In general, I don’t take anything back for the beta (it’s crap), but it has nothing to do with the new Hitman. IO Interactive doesn’t understand why they made it - the beta is essentially a tutorial for dummies. The real Hitman 2016 is completely different. Imagine Blood Money, made without compromise with incredible detail and the ability to complete each map not a dozen, but two dozen ways. Moreover, they are often not obvious. Despite the fact that they are all listed in the “challenges”, understanding how to make all this beauty is not as easy as it seems. The fact is that the maps in the new Hitman, judging by Paris, are simply gigantic.

Now I understand why the authors chose the episodic model. This is how they can get rid of Hitman’s signature “fatigue” - well, you know, when you go through a couple of maps, you’re a little fed up and you’re already lazy for the third one, but you still go through it and usually in the easiest way possible, and then you start to not like everything. By making the game episodic, they seem to be saying: “Relax, guy - we’ve done a hell of a lot of work here, don’t rush, just study.” And indeed, you start studying and are amazed by the quantity and variety.





A bunch of NPCs with their own lives, problems and plot branches that develop and they all react very vividly to the presence of the hero. You explore a giant mansion, constantly finding something new - new characters, new weapons, new ways to set up something nasty, new ways to eliminate it. Even after 6 hours of playing on the map, I managed to find new ones, unexplored places. And in different time you can find completely different episodes in them.


Moreover, after the first passage, new options open up - new start and departure points, new equipment. For example, you can appear in the dressing room in the guise of a stylist, put on makeup as a model and go on the podium. Finding yourself at the start of the story in another part of the map, you see completely different moments, dialogues, and supplement your knowledge about the script. You even find other weapons.





Having placed a sniper in the barn, you can carry out a classic murder, having first stolen the fireworks remote control from the pyrotechnicians and climbed onto the crane towering over the Seine. You can also get out of the map in a huge number of ways - by finding in the kitchen secret passage or there by capturing a helicopter, for example.
It’s also great to arrange meat - they kill quickly, but by acting correctly you can create a real action movie.


Overall, the new Hitman is a real sandbox that will surprise you. Much cooler than Blood Money. But, unfortunately, with jambs.
Three complaints:
— Even the main menu slows down due to synchronization with the server. Hello Just Cause 3. Square-Enix does not change traditions.
— The engine is old, albeit on steroids. It looks, in general, not bad, but it is clear that the PS4 is uncomfortable with it.
— Disgustingly long loading times.
But other than that, I'm incredibly happy with this game. More details, with examples, in the video review.

This review is the case when you can’t do without a historical educational program. Realize the importance of something new Hitman it's much easier if you understand what he had to go through.

Fifteen years ago, IO-Interactive created a genre game. IN Hitman: Codename 47 bald killer in expensive suit killed the most influential and dangerous people different ways: by shooting with a sniper, strangling with a string, organizing an “accident” or simply storming.

For camouflage, it was allowed to dress up as service personnel: from a security guard to a cook. We were placed in a small sandbox, our hands were untied, and the hunt began. And at the end of the mission they assigned a rating. Everyone dreamed of the coveted “Silent Assassin”, but the choice was up to the player.

Over the next few years, the Hitman formula was gradually polished: more exotic methods of killing, interesting situations and freedom. Well, the crowning system of “dressing up” was brought to mind.

Changed everything Hitman: Absolution. Plot tracks, an absurd approach to camouflage, cramped locations with situational goals, the ill-fated “instinct” mode and a bias towards action. The players begged for a return to the standard Hitman: Blood Money. And the new Hitman seemed to have to do this: again the sandbox, again freedom. The only scary thing was that they decided to break the game into episodes.

So here it is. Watch this introductory video if you haven't already. He's great.

And relax. Everything is fine with the game. Almost all.

In the best traditions

The new Hitman plays exactly like Absolution: the same controls, the same movements. But the level design is pure Blood Money. The developers listened.

The “pilot” episode has three locations: two test sites from the beta version, and for dessert, a trip to Paris. The levels are built in stages: first a tiny test on a “yacht” with careful training, then the same yacht, but already in free style, and another training mission at a military base. And finally - the first big thing where Hitman becomes Hitman.

The design of the first mission surpassed everything in the series so far in complexity and content. The main thing is that the next episodes raise this bar.

Those who played the beta will not find much new in the tutorial levels. Unless the enemies see further and react faster. And they no longer forget your revealed face a couple of minutes after the alarm.

