— Hannah, how did your mother die?
- From three bullets.
film “Hannah. The perfect weapon"
It's been six years since Agent 47 massacred his funeral and left for China. During this time, “stealth” managed to transform. Famous heroes mastered parkour, learned to shoot several enemies at once by pressing a key, put on suits with adaptive camouflage and mastered the art of teleportation. The genre in its original form ceased to exist; nimble neighbors stole pieces from corners, installing them everywhere, from shooters and epic RPGs to two-dimensional “platformers.” Forty-Seven came out of hiding into a completely different world and, alas, not in the best shape.
The basic Instinct
| System requirements |
|
Core 2 Duo/Athlon 64 X2 2 GHz 2 GB memory GeForce 8800/Radeon HD 2900 26 GB on hard drive |
| Recommended Requirements |
|
Core i7/Athlon II X4 3 GHz 4 GB memory GeForce GTX 260/Radeon HD 5770 26 GB on hard drive |
A miracle look is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it replaces the general map, highlighting goals, useful objects and people through obstacles. If someone is about to walk nearby, footsteps appear on the floor. Convenient, especially for players who prefer to improvise rather than act according to a clear, pre-rehearsed plan - because such behavior is appreciated Absolution.
On the other hand, “instinct” is also a resource. At the lowest difficulty level, it regenerates; at other levels, the supply is replenished for completing tasks and eliminating enemies. We spend it mainly to divert suspicion from ourselves. Trying to do Absolution tenser and sharper, IO Interactive turned up the paranoia to the maximum. This Hitman, as before, is a show with dressing up in dozens of different costumes, but now any citizen can see through a dubious colleague in a matter of seconds. Even from twenty meters! From the back! Out of the corner of my eye! Only the Ctrl key helps 47 out - he covers his face with his palm and hurriedly leaves, burning his “instinct” bar.
You can do it differently - lure the vigilant guard into a quiet place, obediently raising his hands up and, seizing the moment, take him out of the game. However, you shouldn’t rely on this trick - there are few truly secluded corners, and the “Fake Surrender” option is not always given. It happens that you stomp around, attracting attention, and in response - immediately a leaden shower.
Bloody tenge
“Instinct” is the main crime against common sense in Absolution. Speaking of a series where a tall bald man changes clothes in the blink of an eye and stuffs bodies into chests and cabinets in almost every room, it’s awkward to stutter about logic, but IO Interactive went beyond the bounds. Starting from the idea that all the cleaners (scientists, special forces, bodyguards, bouncers, doormen, fitters) know the names of their colleagues in the area and at a glance “figure out” a stranger in the same uniform, sometimes without allowing him to come to his senses, the authors cut down the concept of social “stealth”.
Instead of expanding the arsenal of subtle, almost adventure-like tricks, inviting players into an intellectual “sandbox” in which, by carefully rocking the boat, you can create a “domino effect,” the developers are imposing the style of Sam Fisher. There is nothing wrong with him, but this path is not for Forty-Seven. Why camouflage if we are forced to dive through the bushes or, worse, waste our “instinct” on the analogue of “mark & execute” from ?
The first half reminds us of where the magnificent woman once aspired Absolution. Two excellent episodes in Chicago's Chinatown, where in a small area there are not only crowds of people, but also a lot of ways to silently deal with victims. Hotel Terminus, full of funny dialogues and interesting personalities. The provincial town of Hope in South Dakota, which is owned by one of the villains, military tycoon Blake Dexter. An “accidental” gas leak, an electrified fence by “mistake”, lighter fluid as a strong sauce, an inopportunely broken jack - and all that will remain of the gang of impudent majors there are horns and legs.
Of course, no one forbids a tough approach to “wet” work. A signature garrote on the neck, an ax to the skull, a bullet to the heart - any means are good, although this does not lead to anxiety and open conflict for long. Fortunately, the AI is sane - it notices blood stains and organizes a general hunt for the offender. Not without flaws, though. One day, a security guard found a poor man, buried to death in collapsed bags, sat down next to the corpse and began to say non-stop: “Hold on, the ambulance is on its way.”
But the shootings in Hitman have always been the weak link, and Absolution not an exception. It’s easier to roll back to the “checkpoint”, if, of course, you found and activated it. After all, there are no “quick saves” here - instead of them, one or two fixed control points are scattered (more precisely, hidden), remembering the state of the hero and the mission. Load a “save”, and the killed sentries will be resurrected, and scenes that are too obviously triggered will have to be watched again. If you log out to Windows, you will traditionally be thrown back to the beginning of the zone.
Although veterans cannot be frightened by “Groundhog Day” - they know very well: without breaking a dozen eggs on unsuccessful takes, an omelette in Hitman you won't cook. What puts more pressure on the nerves is the point counter, which penalizes for mistakes. More than once or twice I restarted a stage from a “checkpoint” when I accidentally caught my eye and immediately lost a thousand-odd points. It seems stupid to look at the numbers, but you want to collect the required amount and unlock bonus “perks”... At the same time, show off to your friends.
Hope no more
The further we are from the beginning, the at the same room for imagination, the fewer interesting situations and the more routine passage “on the fly”. The techniques begin to be repeated (okay, knock down the weight hanging over your head once, but four? Shock with electricity for an encore? Distract the guards twice by turning on the antediluvian film projector?), and the designer’s hand doesn’t so much push you towards the ideal solution as pull you by the scruff of the neck.
Intrusive storytelling is partly to blame for this - IO has never pushed it so hard. If earlier we were offered a chain of completed studies like an opera house or a rehabilitation center, connecting them with videos, then here 47 became hostage to a cross-cutting plot, and not the most exciting one.
Therefore, do not count on traveling around the world. Chicago and Dakota - no other stops. The bald killer is ready to do anything to save the unusual girl Victoria, but this means that he is destined, among other things, for a dull “tour” of a prison reminiscent of the KGB dungeons from, a boring, protracted escape from Agency stormtroopers and five latex “nuns” (in in the shameful CG video they were even more colorful), an unprincipled skyscraper with a penthouse and a disgustingly staged epilogue.
