Why the new Hitman is likely to suck.

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Full preview here [http://www.pcgamer.com/previews/hitman-absolution-preview-2/], but I'm gonna quote the significant parts.

"Where Absolution?s predecessor dropped Agent 47 into a wide open space that necessitated backtracking and planning, the new game?s library and orphanage come in bite sized chunks, each made up of spacious strips to be overcome before moving on to the next area."

?We want a very cinematic experience,? says game director Tore Blystad.

"...the man at Hitman?s helm showing two very different ways to approach the same section of game"

"Still 47 pushes on.... He ducks behind a piano for a second ? showcasing the game?s new cover system"

"I didn?t get to try out Absolution?s shooting, but it looks understandably similar in feel to IO?s Kane and Lynch series"

"But sneakier assassins ... can dip in to 47?s new ?Instinct? bar ? this resource is earned by doing good things like avoiding patrols, performing silent takedowns, or getting headshots"

"47 can use his spare Instinct to fuel a few seconds of Magic Vision, which lets him anticipate patrol routes, picked out on the floor in a line of flames."

"IO demonstrated another Instinct usage .... 47 ... stops time for a moment. During this pause, he starts to queue up headshots, .... As the shots rattle off into faces and necks the camera follows, giving a gorily cinematic viewpoint of each messy kill...."

-----------------------------
After all that, and the dire looking trailers, I really don't know what to say. This game already looks like a tragedy waiting to happen. They've removed the best parts of previous titles in the series (learning the levels, wide open spaces, freedom within the environment), stolen the worst mechanics from other titles (Conviction's "Mark and Execute", cover shooter, linear, "cinematic") and created a travesty.

It's looking like a crap version of SC: Conviction (and even SC: Conviction was only an average version of SC: Conviction), with 47 turned into an espionage agent/generic action hero and not an assassin. This is the first game I think I've ever anticipated so much and find that I lose hope and interest the more I learn about it and the closer it gets to release.

My only question, who the hell let IO and Tore Blystad, whoever the heck he/she is, be in charge of this let alone create such a pathetic sounding game? Who decided that this was what a) fans of the Hitman titles want or b) this is what 47 is reduced to? That was two questions.

 

[Vegosiux]

My reasons for thinking that are even more simple:

David Bateson isn't going to voice 47.
Vivienne McKee isn't going to voice Diana.

As a fan of the series up to this point...fuck that. Voice acting is part of what made 47 and Diana who they are. Call me a purist, but you don't make a game and call it a Hitman game without those two.

 

[Vegosiux]

My reasons for thinking that are even more simple:

David Bateson isn't going to voice 47.
Vivienne McKee isn't going to voice Diana.

As a fan of the series up to this point...fuck that. Voice acting is part of what made 47 and Diana who they are.

And Jesper Kyd isn't doing the music.

Excuse me, WHAT!? I genuinely didn't know that, and upon reading it, I am only more outraged.

...yes, I understand many people will find it weird that voice actor and composer choices are the true deal-breaker for me, but...I dunno, it's just that without those, there's no way anyone should call it a Hitman game.

 

[Zhukov]

The gameplay videos I've seen looked pretty good. Nothing amazing granted, but basically okay.

The previous games were rather crap, taking the series in a different direction might produce something decent.

 

[Smooth Operator]

?We want a very cinematic experience,? says game director Tore Blystad.

Oh fuck me, I was going to blow all sorts of raspberries over this thread since the game isn't out yet but that fucking statement has been the kiss of death for all games it was mentioned with, the only thing missing now is zombies.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

They are going to make a Splinter Cell knockoff forgetting that Hitman was always a complete different approach to stealth with a thing that Splinter Cell never had: Open approach.

Thank you, you nailed it here. You manage in two sentences what I can't in two paragraphs

The gameplay videos I've seen looked pretty good. Nothing amazing granted, but basically okay.

The previous games were rather crap, taking the series in a different direction might produce something decent.

Pretty good? They look dire. Previous games were crap? Ummm...I don't know what to say to that...something along the lines of "To each their own" perhaps ;-)

I would urge you to give them another try, 3 and 4 in particular. With only 2 sedative shots, 47 was only able to knock out two NPCs without killing them. Killing anyone besides the target precluded the player from getting "Silent Assassin" which was the ultimate challenge. Figuring out ways to avoid patrols, access restricted areas, kill targets without being heard or seen, hide the body, flit in and out of disguise and leave the area without once being caught on camera is so immensely satisfying.

