Hitman - Episode 1: Paris Reviews
The new Hitman carefully mixes drama, comedy, action and a well-designed location to create a world that the player will enjoy discovering and a variety of systems that are great to interact with and even break, and we can only hope that the other coming missions deliver on the promise of this first episode.
Playing by the rules can still be fun, and despite my misgivings I'm interested in seeing more Hitman in the coming months. Its lavish environments allow for enough outcomes and stories that I can't dismiss its decision to trade real freedom for bespoke scenarios out of hand. And most importantly, the illusion it offers of getting in and out without being seen and on your own terms lingers just long enough to be worthwhile. I'm just disappointed it was an illusion in the first place.
While the buggy AI and server issues hurt the Hitman experience, it isn't enough to hamper the core gameplay, which is fantastic.
Still, there's plenty here for a certain type of person to sink their teeth into, it just might not be a method of delivery that appeals to everyone. The only doubt could be that Io Interactive doesn't deliver this level of quality every month, at which point there's only patience separating you from the retail release in 2017. Should Io maintain these heady heights though, then this will be a stellar return to form for Agent 47.
Despite being a smart progression of Blood Money's ideas, Hitman feels unrefined and unfinished in lots of small but important ways.
Overall, the Hitman reboot is something I expected for a stealth game. The franchise reboot installment went to a path of letting players experience what an ultimate assassin should be, it didn't disappoint, but with all the server issues plus the 90% to be always-online overthrows the long-term experience of what Io Interactive wants to give to its players. Until the servers are fixed and stable, it's the first impression that makes the game worth buying.
Many believed Hitman would fail as an episodic release. As it turns out, a single massive map full of opportunity more than makes up for the staggered release schedule. Still, it stumbles with unexpected online requirements for a single player game and other technical issues.
All things considered, Hitman isn't a bad game. It's just overly repetitive, lacks true planning of objectives, and doesn't make sense as an episodic game.
Hitman's season premiere is a nice opening act that's centers around a luxurious world that feels authentic. If you can overlook the stagnant, often useless AI and enjoy the real fun of figuring out how to get to the kill, you'll have a great time.
Hitman tries an interesting balance of stuffing a lot into a little, but doesn't exactly pull it off with elegance. While levels are large sandboxes containing numerous death-fulfilling opportunities, they come with the extra baggage of lackluster technical performance. Without the option of going to different locations of an equal size, Hitman currently feels like a product that lacks in its offering once enemy patterns and building layouts have been memorized.
There has never been a better way to confront, or indulge, your inner assassin.
Hitman's Intro Pack is a confident start to what I hope to be a fantastic season. With a fantastic Paris level showcasing how Hitman should be done, the game really takes you back to the roots of the franchise. I'm looking forward to playing the rest of the season, and seeing what else developer IO Interactive has to offer.
When you're playing and engaged, Hitman is a thoughtful, well-paced, and beautiful introduction to what should be an incredible multi-part adventure. It's hard to imagine how Square Enix and IO could possibly screw up something this good. If nothing else, for $15 The Prologue and Paris Showstopper missions are absolutely worth your time and money. The stages were so lovingly pieced together and offer you seemingly endless possibilities for creative, violent expression. Even after you execute every hit every way you possibly can, you can create your own contracts or take on those of your peers for an extra challenge. It's an incredible bang for the buck, and I can't wait to to head to Italy next month.
While we've generally strayed from reviewing individual episodes of games here at GameZone, Hitman's approach to the episodic format is quite different. Since there is very little story to tell, and rather a whole lot of experimental gameplay that rewards multiple playthroughs, Hitman gets a pass on this.
Hitman lives up to the legacy of the original games, and redeems the series from the lows of Hitman: Absolution by taking the series to new heights.
Destination one in Agent 47's now-episodic global travelogue shows IO Interactive know how to get Hitman back in fashion. A strong, stylish opening to the new game.
The Hitman Intro Pack is satisfying to play, there just isn't enough of it. This ought to be rectified by the second episode next month, and by then its servers should be stable as well.
The first episode of Hitman is a very strong start, and it's a return to form for a series that some were worried had begun to wander.
This first episode strikes a fine balance between accessibility and pleasing long term fans to make this the finest slice of Hitman since Blood Money. Some technical issues do sadly mar an otherwise superb start to Agent 47's latest.
If the rest of the episodes match the quality on offer in Hitman's Paris debut, this could end up being the definitive Hitman game, its first big level already cementing itself as one of our favourite Hitman missions of all time. We can't wait for our next hit.