Large levels have been replaced by small grassy locations where you can’t really turn around. Some sections take literally a couple of minutes to complete. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is payback for the impeccably furnished interiors, flashy special effects (horizontal flares again!) and hundreds of extras on the screen. Remember how, at the end of the reign of Xbox, they were shredded and punished for negligence...
Bald and restless
So it turns out that individually each change is not bad and should be pleasing, but in combination the script, “instinct”, an abundance of scripts and a strange “checkpoint” system interfere with enjoyment. The music also let us down - composers Peter Peter And Peter Kaed They gave out a colorless mess that immediately flies out of memory. No match for the melodies Jesper Kyda.
Extend life Absolution The “Contracts” mode is called upon, the essence of which we outlined in detail at gamescom 2012. One problem is that the filling of the levels taken from the “single” cannot be corrected in the editor. You can still thin out the crowds of gloomy special forces and reduce the intensity of paranoia if you do not set the difficulty higher than standard. But the only way to escape from linear design is in additions.
Then, you see, Forty-Seven will cease to be a trembling creature and will come out of the shadows, leaving the darkness to Garrett and Fisher.
Genre: stealth action
Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Developer: IO Interactive
Publisher: Square Enix
Publisher in the CIS: New Disk
Similar games: series
Multiplayer: no
Minimum system requirements:
Core 2 Duo 2 GHz processor or equivalent Athlon X2; 2 GB random access memory; 24 GB of free hard disk space; 3D video adapter with 512 MB memory, compatible with DirectX® 9.0c (NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8800 or ATI Radeon™ HD 2900); DirectX® 9.0c compatible audio device
Recommended system requirements: Intel Core 2 Duo processor with a clock frequency of 2.4 GHz; 4 GB RAM; level video card NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT with 512 MB RAM; 20 GB of free hard disk space;
ESRB Age Rating: 12+
Official website of the game: http://hitman.com/
On November 20, 2012, a new Hitman: Absolution. Forty-seventh is no longer the same: there is no longer that steely endurance, indifference to all the victims. As soon as the agent once gave up his golden hands, his entire unchanging world turned upside down. Despite everything, many people think that it is the fifth part of the cult series about the bald maniac that claims to be the “game of the year.”
New, absolute Hitman
Hitman unforgettable journey into the world of crime. This is not and, thank God, not a Rockstar series - everything is completely different. Well, almost different.
Back in 2000, the Danish company IO Interactive proposed an interesting concept where the player lives the life of an assassin: contracts, police, popularity. This is how the love of all current Hitman fans for the game was born. Agree, most of them rightfully consider the fourth part to be the best -. Its resounding success eclipsed all previous versions: the idea of the original was revealed, by and large, only here. In order not to make a mistake with the next part and not to fill up everything that the Danes managed to accumulate over a long time, a six-year break was taken to develop Kane & Lynch. And during the new project, IO Interactive did not forget about the next adventures of the 47th.
From the very first minutes of the game, anyone will notice that something is wrong with Hitman. It seems that the handwriting has remained the same, and all sorts of bells and whistles are still there, they haven’t forgotten about the suit, but everything is completely different.
It should be noted that Hitman is powered by the new Glacier 2 engine. It supports all the latest technologies, including tessellation, as well as complex physics. For the first time in twelve years Hitman looks perfect. Interactive has made a lot of efforts to modernize its child. The developers invested not only money, but also their soul.
Suspicious rumors about global and even terrible changes to the game have been going on for a long time. Somehow I didn’t really want to believe - you quickly get used to the good old things, and there is no desire to change it to something new and incomprehensible. Why were the rumors scary? How can you not be scared when you are offered to take free gameplay and fit it into the framework of the plot? It's like ice and fire, Bane and, and the Terminator - completely different things that cannot get along together. And it is precisely this collision of two elements - plot and freedom - that can be traced throughout Hitman: Absolution.
Are you crazy? Yeah... you are crazy!
It should be noted that for the first time in the history of all Hitman you can see not only good game characters, but also the emotions of Agent 47 himself. Of course, he still walks around with a stone face all the time, but his experiences and feelings are definitely visible in the dialogues.
The plot of the first parts was always, how can I say, “fragmentary”. In the fifth part of the franchise, we have a solid and incredibly beautiful world, which is not divided into any pieces and is overshadowed only by the expression on 47’s face.
Ladies' man
Diana Burnwood betrayed the agency. Yes, the same operator girl who saved you from all sorts of troubles more than once. She leaks information, deals with agents and cannot go unpunished. Well, the order for it, naturally, gets main character.
And here the humanization of the soulless assassin begins. It cannot be said for certain that Hitman has become a deep character with an intricate network of motives, fears and desires. But the Agent is faced with a difficult task: he needs to decide to kill the only person who knew him as a person and helped him in difficult times. Apparently, over the years of working together, Hitman became too attached to the girl.
Despite all the experiences of the 47th, he remains true to the principle “business is business” and goes on his next mission. But Mrs. Burnwood, taking advantage of the right last wish, bequeaths his killer to look after Victoria, an extraordinary girl who needs to be protected from the Agency. Hitman melts, casts aside all vague doubts and flies towards a new goal.
How is game Hitman has always been, so to speak, lonely: look at our main character - a bald sociopath who kills for money. My only friend, and even then not a close person, was Diana. Now Hitman has joined the ranks of male heroes: Adam Jensen is looking for scientist Megan Reed; Corvo's killer is on the trail of a kidnapped princess; Sam Fisher turned half the world around to save his stolen daughter. Now the 47th has a similar task.
Go with a God
Overall, the plot is Absolution it’s not brilliant, it doesn’t sparkle with novelty (the guys from IO Interactive are not masters at this), a lot of things here are far-fetched, but you definitely can’t accuse the script of being dull. There are also bright characters with good acting, and a single plot that perfectly connects all levels and various game moments that are difficult to imagine in previous parts of the franchise. For example, Hitman portraying a scarecrow, or Hitman walking around the hotel in a woman's blue robe, and what can we say about nuns in 12-centimeter heels and with grenade launchers in their hands.
