Hitman 3 is not a standalone game; it is a glorified level pack for Hitman 2, which itself is a glorified level pack for Hitman (2016). All of these games have since been helpfully labelled the ‘World of Assassination’ trilogy and really, if you’ve ever read a review of the first two Hitman games, you need not bother read this. They’re all the same game.
That said, Hitman 3 is without a doubt one of the most fun, creative, and beautifully tone-deaf games I have played in a long time. The core gameplay revolves around assassinating a designated target within a huge map by learning the movement patterns of crucial players, discovering secret paths, and utilising disguises to blend into the environment. Sometimes there will be more than one target or you have to work out who they are first, and sometimes there are secondary objectives to obtain alongside all this.
You play as Agent 47, a scientifically engineered murdering machine who can withstand as many bullets as a baddie in Destiny, is as multi-skilled as Mario, and who quips as dryly as James Bond. There is a story, although if you have not played the first couple of games then the cutscenes act purely as context for the next mission in which characters speak a bunch of super serious nonsense and (spoilers!) characters you don’t care about die or disappear inexplicably. But this is not a game you play for the story. This is a game you play for the multitude of wacky ways 47 can butcher, drown, slap, crush, garrote, explode, and brain-fizzle people to death.
There are six (but really five) full levels in Hitman 3 each brimming with intricate detail and immaculately realised architecture for you to explore. My favourite level locations include the tallest building in the world in Dubai and a stately Dartmoor manor. Dubai is an amazing introductory level, similar to Paris in the first game, giving you just enough freedom and obvious opportunities to make you feel like you know what to do, while being diverse enough to allow for much unique replayability.
Dubai also showcases one of many incredible moments of scripted grandeur; as 47 climbs the steps of the top floor, a holy choir beckons him into the blinding light, shining through a colossal glass window casting a judgemental heavenly glow upon the crowd before him, filled with society’s elite. Hook, line, and sinker. If you like pretty games with good music, Hitman 3 just made a sucker of you.
Dartmoor, too, offers freedom – so much so that there is a completely optional Agatha Christie murder mystery that you can solve if you so wish, with actual clues to uncover and actual choice in who you accuse. I mention it because it was a lot of fun, although it could be argued that these scripted methods of murder are one-hit wonders, as having now solved the mystery, I shan’t be returning to it any time soon.
Unfortunately, there is a foul underbelly to Hitman 3. In order to get scored and access rewards for completing level challenges, you must uphold a constant internet connection with the Hitman servers. This fragile tether can result in randomly being kicked out of a level to the main menu, losing progress when their servers tank, and occasional interruptions asking to reconnect.
This sucks.
The game’s publishers, IO Interactive, implemented this feature to stop pirates from fully accessing the game, but it ends up as an anti-consumer slog, leaving a sour taste in the mouth of those who suffer the fate of completing a level offline only to not be scored at the end. You must bear in mind, too, that on early playthroughs one can spend hours in a single level before ever finishing it, only then to realise that they were offline and must COMPLETELY restart to be granted the privilege of a score.
Hitman 3 is still a fun game however, and the opportunities on show never lose their charm. Whether you are throwing a spade at random party goers or squishing the entire population of Mendoza in a grape press, you are sure to have fun with the rebooted Hitman trilogy. So long as you don’t mind replaying the same missions over and over and are capable of upholding a stable internet connection throughout.
Also, why are the cutscenes animated like they were made by the Trials Fusion lot?
“Scoring, progression, and challenge completion are not available when offline”/5 stars.
(4/5 stars)
Images: IO Interactive
