To start off the year I decided to begin my backlog goals by playing through the first Hitman game, I originally wanted the original Metal Gear to be the first game I played this year but due to circumstances outside of my control, I decided to go ahead and start on Hitman. As well, I would like to preface this review with the knowledge that this is my first venture in to the stealth game genre, so take what I say with a grain of salt as this is all new to me.
The best way I can describe Codename 47 is that it seems like the framework for something greater. There are defiantly good ideas and mechanics, like the iconic disguise mechanic and the impressive AI pathfinding, but it is all bogged down by a severe case of linearity. The missions are not sandboxes; you are given your objective and there are specific steps you must take to get those objectives done, and any deviation results in mission failure. There are only about two levels that I can think of that offer the player some creative freedom. "Traditions of the Trade" and "Plutonium Runs Loose" are said two levels; the prior is a great example of what this game does right, and the latter an example of the worst it has to offer. "Traditions" takes place in a big multilevel hotel where you need to explore, learn NPC patterns, and gather information in order to complete the objectives. The level operates on it's own time and really gives the player opportunity to try out different routes. This is in direct contrast with "Plutonium" where it is extremely binary; there are only two choices and both are infuriating to no end. You either have to navigate through enemy patrol routes so that you can go to the other side of the map from where you spawn to grab a car bomb, after which the enemies stop patrolling and become stationary, which means you have to kill them in order to progress leaving a chance that your target might escape; or you go straight to the ship and try to complete all the objectives in one swift go, which doesn't go well because as soon as you take out the target all the guards come running towards you to turn you into swiss cheese. I will also take this time to mention that the gun play is dog water, it was clearly not designed with intense gun fights in mine, but it still asks you requires you to do so in some instances. But those two levels are extreme examples, most fall somewhere in-between and are generally enjoyable.
Overall, Codename 47 is ok, levels are fun albeit sometimes cryptic and infuriating; the story is non existent and not all that interesting, but both the story and gameplay offer a great base for future games to build off of.

One of my favorite memories from when I was a kid was playing "Hitman: Codename 47.” It was a time when I had to wake up really early to catch the school bus, and I was always so tired in the morning. Thankfully, my parents let me play the game for a short while, maybe just 30 minutes or less. This helped me stay awake and made the start of my day much better.

I didn't care much about fancy graphics or complicated game physics back then. I simply enjoyed the game. I was super determined to get through it, solve puzzles, and complete missions. I used to have conversations with my friends about the game's missions. We would talk about how I completed them and the challenges I faced. Finishing a mission felt like a significant achievement for me. The first mission, the training one, was really tough. I can't even count how many times I tried to finish it and escape from that place. It was a big challenge, but I never gave up.

What's funny is that I could play the same mission over and over again without getting bored or tired. There weren't many games to choose from at that time, but "Hitman" was special to me. It was my go-to game, and it made my childhood a lot more exciting.

Codename 47 is the first entry in the Hitman franchise, renowned for being probably the best stealth franchise to ever exist. Does this game live up to that reputation though?

No. (lol)

It's still a fun time especially during the earlier missions and the Thermal Bath Hotel mission, which also happens to be the best in the game, however the experience is marred by inconsistent AI, noticing you from OUTSIDE OF THE DRAW DISTANCE in some missions even, like the Say Hello to My Little Friend mission and Plutonium Runs Loose (which is probably the worst mission in the entire franchise) and a lack of a limited save system within missions like future entries, forcing you to restart from the very beginning when you fail. Yes, not IF you fail... WHEN you fail, because you will. Some missions hit you with extremely punishing knowledge checks that you would've had no way of knowing on your first playthrough but the game punishes you for that regardless.

The fundamentals that the franchise was built upon are all here and this game will forever be respected for starting it, but pretty much every other game in the series is better.

The one thing that I can't criticize is the insanely atmospheric soundtrack composed by Jesper Kyd, also known for his work on some of the Assassin's Creed franchise.

Overall, it's a decent time but it has aged pretty poorly and you do have to play through the game once to be aware of all of the knowledge checks, it makes latter playthroughs much smoother and less frustrating.

Oh boy... I got this game along with the entire Hitman franchise because I was interested to see how the games evolved over time. I wanted to see the story that carries on through each game, and I wanted to see what mechanics the first game had.