But as others have mentioned, without the VAs as well it won't have remotely the same feel. You knew good things were in store when you heard Diana begin "Hello 47...".

If they don't get Stephen Russell to voice Garrett in the forthcoming Thief 4, I really will be upset. That would be a real travesty.

...that fucking statement has been the kiss of death for all games it was mentioned with, the only thing missing now is zombies.

And multiplayer with level-ups, unlockables and DLC map packs.

 

[AJax_21]

I don't think another game managed to burn all my good will and interest for the series and the developers as fast as this game did.

Captcha: lose face. Hah!

 

[Pickles]

After the first trailer of him blazing through killing every guard he came across I was a bit dubious.
Even more so when they made it much easier to blaze through it with guns. In previous games it was fun if you were discovered and had to shoot your way out, it wasnt usually a valid way to approach the level.

 

[Llil]

I'm still hopeful. I get a bit more worried every time I hear more, but I'm going to keep hoping for the best. I like the series enough that I'm going to forgive a lot. As long as they don't go completely Splinter Cell: Conviction.

 

[distortedreality]

I'm still holding hope.

The gameplay vid I saw a while ago looked ok, nothing spectacular. Definitely different from the other games, but then again, each game has had a very distinct feel that was a natural evolution from the previous game. This may turn out the same, which is what i'm hoping.

Some of the stuff from the OP is genuinely distressing though, and the recasting of the voice actors and composer has annoyed me, but I can't not look forward to a hitman game. Will see what happens when it gets closer to release.

[
kiss your day goodbye!

Wtf??? I've never seen that before, that is awesome.

 

[Zhukov]

The gameplay videos I've seen looked pretty good. Nothing amazing granted, but basically okay.

The previous games were rather crap, taking the series in a different direction might produce something decent.

Stealth games not your thing, eh Zhukov?

The gameplay videos I've seen looked pretty good. Nothing amazing granted, but basically okay.

The previous games were rather crap, taking the series in a different direction might produce something decent.

Pretty good? They look dire. Previous games were crap? Ummm...I don't know what to say to that...something along the lines of "To each their own" perhaps ;-)

Actually, stealth games are very much my thing. I wish there were more of them.

Thing is, Hitman always failed rather hard as a stealth game.

For one, it used that crazy overpowered disguise mechanic which basically made enemy NPCs ignore you unless you danced a jig under their noses. What's the point of a stealth game where you can walk around in plain sight with zero concern? It always felt like playing with cheat mode activated.

Second, they kept giving you silent, long range, high accuracy, one-shot-kill weapons. Once again, it made the whole series an extended exercise in easy-mode. Being sneaky feels like a waste of time when you know that there is nothing stopping you from invincibly head-shotting every guy in sight.

Plus bad controls. Those are always a bit of a show-stopper.

...

Also, the voice acting that everyone is getting upset about was always decidedly flat. I for one will not miss it.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

For one, it used that crazy overpowered disguise mechanic which basically made enemy NPCs ignore you unless you danced a jig under their noses. What's the point of a stealth game where you can walk around in plain sight with zero concern? It always felt like playing with cheat mode activated.

The guard AI could well do with some improvement but the mechanic is a plus, not a minus. Swapping disguises conferred different levels of access on a map. For example a waiter was allowed in certain areas while a security guard could get to others. The challenge was finding the opportunity to steal a particular uniform without being seen doing so.

This has been a hallmark since the first game. The uniform and the barcode. 47 is a blank slate who could be anyone, not distinct enough to be remembered.

Second, they kept giving you silent, long range, high accuracy, one-shot-kill weapons. Once again, it made the whole series an extended exercise in easy-mode. Being sneaky feels like a waste of time when you know that there is nothing stopping you from invincibly head-shotting every guy in sight.

I don't remember that gun I fear. The only long range, high accuracy weapon I know of was anything but silent. And yes, that's a valid approach to the level. That's the point.

You could try and find a sniping location, get up close with a silenced pistol, plant a bomb, set a trap, poison a drink or for the "Silent Assassin" challenge, only poison or piano wire. To get close enough to use those without being recorded, discovered or heard was where the game shone.

Plus bad controls. Those are always a bit of a show-stopper.

Conceded. Functional but not the most intuitive and with serious room for improvement. Blood Money in particular was a consolised mess.

If you haven't tried or don't remember the hotel level from Hitman: Contracts (in fact, a remake of the same level from the first game) I really would suggest you try it more than once. See all the things the level has in it, all the opportunities presented. It is a genuine master piece of level design.