The newest episodes continue the steady quality improvement of Hitman. Marrakesh offers an even bigger and impressive (from a technical standpoint) playground with much more freedom of actions while also presenting increased challenge. It’s a testament of IO Interactive’s aim for excellence.
Agent 47 operates in a credible and consistent context, where reality, narrative licenses and pure fantasy converge in a perfect balance. Maybe it will not represent Io-Interactive’s final goal, but it can be considered as a great way forward to secure a bright future for our charismatic nameless assassin.
Hitman’s third episode builds on your pre-existing knowledge and ramps up the pressure in a very hostile environment. The trip to Marrakesh never quite reaches the giddy heights of the previous episode, but it still stands as another exceptionally-designed level to add to the growing greatness of 2016’s Hitman experience.
It is indeed a very good episode with stunning and huge environments, loaded with some breathtaking crowds, but it probably lacks variety and coherence that made Sapienza such a great place.
I!'ve decided to give readers an overall review of the first 3 hitman episodes . Hitman and Metal Gear those two names are synomous with great stealth gameplay . Going all the way back to hitman 2 on the ps2 the games were classic and vastly different than anything else on the market . Mission planning and execution were completely up to you . The series only got better with games like Hitman : Contracts and the revered by critic and fan alike blood money .
How you went about your mission was up to you . Do you go in armed to the teeth or do you go in without a weapon carrying only something to passing targets . This was a favorite tactic of mine knocking out a guard stealing his weapon using it to kill my target loud and proud and ditching the murder weapon on my way out . Boom silent assassin rating . The feeling of pulling off the perfect hit with flawless planning , timing and execution is out of this world and never fails to satisfy . I am a longtime fan and loved almost all of these games with the exception of the one whose name shall nut be uttered in these hallowed halls .
So being such a huge fan and spending countless hours with these games I was highly anticipating the release of this game simply titled Hitman . Initially I was turned off when they announced episodic release and a weird pricing system . I am so against DLC and paying for content when I don't know the quality of it . However like I said I bit the bullet and bought the full experience . I haven't regretted it . One can argue the release schedule is a dumb move I was once wishing those ranks . I've come to embrace it . The developers are actually listening to fans (what a novel idea ! ) and tweaking things based upon their feedback . This is something I can respect .
Now there may seem like there is very little content here . Look deeper though with just these three maps there are probably close to 300 challenges . Think about that for a minute . These are just suggested methods of assassination . There is always room for improvising and experimentation . The AI can be iffy at times and it seems as this issue amongst others is being addressed . The game has a story mode as well as contracts mode which is probably the only good thing that the unmentioned Hitman title brought us . These are created by users and developers and feature different kinds . Escalation Contracts are multistage and require you to complete contract specific actions killing with a certain disguise and weapon in a certain order etc . There are also elusive targets . These appear in game with their own back stories with a time limit in real time . You're given one chance to take out the target if you miss or fail you will not get a second chance .
The maps on offer are huge expansive playgrounds of assassination packed with nooks and crannies and secret locations . The ambiance here is great when listening in on NPCs conversations some of it is just lol funny . The voice acting however is just plain lazy and can be jarring to the overall experience but it's the gameplay that shines here . The three locations so far are Paris , Sapienza , and Marrakesh . The locations are varried and rife with opportunities to exploit and weaknesses to prod . So far all are very enjoyable . Personally I do believe Paris and Sapienza will be looked upon as classic Hitman levels . That isn't to say that Marrakesh is bad but what they have done in the first two episodes will be hard to top . I wanted to not like this game but after spending a fair amount of time with the content I can't not like it . It offers a unique and compelling experience and is actively encouraging community input other than whining about the release schedule (which I myself was guilty of ) .
People are saying they want more and that is a good thing . While not a perfect Hitman game it is absolutely deserving of the title bestowed upon it . As a longtime fan I am pleased to say welcome back 47 we've missed you . Happy Hunting .