Before the mission you are taken to the planning menu: two goals, brief information, several cells for equipment. You can choose a suit, a pistol, a starting set of “tools”, a starting point for a mission - and put something in one of the Agency’s caches. Tuxedo or classic Forty-Seven suit? Master key or coin? Syringe with poison or string? Or maybe a bomb? Which pistol should I take? The choice is not particularly wide, but you want to try out each item in practice - the training levels are already set up for experiments. You begin to estimate approximate tactics and circumstances.

The mission in Paris is much larger than training, but still compact. No roundabout routes: we go through the front door, and here in front of us is a huge mansion with adjacent territory. Inside there is a fashion show, dozens of guests and security. And two of those who will not live to see the morning.

At the start you have three conditional routes, but each quickly branches and acquires nuances. Here you can slip through the bushes, there you can climb up a pipe, and there’s a lone guard near an empty box. There are a lot of chandeliers in the building, wires stretch seductively under your feet, targets constantly approach drinks and the railings, there are blunt and sharp objects everywhere, and at every step you can do something to distract the guards. There - pierce the tank, here - open the gas cylinder.

Items can now be hidden in small containers. The benefit is dubious, unless you have to go through a search. By the way, security will take weapons found on the floor to a special storage facility: great way divert attention.

You want to try, test and study everything - you feel like a child in a toy store. I remember both Blood Money and best moments Absolution: the choice of methods is truly extensive.

Planning your gear before a mission is helpful, however. most items can be found on the level - or replaced with analogues. But behind, say, a bomb, you will have to make a decent detour, bypassing the guards, and without a master key you will have to look for keys, a “noisy” crowbar... or a convenient cornice. In order not to fray your nerves with searching, you should select your equipment wisely.

In the beta version, many were confused by the system opportunities, which immediately shows sophisticated methods of killing and leads you by the hand through control points. Ideally, the search for an approach to the victim should work like a “reverse detective”: the killer stumbles upon a particularly interesting dialogue or document - and recognizes an opportunity. Next comes preparation for implementation. But the point is this: you can immediately select the desired scenario in the menu, and the game will kindly show on the map both the place of the “interesting conversation” and any desired item.

They promise that not a single level will be split into corridor stages, as in Absolution. Only sandboxes.

The idea is on the verge of a foul. Even Absolution did not allow itself this, and the player came up with the most ingenious methods of murder with his own mind. This was an important feature of the series: puzzle murders.

But it's not all that scary. Firstly, this approach allowed the developers to make sophisticated methods of killing even more sophisticated. Most features have several steps, and without guidance, their implementation will turn into tedious running. Secondly, not all opportunities directly lead to the death of the target: many only create convenient conditions for murder. Thirdly, some opportunities can be used only partially, and then you can come up with your own version of completion. The reins are still in your hands.

Well, and most importantly: this system is calibrated in the gameplay settings. It can be minimized or removed altogether. The same goes for the mini-map, highlighting everything in the world of instinct and the rest: without choosing a difficulty level, you can simply disable or weaken the “cheat” navigation. You can reconfigure the interface at any time.

Alas, not all game conventions can be cured by tweaking. Forty-Seventh is now able to hide in his bosom as many items as you find. Particularly large ones, like rifles, will have to be carried in plain sight, but the rest can be taken indiscriminately. When you have a collection of knives and jacks in your pocket, the tough choice of starting equipment turns into a farce.

About stealth

Shooting at everyone in a row is no more convenient than in the last part - rather, on the contrary. Taking a human shield or placing markers to instantly eliminate a bunch of targets was prohibited, and a bald killer was killed in three shots. Assault fans will definitely not be impressed by this Hitman.

However, few people saw Hitman as a game about assault. The game took a great detour towards stealth, and it was the stealth that turned out to be excellent.

We already wrote in: from now on, only selected characters can reveal your disguise. Often (but not necessarily!) they turn out to be individual brothers in the shop. This helped the balance: even in the most reliable outfit, you will eventually encounter an obstacle. You will have to maneuver, look for a route, adapt to the circumstances. But the tricks are placed wisely, you don’t feel constant pressure.

In Paris, you can find a pass to a secret auction and introduce yourself as Tobias Ripert. There is even a special test related to this. So, no one will tell you where to find the card. The “Opportunities” system does not cover all, excuse me, possibilities.

“Social stealth” is still marking time. The imitation of staff duties is still conditional, and the opportunity to get lost in the crowd or scratch your bald head as a distraction has been taken away. But now you can talk to other characters and use disguise to persuade the target to follow you. Some “Opportunities” are built on this.

