed it more but it was not to be. Some people will enjoy this game but for me I am extremely disappointed and Im hoping any future Hitman game is a lot better.… Expand

Splintercell Absolution, oh i mean Hitman Absolution, or is it Splintercell Conviction with Agent 47 in it, i dont know im confused with this game. 6yrs in the making and i was excited and expecting Blood Money 2....but what i got was Splintercell Conviction with a hint of Hitman and a hint of Kane & Lynch. (80% of Absolution is Splintercell). You will find yourself walking down narrow paths making your way from door to door...and thats pretty much it for the most part. When i fired it up i had to make my way to a door without being seen, once i made it i was like ok now what? Make your way to another door without being seen...ok im here now what? Make your way to yet ANOTHER door without being seen. This is basically all it is,crouching down and sneeking past people trying to get from one door to another without killing anyone, they should of called it 'Hitman Door Solution'. When your not making your way to another door the game offers fans of the franchise a couple of tiny sandbox levels to play in, trouble is none of them are very good and they are small and linear. I got to the King of China town levels (you visit here twice once during the day and another during the night) and i had killed my target by blowing up his car with some conveniently placed explosives someone just left lying around (who leaves random explosives laying around in a crowded China town, or anywhere else for that matter?) my target was dead in around 30 seconds and then i was asked to make my way to yet another door to finish the level. Back to the conveniently placed explosives thing...unlike previous Hitmans you dont get to select your weapons before the level starts, this time you have to pick up enemys weapons as you go a long. This is stupid because when it comes time to blow someone up or snipe someone it means some explosives or a sniper rifle will be laying around in the level exactly where your supposed to use it. Its like "Ok heres the bit where you snipe someone heres the sniper rifle placed right by the window" As i said earlier, who leaves these things lying around? The new disguise system is really annoying and broken. This time if you get too close to others wearing the same disguise as you you are pretty much instantly caught, they recognise you are not part of their gang if you get too close. If thats not bad enough they can even see through masks! I stole a baddies clothes which come fully equipped with a Friday the 13th style Jason hocky mask thinking as my face was competely covered nobody would recognise me...turns out i was wrong and got a shed load of bullets pumped in to me from about 10 baddies. Sometimes when you steal someones clothes its not even the clothes they were wearing, its like "Hey he had a brown jacket on when i stole it, so why has his jacket turned red now im wearing it?". Also disguises dont always carry over to the MANY cutscenes. If your dressed as a yellow bird when a cutscene triggers Agent 47 wont be dressed as a yellow bird in the cutscene, he will be wearing his trade mark suit in it, this doesnt always happen though which makes it even more stupid. Back to the famous doors Hitman Door Solution seems to love.Once you have walked through many doors you CANNOT go back through them. For instance i started a level with 3 narrow paths to choose from...i wanted to go to the right to investigate but thought id quickly see what was left first...so i went left round a corner an came to a door...i went through the door then tried to go back to take the right path i originally planned to take but it wont let you go back! This happens alot throught the game. It doesnt encourage exploration like previous Hitmas, it just forces you down narrow paths to trigger the story (stories crap too!) So i found myself nervous about going through any doors before id explored the level incase it was a door i couldnt go back through....trouble is which of these doors is a non returning door...you just dont know untill you go through it. So any Hitman fans out there interested in this game....i really wouldnt bother, only 25% of the game caters to us Hitman fans then that 25% really isnt very good. If you like Splintercell Conviction or doors then give it a whirl. As an Action game id rate it 6/10....as a Hitman game id rate it a 1/10. Looks like ill be playing Hitman Blood Money for another 6yrs.… Expand

I liked Hitman Blood Money so much i bought it twice, once on Playstation 2, then again on Xbox 360, still play it today. I bought Hitman Absolution on day of release and traded it in already it was that bad. All they needed to do was take Hitman Blood Money and improve the AI. Instead they took all the fun of Hitman out. Last game i ever buy from IO.

