Hitman: Contracts review (PS2)

Uhh, double handguns..uhhm

The world loves a hitman, or at least that’s what the sales figures of IO’s series seem to say. And the success of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, practically guaranteed this newest sequel. But what else is there for a hitman to do? Surely there are only so many different ways you can sneak up behind someone with a piece of wire stretched between your hands though?

For the uninitiated, the last Hitman game involved stalking your target, disguising yourself when necessary and committing that final act of violence with any of a number of weapons. And if it all went to hell you could always shoot your way out. The odds would be against you, but at least you had a chance. You could even just wade in, all guns blazing if you wanted to. Although that wasn’t necessarily the smartest option.

Measured violence

In practice, the game didn’t always work as well as it wanted to. Often, at the default difficulty level, it was all too easy to say goodbye to a stealthy approach and simply rush through the cleverly designed levels, killing everyone you met, just to be sure. The AI, although it did have some behaviour believable enough to make the game challenging if you were sneaking around, sometimes behaved erratically and sometimes (usually the wrong ones) just didn’t behave at all.

The positive side of things was that the game would rate you for whether you were cunning and kept collateral damage to a minimum. It appreciated when you managed to execute a carefully planned hit and then vanish without a trace. And even the fact that you could just blast your way out when things went badly created a free-form open-ended style, making each level a killer’s sandbox instead of a plain shooting gallery.

Laughing target

But why am I telling you all about the previous game in the series? Well, because pretty much all of the gameplay, warts and all, is reproduced from that in this one. There are new, more elaborate levels, although some of those have elements taken from the very first game in the series. There are new weapons, although the difference between them is sometimes purely aesthetic.

The main changes to the game are in the atmosphere. The graphics engine has always been solid and up to displaying a good amount of detail, just enough to make the levels believable. Now there are a few new lighting effects. They are used sparingly, but effectively. Weather is also dramatic and all of these additions contribute to the bleak atmosphere of the game.

Same again, sir?

You see, Hitman: Contracts barely even advances the plot of the series, which is a shame considering the enigmatic main character. What makes the game worth playing, even if you’ve played the last one, is that it paints an even clearer picture of Agent 47’s corrupt world. You may try to avoid harming innocent characters and the game rewards you for doing so, but it also tries to raise the question as to whether any of the characters are innocent to begin with. One of the stand-out levels is set in an illegal fetish party at a slaughterhouse. And even though this kind of setting is fast getting passé in mainstream movies, it still has enough impact to make you feel as if you really are entering a darker realm. The AI sometimes lets the game down in these situations, (mostly when stressed by excessive, un-coordinated violence) but it still feels as if you’re taking a proper tour of the criminal underworld.

The direction of the cut scenes and soundtrack also takes a much darker tone, with a hint of surrealism, as the levels are all flashbacks to Agent 47’s past. The icy sparseness of the music combines well with the cold delivery of most of the lines of dialogue. Unfortunately, like most other parts of the game, there are moments where the quality is questionable. The sole exception to this is the music, which is brilliant throughout.

Parting shot

It is these minor flaws, which really should have been ironed out in the time since the last game in the series, which lessen the impact of the game’s atmosphere. And when atmosphere is the only new thing that you bring to the table, it had better be damn near perfect to make a good impression. Hitman: Contracts is just short of that, but is more than enough if you haven’t played Hitman 2. If you do still love the world of Agent 47, and want to see a bit more, or even just want to find new and interesting ways to sneak around and kill people with complete freedom (unlike say… Manhunt, but that’s a different story) then Hitman: Contracts is a solid, if not essential, purchase.