Despite the bias towards stealth, the mechanics of stealth themselves were not fundamentally complicated: the victim’s clothes are still not “spoilt” by blood, and the patrolmen do not see the pools of blood on the floor. But the stealth is in many ways smarter and more truthful than in Absolution. “Silent” bare-handed eliminations are now not so silent: the patrolmen in the neighborhood will hear your fuss from afar. A random witness will run with a denunciation to the nearest guard - and will only alarm him and the characters nearby, and not the entire level at once. And if you “remove” witnesses, the alarm will not spread at all. This makes sneaking easier, but within reasonable limits.

AI is good, but without revelations. The guards are talking on the radio, but there is no roll call, and no one will miss the silent soldier (and after all Metal Gear Solid 2 came out a year after the first Hitman!). If you open the door with a crowbar, the nearest patrolman will come running at the noise - but a broken lock will not surprise him. People comment in detail and vividly on unusual situations (“I have a naked body here. No, I’m not joking!”), but there is still room for the absurd. The witness can describe the circumstances of the meeting, the height and exact shade of the bald man's eyes, but if you approach him in different clothes, he will not recognize him closely.

Hitman: Contracts almost works. On the one hand, running will increase the viewing distance and speed up the filling of suspicion. On the other hand, if your disguise arouses suspicion, you can let it go in time and avoid exposure.");" border="0" alt="" src="https://cdn.igromania.ru/mnt/articles/d/0/e/b/6/1/27593/html/img/154e98273ac74a00.jpg" width= "647" height="518">

Method Hitman: Contracts almost works. On the one hand, running will increase the viewing distance and speed up the filling of suspicion. On the other hand, if your disguise arouses suspicion, you can let it go in time and avoid exposure.

Everything is fine with the paraphernalia: the characters react to your uniforms in a very diverse way. Dress up as an officer and the soldiers will salute you. Put on a costume of someone specific - and people's reaction will be even brighter.

And you don’t have to ask whether the guards will go check the balcony from which the naked corpse fell. The rules of the game are strict, but not uncompromising. Yes, Hitman is no longer looking in the direction of Splinter Cell, but it is far from a qualitative breakthrough in the simulation of killer everyday life. It's just polished, polished mechanics from past games.

And compared to other modern stealth action games, it still looks impressive.

How they kill here

The most impressive scene of the first Hitman was a murder in a hotel: the victim could be locked in a sauna and given the heat. What do you remember from Blood Money? Possibly choking a patient with a barbell while he lifts weights in the gym. Or replacing a fake pistol with a real one. Even the ill-fated Absolution had strong scenes - like the cake murder.

The music in Paris doesn't live up to the tracks from the old Hitmen, but it's already better than that, what was in Absolution: the cheerful “adventurous” ambient fits well with what is happening and flexibly changes depending on the actions of Forty-Seven.

Melee weapons are now divided into lethal and non-lethal: the second simply stuns the target, and the victim’s neck can be broken without hugging. Unfortunately, the animations for ordinary kills and stuns have not advanced much since Absolution: even in Blood Money, a silent kill with a melee weapon was much “juicier.”

Unusual, creative, improvised methods of elimination have made Hitman a name, and the newcomer is holding up to the mark so far. Preparation for a murder sometimes takes more than one stage. Some things have to be planned, others have to be improvised. There are more ways to eliminate a target than ever, and already in the tutorial there was a great “accident” with the ejection system and a new, albeit standardized, feature: now you can poison a drink with a weak poison, and then cynically drown the target in the toilet while he spews the contents of the stomach into it.

Doubled in the Paris mission more possibilities, than in training - including “unique” kills... but we didn’t find any truly new ways to eliminate the target. Almost all the fun comes down to variations on the “explode, drop, poison” theme. The developers say that it will be cooler in the next episodes. I really want to believe.

If you find the tutorial levels simple, rest assured, Paris will be fun. Some Opportunities will force Forty-Seven to take on particularly interesting roles.

And how long will this last?

If Absolution made nods towards Tarantino's films, then the new part has a strict, cold tone. There are no nuns in latex or other clownery to be seen, but Easter eggs and dark humor are there. And no more personal motives: Forty-Seven is a cold-blooded, elusive killer capable of targeting the most powerful people in the world.

The plot is presented in cutscenes between missions, but is much more tied to them than in Blood Money. The style is a dark political thriller. Effective scenes, a charismatic antagonist, brilliant dialogue - it's hard to say in an entire season, but IO seems to be unfolding a very strong story.

But what next? Many players will compare the Intro Pack to MetalGearSolidV: GroundZeroes. The level at the military base is easy to complete in just four minutes; Paris will still require you to kill more time, but if you want, you can run through the entire first episode in an hour.

And then they offer to do side activities. Firstly, the “contracts” system has migrated from Absolution. You load the level, tag up to five of any characters and kill them in certain ways and in a certain disguise. You complete the mission, and now anyone can try to repeat your passage. It's an interesting thing - especially if you have friends who play and you want to compete with them. It’s a pity that only the method of murder, equipment and location are taken into account: it will not be possible to introduce more precise conditions.

