This review contains spoilers
I love the story and how it's presented. After hitting start, it seems 47 has finally met his last contract as he has been fatally wounded during one. As 47 bleeds out, his professional life flashes before his eyes. Sights and sounds remind him of previous jobs he has taken, slickly transitioning scenes between the present and past. This format enables it to have a great selection of missions as they are not confined to following a direct sequence of events which might have affected the pacing from filling in the gaps.
It allows them to go from the aftermath of Codename 47's final mission, to an S&M fetish party situated in a Romanian slaughterhouse to infiltrating a Russian airfield without any further explanation needed. Cresendoing to a full blown manhunt as his apartment is surrounded by the police, he turns the table ensuring his perfect track record is still intact as you complete the mission that nearly compromised him. The game story format also gives them a second chance to remake some of the missions with the biggest potential that were sadly limited to the first games underdeveloped engine.
The gameplay might not be massively revamped as Blood Money, but the correct minor adjustments were made. They worked out what works and doesn’t from Silent Assassin and further developed the series' gameplay identity. If it wasn't for Blood Money, this would easily be my favourite in the series.
It allows them to go from the aftermath of Codename 47's final mission, to an S&M fetish party situated in a Romanian slaughterhouse to infiltrating a Russian airfield without any further explanation needed. Cresendoing to a full blown manhunt as his apartment is surrounded by the police, he turns the table ensuring his perfect track record is still intact as you complete the mission that nearly compromised him. The game story format also gives them a second chance to remake some of the missions with the biggest potential that were sadly limited to the first games underdeveloped engine.
The gameplay might not be massively revamped as Blood Money, but the correct minor adjustments were made. They worked out what works and doesn’t from Silent Assassin and further developed the series' gameplay identity. If it wasn't for Blood Money, this would easily be my favourite in the series.
This is my first Hitman game I beat so can't speak much on the story, I just thought it was cool how presentation in the cut scenes transition from your damaged body into the level context. It has that 2000s moodiness that keeps you coming back, 3rd level is a shit test tho fr. I liked how aggression & stealth are segregated meters so one isn't incentivized over the other in general, tho level design does that itself.
This is one of those weird remake/sequel titles so I guess if you've beaten the first one theres some new in here for you and If you've never touched the series this is a good starting point.
This is one of those weird remake/sequel titles so I guess if you've beaten the first one theres some new in here for you and If you've never touched the series this is a good starting point.
Pretty forgettable overall but did incorporate some much needed QOL improvements that Blood Money would expand upon
After playing this game, I can't help but feel that it pales in comparison to its predecessor. This game has less content, a very weak story, and no meaningful changes to the gameplay formula, yet it still isn't a bad game.
This game consists of contracts, both new and remade from the first game, Codename 47. This makes sense because the first game was not released on consoles, so it would seem the devs wanted to retell some of the story in this game as an introductory point for new players. Except that point would be refuted by the presence of time-jumps and a lack of narrative for the contracts. The actual overlying narrative consists of 47 remembering past contracts while unconscious or something, so I was a bit disappointed.
Aside from two missions which have identical maps, the missions and maps were very well designed. Locations were varied, and the ways you could kill your targets would be unique for each level. Jesper Kyd's turn to a more gloomy and atmospheric soundtrack, as opposed to the grand orchestral soundtrack of Hitman 2, gives this game a more dark vibe, never glorifying what it is that Agent 47 is doing. Like always, completing a Hitman level with a decent rating and without any help seems like one of the most satisfying things you could do. In terms of what new stuff was added, syringes which allowed faster knockout times were added, dead npcs would show up on the map, you could conceal weapons in certain things, and probably some more insignificant things.
The absolute worst part of this game is the almost two hours I spent figuring out how to run it. Hitman Contracts is a technical disaster. Just look up this game's issues and you'll see that the devs didn't make sure that this game was as stable as Hitman 2 or even Codename 47 for that matter.
I wish I could give this game a 'meh' rating, as the technical issues alone detracted from my experience severely. I am happy that it wasn't officially called Hitman 3, because this game just doesn't have the scope to back that up. This game's 9 month production time is evident in its shorter length, somewhat absent story, and unchanged gameplay, yet Hitman: Contracts remains a solid gameplay experience that provides fun and satisfaction. Treat this game more like a slight detour from the main Hitman series, as it provides more of the gameplay and almost none of the story.
This game consists of contracts, both new and remade from the first game, Codename 47. This makes sense because the first game was not released on consoles, so it would seem the devs wanted to retell some of the story in this game as an introductory point for new players. Except that point would be refuted by the presence of time-jumps and a lack of narrative for the contracts. The actual overlying narrative consists of 47 remembering past contracts while unconscious or something, so I was a bit disappointed.
Aside from two missions which have identical maps, the missions and maps were very well designed. Locations were varied, and the ways you could kill your targets would be unique for each level. Jesper Kyd's turn to a more gloomy and atmospheric soundtrack, as opposed to the grand orchestral soundtrack of Hitman 2, gives this game a more dark vibe, never glorifying what it is that Agent 47 is doing. Like always, completing a Hitman level with a decent rating and without any help seems like one of the most satisfying things you could do. In terms of what new stuff was added, syringes which allowed faster knockout times were added, dead npcs would show up on the map, you could conceal weapons in certain things, and probably some more insignificant things.
The absolute worst part of this game is the almost two hours I spent figuring out how to run it. Hitman Contracts is a technical disaster. Just look up this game's issues and you'll see that the devs didn't make sure that this game was as stable as Hitman 2 or even Codename 47 for that matter.
I wish I could give this game a 'meh' rating, as the technical issues alone detracted from my experience severely. I am happy that it wasn't officially called Hitman 3, because this game just doesn't have the scope to back that up. This game's 9 month production time is evident in its shorter length, somewhat absent story, and unchanged gameplay, yet Hitman: Contracts remains a solid gameplay experience that provides fun and satisfaction. Treat this game more like a slight detour from the main Hitman series, as it provides more of the gameplay and almost none of the story.