played through World of Assassination

hitman's been something ive been intrigued by for quite a while now, so much so World of Assassination is on my high priority . it sounded really cool, like that game i imagined as a kid but never existed(except it did just not to this scale lol), and as a mobile gamer for most of my childhood. kinda like metal gear in a way, except being an assassin instead of a super spy. this comparison between metal gear comes up again later. ive only played the first one, though, from 1987.

so the gameplay is honestly... it's a bit disappointing honestly. i had this image built up of a super sim where you can do literally anything and itll go. like for instance i imagined i could talk to a service person and ask him to come to my room, then pummel him to death and take his clothes and impersonate him. talking to npcs- wait, for the record i know i could talk to people if i do the "canon" route of completing shit but i didnt wanna do that cuz id then be compelled to do that and i didnt want that when i could choose a morbillion other ways. okay, with that cleared up, continuing. talking to npcs is a feature i figured they'd have the way the game is advertised as a morbillion ways to do shit. like i could get super close with my target and assimilate into his personal room attendant through dialogue alone, and then murder him with no one in sight. that would have been really cool.

so idk, i feel like a lot is missing from the "sim" aspect. if some dude walks into a room and you walk out wearing his clothes(esp if the dude got different hair) and he doesnt come back out, i feel like thge whole map should go into lockdown, if they were seen entering that room. its like... the game just kinda... forgets, like i killed some dudes and left em in the open, they bring out the body bag and all that, but afterwards the deed is forgotten.

if i were running a compound with very important people closeby and found a body, you know what id do? id line up every single person and ask for an alibi! id lock the entire compound down, too. imagine how cool it would be if you had to give an alibi based on your disguise, or you could try and avoid this lineup thingy and if you get found thereafter you're arrested immediately if you dont have an even better alibi. idk, im just spitballing but the world/ simulation leaves a lot to be desired. i i figured it would be much more dynamic. id assume more things get added in h2 and h3, though.

another thing is that most missions give you a silenced pistol and if you're quick enough you can kill the targets without any "fun stuff". i know replayability and sandbox is the name of the game but usually i dont roll that way, so i just do what i see and sometimes the quickest option is a silent shot from da bushes

what is here though is fantastic. it's such a rush sneaking around locations across the globe, disguising yourself, tracking target's patterns and picking off their inner circle before finally you're alone in a room with them, commit the deed, and then exit like nothing happened. it's really fucking badass to exit a scene when everyon'es like "oh my god wtf wtf", especially if you're inches away from being spotted. i killed that jordan cross dude with a pistol in the music booth and left the scene, was really fucking awesome. oh and killing that dude who was there for heart transplant after i knocked out a surgeon in plain daylight, stole his clothes and went around, acting as lead surgeon and then draining his blood out with the machine. oh and that one time where i fucking destroyed that super virus and then afterwards the head scientist lady came down without guards and i fucking murdered her in the hallway and shoved her in a locker, and proceeded to kill the main dude after watching him golf for 30 minutes straight. just a blast to play through.

the story is very reminiscent of metal gear 1987, in the way that it takes itself incredibly seriously but the plot sounds like something a kid would make up when needing to make a super cool assassin story with their toys and stuff. its not the deepest, or the most substantial but its pretty cool and charming in the same way mg1's story was. im excited to see where it goes in h2.


in a closing note that i kept thinking about over my time with this game, i was talking to my mom recently about games and stuff, the kinda "schedule" i have for myself, like playing p2 or xenoblade at such and such time, and she responded with something that really stuck with me. she was like "oh i thought gaming was all about spontaneity, that seems like a chore." and idk man i see her point. i promised id play mg2 before the week ends but i have no desire honestly after i started the hitman trilogy , often feels like people are stalking my playing tab when in reality no one pays attention to it that closely, and if i forced myself to play it thats kinda is a chore. kinda easy to lose track of the fact its a hobby especially on this site, even further when you write reviews. often found myself trying to think of a review well playing and thats just not something i really want. i should just play what i want in da moment.

overall i really liked this game and was glad i got the trilogy for 20 bucks. ill definitely be checking h2 out asap but idk if the burnout will strike before i can finish h3. i might bump to a 9 idk

check out this song

I'm torn about the Hitman reboot. On the one hand, the gameplay is exquisite. This is easily the most polished, and probably the most enjoyable, stealth game i have ever played. Getting in, handling the targets, and getting out has never felt better. My favorite features from Blood Money are all accounted for, and the controls have also been modernized, making it a lot easier to hop between this and other games.