Hitman Absolution is an fantastic stealth game, the AI is great, there are lots of different routes you can take, and plenty of ways to kill your target, the story is good and the voice acting is great, but is it a true Hitman game? It seems like ou spend most the time moving from A - B in the story mode rather than actually planning and executing your kills, it's often not until halfway through a level you will even be assigned a target(s) to kill, however I can forgive this due to the massive amount of challenges to do on each level, and the contracts mode.
Contracts mode feels like a more classic Hitman experience, and I can't wait to play the challenging hits people put together.
Conclusion - The game is a challenge, but also great fun for anyone who is a fan of stealth, some fans of the series may be put of by some of the design changes made to the game, but I recommend you at least give it a go.… Expand

First things first: This is not Call of Duty - if you are a gamer expecting to go in guns blazing and not be stopped in your tracks think again - you will not enjoy this game, secondly it is not Blood Money which arguably was the best Hitman to date in my opinion. Absolution is a worthy entry which will reward people who THINK. As stated by others the camouflage system is flawed and should have been given more attention - if a patch could fix this it would elevate this game to a 9.… 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, this time they ripped off LEON THE KILLER movie. 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.… 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.

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.

Hitman: Absolution is not a bad game. It's okay - but most certainly not a Hitman game. IO has made three major mistakes. The first being the narrative that has taken over the gameplay. Hitman was always a typical example of gameplay-over-story. Well, here it's the other way around. The (bad and cliché) story dictates every step, that means you're running from the police most of the time. This fact makes the game very linear in comparison to the rest of the series. Also, you cannot choose your starting equipment. The second mistake is giving up on the huge "playground" levels that Blood Money had. Now the levels are split into different areas between a loading screen, that also covers up your errors. You could shoot everyone with a pumpgun, throw around grenades - but as soon as you're going up the stairs through a loading screen, nobody above seems to have heard anything. Consequence of your action (and with it planning) is dead. The small map parts only really have the choice left or right. Or through an air vent. That's pretty much it. No clever plotting anymore. The third mistake is the new disguise system, which just doesn't make any sense and has too many holes to achieve the realism it was built for. It's basically broken. What's left is a lot of sneaking around and shooting. It's like Arkham City meets Splinter Cell. Have fun with it. I'm quite frustrated.… Expand

This just can't be called a Hitman game. I like how some disguises will get you caught by others wearing the same thing, but when you dress as a chicago police officer and get recognized by another chicago police officer... that's insane. Or when wearing a MASK, still recognized... that's insane. As a result, this game is really just sneak, sneak, sneak. One thing I like about the old hitman games was the ability to choose what you bring to each level. That's gone. You don't even get to carry the iconic silverballers a lot of the time. No "different" environments like past hitman games, it's all the same area, and the levels seem to just force you down a path, instead of letting you explore. This game got tedious and repetitive FAST.… Expand

An awful addition to what was an ever improving series of games, for those new to the series it has some appeal, but for anyone whose played the previous games it is but a shallow linear shadow of it's past. First person - gone, the scoring seems flawed and fails to grant any flexibility, and as for getting the damn thing to run on PC with a spec far above "minimum" - AAGH!. Such a dissapointment . i actually have returned "HM":A and asked for money back, the second time ive ever done that for a game in 18 years.… Expand

THIS IS NOT A HITMAN GAME BE WARNED!
I already traded this garbage in for 25$ and feel kinda bad for them like i completelly ripped them off but not bad enought to keep this S%#$ of a game.
like many people i was eagerly awaiting the new hitman game since my favorite game of all time BLOOD MONEY,i was deceived by IO they showed streets of hope and with a straigth face said that was just the peak of the iceberg for the assassinations to come i became giddy with anticipation,how misplaced my faith would be as that turned out to be easily the biggest "sandbox" level in the game made out of 2 checkpoints, all in all the game has 20 missions divided into 53 checkpoints(i think) and only about 12 checkpoints are assasination missions wich are either extremely tiny or verry linear in execution in my opinion only about 6 checkpoints could be more legit hitman levels even if they are extremely tiny.The rest.... well lets just say i wouldnt call it hitman per say more like H I D E M A N: d o o r s o l u t i o n since thats what you do in most missions OPEN DOORS with splinter cell gameplay. Doorman takes everything great and unique from hitman and turns it into dumbed down linear call of duty type garbage.Most levels all you do is go from door to door "evading" police with prescrypted chopper chases,Huge explosions,burning buildings, etc basically your average call of duty type sh@!.
All in the name of what ?? appealing to the lowest common denominator?? $$$?? it may be because of those reasons but its also because of its HORRIBLE STUPID STORY! like WOW how bad at storytelling can you get?? plus since you are on the "Run" from the police thats the excuse the developers TERRIBLE story uses to keep sending you from door to door to door to door to door to door to door to door to door to door then pathetically small "assaination" mission. then rinse and repeat...so much wasted potential,stupid kane and lynch developers were jelaous that theyre own series wasent as loved by hardcore fans like hitman that not even a dogs crap gave a sh@# about that horrible series that they decided to say a big FU%& YOU to the former IO hitman developers who have since left the company... i cant imagine why.