This game sucks, simply put. The amount of frustration I've had with this game is incomparable to any other game I've played. You have almost no health, enemies have God-level aiming, missions are linear yet the only way to know what to do is through trial and error. And the worst part about it all, there are no saves. You can spend half an hour taking out guards and stashing their bodies so that no one will be alerted, only to get stuck on a wall, or get shot twice and die by some random guard, even though you are sure that no one saw or heard you.

Story is good, atmosphere is great, yet the design choices really hold this game back. Only get this if you want to play all the Hitman games.

One of those games you should play only if you are a die hard fan, or you just want to experience what hitman series was like in it's inception. This is one of the worst hitman games, but considering the year it came out in it is understandable. Still, it keeps up with the series. Levels are not that big, but they are mostly open-ended. Targets are clear and there is variety in assassination methods. However gameplay is clunky, and there are not many mechanics. Main issue is not knowing when or why you got detected. There is 0 indication. Gameplay does feel a bit slow, and there are some missions i do not want to replay ever. It is really interesting how this game, even with all of it's flaws still got 7 more mainline games to be made.

While very dated in some areas, and far more linear than most future entries, I still say it's worth playing for anyone interested in the series.

Unlike the sandbox missions the franchise is known for (although some of them do exist here), most of these missions seem to have one "intended" path, and they all have varying lengths. Some of them are very short, others are a bit longer, but the basics of the gameplay are the same between this game and it's future entries. 47 needs to fulfill an objective, usually killing someone, with an area, and the easiest way to do so is disguise yourself as various professions to sneak in and slip out unnoticed.

At the beginning of each mission, 47 will check his laptop which will contain valuable information about his objective and the area. Read this carefully because once the mission starts, you are on your own. There are no guides, no reminders on what to do, just you, a map, and whatever other equipment you chose to bring with you. As for what to bring with you, you are limited by a budget, which is calculated at the end of the previous mission. Basically just do your job properly to get paid, and don't kill any civilians because the agency would need to clean it up.

You'll also notice that it sometimes takes several missions before you can reach your target, with your first target being the prime example of this, being the leader of an organized crime family, he's very well protected, so to reach him, you first need to complete three prior stages. There is only one target who only has one dedicated stage, and it's one of the large sandbox levels that I'm presuming served as inspiration for the franchise to come (and even then, you technically need to kill a second target as well, as nonlethal takedowns aren't an option in this game).

If you are able to sit through the clunkiness of the game and deal with the almost puzzle-like nature of figuring out the "intended" way to beat each mission, feel free to give this one a go.

An interesting start. Not a good one, but an interesting one. Some of the levels in Codename 47 are seen in Contracts due to Contracts being made on a short timespan and this being PC exclusive, they decided to put some of the levels on there.

But anyway, this game is terrible. Some of the levels force you into combat, AI is wonky. Also the worst offender to me is the fact you can clearly tell the concept IS there. This is another thing I have issues with in terms of almost every other Hitman game besides Blood Money (that I played)

You can clearly tell the concept is there and that it is being worked with. But unfortunately, much like Hitman 2, the concept isn't fully realized and the game overall is bad.

This game goes from killing asians till it becomes a copy of Metal Gear Solid 3 mixed with Indiana Jones...

Hitman: Codename 47, also known as Hitman 1 but not Hitman 1 (2016) I mean Hitman 1 (2000) god bless reboots title. To this game's credit, it's pretty damn impressive for a 3D "realistic" stealth game it may have bad missions, confusing objectives, terrible controls, and a putrid art style but it still is impressive for a game from the 2000s, do I respect it enough to actually do a full playthrough of the game? Dear god no I dropped the game when the jungle shit started and I was like "Oh god a giant empty forest map with boring objectives, fuck this shit I'm out" and here I am ranting about 1/4th of the game.
Though, to all of my compatriots reading this review thinking "I wonder if I should play this game...", one thing you can do is enable cheat, type "Giveall", and play against the rules.

Another thing that I thought was neat is the background story of Agent 47, it's probably the only remarkable thing from the game as I actually never really wondered "Who is 47?" and I don't think they ever tried to question that in the recent reboot trilogy.

Don't play this game if you love yourself, just watch a quick story resume like this one on Youtube and play the second or third entry which is most likely way better.

Codename 47 is the very first game of the Hitman series that I like a lot but it certainly is a rough entry to it as much as I appreciate it's contributions to the later Hitman games and the gaming as a whole (maybe, with it's ragdoll physics).