The characters' reactions to hits are primitive, and the corpses, under a hail of bullets, rush along the ground and almost jump into the air. The picture in the new Hitman is excellent, but everything else is technically outdated.

Instinct highlights all interactive objects within a certain radius, ignoring walls. But it stopped showing the opponents’ route.

There is also an “Aggravation” mode. Take the task, complete it and move to the next level. Before the release, there was one such contract consisting of five stages: at each stage a new condition appeared. For example, kill another target or clean out a safe. Or get rid of the bodies within 90 seconds.

The idea is good, but the implementation is poor. In fact, you are “climbing up the ladder”: the conditions migrate to each new level, and by the fifth stage the contract is already mortally boring. Moreover, the proposed task did not take into account the specifics of the location: the most convenient and quick place for murder... was one step away from the box where the corpses could be hidden. And where is the challenge?

Another new feature is the “elusive targets” mode. The trick here is that the target does not appear for long and we have no room for error. No reboots, no restarts. If they made a mistake, they lost the task forever. It looks like “daily” competitions in the spirit of those that are thrown into TheBindingofIsaac. It’s hard to say how interesting this is in practice; the “elusive goals” section is still empty.

And finally, progress in the campaign itself. After each completion of a mission you receive points and a rating on a five-point scale. The “Silent Assassin” rating and others have not gone away - they have simply migrated to the list of available rewards. Even in two copies: regular and “without disguise”.

Points earned increase your skill level. At each location you can grow to a certain level and gain new opportunities. Some rewards will remain only in this location (new caches and starting places), others will be with you forever (for example, a sniper rifle). This system forces you to go through the level many times, experimenting with options and winning new rewards.

— Hannah, how did your mother die?
- From three bullets.
film “Hannah. The perfect weapon"

It's been six years since Agent 47 massacred his funeral and left for China. During this time, “stealth” managed to transform. Famous heroes mastered parkour, learned to shoot several enemies at once by pressing a key, put on suits with adaptive camouflage and mastered the art of teleportation. The genre in its original form ceased to exist; nimble neighbors stole pieces from corners, installing them everywhere, from shooters and epic RPGs to two-dimensional “platformers.” Forty-Seven came out of hiding into a completely different world and, alas, not in the best shape.

The basic Instinct

System requirements

Core 2 Duo/Athlon 64 X2 2 GHz 2 GB memory GeForce 8800/Radeon HD 2900 26 GB on hard drive

Recommended Requirements

Core i7/Athlon II X4 3 GHz 4 GB memory GeForce GTX 260/Radeon HD 5770 26 GB on hard drive

We are accustomed to new realities already in the prologue, when the bald killer sneaks up to the mansion where his next victim lives - his former curator Diana Burnwood, who betrayed the Agency without good reason. A soft voice teaches you to cling to cover and roll, fight hand-to-hand by quickly pressing the right buttons, and rely on fashionable “X-ray vision”, nicknamed “instinct”.

A miracle look is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it replaces the general map, highlighting goals, useful objects and people through obstacles. If someone is about to walk nearby, footsteps appear on the floor. Convenient, especially for players who prefer to improvise rather than act according to a clear, pre-rehearsed plan - because such behavior is appreciated Absolution.

On the other hand, “instinct” is also a resource. At the lowest difficulty level, it regenerates; at other levels, the supply is replenished for completing tasks and eliminating enemies. We spend it mainly to divert suspicion from ourselves. Trying to do Absolution tenser and sharper, IO Interactive turned up the paranoia to the maximum. This Hitman, as before, is a show with dressing up in dozens of different costumes, but now any citizen can see through a dubious colleague in a matter of seconds. Even from twenty meters! From the back! Out of the corner of my eye! Only the Ctrl key helps 47 out - he covers his face with his palm and hurriedly leaves, burning his “instinct” bar.

You can do it differently - lure the vigilant guard into a quiet place, obediently raising his hands up and, seizing the moment, take him out of the game. However, you shouldn’t rely on this trick - there are few truly secluded corners, and the “Fake Surrender” option is not always given. It happens that you stomp around, attracting attention, and in response - immediately a leaden shower.

Bloody tenge

“Instinct” is the main crime against common sense in Absolution. Speaking of a series where a tall bald man changes clothes in the blink of an eye and stuffs bodies into chests and cabinets in almost every room, it’s awkward to stutter about logic, but IO Interactive went beyond the bounds. Starting from the idea that all the cleaners (scientists, special forces, bodyguards, bouncers, doormen, fitters) know the names of their colleagues in the area and at a glance “figure out” a stranger in the same uniform, sometimes without allowing him to come to his senses, the authors cut down the concept of social “stealth”.

