Hitman : Absolution

Hitman Absolution brings back the return of the most favorite Assassin of all time , Agent 47 . Released 6 yrs after its last title  Hitman : Blood Money  , the game picks of from a different story line where Diana , his handler for a long time has finally betrayed the ICA and has taken a girl as hostage who is vital for a research in ICA . Benjamin Travis forms the ICA again and provides the contract to take down Diana to Agent 47 and to get the girls safely back .

At the end of prologue Diana reveals that the Agency was using the girl as a lab rat and asks 47 to promise her to keep the girl safe . Thus begins your mission as you go rouge from the Agency and with help of a info guy named Birdie its up-to you to put a stop to Diana's abductors , Benjamin Travis and Dexter , a Gang Lord .

Gameplay has been immensely upgraded or should I say degraded (according to Hitman Series's Fans) . What made Hitman famous was the absolute stealth and ' know-how ' to play the game. Because the beauty of the game lay in the ways you need to think like an assassin . What should I do to cross this area unnoticed . How to kill a target with without using force etc . This absolute scheming of the player character , is what made Hitman an absolute beauty to reckon with . It all exists in Absolution too . But have been made damn easy . How, u ask ? , Well say hello to Instinct Talent of Agent 47  . They say in the beginning that Agent 47 is A veteran and hence as a result knows what he is doing . But since the player ( us)  needs to know what 47 is thinking , Instinct comes into play .

Instinct :: 

Its the best weapon that you will ever use in this game ,. Hell even more than your traditional and ever time favorite Dual SilverBallers or Garotte . Instinct allows you to blend in a group of people .for eg : In order to infiltrate a Greenhouse filled with Police , You can disguise yourself as a Gardner and walk in unnoticed . That is known and the coolest feature of Hitman. But be careful , bcos your fellow gardeners will get suspicious when they see a new guy whom they have never seen before . Here is where Instinct comes into play . Just as your suspicion meter increases use Instinct to blend in . This is shown by a dramatic slo-mo walk executed by 47 .But you will notice a Yellow bar that gets depleted every time when you use this . Only way to fill up your instinct bar again is to successfully finish of a checkpoint with max score or to get silent kills and increase your skill points for each check point . In easy level the Instinct gets regenerated automatically , if you neglect it from usage for some time . But as the difficulty level increases , the ability of Instinct to raise on its own decreases.

Instinct highlighting the patrol Path

Its also helpful in high lighting the paths of Guards who patrol , possible hiding / Dumping places , useful hints tat helps you in passing an area unnoticed . Most important usage of Instinct is the ability to spot useful substances that may help you . Like a poison bottle that can be dumped into Coffee or food to finish off a target . Take down a target without even approaching them like the above and you will get the skill point titled as ' SHADOW '.

Disguises ::

Another famous feature of the Hitman Series was the ability to disguise as anyone in order to gain access to secure sites or to go unnoticed into a facility without alerting anyone or using force . You can either takedown an enemy to get his clothes or you may search around and may come across a disguise that is just waiting for you to be picked up . But believe me these are found in the most unlikely places ever . But it really is cool to dress as anyone . Hell you can even dress up as a maid and pull off without getting noticed ..Ha :D .
I really loved the Scarecrow disguise you get to don in a field level . Its the absolute best :D

  

Assassin's Way :: 

Its like playing the game like the way , a true assassin would react and execute a mission . This can be tracked by a style meter that goes off in the top right hand corner . Everytime you kill someone who is not a target the style meter is going to reduce your points that allows you to unlock new techniques as you complete each mission . And thank god the game itself does that . No need to pull you hair out to decide which upgrade you should go for , Its good for once to have the option taken from us .Phew . So click on your Instinct and first find out what are the possible ways a Target can be taken down . Like a grill door which can be made to electrocute the guy who touches it , adding poison to food while dressed as the chef , or using a electric gun on a scientist who is actually working on improving it ? ( ironic) huh . Well that is truly the best part in the game . When all else fails you have always got your favorite Silverballers to fall back onto ;-)

Shooter Mechanics ::

Although Hitman's way is more silent and stealthy approach to finish off a target sometimes you will be forced into a corner where you will have no other option but to come out with a BANG!! . The game provides you with a huge arsenal of weapons that can be savaged from the guys you take down or by picking up guns in armory or kept hidden in closets . The same mechanic which was introduced in Splinter Cell : conviction and thus blasted the game from being a stealth one to excessive 3rd person shooter is present in Hitman series too . But here they call it with a different name . Instead of takedowns they have given the name as Point Shooting ,

Same as that of takedown, you will first mark the targets you are going to take down and then when you press a button , Agent 47 takes the enemies in his own personal style which is shown as a dramatic slo mo action fi scene . Unlike Takedowns , the enemies won t go down with a single hit . If you want that, better aim for their heads , but if you aim for their trunks then be sure to pump more lead into them to put them down forever .

A lot of heavy weapons can be found out through out the game . Hell !! if you want you can go for a round with them. But Assassins 's way of finishing off a level is much more satisfying .

Pro ' :: 

1. Once again don the suit of Black with Red Tie and get into the Role of the Deadliest Assassin of all times . This Guy never misses a target .
2. Stunning environmental effects and graphics , thanks to Nvidia's Phys X that will make playing the game such a beauty.
3. The game engine is so smooth that moving Agent 47 through out the game feels superb .
4. Get the satisfaction of taking down a target after hours of boiling over on how to execute it without getting detected . Remember : Patience is your only friend . Wait for it like a coiled Viper and strike when the opportunity arises .

Con's :: 

1. Instinct makes the game more easier than it was meant to be .
2. Environmental kills are  a total of 5 or 6 that gets repetitive after first 3 missions . They could have introduced more innovative ways of killing .
3. No epic Boss Fights ,especially the last level . If you are expecting a huge and satisfying  fight at the end of the game , you ought to be disappointed .

Overall ::  A must play game for everyone who had missed Hitman Series . But for Hardcore Hitman Fans, I won t recommend this as you are definitely going to come out disappointed .

Rating :: 8.5 /10

Regards
Ram