E3 2011 Preview: Hitman Absolution

At the beginning of the last console generation a newly formed studio named IO Interactive created what would become one of the most interesting takes on the stealth action genre ever created: Hitman.  With just its inaugural outing Hitman introduced us to a far more methodical approach than had ever been attempted in games like Metal Gear Solid or Tenchu before it.  After four successful titles over the course of six years IO decided it was time to try something new and while their follow-up efforts with Kane and Lynch have certainly turned heads once again it hasn’t lived up to the legacy and grace that the adventures of the world’s greatest assassin experienced.

Five years since its last outing, a lot has changed in the industry and the fear that the influence of modern gaming aesthetics might adversely affect the game are well placed.  Judging by the demo I was allowed to see at E3 this year however Hitman Absolution looks to be the comeback tour we’ve been wanting for so long.

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Codename: 47

Agent 47, the darling of the International Contracts Agency, has seen and carried out just about any kind of assassination ever conceived of.  From drug lords to murderers, from pedophiles to mob witnesses, no target is too difficult to get close to so long as the one who calls out the hit has both the cash and the right connections.  47’s lengthy career has had him traveling the globe in search of his next target from Russia to Columbia to even the White House but his riskiest assignment yet takes him to a place whose history for a century has been consumed by crime and corruption: Chicago.

After having taken care of his latest victim, 47 is on the run from the Chicago PD.  Alone, outgunned, and without any of his trademark equipment to aid him in the evasion of his pursuers, 47 crashes through the window of a derelict with dozens of cops hot on his trail.  It is here that our demo begins.

Hidden in the darkness from the men chasing him, the libraries’ rundown environment coupled with the raging storm outside makes for an ideal environment to play a game of cat and mouse.  Huddling behind toppled bookshelves and dust-ridden desks, 47 makes notice of his only viable exit: the large open doors on the other side of the building.  In between him and that exit though are over a dozen police officers whose loudmouth chief insists that they shoot first instead of asking questions.

Hitman Absolution’s gameplay in this particular instance is a dramatic departure from the games we have come to love over the years.  While certain missions will retain the classic Hitman formula of a sandbox environment to explore and plan out your actions with, this occurrence is an example of what gamers can expect to be playing a majority of the time when the game sees its full release.  Similar in approach to recent stealth titles like Splinter Cell Conviction and Batman Arkham Asylum, 47 has to play it cool without the element of social stealth to keep him safe.  Staying out of sight is in his best interest and the darkness of the library is his new companion.

Patrolling guards roam amidst the bookcases, boxes, and desks that litter the area with their weapons drawn and a flashlight flickers in the direction of even the slightest hint of sound or movement.  It is immediately clear that the game’s AI has received a massive overhaul over its previous incarnations, something that was much needed if IO wants to stay competitive in a genre that is slowly becoming increasingly more populated.  The guards are clearly nervous as the lightning flashes and thunder roars through the dead lobby of the library and one wrong move could spell the premature end of 47.

As he wanders past a set of shelves 47 stops dead in his tracks.  A flashlight is pointing towards where 47 was heading and the cone of light is becoming smaller by the second: a guard is approaching on the other side of the bookcase and 47 is sure to be spotted if he stays put.  Backing up a bit, our demonstrator activates a new aspect of 47’s arsenal: Instinct, something that the world’s greatest assassin has honed over years of hunting targets.

Instinct is a game-changing aspect for the Hitman series as it serves as both a visual and audio aid to the player.  Activating Instinct in this particular instance allows 47 to see the patrolling cop through the bookcase as well as a red line on the ground indicating his intended path of movement.  Instinct can also be used to indicate interactive objects in the environment.  It is clear that Instinct is a great tool to the player but the possibility of abuse seems to exist.

As the guard slowly passes by 47 he reaches up and grabs the guard from behind before squeezing the life out of him.  Dropping the lifeless body to the floor, 47 presses on, moving toward the center of the room where a larger concentration of guards can be found.  Hiding behind a desk the player finds a piece of extension cord and has it added to his inventory.  Sneaking up behind another guard 47 quickly chokes the guard using the cord thankfully yielding a quiet death.

