Take away a whole star from the rating if you don't have any nostalgic ties to it like I do. Certianly set the stage for the rest of the series, but also aged horribly from all angles, it feels downright cryptic trying to play this 20+ years after release.
Tosco y con una IA mediocre, pero le tengo bastante cariño por ser el primero que jugué y por sus misiones tan míticas y memorables. (El soundtrack es sublime también)
I really like CheeseGX's video review of this game. In his video he called the game a dirty euro jank mess that did some incredibly advanced things but failed at some of the most basic things.
Honestly, I enjoyed this game. Even though I've lost count of number of times I've died. The levels have a learning curve where you can't do it in one go and you have to learn enemy behavior a few times before completing each level. This game is hard and trying to understand the mechanics takes a bit of time.
The atmosphere of the game is top notch, my version of the game had a problem where the sound effects were too loud and were drowning out the music, make sure to check the volume levels in the settings to hear the amazing atmospheric soundtrack.
The game has a pretty decent story as well, I think this is the only hitman game which has a bit of sci fi mixed into the story.
Overall, I think it's only worth playing if you are a fan of the series and please play the game by watching tutorials, so you won't waste your hours on the levels like I did.
Honestly, I enjoyed this game. Even though I've lost count of number of times I've died. The levels have a learning curve where you can't do it in one go and you have to learn enemy behavior a few times before completing each level. This game is hard and trying to understand the mechanics takes a bit of time.
The atmosphere of the game is top notch, my version of the game had a problem where the sound effects were too loud and were drowning out the music, make sure to check the volume levels in the settings to hear the amazing atmospheric soundtrack.
The game has a pretty decent story as well, I think this is the only hitman game which has a bit of sci fi mixed into the story.
Overall, I think it's only worth playing if you are a fan of the series and please play the game by watching tutorials, so you won't waste your hours on the levels like I did.
I think this is a really good game but it does suffer from some issues due to it's age. The story and the difficulty of the game are still as good today as it was when it was released. The biggest issue this game has is the controls. Other then that the game is great and you should give it a try.
Agent 47 is canonically 36 in that box art.
how does a game age this poorly and reflect so little of the future of its franchise?
While very dated in some areas, and far more linear than most future entries, I still say it's worth playing for anyone interested in the series.
Unlike the sandbox missions the franchise is known for (although some of them do exist here), most of these missions seem to have one "intended" path, and they all have varying lengths. Some of them are very short, others are a bit longer, but the basics of the gameplay are the same between this game and it's future entries. 47 needs to fulfill an objective, usually killing someone, with an area, and the easiest way to do so is disguise yourself as various professions to sneak in and slip out unnoticed.
At the beginning of each mission, 47 will check his laptop which will contain valuable information about his objective and the area. Read this carefully because once the mission starts, you are on your own. There are no guides, no reminders on what to do, just you, a map, and whatever other equipment you chose to bring with you. As for what to bring with you, you are limited by a budget, which is calculated at the end of the previous mission. Basically just do your job properly to get paid, and don't kill any civilians because the agency would need to clean it up.
You'll also notice that it sometimes takes several missions before you can reach your target, with your first target being the prime example of this, being the leader of an organized crime family, he's very well protected, so to reach him, you first need to complete three prior stages. There is only one target who only has one dedicated stage, and it's one of the large sandbox levels that I'm presuming served as inspiration for the franchise to come (and even then, you technically need to kill a second target as well, as nonlethal takedowns aren't an option in this game).
If you are able to sit through the clunkiness of the game and deal with the almost puzzle-like nature of figuring out the "intended" way to beat each mission, feel free to give this one a go.
Unlike the sandbox missions the franchise is known for (although some of them do exist here), most of these missions seem to have one "intended" path, and they all have varying lengths. Some of them are very short, others are a bit longer, but the basics of the gameplay are the same between this game and it's future entries. 47 needs to fulfill an objective, usually killing someone, with an area, and the easiest way to do so is disguise yourself as various professions to sneak in and slip out unnoticed.
At the beginning of each mission, 47 will check his laptop which will contain valuable information about his objective and the area. Read this carefully because once the mission starts, you are on your own. There are no guides, no reminders on what to do, just you, a map, and whatever other equipment you chose to bring with you. As for what to bring with you, you are limited by a budget, which is calculated at the end of the previous mission. Basically just do your job properly to get paid, and don't kill any civilians because the agency would need to clean it up.
You'll also notice that it sometimes takes several missions before you can reach your target, with your first target being the prime example of this, being the leader of an organized crime family, he's very well protected, so to reach him, you first need to complete three prior stages. There is only one target who only has one dedicated stage, and it's one of the large sandbox levels that I'm presuming served as inspiration for the franchise to come (and even then, you technically need to kill a second target as well, as nonlethal takedowns aren't an option in this game).
If you are able to sit through the clunkiness of the game and deal with the almost puzzle-like nature of figuring out the "intended" way to beat each mission, feel free to give this one a go.
I wish I could play this, but no matter what I try or do fix-wise for this game, something always breaks and leaves the game unplayable. It is old EuroJank, but this is one of the only ways to play the game as it never left the PC market. Maybe the GOG.com version works better, those tend to have fixes for old games. Just don't buy this on Steam.