Instead of expanding the arsenal of subtle, almost adventure-like tricks, inviting players into an intellectual “sandbox” in which, by carefully rocking the boat, you can create a “domino effect,” the developers are imposing the style of Sam Fisher. There is nothing wrong with him, but this path is not for Forty-Seven. Why camouflage if we are forced to dive through the bushes or, worse, waste “instinct” on the analogue of “mark & ​​execute” from ?

The first half reminds us of where the magnificent woman once aspired Absolution. Two excellent episodes in Chicago's Chinatown, where in a small area there are not only crowds of people, but also a lot of ways to silently deal with victims. Hotel Terminus, full of funny dialogues and interesting personalities. The provincial town of Hope in South Dakota, which is owned by one of the villains, military tycoon Blake Dexter. An “accidental” gas leak, an electrified fence by “mistake”, lighter fluid as a strong sauce, an inopportunely broken jack - and all that will remain of the gang of impudent majors there are horns and legs.

Of course, no one forbids a tough approach to “wet” work. A signature garrote on the neck, an ax to the skull, a bullet to the heart - any means are good, although this does not lead to anxiety and open conflict for long. Fortunately, the AI ​​is sane - it notices blood stains and organizes a general hunt for the offender. Not without flaws, though. One day, a security guard found a poor man, buried to death in collapsed bags, sat down next to the corpse and began to say non-stop: “Hold on, the ambulance is on its way.”

But the shootings in Hitman have always been the weak link, and Absolution not an exception. It’s easier to roll back to the “checkpoint”, if, of course, you found and activated it. After all, there are no “quick saves” here - instead of them, one or two fixed control points are scattered (more precisely, hidden), remembering the state of the hero and the mission. Load a “save”, and the killed sentries will be resurrected, and scenes that are too obviously triggered will have to be watched again. If you log out to Windows, you will traditionally be thrown back to the beginning of the zone.

Although veterans cannot be frightened by “Groundhog Day” - they know very well: without breaking a dozen eggs on unsuccessful takes, an omelette in Hitman you won't cook. What puts more pressure on the nerves is the point counter, which penalizes for mistakes. More than once or twice I restarted a stage from a “checkpoint” when I accidentally caught my eye and immediately lost a thousand-odd points. It seems stupid to look at the numbers, but I want to collect the required amount and unlock bonus “perks”... At the same time, brag to my friends.

Hope no more

The further we are from the beginning, the at the same room for imagination, the fewer interesting situations and the more routine passage “on the fly”. The techniques begin to be repeated (okay, knock down the weight hanging over your head once, but four? Shock with electricity for an encore? Distract the guards twice by turning on the antediluvian film projector?), and the designer’s hand doesn’t so much push you towards the ideal solution as drag you by the scruff of the neck.

Intrusive storytelling is partly to blame for this - IO has never pushed it so hard. If earlier we were offered a chain of completed studies like an opera house or a rehabilitation center, connecting them with videos, then here 47 became hostage to a cross-cutting plot, and not the most exciting one.

Therefore, do not count on traveling around the world. Chicago and Dakota - no other stops. The bald killer is ready to do anything to save the unusual girl Victoria, but this means that he is destined, among other things, for a dull “tour” of a prison reminiscent of the KGB dungeons from, a boring, protracted escape from Agency stormtroopers and five latex “nuns” (in in the shameful CG video they were even more colorful), an unprincipled skyscraper with a penthouse and a disgustingly staged epilogue.

Large levels have been replaced by small grassy locations where you can’t really turn around. Some sections take literally a couple of minutes to complete. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is payback for the impeccably furnished interiors, flashy special effects (horizontal flares again!) and hundreds of extras on the screen. Remember how, at the end of the reign of Xbox, they were shredded and punished for negligence...

Bald and restless

So it turns out that individually each change is not bad and should be pleasing, but in combination the script, “instinct”, an abundance of scripts and a strange “checkpoint” system interfere with enjoyment. The music also let us down - composers Peter Peter And Peter Kaed They gave out a colorless mess that immediately flies out of memory. No match for the melodies Jesper Kyda.

Extend life Absolution The “Contracts” mode is called upon, the essence of which we outlined in detail at gamescom 2012. One problem is that the filling of the levels taken from the “single” cannot be corrected in the editor. You can still thin out the crowds of gloomy special forces and reduce the intensity of paranoia if you do not set the difficulty higher than standard. But the only way to escape from linear design is in additions.