The plot allowed us to go beyond the foundations of the series, but don’t worry, there are a lot of classic and traditional features and missions here, they just look much fresher now, and many connecting elements are almost like in . Full-fledged hand-to-hand combat, many aggressive weapons, and even a cover system were introduced into the game.
In fact, some borrowings from S.C. don't spoil Hitman, but complement and even decorate new part. Now you have to think and solve everything much faster, quickly deal with problems that arise, or the problems will be dealt with quickly by you.
Naturally, the classic charms of the Agent have not gone away. There will be dressing up, everyone’s favorite noose, and much more. Only here in keyhole You won’t be able to peek anymore. However, there are still some changes. Camouflage has suffered from innovation: all the technicians know each other by sight, a substitution will be detected in no time. They put on overalls - if you please, go around the other guys in the same uniform along roundabout paths. Other people won't say a word to you. It’s the same with all segments of the population: cops will spot a stranger with a badge a mile away, and bandits or club bouncers will only smile and joke after him. You can be a simple man in the street, buried in a restaurant menu and quietly watching your victim; you can be a cook who “cooks” something near his stove; a cleaner who can only scrub one spot on the floor for 10 minutes, and so on.
But if you make a mistake, you will be discovered in a matter of seconds. Don't assume that you can easily reboot in case of failure. Things got a little more complicated. In and Blood Money The number of saves was strictly limited depending on the difficulty level. Absolution I managed to combine both approaches, only instead of saving there are checkpoints. The higher the difficulty, the fewer there are. Each one is valid only once; you cannot return to the checkpoint and save again. Finding the points is difficult. Moreover, after loading the level will return to the starting version, knocked out enemies will again patrol the territory. This is especially “pleasant” when you have neutralized about twenty people, accidentally caused a stir and decided to replay the last couple of minutes.
Contracts and intuition
The highly acclaimed contract system is not a myth, not fiction, and not an empty phrase. IN Hitman since birth there was no multiplayer, except for the table of records in Blood Money. “Contracts” allow you to create missions yourself and put them on display.
Contracts are created by mere mortals like you, based on story missions. You choose different NPCs in the same level and designate them as victims. Whether you kill in a certain sequence, with a certain weapon and in a certain costume, sow panic or do everything quietly is your business, but all this will become the condition of your contract. Now someone else has to do it again. This is what the contract system is based on.
Completing the conditions is rewarded with cash bonuses: with the dollars you earn you can buy upgrades for weapons or disguises that you couldn’t get in the campaign.
Another feature that many fans complained about was the so-called “intuition” - this is either a trace from just passed enemies in the form of a luminous path, or the ability to look through walls. Without it, completing the game is not just difficult, but very difficult, because there is no longer a regular map. Of course, if you are true hardcore players and are used to doing everything blindly, relying only on luck, then you can switch to the “super difficult” mode, where any hints are turned off.
When releasing a major project, the developer always tries to diversify it with some hidden elements - Easter eggs, which players will be pleasantly surprised to discover. The developers from the IO Interactive studio were no exception, and hid a lot of funny surprises in their new game. They definitely add to the game's silliness and joy, like the ice cream truck in the middle of the desert, the double rainbow, the Loch Ness Monster, Kane and Lynch, and more.
Joys:
- Dynamic gameplay
- High replay value
- Incredibly cool stealth levels
- Intelligent AI
- New level engine
- Surprisingly long story
- Stunning cinematic inserts.
Nasty things:
- Checkpoints instead of saves;
- Similarity Hitman: Absolution With Splinter Cell And .
Rating: 9.5
Generally, Hitman: Absolution could become the best part of all, if not for a couple of changes that improved the game itself, but made it similar to some others. IO Interactive has poured its soul into its huge project, which we have been waiting for 6 whole years. And for good reason.
Review written based on the PC version of the game
CompleteName: Hitman: Absolution
Developer: IO Interactive
Publisher: Square Enix/ New disc in the CIS
Platform: PC, X360, PS3
Genre: Stealth action
Release date: November 19, 2012
Pros:
Multivariate gameplay | clever stealth | interesting plot and excellent direction | creativity welcome | five available difficulty levels | character development of the main characters | black humor | crowd realization | voice acting and soundtrack
Minuses:
A small number of classic missions | lack of a quick save system | optimization problems | rare bugs| some simplifications in gameplay
Verdict GameWay: 9 /10
——————————————————————————————————————————
Buy Hitman: Absolution“A name is for friends, that’s why I don’t have one...”
Everything has its price, even human life. And if there is demand, there will be supply. All that remains is to find a cold-blooded person, devoid of moral principles, who will do the dirty work without any questions or hesitation. I think you already guessed who we are talking about. The gaming community has been waiting for the return of the dear and familiar bald head with a barcode for six whole years. Naturally, while the 47th was holed up in a shelter and cleaning his Silver Ballers all these years, the gaming industry did not stand still. This means expecting new game the same “Hitman” only in new packaging would be naive. Absolution turned out to be a little different, but it’s still about the same thing – about the art of killing.
Impenetrable barcode
The game begins with the completion of the first and last task assigned to the 47th Contract Agency. There was a traitor in the organization and, as it soon became clear, it was Diana Burnwood - the same coordinator who gave our bald friend contracts for murder. 47 was entrusted with removing the girl.
Before her death, Diana asked to fulfill her last wish - to protect a certain girl, Victoria, who for some reason was needed by the Agency. The hero agrees, making new enemies and a lot of problems for his bald head. The plot as a whole turned out to be interesting; the gorgeously choreographed videos between missions deserve special praise.
In my opinion, IO Interactive, when choosing the name for its new game, made a little mistake - the project should have been called Revolution, not Absolution, there were so many different changes and innovations in it. Most missions are now divided into episodes in which, in addition to the usual “kill the target - escape” scheme, we have to secretly make our way to the exit (read: a walk from point A to point B) and occasionally participate in short dynamic scenes, such as escaping from a burning hotel or playing hide and seek with a helicopter on the roof. On the one hand, such moments well dilute the gameplay, on the other hand, you get the feeling that you are not playing Hitman, but some kind of action movie.