And yet on the other hand it all feels a little, dare I say, bland? Whereas Blood Money had wildly inventive scenarios, this editions plays it too safe. It's like Morrowind vs. Skyrim -- nearly everything is better but the amazing idiosyncrasies been smoother over in the process. I'm sure this is something of an exaggeration -- and there are plenty of amusing sideplots, some that even span multiple missions, if you go looking for them. But I lament the loss of redneck weddings, chunky riverboat captains, and costumed Mardi Gras parties.

One area where Hitman doesn't disappoint, however, is quantity. There's no shortage of content here. The maps are huge and there are multiple ways to tackle each objective. You can play through these missions again and again, and when you get tired of that you can try other modes for new experiences on the same maps. There's so much to do, and to be honest I've only just scratched the surface.

What's more, this is only the first part in a trilogy. Hitman 2 and 3 promise even more Hitman goodness. I'm going to try to pace myself as I play through them, but with games this good it won't be easy.

Dos jogos da série Hitman que experimentei, todos me proporcionaram uma sensação que raramente encontro em outros jogos: a percepção de que cada NPC exerce uma influência, seja direta ou indireta, na narrativa. Eles instilam um nervosismo constante, como se estivéssemos sob vigilância a todo momento, obrigando-nos a agir com cautela para evitar qualquer comportamento suspeito que possa nos comprometer. Desde a ansiedade ao entrar em um local com o traje inadequado até a tensão de parecer suspeito entre a multidão em uma festa, os jogos da série Hitman oferecem uma experiência imersiva única.

Admiro especialmente a variedade de abordagens para superar as fases, permitindo que os jogadores mais dedicados explorem múltiplos caminhos. O lançamento episódico, embora tenha sido uma proposta inovadora, acabou enfrentando desafios comerciais, visto que muitos jogadores não estavam familiarizados com esse modelo de distribuição fragmentada e relutavam em pagar por um jogo que seria entregue aos poucos ao longo de semanas. Confesso que também fiquei surpreso na época com essa decisão, só vindo a experimentar o jogo completo mais de um ano após o término do lançamento de todos os episódios.

Entretanto, não acredito que essa estratégia tenha comprometido a jogabilidade, pois cada fase é tão distinta entre si que o principal impacto recai sobre a narrativa. Ao concluir o jogo lá em 2019 (se minhas contas estiverem corretas), já percebia a história como confusa ao jogá-la de uma só vez. Revisitando o jogo através de análises em vídeo, constatei que essa foi uma questão enfrentada por muitos jogadores: a dificuldade em compreender a trama intrincada do jogo.

Apesar das falhas na narrativa, aprecio imensamente a experiência oferecida pelo jogo, pois acredito que ele resgatou o que a série tinha de melhor. Recomendo-o muito para os entusiastas do estilo stealth.

Even after playing the two sequels first, I didn't realise until reflecting back on the whole experience as a whole after finally playing the first entry - perhaps now aided by a comfortable familiarity with the series' core design ethos in mind - how fundamentally these games are about infiltrating lavish, opulent hidden dens of power and using disguises to perform elaborate and cruelly entertaining assassinations because the rich and few - the very 1% - simply do not fear the rest of us. How easy it is to blend in to a crowd when from the elites' POV the working class have no identity. How they are merely their job,
that is all they see. And so then howa it's Agent 47's job to assume these various identities to enact striking acts of working class revenge against the most powerful (and always unabashedly evil). And yet despite all this, there's always more targets. The system never breaks or faults in finding its own ways to fill up the holes you left behind, because no matter what it's not just a few rogue evil doers wreaking havoc on the world - it is a capitalist, power hungry system that Agent 47, despite his best efforts, still cannot bring down.

Anyway, the Sapienza map ruled. Those Italian goons had sick fits and killing the dude disguised as a plague doctor while he watched vhs clips of his dead mum scored to some Italian pop song was dope af. The Paris fashion show also sick.

Randomly picked this up again after dropping it years ago.
It's really fun!

