Hitman: Contracts User Reviews

Irish Battousai
from , ,

Nov 24, 2005

He's back... the man who could kill you using a rubber band and a piece of scotch tape... the MacGyver of assassins....That's right, I'm talking about the bald beauty himself, Agent 47. Hitman: Contracts is a somewhat bipolar game...on the one hand, newcomers and old-timers alike will love it's complete freedom, fabulous graphics, and excellent controls...while some might be disappointed by the lack of serious plot and the reuse of some missions from the first Hitman, not to mention the longevity of the game. (12 missions.) But, those aside, the game truly is enjoyable. Let's hop right to it, shall we...?

Gameplay: (9/10)
First of all, the gameplay is great in all the missions. It's fabulous. Ambiance and atmosphere seem to come off this game in waves. You'll be so drawn into this game that you'll hardly notice your grandmother screaming to be fed. (Sorry, Gran...) The control is excellent, the missions are creative, the tension is addictive, and the pure fun of it all is just great; you'll love hanging bodies on the meat hooks on the second level, trust me. Again, the atmosphere draws you right in, from the depravity and loose morals of a party in a rather strange locale to a hit in the middle of Hong Kong. The targets are so over the top and cheesy (such as Winston Beldingford, who, minus the Russian accent, is a carbon clone of the villain from "The Most Dangerous Game") that you can't help but laugh when they die. Which is, you must admit, a little disturbing. Nevertheless.

My only real complaint is the stupidity of the AI...on the last level, on the hardest difficulty, you can fairly easily wipe out every enemy on the map with a silenced pistol. They just run right over when they see a dead body, danger to themselves unheeded...leave no man behind, I suppose, but that's still no excuse for the blind corpse examination. Sometimes, the AI is simply choppy or cheap...for instance, a guard seeing you slip the garrote around a mark's neck from all the way down in the basement, or shooting someone in the head twice with a magnum only to see them turn around and open fire. And then, of course, there are the mildly recycled levels; from Deadly Cargo to Lee Hong assassination, you're treading on ground that's already been trode upon. (Troden? Treaden? You know what I'm saying.) Luckily, newcomers won't be too perturbed, and oldtimers just may enjoy the new gameplay they get on their favorite missions.

Graphics: (10/10)
Allow me to summarize the graphics engine quickly before you before I go into a more in-depth analysis. You will piss yourself. They are gorgeous. From the reflective puddles of blood to the shine of your hardballers, you will gape in awe at the graphics engine. Seeing the Thermal Bath Hotel for the first time is nigh awing, as is a good view of Beldingford Manor from a distance. The character animations are smooth and realistic, the smoke from your guns fades into the wind, and blood splatters beautifully (if a little cartoony) against the walls. Even the low-res cinemas don't detract from the experience, as they seem to possess a lifelike quality of their own. Everybody is dressed to perfection (especially you, you Armani wearing dog you) and the facial expressions are priceless. (You'll need to look carefully next time you shoot a fat man in the shower-he really does have a perfect horror struck expression.) Water effects are gorgeous, and special death cinemas seem so lifelike as to be scary. (Smother Winston in his bed and you'll see what I mean.) Even the one sprite raindrops look good.

The Glacier engine is gorgeous. End of story.

Sound: (10/10)
If Jesper Kyd's music was a woman, it would be a fine, beautiful woman, with luxurious legs, a great face, and violins.
...Yeah.

Kyd is, in my opinion, one of the greatest game music makers of all time-he is second only to Harry Gregson-Williams (Metal Gear Solid series) and the writer Final Fantasy's tunes. (His name escapes me at the moment. It has a lot of syllables, though.) If you remember the incredible orchestral theme from H2, you remember Jesper; every time the trumpets barked, every time the violins hummed, every time the flute kvetched (yes, kvetched is a word), you were hearing Kyd at work. And, while you shouldn't be expecting the same ambiance for Contracts (it's a darker game with a darker soundtrack) you'll still love it, even if you don't like techno. From the theme you get in the opening menu, to the music as the credits roll, you'll be engrossed. Did I mention that, even if you don't like techno, you'll love this? The only real complaint people had about H2's music is that it seemed canned; the same track for different levels and the same noises. And while it is still present, it is a helluva lot harder to notice. Not to mention the fact that it seems custom tailored for most levels; Beldingford Manor, for instance. Try walking upstairs past the animal heads, and tell me you don't get shivers up your spine from that music. I dare you. I double dare you.

Enough of the soundtrack, though. The real life effects are stunning, the guns are crisp and sexy sounding (I have never fired a silenced MP5 before, so I ain't nitpicking), the footsteps are barely audible but ambient and realistic, the screams and pleading of innocents is realistic (in fact, you just might feel guilty about blowing someone away), and the sound of rain, which you'll get used to, feels eerily realistic. And noise of the minigun when it gets going? You need to hear it to believe it. It's like a computer warming up, except faster, louder, more powerful, and with screams at the end. Yum.

Replay: (9/10)
Oh, the possibilities. The missions are completely and utterly open ended; I have counted at least 300 separate and distinct ways of completing Traditions of the Trade. You'll want to nab every secret weapon, grab every single shitty little pistol available to you, go back and try that level with that gun. You actually have an incentive you try everything again too; nab an SA (Silent Assasin) rating and you get an otherwise unreachable gun. Not to mention to myriad ways of completing a level; guns blazing? Ninja style? Are you a ghost, getting only the mark? Or are you Rambo? The choice is yours, and they're equally correct. The fact is it's just fun to play a mission every way you can-from clearing out the streets of SWAT members in Hunter and Hunted, to sneaking up on the target and wiring him in the middle of the street. It's great fun.

The only problem is some missions are too short to truly enjoy; the greatest example of which is The Seafood Massacre, which you can complete in no time at all if you're fast on your feet. Some levels also lack variety; Asylum Aftermath, for instance, where there's only one escape route. And occasionally, it WILL get tedious; you'll want to finish off that gun collection, but you'll almost shudder at the thought of doing Beldingford Manor for the forty second time. (An extreme example.) And the short mission roster will quickly leave you scrounging up special or stupid ways to complete missions. Only hardballers, for instance, or without using disguises.

Nevertheless, you can play this game for a loooooong, looooong time; at least long enough to keep yourself occupied until Hitman: Blood Money. And hey, if all else fails, go dig up the first two Hitman games, Codename: 47 and Silent Assassin. If you're like me and can't FIND C:47, do some research on the internet to know what you might not know.

Overall
Pick up this game. Do not rent this game. Renting this game is an entertainment sin. Buy this game. Don't have a good PC or a Playstation 2 or Xbox?? Well...I wouldn't go so far as to say get one of the them right now (with the next generation upon us), but this game definitely demands at least a good long play. The graphics are fabulous, the music is excellent, it's pretty replayable, and, stupid AI and some poor collision detection aside, it's a great game, too. And now you can get it for $12 used, so it's really not THAT expensive, considering the gaming love you'll get out of this game. And let's face it; you wanna wear the suit. The tie is bitching and you know it. Stop fighting it.

For the casual Rambo player to that creepy guy who plays to get all zeros (cough, wink, nudge nudge), this is a game for everyone.

Hitman: Contracts

User Reviews

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Hitman Series