Classic missions of Hitman: Absolution, in which we need to eliminate a specific target by any means, as before, delight with their variability and welcome a creative approach. Poisoned food, damaged electrical wiring, a fallen chandelier - fortune can turn its back on anyone, even if this very fortune has a barcode on the back of its head.
Death in a Tuxedo
I don’t know where exactly 47 disappeared all these six years, but there he learned to open his chakras and strengthen his instincts a hundredfold. Now the bald man can easily monitor the location of opponents, their routes and key objects directly through walls. But don’t immediately shout “Accused!” Instinct, in fact, is a kind of replacement for the map, on which previously we could also observe the movement of patrol officers and main targets. The sixth sense is clearly not superfluous here and should not be neglected, since there are many more enemies, and it is much more difficult to slip past them unnoticed.
Being discovered in Hitman: Absolution is doubly offensive, since the developers have completely abandoned the quick save system. Now, instead of them, rare checkpoint activators are located at levels. By the way, if the 47th is caught by a lonely guard, then you will still have the opportunity to get away with it. We don’t panic, we defiantly raise our hands up, let the onlooker come closer and snatch the weapon from him. Then you can either stun the poor guy, or use him as a human shield if his friends arrive by this time.
Fans of disguises and dressing up - elements without which it is difficult to imagine a game in the Hitman series - will be pleased. I remember well the mission in which you can put on the costume of a defendant and appear in court in order to get into the detention center required by the plot. How do you feel about the prospect of dressing up as a scarecrow in a cornfield? Looks very funny.
It is worth noting that the opponents in Hitman: Absolution have become noticeably wiser and from now on, if you put on a police uniform, you will no longer be able to calmly parade among other cops. They will begin to look closely at you and soon, not recognizing any of their colleagues in 47, they will raise the alarm. You will have to hide often, fortunately the game has a full-fledged system of shelters with rifts. The above-mentioned instinct will also help to remove suspicion from your person. Having caught incredulous glances, the bald man may cover himself slightly with his cap or casually rub his forehead. However, you won’t be able to abuse such tricks for long - the scale of intuition is not infinite.
HitmanCell
But what can really be called a clear simplification is the so-called offhand shooting. Time stops all around, allowing the player to mark targets for elimination. Then we just press the button and watch as the hero savors headshots to the poor fellows. By God, Hitman Cell looks like something. Instead of thinking and finding a solution on how to sneak past the security post unnoticed, an impatient gamer can simply press a couple of keys and mark the unwanted ones - the poor fellows won’t even have time to raise the alarm. On the other hand, no one forces you to use this thing. The Hitman series is famous for allowing the player to choose the style of play that suits them.
In your free time from exploring the main plot, you can indulge in completing additional contracts created by other players or come up with your own. For this purpose, there is a simple editor where we are allowed to select a level, indicate which targets need to be eliminated and in what way. For the successful completion of such missions, money is awarded, which is spent on purchasing and improving weapons.
The technical component let me down a bit. Bugs and shortcomings are rare: for example, the game freezes when trying to aim from sniper rifle. In order to have fun, you have to replace the Russian language of the text with English. Optimization in Hitman: Absolution is also not ideal - a drop in frame rate in certain locations threatens even owners of top-end video cards. The graphic performance itself is generally at a high level. The updated Glacier engine allows an incredible number of people to be present on the screen at the same time. The crowds in Chinatown during the Chinese New Year celebrations are very spectacular. The musical accompaniment and voice acting, both overseas and Russian from Novy Disk, are also excellent.
Following modern gaming trends, the Danes from IO Interactive added to their new project There are a lot of innovations that are fashionable these days, which may not appeal to smoky fans of the bald franchise, or they may come, but not right away. Despite this, it cannot be denied that Hitman: Absolution is an excellent and well-thought-out stealth action game with variable gameplay And interesting story. The developers faced a very difficult task: to modernize the series and at the same time preserve best features previous parts. Perhaps we should applaud - they succeeded.
“For many years, Diana was my coordinator from the Agency. She guaranteed secrecy, I guaranteed perfect execution. We trusted each other. This August 10th, Diana brought the Agency to its knees: she destroyed all data, deleted all contacts, betrayed all agents and disappeared. Having recovered from the blow, the Agency finally tracked her down and offered me a contract. Someday I will remember this as just another task, after all, this is my job.”
This is the rather abrupt prologue that begins the fifth part of the cult game Hitman called “Absolution” (Russian – “Absolution of Sins”). Naturally, after such words you immediately begin to rejoice, because you are given a chance to kill a person who does not allow the formidable bald killer to rest peacefully and sip majito on the sunny beaches, and who is constantly bombarded with the next portion of various bloody tasks. But not everything is so simple, the Agency gives the task not only to eliminate Diana, but also to save a certain girl Victoria, who is so important to Benjamin Travis (Director of the Agency (ICA)). Actually, more about the plot a little later.
In general, Hitman Absolution is a direct plot continuation of the game Hitman Blood Money (Hitman 4) and originates in Hitman Contracts (Hitman 3). It is no secret that the third part is an intermediate link between the missions “Behind the Scenes” and “No Pulse” of the fourth part of the game. From this moment, a new storyline begins about the seizure of the Agency by a certain organization Franchise, the head of which is Jack Lilland, who also holds the post of Director of the FBI (if anyone doesn’t remember, he is a paralyzed man with a disfigured face, driving around in a wheelchair and constantly sipping cigars, bragging along the way to a local journalist about the victory over agent 47). This begins to be seen in the final video of the third part, when 47, freed from the special forces siege in Paris, and Diana fly on a plane to an unknown destination. Diana tells the main character about the problems of the Agency and shows him a dossier, which apparently indicates who is trying to capture the ICA and for what purposes.