Then, you see, Forty-Seven will cease to be a trembling creature and will come out of the shadows, leaving the darkness to Garrett and Fisher.

Name:
Genre: social stealth
Developer: Io-Interactive
Publisher: Square Enix
First episode release date: March 11, 2016
Platform: RS /XboxOne/PS4
Game website: http://www.hitman.com/

The new part of the legendary Hitman series stands out from other games in the genre. At least the model of its distribution: the prologue and six chapters of the game were released throughout 2016 with an interval of several months. The approach is controversial: there seems to be one game, but for some reason it was divided into six pieces and they ask for separate money for each. What is this: greed? Impudence? Trying to make money off gullible fans?

Wisdom, friends! An unexpected statement, right? Surprisingly, this distribution model was perfect for Hitman. The game was sold in two versions: the starter version, which included the prologue and the first chapter, and the full version, which included all the content of the game at once. Even now the player can only buy the first mission, see what it’s like, and if he doesn’t like it, never return to the game. And if you like it, you can buy other episodes for little money. It's simple.

But God bless them with money: the episodic distribution system has its own strict game logic. Each level in Hitman can and should be completed about thirty times. We are happy to congratulate fans of the series: the game has returned to its roots and is more reminiscent of a remake of Hitman: Blood Money than a sequel.

Simply put, Hitman 2016 went as far as possible from mainstream stealth shooters about contract killings. It is devoid of expensive staged scenes, spectacular combat system and highlights, which were in the previous game. After the controversial Absolution, whose task was to bring back the legendary series and adjust it to modern realities, the new Hitman has come to take the long-lost title of the king of social stealth.

What does it mean? Each level in Hitman 2016 is a huge arena with dozens of detours and hundreds of inhabitants. The goal is to eliminate two targets. In most of the tasks, it does not matter how they need to be eliminated, therefore, the player has a free hand: the only obstacle is his own imagination.

Everything worked in approximately the same way in Blood Money: there is a huge territory that can be studied for a long time and meticulously. Various clues are scattered throughout it - NPC dialogues, room cleaning logs, internal memos and other sources of information that will help Agent 47 eliminate his target. You can act elegantly and professionally: poison a target with cyanide or arrange an accident. You can casually and straightforwardly: stupidly kill with a pistol or a sniper rifle. It's up to the player to decide.

There is no way to consider Hitman as an action game: firstly, the game is quite slow in itself - most of the time the player walks slowly, looking around; The character has many possibilities, such as changing clothes, climbing ledges and the like, but he does it very slowly and deliberately - he is a professional, after all, and haste is for beginners. Secondly, any confrontation in open combat will quickly end with the death of Agent 47, regardless of the selected difficulty of the game.

The new Hitman is about social stealth, about the need to hide in plain sight, about drawing up a detailed action plan in order to strike with surgical precision. It's about what Assassin's Creed has been trying to achieve since 2007, but has so far failed. The character controlled by the player is a piranha in an aquarium with herring: she has nowhere to rush, she swims at a calm and measured pace until she gets hungry.

There are a lot of opportunities to eliminate targets, there are actually several dozen of them at each level, the game even thoughtfully provides some hints in the main menu. For every new option killing the player is rewarded with experience points, for which he increases the level, receives new items and abilities in his arsenal, which allows him to replay and go through the chapter in a completely different way.

By the way, by the possibility of murder we mean not only the direct elimination of the target, but also the context itself, the very organization of the execution of the order: it is absolutely invaluable experience to eliminate the target by pretending to be a statue of a plague doctor in her office, for example.

So, dozens of ways to complete a task are the reason why the episodic distribution model of the game is ideal for the new Hitman. By God, studying the entire level can easily take up to twenty hours of game time, although you can stupidly complete the task in an hour - but what’s the interest then?..

However, all social features were successfully transferred from Absolution to the new part. Players themselves can create orders for murder: everything, of course, will do without a pretentious introductory video and elaborate dialogues, but in terms of gameplay it will be a full-fledged task, which could easily turn out to be more difficult and interesting than what was developed by the studio.

By the way, the proposed distribution model plays into the hands of the new Hitman also because now the game can be bought entirely at a discount - there is a big winter sale on Steam.

In general, we won’t say more about the game: it’s an excellent, smart, well-designed, subtle assassin simulator. There is no action in it, in general there is nothing that is worth last years Assassin's Creed or Splinter Cell taught us. Hitman is one hell of a smart modernized classic, a remake of Hitman: Blood Money the way we wanted it to be and the way we truly deserve it. We strongly recommend not to pass by!