The reason I'm calling it a rough entry is entirely due to the execution of it's gameplay mechanics. This game was by far one of the jankiest games I've ever played. The AI is an inconsistent piece of shit. You can do same thing exactly the same way in a level and somehow get through it without any problems while starting to get shot on the other and have no idea why that happened. I was so shocked each time this happened that I was wondering if the AI was sentient or not. Sometimes the AI feels clueless about anything that happens around them and sometimes they have either eyes behind them or they see something bad happening outside the very low rendering distance you have which can lead to very frustrating situations.

The combat doesn't work well due to the fact that for some reason Agent 47 in this game has the aiming capabilities of a stormtrooper even though he is the perfect assassin. The reticle is not at all an indication of where you are going to shoot becuase even if you're only 2 meters away from your target your bullet can completely miss your target which makes it more viable to either spam with your pistol or just use high fire-rate guns and hope your target dies. You could avoid combat like in the later games but I personally dont see it happening with the forementioned AI problems and level design on some of the missions.

Speaking of level design, indoor missions in this game can feel like a maze with how samey rooms and halls look like and outdoor missions are so big and empty that you can easily get lost due to low render distance. I will talk about some of the levels that I want to particularly talk about later.

All of these would still make the game very playable but there is one last problem that amplifies the problems above, there isn't a save system. Lack of a save system means you could progress far in a complex, long or a big level but one bullshit with the weird AI might mean it's all moot, you are restarting the level. I don't know if this actually true but I've heard the playtesters of this game managed to beat the game very quickly with save files so that's why the devs removed it which seems insane to me because I absolutely don't see how you can beat this game quickly without actually knowing what to do since the game doesn't hold your hand at all but at the same time I find it equally baffling how the devs decide to not add save files otherwise.

All of these complaints are the reason I actually dropped this game midway through the first time then finished it after playing all other Hitman games but the non-gameplay stuff is actually nice. In the current gaming climate where there are way too many remakes and remasters which I hate a lot, Codename 47 is the only game that I would like the see a remake of (Contracts levels don't count) due to these non-gameplay stuff actually being very promising. Most coherent plot of the franchise, Ort-Meyer is the best villain this series has to offer (Both points don't actually seem that impressive when you think about it) and I would like to see it more expanded in a potential remake. Missions have good premises which isn't executed this well with the level design but I think IOI can do them justice if they don't make it outright worse like some of the Contracts remakes. Jesper Kyd's music is as good as always. And that's it I think.

Now let's talk about the missions that I feel like there are things worth to talk about:

The Massacre at Cheung Chau Fish Restaurant: 4th overall mission of the game, this was actually the mission I dropped the game first time I played because it's the first mission the very perceptive civilians outright failing the level impacts you. After actually finishing it, I think it's a neat mission. It's on the more creative sides of the missions in Codename 47 and it has the most iconic line of the franchise.

The Lee Hong Assassination: 5th overall mission and the last of the Hong Kong missions, probably the most complex mission of Codename 47 but also one of my two favorite missions in it. You'd think with how long the mission actually is, no save system would take a lot from it due to janky gameplay mechanics but the mission actually flows very well. Everything leads to each other with the information you can get from NPCs. Also I felt like the AI in this mission isn't that problematic.

Find the Uwa Tribe: First Colombian mission, this is the worst mission in the game if you don't consider the gameplay. Racial insensivities aside the level itself is a gigantic empty jungle you can easily get lost and the level itself is mostly just running around it for 15 minutes. Thankfully the game has a compass you can buy so you don't have to check the map every 5 seconds.

Say Hello to My Little Friend: Final Colombian mission where you kill a discount Al Pacino is a big offender of the gameplay jank I talked about before. The first baffling thing about this level is the gigantic walk you have to do get inside the big campsite because for some reason the devs decided it was a good idea to spawn you on the other side of the entrance of it. On top of that this mission is the biggest offender of the inconsistent AI (especially around the lab) so have fun taking the walk of shame when the game feels like it.

Traditions of the Trade: My other favorite mission of the game takes place in a Hungarian hotel. Once again the mission is once again good at giving information via NPCs and also the level itself is the most non-linear mission Codename 47 has to offer which I think is the reason why I feel like you could put this mission as is on any of the future pre-Absolution games and you wouldn't bat an eye.

Plutonium Runs Loose: Now the real worst mission of the game, 11th overall mission and the final mission of Rotterdam. I think most players who played this game will also tell you how awful and frustrating this mission is. Much like Say Hello to My Little Friend, this mission also suffers from the inconsistent AI and the huge walking and waiting times it has. On top of that the level forces you into combat with how it's designed and the non-combat stuff you need to do on the level is much riskier which leads you into much more failures in this huge level in a game with no save system. Seriously, fuck this level.