Diana and 47 on the plane (final video of Hitman Contracts). The folder indicates the source of the Agency's troubles
After this, starting from the mission “No Pulse” and until the very end of the fourth part, in the intervals between missions the ICA is captured and the 47th is destroyed. Also, in the preface of the fifth part (see above) it is said that Diana handed over the Agency on August 10. It's easy to see that penultimate mission The fourth part, “Dance with the Devil,” also takes place in August (back then, Diana tells 47, sitting in the car, that the Agency is closed and she “cut” its resources in half with Hitman). Well, just a raider takeover! But it was not there. Diana had no desire to obey Lilland and this was a kind of deception in order to resurrect the 47th in the church for the further eradication of both Jack, the journalist, and the security director of the FBI. Actually, from that moment on, the takeover of the Agency was stopped, but Diana apparently did not plan to return to it. In the final video of Part 4, she addresses someone as "Your Majesty" on the phone. It is not clear who she was talking to. However, after the restoration of ICA, the fifth part of the game begins.
The premise of the fifth part is little game Hitman Sniper Challenge, the essence of which is to extinguish enemies with a sniper gun in such a way that the alarm does not arise. A kind of training before the game's release.
Plot
The plot, by the way, stands out between the rather simple, orange, and linear storylines of other games. Everything is quite coherent, in order, and most importantly – interesting. Of course, before storyline the first Deus Ex is still far away, but still, for modern latest games The plot of Hitman 5, I repeat, is quite interesting.
Main characters of Hitman Absolution:
Agent 47 himself. I think there is no point in talking about him. A distinctive feature is a barcode on the back of the skull;
Diana. Appears in the game a couple of times - at the beginning and at the end, former ICA coordinator, quit of her own free will (there is no information about receiving compensation for unused vacation);
Victoria– the same as 47, a clone killer. Distinctive feature– She is given physical strength by a necklace, which she must constantly wear around her neck, otherwise she will weaken. Travis, in the future, planned to make her a competitor to 47, because this girl’s ability to kill is really good (watch the video in the fifth part of the game after the mission in which you need to eliminate Dexter’s assistant, Leila. It’s cool to watch how the little girl spreads out a company with one left riot police);
Benjamin Travis- Director of ICA, who dreams of returning Victoria to the Agency (with her ability, the profitability of ICA’s activities will exceed 1000%). Prone to manic;
Blake Dexter- the main antagonist of the fifth part. Interested in Victoria for the purpose of its further sale and making a large profit from this sale and purchase operation. He is distinguished by his quick intellect and puts people in the dust. He loves his lame son Lenny very much. According to one of official videos IOI is a former client of the Agency;
Sanchez– Dexter’s bodyguard, Mexican by origin, victim chemical laboratory Dexter, suffers from induced gigantism. Height: 229 cm. Weight: 200 kg. (Looking ahead, I’ll say that his murder in the arena is, in my opinion, one of the most spectacular scenes in the game). The face is very similar to that of famous actor Danny Trejo;
Leila– Dexter’s assistant, his secretary. Tried to kill 47, but failed;
Bird– former Agency informant, trades information.
The storyline revolves around the fragile girl Victoria, who, like 47, was created for murder. Diana, who wanted to prevent this, decided to save the girl from bloody work and give her a normal life. Diana kidnaps Victoria and turns the Agency over with all its giblets.
A completely harmless girl named Victoria
[click on the picture to enlarge]
Having recovered, the Agency suggests that 47 kill Diana and return Victoria. Both of them are hiding in Diana's house, guarded by a bunch of trained bodyguards (killing Diana and rescuing the girl is a training mission for the game). 47 mortally wounded Diana in the stomach, after which the latter manages to tell the agent about the whole background and asks to save the girl from the hands of Travis. Agent 47 trusts Diana, saves the girl and writes a statement of his own. Travis is unhappy and the most productive employee leaves. Hitman hides Victoria in the most impregnable monastery, as he believes, - in a nunnery, and tries to find out the whole truth - what is special about Victoria, who needs her and why. For these purposes, he turns to the agency’s former informant, Ptah, who promises to help in exchange for all 47’s tools. Soon, Bird informs 47 that a certain tycoon Blake Dexter, who lives in the Terminus Hotel in room 899, is interested in the girl. 47, through a bunch of Dexter’s guards, approaches his hotel room. There is only one obstacle left - to eliminate the healthy Mexican guard named Sanchez. But here 47th either overestimated his strength or underestimated the Mexican, for which he was the latter punished by being knocked out.
Still, there is kindness hidden in the body of 47
[click on the picture to enlarge]
Blake realizes that a real legend, Agent 47, lies unconscious in front of him, and decides to set him up - he cuts the cleaning lady’s throat, slips a knife into 47’s hand and sets the room on fire. While Dexter and his henchmen manage to escape, 47 regains consciousness and realizes that he was “hit” hard. Hitman gets out of the room through the window and through the library, gets out, and escapes from the police chase. Along the way, Bird gives him a tip that one of his acquaintances, the director of the “Little Chanterelle” club, put him on the trail of Victoria Blake, who must be eliminated before he causes even more harm. But all of Chicago is hunting for 47's head, which makes the mission much more difficult. At this time, to search for Victoria, Dexter hires his friend, a real psycho and scumbag, Wade, and gives him his son Lenny as his assistant. Wade and Lenny get close to Bird. At the same time, the 47th, having eliminated the director of the “Little Fox,” tries to get close to Ptah to save him, but the path is complicated by crowds of cops who must be skillfully bypassed. As a result, 47 is late, Wade manages to pick up Bird. Under fear of death and the understanding that he did not get into his own war, Bird, without remorse, tells Wade the whereabouts of the girl, for which he remains alive. The 47th understands that Ptah could very well turn him in with all his giblets, and hurries to the monastery to save Victoria. He does not have time to pick up the girl from the monastery, the gang of Wade and Lenny breaks in, shoots all the nuns, cuts off the electricity, and therefore 47, who was trying to take the girl out through the basement, gets stuck with her in the elevator. The agent gets out of the elevator, leaving the girl, turns on the electricity, but does not have time to get to her. Victoria becomes Wade's hostage. Hitman, going down to the basement, kills Wade, but Victoria manages to grab the “lame horseradish” Lenny, who drags her away in an unknown direction. 47 finds matches in the pocket of Wade's corpse from one of the bars in Hope (a city in South Dakota), on which "Lenny" is engraved. Taking the keys to Wade's car, which he no longer needs, he leaves for South Dakota to further search for the girl. From this moment the second part of the game begins.