System requirements

Minimum:

• OS: 64-bit Windows 7
• CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K / AMD Phenom II X4 940
• RAM: 8 GB
• Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 / AMD Radeon HD 7870
• Storage space: 50 GB

• OS: 64-bit Windows 7/8/8.1/10
• CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 / AMD FX-8350
• RAM: 8 GB
• Video card: NNVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 / AMD Radeon R9 290
• Storage space: 50 GB

Let's forget that you are an adult with adequate memory. Let's forget about Blood Money, Absolution and generally who Hitman is. Imagine that you haven’t fired a single shot from silverballers, haven’t looked at the bald head under the wig cap and are hearing about murder contracts for the first time. Well, if you really don’t know anything about this, then welcome to my review of the restart of the universe Hitman.

Let's start with the name

Why did I ask you to forget about everything that is directly related to the hero, read in capital letters - HITMAN? And that’s exactly why I’m asking. Large letters seem to hint that “our new HITMAN should not be compared with the little Hitman.” Capital letters mean a restart, so that veterans of contracts and headshots with a sniper rifle do not compare this game with all previous games in the series. EA did the same with the Need for Speed ​​reboot. Similar to Square Enix, they removed all the non-essential words, leaving the most important thing in capital letters: NEED FOR SPEED.

What does the word Hitman mean?

HITMAN is a third-person game about an assassin called Agent 47. He has no name, no past, no friends and no hair. The goal of the game is to eliminate people with a black mark by any means. But what it is, it’s up to you to decide. It would be a stretch to call this game the art of contract killings. Hitman values ​​the beauty and grace of death. And even better is its “absence”... The fact is that we are not paid for bloodbath, but for the silent, unnoticeable elimination of the intended goal. And that is why our hero does not like to kill at all extra people, and also doesn’t like it when anyone notices him doing this.

Learning to kill

First of all, we are sent to test our abilities in a secret military base, where all the important aspects of the gameplay are explained. We will be taught to camouflage ourselves, blend in with our surroundings, find workarounds and choose best ways eliminating the target. All this happens on two small cards, glued together from cardboard and chipboard, with linoleum instead of water. But even despite the small size of the cards, the variety in mockery of the victim cannot but surprise. There are a couple of important things you need to understand while learning:

Information. The more information you collect on the map, the more interesting and easier it will be for you to kill those you need, without unnecessary casualties. Various guest lists, conversations of passersby, schedules and Cell Phones, it's all yours best friends. Remember, who owns the information, owns the world.

Disguise. It’s important to understand that in order to go to Bieber’s concert, you don’t have to buy a ticket for $10. You can always pretend to be his guard or his lover and enter through the back door. You can dress up as anyone in the game. IN Soviet soldier, a cook, a mechanic, or a drug lord. By the way, it is important to understand that everyone has their place. This means that the mechanic will not be allowed onto the VIP dance floor, and the waiter is not recommended to hold anything more serious than a knife or a mug in his hands. It is also worth understanding that every employee has superiors who may suspect something is wrong and check whether you really are who you seem at first glance. The skin solves many, but not all problems.

Silence. It's best if none of the NPCs even realize that you are in the game. It is very important to hide the corpses, not make sudden movements and under no circumstances kill in front of everyone. The less people notice you, and the more quietly you complete the mission, the higher your rating as an assassin will be. Stealth is what customers respect. Of course, you can try to shoot a couple of guards by spending a machine gun, but in the end you still won’t be able to survive. There is safety in numbers.

Crime. And finally, when our bald friend got as close to the goal as possible and found a good robe in which he would not be checked at the entrance, it remained to decide the most important and main question: how to kill this bad person? Poison? Shoot? Push into the river? Hang on the gallows? There are a lot of ways to kill a bad guy. How that guy in the white suit will die today is up to you to decide!

Exit. After the work is done, you need to catch a taxi to get home to rest. However, you can leave the location not only by leaving by transport. You can also fly away, swim away, or hide in the city sewers. And now, when the corpses are hidden, and your bald head smells like SilverBall shots, you can exhale and say: “I am a killer. Ninja. I am the night. Silent and merciless.” However, you can (but not recommended) skip the training and immediately go to your first serious assignment, which takes place at a large-scale fashion show in Paris.

My first kill

As you know, Square Enix decided to release missions once a month. In March, the mission of a fashion show in Paris was released. Here the forty-seventh is offered to eliminate two targets in a four-story hefty mansion, with a park around its entire perimeter, surrounded by the Seine River. The number of people here, in my opinion, is over 500. Moreover, guests at the location make up approximately 2/3 of the total number of Npc. The rest are service staff and security personnel. In total, about a dozen disguises can be manipulated. In addition to the usual skins, like a waiter and a journalist, you can try to become an Arab sheikh, a bald supermodel or even.. (I won’t spoil it).

