If you preorder Hitman Absolution at Gamestop, you get access to a fun sniping minigame to tide you over until the release date, which is November 20th. A bit far away, but we definitely don't want this game to be rushed. Although the only thing you can do in the Sniper Challenge is sit still and snipe, there are actually lots of creative ways you can eliminate the target and his bodyguards without anyone being alerted. It is also a nice showcase of Absolution's improved graphics, A.I, and bullet physics. Here are my impressions:
-The mission itself is pretty straightforward. Assassinate the target and his bodyguards only through sniping. Although it sounds basic, it really is quite challenging. If the guards notice their colleague crumple to the floor with a gigantic hole where the back of his head used to be, they'll immediately call and alert and evacuate the area.
-The sniping is realistic and feels satisfying. You have to lead your shots and wait a second for the scope to steady. Shooting the rifle and hearing grey matter flying out of the head of an unsuspecting bodyguard sounds gruesomely fantastic.
-There are lots of creative ways to snipe the targets without the body being detected. You can do stuff like shoot an elevator button causing the doors to open, then shoot the guard standing in front of the doors, causing his body to fall down the elevator shaft and out of public sight, or shoot a guard standing next to an artificial pond so that he falls in and his corpse is never found.
-You can earn unlocks for the full game when it comes out November 20th by playing the challenge. The unlocks also apply to the challenge itself.
-It's extremely difficult, but you can snipe all of the targets without any bodies being discovered or people noticing the assassination, earning you a X2 score multiplier and an ego boost. I managed to do it after many, many, many restarts.
-The challenge contains only one level, and there's no sneaking around on foot. Disappointing, but IO is probably gonna release a proper demo closer to the release date.
-The graphics and animations are beautiful. It's one of the best looking games I've seen this year. The environments are well detailed and gorgeous. The ragdoll physics have been improved a lot from Blood Money. Once we can see the textures and animations up close we can tell for sure, though. The framerate is steady and rarely drops, which is also fantastic.
-The A.I isn't really showcased too much, but they respond appropriately to gunfire and aren't oblivious to their comrades being picked off one by one. As opposed to crowding around bodies like they did in Blood Money and other stealth games, they call in an evacuation order when they notice a body or someone being killed and start fleeing the level. A few stay behind and take shots at you, but they don't seem to do any damage, and they flee shortly after.
-You can kill Ezio. I'm serious. If you look up on one building, you can see a hooded figure preparing to leap off of a platform. If you snipe him, he falls to the ground as the AC eagle sound plays. I love Assassin's Creed, but I couldn't help but laugh like a lunatic after killing him. Don't bring a hidden blade to a sniper fight, Ezio.