Arriving in Hope, in the bar where Wade stole the matches, 47 finds out from the bartender where Lenny is hiding. 47 kills Lenny's entire gang and stuns him. He hides her in the trunk and takes her to the desert, forces her to dig her own grave, while at the same time trying to find out where they are hiding Victoria. Lenny gives out information that the girl was given to the care of that same big man Sanchez, who is located at the factory behind Hope, where night battles are held. After this, Lenya can be sent to his forefathers, but if you feel sorry for bullets, he can be left to be devoured by the local desert inhabitants. This doesn't change the storyline; Lenny doesn't survive anyway.
Eating an apple with enviable calm while Lenny digs his own grave
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Having made his way to the plant, 47 decides to kill three scientists who worked for Dexter and who were involved in experiments on people (one of the first experiments was Sanchez). After this, 47 enters the arena where Sanchez is fighting. Hitman, disguised as a fighter, sneaks into the arena and in a spectacular fight twists the Mexican's head, having previously learned that the girl was taken to Sheriff Hope Skerki, who is involved in bloody affairs with Blake Dexter.
David and Goliath. 47 twists Sanchez's head
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But, pretty tired from a hard day of work, 47, before going to court for the sheriff, decides to relax at the local Waikiki Hotel, the owner of which turns out to be a good-natured, plump man who comfortably sheltered the agent in his hotel. To kill 47, Travis sends one of his best cleanup teams - a crowd of militant feminists in nun costumes calling themselves Saints. They find out where 47 is hiding. And here the action takes place in the best traditions of an American action movie: 47 comes out of the shower, notices that the dancing figurine girl in the room has for some unknown reason stopped her movements and, naturally, looks out the window into the hotel courtyard with a desire to find out what stopped the figurine. And then, to his surprise, a huge grenade launcher stares at him from the window. Realizing that he needs to do his best and will not be able to rest again, Hitman miraculously escapes from the grenade explosion, gets out from under the rubble of the building and knocks down all the nuns.
The Saints. Thunderwomen
After getting to the courthouse, 47 does not have time to interrogate the sheriff, since the latter was waiting for the agent and prepared a trap for him. Freed from the trap in the sheriff's jail, 47 pursues Skerki and overtakes him in the church, where, before his death, he learns that Dexter took Victoria and is trying to sell her back to the Agency on the roof of the Blackwaterpark building in Chicago. From this moment the final, third part of the game begins.
Arriving back in Chicago, 47 sneaks into Blackwater Park, kills Leila and climbs onto the roof, where Dexter is trying to drag Victoria into a helicopter and take her to an unknown direction, while mining the roof of the building. 47 manages to make his way in heavy fog through a company of riot police to Dexter and kills him, saving the girl.
After this, 47 decides to fulfill Diana's last request - to kill Benjamin Travis. 47 goes to the Burnwood crypt, where he kills Travis's assistant, Jade. On the way to Travis, it remains to eliminate some Praetorians, judging by whose faces, they are also clones of the 47th (just as bald and gloomy). 47 kills the Praetorians and Travis, a happy ending ensues.
In the final video, 47 watched Victoria through the scope of a sniper rifle and saw the living Diana approaching her from behind. The Chicago police chief, trying to find 47, meets Bird, who decides to turn everyone in. This is where the game ends, and there is a clear hint of its continuation.
The rating of the storyline on a ten-point scale is 7.5.
Gameplay
The creators of the game greatly changed the gameplay, moving away from the style of the second, third and fourth parts. In the fifth part everything became much more dynamic. But don't be so quick to judge. The developers did not move away from the stealth shooter genre, but improved it. Now missions can be completed more secretly. 47 has learned to hide in closets and behind almost any objects, which brings the game closer to reality. The trash can can now hold two corpses (unlike the abilities in Hitman Blood Money, where only one corpse could be placed in the container). Bodies can also be hidden in closets, and only two bodies can fit in there. You can put one body in a container or closet and hide yourself. It became possible to hide in ventilation vents. But with new opportunities came new shortcomings. For example: if you hide behind a small box, 47's brilliantly polished bald head will still peek out, but enemies will not notice him. Or the barrel of a weapon will stick out, but the main character will still be invisible.
But fans of bloody massacres shouldn’t worry either. The developers have also improved the killing process itself, now it has become more diverse and more enjoyable. If in the fourth part, regardless of the object in your hands, having sneaked up on the victim from behind, the 47th could only push the person or strangle him with a noose, then in Absolution everything has changed radically. If you have a gun in your hand, 47 will cover the victim's mouth and fire two shots at point-blank range in the back, which will be considered a silent kill. If it’s a knife, then the victim’s throat will be effectively cut with an accompanying amount of blood, and the victim will be heard choking on his blood. Knives, axes and other piercing and cutting objects can be accurately thrown at the victim's head. If you are not a fan of bloodshed, you can stun the victim by breaking a mug, figurine or other improvised object on his head. By the way, objects can be thrown, which distracts the attention of enemies (without this technique, in the case of secret passage, some moments of the game simply cannot be passed). If the victim is killed by a noose, then the body remains in the hands of 47 and can be immediately dragged away and hidden.
Instinct. You can see the silhouettes of enemies through walls and determine their trajectory
47 in disguise is now spotted faster, making the game even more realistic. But you can deceive attentive guards using instinct.
There is also a rather interesting feature called “offhand shooting”. This is done very simply: press the instinct key, then the “Q” key (with standard controls), after that we mark the heads of the victims and carry them out. As a result of this operation, the 47th dashingly and quickly shoots, for example, eight people, and they don’t even have time to come to their senses what is really happening. If, during shooting, you mark offhand not the victim’s head, but the joints of the arms, legs and stomach, then the victim will dance well before death. Also, instinct (depending on the difficulty level of the game) helps the agent see through walls and track the trajectory of opponents, which is displayed by a burning path. But in return for all these goodies, the developers removed the map. Now you can track nearby enemies on the radar, which is located in the lower left corner of the screen.