Hitman is great a return to form and packed with so many intricacies and things to learn and discover it should keep you busy for quite sometime . Do yourself a favor and enter this world of assassination good luck 47
hitman continues to impress with the incredible variety of assassination opportunities and great sizes of maps . Marrakesh is not at the level of Sapienz but it's still an attractive location . The difficulty level is highest : a lot of ngp make it most difficult stealth.
A downgrade from Sapienza. It was the episode I was looking for the most but it just wasn't what I wanted. 2 targets to take down, quite a large map with stores that provide access to the roof, nothing else.
Hitman Marrakesh
Densely packed with frustration
Hitman Marrakesh is the 3rd episode in the new hitman series, and this is hands down the worst map released yet
This map is essentially 2 hiding spots for your 2 targets with a giant market in the middle…
all crawling with guards
The problem with this map is the market…
Everyone has at least 20 eyes on them…
The same goes for your 2 targets
There are no opportunities to steal a disguise here..
I mean there are opportunities, but good luck pulling anything off when in a hitman game the simple act of turning a switch on or off is a quote unquote crime
anytime you try to sabotage an area, you’ll almost instantly get shot at…
And there are no real opportunities to lure a target away as again.. There is no spot without dozens of people around…
I also found that there are no real moments in this level that spark your imagination of possibility to take advantage of an npcs situation like the past 2 maps have been crawling with..
I found that the only way to get through this map was to kill and run, come back for my disguise later or simply ignore the opportunities and attempt to sneak past everyone and get inside someway other than the front door
But once you do finally sneak into the area one of your targets are in, youll find that each of the 2 areas are pretty enclosed and void of any organic life
just your standard buildings with guards and soldiers walking around
The gameplay is also starting to become quite repetitive…
Like the developers have already run out of ideas to distract or bring someone into a room and were only about halfway through releases.
While Marrakesh is definitely a beautiful level and a different animal for stealth fans to try and tame
I found it to be the least imaginative map yet.
I give Hitman Marrakesh a 6/10
The gameplay was ok, standard Hitman more or less, but certain things just felt very lazy. Most glaringly, the voice acting in this episode was especially badly done. It was laughable. All the people in the Moroccan market, including the Moroccan soldiers, speak English like American native-speakers. It completely undermines the whole experience. If it were one of the virtual training missions from earlier on in the game, you could understand it, but as it stands, I couldn't take the episode seriously. It's not just the accent either, but the things people say. For example, I was dressed up as a Morrocan army officer, and one of the army privates I walked past said, in a clear North American accent: "Good morning, officer. How are you?". Who the hell in the army talks like that to their superior officer? Also, disguised as this officer, with an assault rifle slung on my back, I just strolled right into the Swedish embassy, with nobody batting an eyelid. It doesn't work like that. Foreign security forces are stationed outside of embassies, to protect them on the street level, but they don't just waltz into them, armed to the teeth, whenever they feel like it. That's called invading another country. Did nobody research this?
Adding to the silly dialogues and other things:
1. When I was dressed up as a waiter, people were calling me 'sir' all over the place, including customers and soldiers. It just didn't feel natural at all.
2. I assassinated the banker by dressing up as a massage therapist. This was supposedly a therapist from a "local clinic" in Marrakesh, who had a Swedish (?) name, was white and blonde, and of course spoke with a North American accent. Not very realistic! On top of all that, the embassy would be on high alert, with a mob of angry protestors shouting outside, and you wonder if they would allow access to non-essential outside people like massage therapists.
3. The embassy receptionist announced over the loudspeaker for the Swedish banker to go to the massage room. It seemed quite unrealistic. I think in embassies they tend to use speaking face-to-face rather than using speaker systems to inform people of things like that. And having a dedicated massage room? I suppose it's possible, but just a little odd.
I thought the Sapienza episode was really, really good, and it felt like a fair bit of effort had been put into it. With this one, it just seemed like a lazily put together and poorly-researched half-effort.
I just wanted to buy episode 3, as I'd already played 1&2, but was forced to pay a larger amount for the upgrade pack. If this is the standard of the game to follow, I think I need a refund.
SummaryHitman Episode 3: Marrakesh presents players with a range of new in-game Challenges and Opportunities that keep them busy along with an entirely new setting for Escalation Contracts and Elusive Targets.