To anyone out there if you are on the fence about this game go with your Gut instict not your love for hitman like i did and for a more legit review look at PC GAMERS review of the game its SPOT ON.
the last thing you want to do is give these kane and lynch a%$holes a reason to keep making this sh@# by buying it,if you have to buy it used.The thing i regret the most is buying the game new since i gave those idiots my money what a fool i am.
Well thats it thanks to anyone who waste their time reading this with horrible grammar and everything,me?? im back to playing blood money.… Expand

Hitman Absolution is the captivating experience that I've been waiting a long time for, a cross between gritty authentic stealth and wonderfully crafted action. I can understand some Hitman fans moaning about the latest installment as I'm not looking forward to the new DMC for the same reasons, however unlike DMC I only played the very first Hitman so to me innovation is welcome. There are flaws, the save system and shoddy AI being the worst of them. But on higher difficulties the AI get better, while the sensory perception and the Splinter Cell enemy marking system work great which helps makes this game appeal to a wider audience. If the haters try it, 80% I reckon on Hard mode would love it! Lastly some industry reviewers need to get a reality check, one in particular rated this 6.9 while rating Res6 8.8 and Black Ops 2 9.4? The gaming media need an urgent clean up, as it's poor that some media pick on IO while kissing the butts of bigger companies! Shame on you.… Expand

I gave this a 9 because it is a great game, not a 10 because hey' no game is perfect (apart from zelda oot, resident evil 1.2&3 final fantasy 8 and MGS 1.2.3&4) Anyway, Hitman absolution is a great game by today's standards.
The levels are NOT one big open world like it has been in the past is what people are saying and by some respect they are right in saying this.
HOWEVER, the levels are still quite big with many things to see, find, and do in them. The difference is that you start a level and exit elsewhere you don't exit in the same place after killing the main target. Hitman has always been single levels and a main objective where as this may not have a main objective on SOME levels however you have to get from one place to another without being seen, this can be fun, but when you try for the extras it is challenging and when you try for a silent assassin rank on purist mode it can be **** annoying.
if people are on the first part on level 3 (apartment block area) then thats the reason for the bad score, the mission was very bland however the game grows on you believe me i have been a hitman fan for about 10 years nows (since 2 silent assassin) Blood money was a great game and the graphics were poor and buggy even though I love the game.
For example remember when you used to fibre wire some unlucky guys neck? Yep? Well remember when they used to spin flop to the floor? Oh you do! Well this game has no bugs.

This may not sound like it should be better because of that I'm saying its more "realistic" for a Hitman game.

I think square enix deserve credit for this game what with the garbage they have released since let's face it ff10 when the company was know as squaresoft and eidos made hitman themselves.

Trust me if you are a fan of the games you will love it, there will be a part of you for about 3-4 hours that will feel pity for yourself and you will reminisce about how it used to let you just get on with it without the extra features you have now.
Then you will get over it and enjoy the game.
There are challenges which make the game more fun to try and beat your friends score and the contracts mode I am yet to play.

Honestly blood money only needed an up to date engine but this has a cool story, graphics are good and it is fun to play and a game that is replayable. Square be proud of this and I look forward to seeing another hitman but please oh god please sooner then 7 years time.