Meet Your Brother: Final mission of the game is a combat level, which the Hitman series actually really likes to do a lot in their final missions even in the future games. As much as the concept of this one goes I think it's one of the better final missions of the series. The real problem with this level is that the combat mechanics of the game forces you to just wait in a corner and kill your targets one by one which takes a long and mundane time. The two (!!) instant kill mechanics you can be hit by after you do that is downright evil.

As much as how frustrating this game can get I think I'd still recommend it to a Hitman fan that wants to play pre-WoA/Absolution/Blood Money Hitman games and at least try it out. I personally didn't have the patience to finish it the first time around and moved onto 2: Silent Assassin instead which I think is also fine to do.

Come altri, mi rendo conto che ci sono davvero delle belle idee già per il suo anno di uscita: la divisione e caratterizzazione delle missioni, il dover acquistare l'armamentario che ci si vuol portare appresso di volta in volta, il permettere già azioni come quella di avvelenare del cibo. La possibilità di indossare il vestiario delle proprie vittime già preannuncia le grandi potenzialità dello stealth tipico e unico della serie - che qui si riduce anche unicamente a questo, visto che agire nell'ombra è tra il troppo semplice e l'impossibile a seconda di ciò che intendiamo

Ci sono però tantissime cose che trovo vadano pure oltre il fastidioso. Io mi ritengo molto generoso quando si mette di mezzo il concetto di invecchiamento dei giochi: spesso e volentieri, a mio avviso, si tratta solo di idee di game e level design differenti da quelle popolari. Qui però ce n'è avoja: muri invisibili, movimenti e comandi macchinosissimi, ronde dei nemici e IA ancora troppo rudimentali, attaccare con il coltello non genera nessuna pozza di sangue a terra (cosa importante visto che rende l'uso del filo per strangolare assolutamente inutile), se si destano sospetti mentre si indossano vesti altrui questi possono essere fugati indossando altri vestiti anche sé di fatto identici. Le scelte per gli assassinii sono molto limitate, il gioco è (anche per ovvie ragioni) molto lineare rispetto ai suoi successori. Di per sé non è assolutamente un problema, anzi. Purtroppo però questo si traduce in una eccessiva ingenuità nella costruzione delle missioni e nel placement dei nemici (e la già menzionata IA scadente non aiuta, anzi). Ai miei occhi diverse missioni conservano comunque un certo fascino, ma ve ne sono troppe nella seconda metà che aderiscono unicamente allo shooter (pure fatto male)

Preliminary definition: There is no video game that has ever been made that feels as successful as shooting in this game that tries to keep us from shooting.

In some ways it's still a good game. For example, the atmosphere, music, and story are still interesting. However, there are many bugs in the game and its artificial intelligence is very inadequate compared to other Hitman games. Codename 47 is actually the least stealth-oriented game in the main Hitman series (I'm talking about the series up to World of Assassination). This makes it different and attractive in a sense. Although the game has been completely transformed into a stealth game with Contracts, Codename 47's unique magic still continues. It is not a production that I can particularly recommend, but it still maintains its title of being a special production, as there is almost no other game that combines mafia and tension themes with action and stealth.

Codename 47 is still a very strong game, especially in terms of the feeling of being 47. You can enjoy the Hitman series even today. I've read negative comments about the controls, but I don't really agree. I think the difficult and cumbersome controls added a different sense of realism to the game. So, instead of changing the weapon with a single button, it felt cool to select it from the list and take it out of our pocket, and to throw it on the ground after finishing the magazine of the big gun instead of reloading it. I have no complaints regarding the basic gameplay. The part where the game is lacking or inadequate is that it does not leave the player with many options and the maps feel very empty. I wandered around the map for dozens of minutes just out of curiosity. This was of course a problem with most games of that period, but it seems a bit boring today. Other than these, I don't think the game has any major problems.

I tried to give this game a shot since I'm interested in playing through the entire Hitman series, but after about an hour or so of playing, I felt no emotions other than frustration and confusion. The controls were baffling, the gameplay was painful, and the overall archaic feel to everything was so mind-numbing. I ultimately just decided that it wasn't worth it, I'll just go on over to the next game in the series instead.

There's one review for this game on steam that said the only reason one should play this game is for a burst of nostalgia, and I completely agree. Maybe if I played this as a kid I might love playing it now, but trying to play it without any prior history is basically impossible.

Hopefully I'll like the next entry in the series way more.