Hitman 3

  

 Let’s not mince words here, I love Hitman. Each entry in this twenty year long franchise has given me many fond memories and picking my preferred game has always been a challenge. I love the atmosphere and tone of Contracts, where every level takes place on a rainy night, demonstrating 47’s confusion as he tries to reminisce about missions from his past. Blood Money on the other hand is most people’s favourite with missions like A New Life and Till Death Do Us Part being regarded as classics that even casual Hitman players remember fondly. Many regard the 13 levels to be one of the best stealth packages in gaming and as I have previously said, Blood Money is one of the best stealth games of all time. After that game though, 47 went on a 6 year hiatus and  returned in the most controversial entry in the franchise, Hitman Absolution. To me, Absolution is the low point of the series (even though I don’t think it’s a bad game) and since then, I have wondered whether we would get a truly outstanding episode in this franchise again. Well Hitman 3 is that episode. I really liked both Htman (2016) and Hitman 2, but Hitman 3 is the final chapter in the resurrection of Hitman and if this is Agent 47’s last game for a while, then he has definitely gone out with a bang.

 

The Hitman series has always had one primary strength, map design. Even the older entries like Silent Assassin have immense attention to detail and offer a plethora of alternative routes for repeat playthroughs. This new trilogy has emphasised the importance of these repeat playthroughs and in Hitman 3, IO are at the peak of their powers. Maps are large, intricate and varied with assets always being created with options in mind. Every chandelier, lawnmower, ledge and gas canister is used with a kill opportunity in mind suggesting the amount of mapping the developers had to do in order to guess all of the different approaches players would take. Each map also offers its own unique skills and finding all of these will feel like an integral part of any fan's experience. I wanna talk about each map individually in their own section because I believe five of this game's six maps are amongst the best in the series. The game does have that nagging feeling of being Hitman 2.5 though and if you haven’t been a fan of the previous two installments, Hitman 3 will do nothing to persuade you to reenter the series. It doesn’t stray far from the formula crafted in the last two games but does seem to have gotten the formula down to perfection.

Each map in Hitman 3 is distinct and unique. Dubai sets the tone perfectly as an opening level and reminds me of some of the missions in Silent Assassin that took place in Malaysia. Only here the scale is enormous. The Burj Al Ghazali is easily the greatest single building the series has ever used, with an astonishing amount of verticality. It’s the most James Bond level in the whole series and the escape routes that see 47 either parachute away or hijack a helicopter and the stylish opening that sees 47 change out of his parachuting attire into a suave blue blazer  further highlight the 007 feel of the mission. It sets a high bar early on and the best part is most of the following missions hit that bar of quality with some in my opinion even rising above it. Dartmoor is the second level and it harkens back to the Beldingford manor mission in Contracts. The setting feels better realised here though with wider mansion grounds to explore, a full on Sherlock Holmes mission story to undertake which offers some brilliant kill opportunities and diverse colour palette that uses greys to emphasise the UK countryside manor setting. The third mission Berlin is one of my personal favourites as it introduces a new gimmick that fits the story and setting perfectly. In this mission, 47 is without handler Diana Burnwood so has to track his targets down himself while they are doing the exact same thing. In all 47 has to eliminate six targets to complete the mission and with ten targets total, this mission offers more replay value than any other in the series. Berlin is also packed with loads of easter eggs, references and other funny nods to pop culture that have helped it stick with me more than Hitman 3’s other maps. The gloomy aesthetic also contrasts beautifully with the neon design of the game’s fourth level Chongqing. Arguably the most visually impressive mission, Chongqing uses lighting expertly to brighten up the dark and grimy streets. Although this map was probably one of my least favourites, I did enjoy sneaking into the ICA facility and found it made for an ironic level as a longtime fan. Then there is the Argetinian vineyard of Mendoza, arguably my favourite map in the game, Mendoza is gorgeous, vibrant and rich, reminding me of Blood Money’s A Vintage Year only immensely larger. Diana is actually an NPC on the map and will aid 47 where she can, offering another nice piece of diversity that came as a complete surprise. When I realised Diana could distract guards, targets or even kill your target I was amazed. The final map set in the Carpathian Mountains is easily the most diverse part of the package. Playing almost like an on rails set piece, it takes place along a moving train and on an initial playthrough, is a good time. Only after completing the mission though and realising it only has a level mastery of 5 (with every other mission having a level mastery of 20) do you begin to realise that a traditional sandbox style map was cut in order to have this mission be the finale. It fits the story well, but did leave me wanting a bit more when the credits rolled. Then I remembered about all the quirky kills I wanted to try on Mendoza though and that feeling of disappointment soon faded away. Hitman 3 also exists now as the main hub for the World of Assassination trilogymeaning all missions, equipment and suits from the first two games can be played in Hitman 3. This gives Hitman 3 an insane amount of content and although some modes like Ghost Mode have been removed, you are certainly getting a good amount of content.

 

 The story of the Hitman series has never really been my main hook. The series has always used framing devices such as flashbacks or third person perspectives to tell their stories and although I feel they were all ok, a Hitman story has never really groped me. Hitman 3 wraps up the story started in Hitman 2016 and even though it's the best story the series has seen, that isn’t saying much. 47’s mission to track down The Constant has a satisfying climax though with plenty of twists and turns along the way. I wish the series had presented all cutscenes across the trilogy in the same way though. Hitman 3 uses in-game cutscenes that don’t compare well to the comic book style cutscenes of Hitman 2 or the excellent cutscenes found in Hitman 2016. This presentation change also makes playing the series back to back quite jarring even though I don’t think that’s the way I’d play the games.

 

 All praise aside though, let me be blunt. At launch Hitman 3 wasa total trainwreck. The process of transferring save data and equipment across from Hitman 2016 and Hitman 2 to Hitman 3 was handedly embarrassingly by IO. The process was tedious and really took away from that initial excitement of getting the game. The launch servers were also absolutely terrible. Games would lose connection constantly meaning any progress I had made in any level was totally pointless. Thankfully, most if not all of these issues have been fixed now and IO have worked very hard to keep their player base happy and satisfied. Alterations have been made such as keeping all of your equipment when playing offline and although these are good changes, they just highlight how broken this always online only format is. 

 

 

Conclusion

Hitman 3 is my new favourite game in the series. It is the culmination of IO’s six year plan to make 47 relevant again and I think they achieved that and much more. This is easily the best stealth game this decade and the streamlining IO have done has helped make most of the levels highly replayable without being tedious. New additions like 47’s camera and unlockable shortcuts help make repeat playthroughs exciting and in the 40 plus hours I played Hitman 3, I never got tired of experimenting with the AI  and seeing what the maps would allow me to do. Mendoza and Berlin have become some of my favourite levels of the series and I will still be playing them when the barcoded assassin eventually returns. It makes me so happy to see one of my favourite characters finally back in the view of the public.  

 

Rating: Silent Assassin

9/10