I would have picked this game up over resident evil 6 (read the start of my review) black ops 2, dishonoured, doom 3 bfg, boring lands 2 sorry borderlands 2, and even halo 4 which I am a retard because I bought the special edition thinking it would have some good stuff inside and not just a lame avatar outfit and the edition cost me £70 :O

Square please concentrate on making more hitman games and not stuff like final fantasy 13 part give us your money again please and Kane and Lynch 2 dull days.

Fans of hitman I am sorry for sidetracking but don't be fooled, meta critic is a free review site and anyone can rule how a games score is affected. Ever liked the hitman games? Then buy this one too!

Oh and lastly my leader board score for Chinatown is rank 47 in the world lol what are the chances....50/50 actually now that I think about it.....… Expand

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, absolutely no bugs/glitches, just perfect.… Expand

Ok, despite the generally popular reviews this game is getting, one point needs to be made abundantly clear.

THIS IS NOT HITMAN. Hitman is unique and was a thinking man's game. For the most accurate and truthful review, read PC gamer UK's review. It doesn't matter its for PC, all platforms got the same letdown of a game.

Just to clarify, i have played and completed every hitman game since the first one was released. And i dont mean i bought them all in a compilation, i mean i played each one at the time it was released and so have a good handle on how the series has developed over the years. That was until it died today. :(

This is a dull and repetitive stealth game, while you can kill people in varied and cool ways and there are some unique features like wearing limited disguises. Thats it. A lot of work has gone into it but its not particularly great. There are serious flaws, like the checkpoint system, and the gear system is largely pointless making pre-order bonuses a joke. There is no feeling of freedom and strategy like in the other games. Its just a linear story driven stealth game. Instead of having whole levels to do what you want and watch people and their behaviour before making your plan, now everywhere is pretty much restricted, and the disguise system is lame now. So basically you just sneak everywhere to reach your objective. As i said, a generic stealth game to please the masses. LAME

I MEAN FOR GOD'S SAKE THE ENEMIES RESPAWN IF YOU RELOAD A CHECKPOINT! Ridiculous.

Shame on you IO and shame on you Enix. Shame on all the spineless reviewers that gave this game over 75% too. And even that is being generous!… Expand

The game itself is solid, but this is not the Hitman game you are looking for. Fans of the series will be put off from the abandonment of key elements of the series.

This game is horrible. No more huge open sandbox. Disguises dont work. Stupid plot. Wallhack mode. Everything which made hitman good has been killed so that little kiddies can play this game. Well done, another once brilliant game destroyed.

I created an account just to review this game. Did you love Splinter Cell? Well then this is the game for you!

Did you love Hitman Blood Money? Did you spend hours playing it, and eagerly await a sequel?
Well then to you, IO throws up their middle finger with a laughing **** you!". Now I know what you're thinking. This is the internet. People are always nasty and negative. I shouldn't take this too seriously. But let me make this very clear to you. You should NOT spend your money on this game. I tried really hard to like this game. I honestly did. But the whole time I played, I felt this sick feeling of disappointment in my stomach. I so very much wanted this game to be good. But it's not.

You know everything that made Blood Money fun? Yeah, it's gone. Completely taken out. Sandbox levels? Gone. Setting clever traps and watching them work? Gone. Wearing disguises to get into restricted areas? There, but so terribly broken that it's useless. Fun? Definitely gone.

The whole game is getting from point A to point B, all the while hiding behind corners and low walls, and trying to sneak by the enemy without being spotted. The whole thing. Gone are the days of choosing your weapons, being dropped in a big map, being told who your targets are, and the game saying "Have fun!". Now, you sneak to the next door. And then to the next door. And then the next door. And then maybe you get to kill someone. Then you sneak to the next door.

I give this game a 1 instead of a zero on graphics alone. I almost gave it a 2, but I have to offset these RIDICULOUS 9s and 10s. Even if you did enjoy the game, it's CERTAINLY not 9 or 10 material. Those people obviously have never played a Hitman game before.

I'm bringing it in to Gamestop for their $30 within 30 days thing. And I'm getting a deal on that. Anyone who would spend a dime on this game is an idiot.… Expand