The lights in the room suddenly come on.  Much to the insistence of the lieutenant in charge a couple of cops have found the fusebox and have restored power to the room.  The additional lighting will make escape far more difficult so the player moves toward the box, staying in the shadows.  As the two cops go around the corner 47 approaches the fusebox, rigs it, and turns out the lights.  As the lights go out panic sweeps through the already spooked cops and one rushes back to fix it.  When the guard tries to fix the panel it instead electrocutes him, both killing him and ensuring that the lights will not come on again.

Crossing the room, 47 nears another guard.  This one stands next to a portion of the floor that has collapsed.  Taking the opportunity, 47 pushes the guard to his death.  Hearing the noise another guard, this one on the balcony above, comes to investigate.  Moving quickly, 47 grabs the edge of the balcony and, just as the guard arrives, grabs him by the belt and pulls him over the banister causing him to meet the same end as his fallen counterpart.  47 pulls himself up and continues on narrowly avoiding another patrolling guard.

Silent No More

As 47 come around the corner the player takes notice of the exit.  His salvation may be in sight but there’s a problem: a contingent of cops are huddled together near it and there’s no way 47 will be able to sneak past them without a fight.  Grabbing a gun from a slain officer 47 slowly creeps behind an unsuspecting cop and take him hostage.  As all hell breaks loose and the remaining police draw their guns at him our favorite assassin climbs the staircase slowly toward the door.  At its threshold he knocks the hostage out and makes a run for it.

Climbing across several balconies with the heat right on his heels, 47 finds a fire door and breaks through it to the stormy Chicago rooftops.  As he jumps to a nearby building a new obstacle appears: a patrol helicopter equipped with a spotlight and enough firepower to make short work of him.  The player quickly steers further on, dodging the gunfire before making it to a maintenance room on another rooftop.  The helicopter can’t peak in with its spotlight or get a clear shot at 47 so it stays put blocking the connecting rooftop along his escape route.  Temporarily trapped, salvation arrives in the form of a patrol officer ordered over the helicopter’s loudspeaker to investigate the room.  Waiting for the guard to get out of sight, 47 sneaks behind his target and knocks him out.  Taking the opportunity to switch disguises, the player changes out of the familiar black suit and red tie into the cop’s uniform.  Walking outside, the helicopter does nothing to stop him.

Entering the adjacent building 47 finds himself in an apartment filled to the brim with hippies and marijuana plants that looks like a stoner’s quintessential paradise.  As one hippie tries unsuccessfully to flush his green bounty down the toilet others instead continue to do what stoners do best, some barely even acknowledging the in-disguise assassin let alone being able to acknowledge that a powerful storm is raging on outside their windows.  Nearing the entrance to the apartment a patrol officer busts through the door searching for 47.  The player grabs a lamp on a table and introduces it to the officer’s face, knocking him out quite brutally.

Exiting the apartment our demonstrator descents a flight of stairs and arrives in probably the worst place he could find himself in short of a morgue: a lobby filled to the brim with cops.  Slowly walking by the officers, the player activates Instinct once again.  As officers pass by and take notice of him 47 pretends to speak into his radio and pulls his cap down, obscuring his face.  One cop in particular’s thoughts mistake him for another officer but 47 continues on.  Nearing the door, the player has the camera squarely fixated on a cache of assault rifles and it seems like there’s about to be a huge firefight.  As he reaches them though a contingent of SWAT officers rush through the door, startling everyone in attendance.  Thinking quickly the player has 47 stop and instead grab a donut that was right next to the cache.

47 isn’t free just yet.  About to leave as the SWAT team passes by, the cop who mistook him for someone else before calls out to 47, questioning him.  47 plays it cool and answers the man before walking out the door into the rain and a crowded train platform of several hundred pedestrians.  As 47 disappears into the crowd the camera and music rise in an exciting bellow of horn instruments not unlike Inception’s soundtrack, marking the world famous assassin’s successful escape.

Curtain Down

IO Interactive has a lot to live up to with returning to the Hitman franchise after two mediocre games over the past several years but this latest iteration is looking nothing short of fantastic if the E3 demo we saw is any indication.  It seems as if every complaint that has run through the series, from the questionable character animations to the gimpy AI, has been addressed and updated to modern standards.  The gameplay modifications present in this single level may be a departure from the standard Hitman formula but what we get in the end seems to be a far more cinematic presentation that the series has long needed.  If IO can keep this level of quality up then Agent 47’s next tour of duty will certainly be memorable.