In addition to the number of NPCs, the Paris location is also distinguished by its scale. Consequently, there is many times more information and methods of killing here than during training. There are also many additional weapons and additional equipment, such as a syringe with poison, or a sniper rifle. Additionally, rumors will help in our work, as well as any other information about our goals. With their help, we can distract, guide, and also guess where in this moment time our victim will be found. And so, fashion victims are swimming in a ditch, you are wearing chic pajamas and a silver ball in your hands, you are boarding a helicopter, and what next? The mission has been completed, and now we study our score and see what skill points we received on this run.

After work

Agree, it would be too boring to buy a game, kill two people and delete it?! That is why Square Enix provided the game with such a thing as a career. Your career will be built from challenges, mastery, weapons and equipment, disguises and statistics. Each location has its own challenges, which can be viewed in the main menu. Basically these are tasks like: "change into a pink T-shirt and kill the order's bodyguard like that" or "Use a hammer to stun the girl in red so that she falls from the balcony onto the chandelier, which in turn crushes the target". There are easier tests, like " find the key card", or "kill the target with poison". For each test passed, points are awarded, which in turn affect the skill level. And this is where the fun begins. By increasing your skill level, you open up new advantages for yourself in a new approach.

Before we tell you exactly what the benefits are, it's worth talking about what happens before you go on a mission. Before we go out to kill, we are sitting in comfortable chair, first we plan the operation. Namely, we choose which suit to iron, which gun to polish, as well as the location of the stash and the place where we will begin our operation. The level of skill allows you to expand the list of these items. Thus, after increasing this level, we can start the game with several goodies in our bosom at once. For example, the forty-seventh begins his work from the kitchen, dressed as a cook, with a sniper rifle hidden in the garden and a bottle of poison in his pocket. In this way, we can replay the map of Paris again and again, each time improving our skills and each time killing targets in new ways. But even this model of the game can get boring after a while, and it is for such cases that the menu has such an item as contracts.

Where do I sign?

Contracts are the same missions as regular ones, but only with different goals and objectives. Contracts may ask you to kill a certain gardener and bodyguard, with a certain weapon or method, while wearing a certain disguise. Contracts can be created by both developers and ordinary players. And if your contract is adequate, it will be included in the list of selected contracts, thanks to which it will become even more popular. In addition to regular contracts, there is an “Aggravation” mode. This is the same task, on the same map, repeated 5 times with varying degrees of difficulty. For understanding, I will give an example: For the first time you are asked to kill a general with a pistol in a soldier’s costume. On the second visit, you will be asked to do the same, but in addition to this, open the safe in his office. In the third, you will need to do the points from the previous two runs, plus kill one guard in a worker's suit... and so on until you pass the fifth degree of difficulty. And the last mode in contracts is called “elusive targets”. Targets will appear there for a short time, which need to be killed today, not yesterday!

Preliminary result

As a result, we have a large location, with big amount characters, a huge number of variations in deaths. After completing a level, we can start going through it again with new opportunities, or we can go fulfill contracts. That was all gameplay, now let's talk about the more heartfelt parts of the game.

Sound

The sound here is tuned as it should be, playing with headphones is a pleasure. You can hear conversations, footsteps, gunshots, nature and music indoors. The panorama is set up beautifully, but Square Enix has never had any problems with it. Voice acting in English only (subtitles available). The sound in cut scenes is comparable to cinematic.

Not gameplay

In the new Hitman, to the surprise of many, there is a plot. So far it is poorly understood, because only one episode has been released, but it has already managed to bite the players with an enticing story. There are only four or five cut scenes now, but they are all worked out and shot very, very professionally. At some point you want to put down the keyboard and mouse, take some chips and watch what happens next.

Grafon vs FPS

Today it's 2016, which means it's time to add next-gen graphics to every AAA product. Which is exactly what the developers gave us. Excellent rendering, excellent bald head, excellent blood stains on the floor. But for such pleasure you will need a very, very powerful PC or the latest generation console. On my $800 PC the game gave 70-100 fps only on medium texture and shadow settings. The reason for this, according to my suspicions, is too a large number of NPC on the map. But it is likely that optimization will continue to improve over time (or maybe not).

Shot?

As a result, at the end of the year, we get a great game about everyone’s favorite killer. Why at the end of the year? Because the full game will be released by December of this year. Well, today we can only enjoy the first chapter in this new history murders. Stories Hitman.

Z.y.

If you get too bored playing on one map, try becoming a real Hitman, like me. Disable all hints and help, including the minimap. I assure you, this is the only way to feel the full essence of the barcode on the hero’s bald head.