By the way, now the level of completion of the game (silent killer, serial killer, sociopath, etc.) is measured by points. The number of points depends on how you complete the game. For example: if you add poison to the victim’s food and move away to a safe distance, this will be considered a standard murder. Points will be deducted for unnecessary killing and killing innocent people. If you want to reduce the number of points spent from an extra kill, aim for the head; a certain number of points are added for an accurate headshot.
In the new part of the game, 47 has noticeably aged and become more brutal. If in the fourth part his main trait was greed, then in the fifth part he became self-confident. While wringing and killing Sanchez, 47 manages to throw out several pathetic phrases, for example: “I can’t leave you alive,” or: “I can hurt you much more.” Speaking of translation, the translation of the game was done with high quality, but some minor expressions were excluded from the Russian translation. For example: before killing Sanchez in the non-Russianized version, 47 says: “You know I can’t let you live,” which literally translates to “You know, I can’t leave you alive.” In the Russian version, the translation was simplified a little: “I can’t leave you alive.” Also, in the American version of the game, Sanchez has a clear accent, but in the Russian version of the game there is no accent. But these are nitpicks; the translation, in the end, was done quite well.
Gameplay rating on a ten-point scale – 8.5
Graphic arts
I don't think there's much to say about the game's graphics. In Hitman Absolution the graphics are very high quality, if not stunning. A fifth of the Hitman games are the first to use game engine Glacier 2. At its core, Glacier 2 is an improved Glacier engine, constantly improving IO Interactivе. Even before the official announcement of the game, Daniel Ben-Nuna, an artist from IO Interactive, said that Glacier 2 would be able to compete with the most famous gaming technologies presented on the market. The graphics of the fifth part are based on DirectX 11, i.e. Level 5 shaders are used.
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Maximum graphics settings [click on the picture to enlarge] |
Minimum graphics settings [click on the picture to enlarge] |
It is worth noting that the graphics at the minimum level and at the maximum are not particularly different. You have to look closely to notice the difference. The only significant difference in the graphics is provided by the “global illumination” option (special algorithms are used to simulate lighting more realistically. The algorithms take into account not only direct light from the source, but also light reflected from various surfaces). In general, look at the screenshots and you will see everything for yourself.
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Rating of graphics on a ten-point scale – 9.5.
Music
There's not much to say about the music or the graphics. The graphics need to be seen, the music needs to be heard. The music in the game is just as amazing as the graphics. The 3D effect of the music and its purity do their job.
Despite the fact that when creating music for the fifth part of the game, IOI did not sign a contract with the famous composer Jesper Kyd, who created the musical accompaniment in all previous parts of Hitman, the music turned out to be wonderful.
Rating of musical accompaniment on a ten-point scale – 9.5
Contracts mode
The creators of the game also created the so-called “Contract Mode”, which can be entered in the main menu of the game.
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This is a peculiar local game. The essence of the mode is as follows: you or your friend creates a contract, marking any interesting targets in the game locations. What is taken into account is how the creator of the contract will eliminate the marked target: whether he will change clothes, how many extra and innocent victims there will be, how the victim will be killed. The level of points when passing depends on all this. After this, other people go through the created contract, competing in the number of points they gain. If we take into account the fact that a great variety of contracts can be created, then there is a prerequisite for being “stuck” in front of monitor screens, going through all the new contracts created by other people. By the way, in a location you can select from 1 to 3 targets, no more.
Performance
The game was launched on the following computer configuration:
- CPU: AMD Phenom Quad-core 9850 2.5 GHz @ 2.6 GHz
- motherboard: ASUS M2A-VM BIOS bios rev. 5001
- RAM: 4 GB DDR2 667 MHz
- graphics card: Palit GeForce GTX 460 768 MB (336 SPU) 675/1350/900 MHz
- HDD: Western Digital 500 GB, 32 MB cache, 7200 rpm, SATA-300
- power unit: Enhance 550 W
- monitor: LG Flatron W1943SB (resolution 1360x768)
- operating system: Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise build 9200 x64 RUS + updates
- Graphics card driver version: 306.97
Despite the fact that the computer is a prominent representative of the middle-end segment, with a transition to the low-end segment in the near future, the game worked perfectly on maximum settings With a standard monitor resolution, anti-aliasing was set to 2x, which provided an acceptable level of anti-aliasing. The only thing that aggravated the situation was the level of quality of the textures. With this computer configuration and maximum texture quality, sudden movements caused the game to slow down for a second. Apparently, the full volume of game textures did not have time to be properly cached in RAM, which caused such effects. Reason: outdated DDR2 memory with a frequency of 667 MHz. For example, with DDR3 installed (on other computers) such problems did not arise.
The FPS level (frame per second, Russian - “frames per second”) was acceptable and was on average between 25 and 35 fps during almost the entire game process. Due to the fact that the gameplay takes place from a third person, the frame level of 25 did not cause any inconvenience. The FPS level was measured by the Fraps program, version 3.0.0, build 10475.
Results of the game's built-in performance test (used quite a bit) large location and various special effects):
Maximum graphics settings
Minimum graphics settings
In the game you can find references in the form of a double encounter of the character Kane and Lynch: Dead Men from the Kane & Lynch series of games, also created by IO Interactive.
First meeting at the Glowing Balls bar in Hope - Kane standing at the jukebox:
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Second meeting before going down to prison. You can see Kane writing a farewell letter to his daughter if you climb into the ventilation pipe near the entrance to the prisoners' cells:
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Also a reference to this episode is the psychopathic killer Wade, who was sent by Dexter to kill Bird. He behaves and appearance looks like Lynch. However, Lynch himself can also be found. He is in the mission where you need to get silver ballers by winning a shooting competition from a girl or stealing a key from a safe.
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In the One of a Kind level, you can go down to the basement and find 47's disguises from previous games, such as the chicken costume from Hitman Blood Money.
