When I first saw Hitman: Codename 47 in PC Gamer, I knew the game
would be different. I wasn't really prepared for how different it
was though. Now that the game is out and I've snuck, strangled,
and shot my way through it, I must say that I am very impressed
and cannot see why it has been getting merely average reviews.
The locations are varied, the engine is not borrowed from some
company, the AI is frighteningly realistic, and the character animations
are amazing. The only thing bringing the score down is the subject
matter and the difficulty, more on that in a bit.
You play as a nameless, yet well dressed, Hitman with no emotions,
no morals, and no distinguishing marks, save for a bar-code on the
back of your head. You're given assignments from The Agency to make
"hits" on various people. However, all the hits are made
on "bad" people. Triad leaders, drug lords, and terrorist
just to name a few. Basically, you're an assassin who kills bad
people for good reasons (end justifies the means?).
The game starts with the hitman waking up in the basement of a
hospital. After going through the first door and changing into a
suit you are lead through various training exercises, from jumping
and climbing to using handguns and sniper rifles. When the training
finally ends the real fun can begin, earning money.
To earn the money, though, you will need weapons and equipment.
Handguns and sniper rifles, an assortment of weapons are all at
your disposal: assault rifles, SMG's, and knives for instance. The
weapon you'll be using the most, however, is the piano wire. With
it you will be able to take down enemies silently and steal their
clothes (leaving them with only a pair of boxers). The sniper rifle
will also be you best friend although it seems the Hitman, with
all his killing ability, can't keep the scope from bobbing around.
Instead of being an interesting part of the game it just gets annoying
fast. If you miss the shot the target will more than likely get
away.
Did I mention the AI? Every city level is populated with people,
both good and bad, that react realistically to you. If you walk
around the street with your gun drawn, people will notice. Well
that's been done before you say. Yes it has, way back in Tekwar,
but in that game when you put your gun away people will go about
their business as if nothing happened.
In Hitman the civilians will run to the nearest cop/guard and tell
them what they saw. Now suddenly you have every cop on the map looking
for you (they have radios) and the level has just become infinitely
more difficult. This is where stealing clothes comes into play.
Knock off a local civilian, take his clothes, hide the body in a
sewer (or wherever) and you can go about your business. Try not
to kill too many people as this will make the clean up more expensive
and the cleaning bill comes directly from your paycheck.
The Glacier engine that runs this game can make some of the most
believable locales I've ever seen. From restaurants to the Colombian
jungle, everything is detailed right down to the leaves and plants
that react realistically as you walk by. If you run through a tree
branch it won't stay static like in other games, it will move out
of the way as your passing through it as if you were "pushing"
the branch out of the way.
Also of special note is the way the engine handles models (characters).
I'm sure you can all remember in some critically acclaimed games
**cough Deus Ex, Half-life cough** where the dead bodies magically
turn into cardboard cutouts and do not bend even when hanging off
a ledge by their ankles. Who puts that much starch into their clothes?
In Hitman, the bodies lie down realistically depending on where
they're placed. If you drag someone to an open sewer and let go
with their top half in the hole and their bottom half on the ground
they will bend at the right spots and fall into the hole realistically.
It's things like these that make the worlds that more believable.
One thing many gamers will be unhappy about though is the lack
of in-game saves. Although I found it to enhance the tension, most
gamers will find it annoying. So if you are a big advocate of saving
your game mid-mission, steer clear of this title.
Now we come to the important part of this review, the Christian
Sense. The only thing I could find that would bring the score down
from neutral is the subject matter. You ARE a hitman after all and
killing is your job. Obviously this goes against Christian perspectives.
The game tries to make all the targets bad guys so you won't find
a hit on mothers, grandparents, or other innocent people.
The blood is not as bad as one might think. If you shoot someone
they will bleed, obviously, but other than a pool of blood on downed
victims and some blood flying when shooting, there isn't really
much to be concerned about. The blood is nonexistent when using
the piano wire. There's also an option to turn the blood off completely
for those of you that choose to go that route. One hit is made on
a man taking a shower but that's about the only time I questioned
whether or not to give the game a higher or lower Christian Sense
rating.
So there you have it. Should you, as a Christian, buy this game?
Can you justify playing a game that puts you in the role of an assassin?
That question I leave up to you to answer. If you can look past
the subject matter and don't mind a little blood then I would highly
recommend this game based on its game play alone. It has a lot to
offer gamers looking for a change of pace. But then there's the
subject matter. Hmm.
If you like shootemups but if planning out your hits carefully
and actually using your brain to play a game isn't your idea of
fun then you should move on to something like Serious Sam. Don't
get me wrong, I love brainless shooters but sometimes you just need
to play a thinking mans game. And when it comes to that, Hitman
is not rivaled by many.
Mike