RAM: 2048 MB or 4096 MB
- free hard disk space: 25374 MB
- video card: GeForce 8600 or Radeon HD 2900, (512 MB), (DirectX 10), GeForce GTX 260 or Radeon HD 5770, (DirectX 11)
- file system: NTFS
Finally! The most famous killer in gaming industry returned. 47 has not been seen for five years for long years, but the fifth part of Hitman was definitely worth the wait. Studio IO Interactive this time made the best part series, and here's why.
Hitman: Absolution
Developer: IO Interactive Genre: 3rd person stealth action Official website: hitman.com Release date: November 20, 2012 Similar games: Hitman, Hitman: Blood Money
How many years have we known games about a gloomy “genetically gifted” killer who only improved his deadly skills with each new part? I remember even the very first Hitman surprised by the idea of contract killings in various parts of the globe. At that time, the game offered fairly spacious levels with the possibility of non-linear progression. The second part did not repeat the success of the original, but it significantly expanded the arsenal and, most importantly, added to the plot.
Then the Tobias Ripper ceased to be just a perfect murder weapon. The third part became the most controversial in the series, offering half of the recycled missions from the original and an overly inhospitable atmosphere. But Blood Money unexpectedly shot in such a way that everyone again wanted to get into the skin of an extremely inventive and cold-blooded mercenary. Then, in 2007, it seemed that more nonlinearity could no longer be desired, everything was so good.
It's serious
But what do you think? IO Interactive I didn’t sit idly by all this time. absorbed all the best from the first and fourth parts, and at the same time evolved. The fact is that this time we were pleased with a real “plot” Hitman
. In previous games in the series there was no plot as such, so shouldn’t a set of various tasks with short video inserts be considered a full-fledged story? Now everything is much more serious. Firstly, from the very first minutes of the game the main character becomes more “human”; he shows emotions, despite the still gloomy and sometimes simply ferocious expression on his face. Moreover, on his new bloody path he comes across “partners”! This in itself is unprecedented. But don't rush to get upset. 47 has not lost any of his charisma and coolness, he simply brings the killer’s story to new level
. The production, script and, of course, action outweigh any doubts about innovation.
Innovations Blood Money, but everything worked there at the experimental level. I rarely wanted to use knives from the kitchen, but how wonderfully the “accidents” were implemented. So, surprise! In the new one there are fewer such “accidents”.
The game has added more action and stealth. In some places Absolution reminds Splinter Cell: Conviction, and at first glance it might seem that the series has lost its hardcore feel. But! This would be your biggest misconception! The most important feature of the new Hitman- this is just the notorious hardcore. The developers designed the game in such a way that without 47’s new abilities, it is almost impossible to complete the campaign at a difficulty level higher than simple. At least if you don't want to cause a massacre.
Hardcore?
There may be a little less opportunity for sudden deaths, but stealth and shooting have been taken to a whole new level. Controls, interface, graphics, sound - all this is done so that it is convenient for players to eliminate given targets. There are clues everywhere. And the funny thing is that without them Absolution could turn into real torture for the uninitiated. Of course, fans who have completed all previous games as the “Silent Assassin” are ready for anything. But if we talk about everyone else, then there’s a new one "Hitman" provides very flexible gameplay.
Each task has a large number of achievements that are not required, and you can simply fight your way through the enemies to the “exit” from the level. But they are made in such a way that you just want to go through and explore each level in every possible way. And given that they are quite compact, this will not be difficult. All sorts of situations are constantly unfolding before the eyes of 47, and the atmosphere of an action-adventure thriller is felt everywhere.
Movie or game?
The main character constantly drives his powerful car, carrying an impressive arsenal and people in the trunk. They are hunting him. The game has a huge number of interesting and sometimes simply comical characters. There are obvious references to some famous films. And all this IO Interactive They did it by hand - in all seriousness. You won't find a single crappy episode here. The story is very integral and rich, and each new task throws up new surprises.
In addition, the intelligence of opponents has been improved. This time the guards simply do not allow passage; disguise practically does not help. This, by the way, is a controversial point - there is practically no point left in dressing up, they reveal it very quickly here. And it’s easier, and sometimes even more effective, to simply eliminate the “observers.” The only moment IO Interactive still remains unresolved. IN Hitman there is no single correct path. Although maybe that's a good thing.
Killer rating
New technologies and the main character’s impressive abilities make it possible to deal with anyone. And here the question arises: why would such a tough killer hide? This, of course, is very important for the most brutal difficulty level, but for those players who just like to enjoy the passage, it’s easier to kill beautifully, almost forgetting about stealth. But in this case, you get too few rating points, and a lot is based on it.
The rating of each player is taken into account in the statistics. The game is designed in such a way that gaining points, not forgetting about interesting achievements, is almost the most interesting activity in . This was already clear in Sniper Challenge, where finding interesting “secrets” in a level turned out to be even more fun than blowing off the guards’ heads. After all, Hitman is not a mass murderer.
General impression
There may be a slight contradiction in all this, but the new one is both hardcore and accessible to a mass audience. If you just want to kill beautifully and enjoy the story of the slightly aged 47, turn on the game on a simple level and have fun. The plot, the hero, all the other characters, graphics, tasks, murder weapons - all this is gorgeous! And if you are interested in feeling the spirit of the first parts, use the most brutal difficulty level, and then more than once Absolution will give even experienced “killers” a light. The six year wait was worth it. And for me it is also the best 3rd person action game this year. Welcome back, 47th!
Advantages The most charismatic killer Variability of passage Excellent script Rating system Thoughtful stealth Really different difficulty levels Graphics, music, sound Disadvantages There are fewer “random murders”
Before the official announcement on May 10, 2011, the game Absolution was known as Hitman 5.
Back on October 31, 2010, fake art of the future game appeared on the Internet.
The first official screenshot was released on March 21, 2011.
Hollywood actors were involved in creating the video for the game.
Hitman: Sniper Challenge, released this summer, is a spin-off of the series.
Information about the plot was deliberately distorted before the game's release, in particular regarding the key role of Diana, Agent 47's main "acquaintance" from previous games.
Absolution- the first game in the series that works on absolutely new version Glacier 2 engine from the developer studio.