Exploring the levels and constantly finding new areas, new ways to take out targets is quite addicting. Paris, Sapienza and Hokkaido are the standout locations; Marrakesh is also decent but sadly Colorado is just okay and Bangkok is plain boring - thankfully the quality of the aforementioned levels is high enough to overlook these missfires.

The level design and experimentation is definitely the core of the game but I found myself surprisingly hooked by the presentation and even its admittedly limited storytelling. I think the reason is that it just nails that spy mystery vibe, even though the actual plot and characters are hardly fleshed out.

Hitman games always had this great sense of place, heck I still remember all of the codename 47 levels and one might argue that they just got better and better as the series went on, not counting that absolute™ stinker later on. But in this one I just wanna live in, sipping coffee in Sapienza with the biggest assholes of the planet under Sun's golden rays, as they relay to me just how much they dislike colored people, support all ongoing wars and how baldness is not a genetic trait but merely a sign of excessive masturbation; how they just had a neck surgery so it's a lot less resistant to fiber wire, how they really need to relieve themselves but they're concerned since there's some pesky loud construction work going on near the bathrooms which might snuff out potential cries for help, and how most worryingly their bodyguard is busy elsewhere playing Honkai Star Rail because a certain smooth-headed gentleman told them the Fu Xuan banner ends in only a couple of hours (IO doesn't think you would have the heart to kill these people if you saw them petting a small deer).

I slept on this franchise for too long. I never expected it to be this funny; mixing slapstick humor with the usual attempt at seriousness from contemporary western action movies really works out. While the design mainly supports the fantasy of elegant infiltration and thoughtful strategy, there is room for those "screw it, we are going loud" moments a la GTA, making failed runs actually enjoyable when you try to salvage the mission and get your targets down anyway.

The progression system has been discussed long enough at this point (yes, call it Metroidbrainia if you really want) but I really admire the amount of polish and the potential for more and more content, to me it justifies that such a thing as World of Assassination exists.

Regarding this volume specifically, all missions turned out to be neat sandboxes but Sapienza and Marrakesh do stand out in terms of level design. Also audio is incredibly satisfying.

MORRRRTADELOOOOO POWEEEEEERRRRRR

The best Hitman game I've played so far. Every map is an immense stage of intervowen opportunities that just begs to be further explored. The different mission stories are a nice narrative experience, although they can make the missions a bit to easy and hand-holdy. The sheer scale and replayability of the maps more than make up for the smaller selection of different scenarios. Out of all the maps, Sapienza was definitely my favourite. Such a beautiful, dynamic map with such fun and intricate avenues for assassinations. If Hitman 2 and 3 are anything like this one, then I have a lot of exciting assassination missions to explore, plan and execute.

Disclaimer: I played this through Hitman: World of Assassination, but you probably will be too as the original isn't available digitally anymore, and WoA is the same but better.

I was genuinely really surprised what I got here with Hitman, I expected a downgrade from the more old-school style im-sim-esque gameplay with a modern hand-holdy aspect to it, but what I ended up with was a love letter to those older types of game that tries and succeeds well enough to form a middle-ground between the two.

To start off, the game only guides you around if you, yourself actively choose to do the scripted kills, called the "Mission Stories" these can range from again, the scripted kills to just being your entry/disguise, and a lot of the time these are introduced to you by just eavesdropping on conversations other NPCs are having.
If I had to give one criticism about the aforementioned system though, it's that these are often available, and some (AFAIK) are for the most part meant to be accessed through just selecting them in the pause menu and it'll tell you them right off the bat, It would have been a lot nicer if you couldn't do this, but your ability to find them was far easier, either placing them closer to the entry point or highlighting them in your "Hitman Vision"

Another system I very much enjoyed was the mastery system, allowing you more unlocks to approach the area in a different way, let it be to help you get inside faster or start with a disguise, or give you some gear to get you around trickier areas, or just some tools to help you get to the next "Mission Story" it encourages having the game show you the ropes for a level, and you can either do more of the scripted stuff on a replay, or with your newfound tools, try experimenting by just doing whatever, just finding a good opportunity and taking out the target with a clean strike and zipping out of there, it's really good for encouraging replay value in a way that doesn't feel forced.

To add onto the replay value, there's challenges rewarding you for doing all sorts of things in a level, difficulties that make things a little more challenging by doubling down on guards and cameras, punishing more bloody kills by losing your disguises, and you've only got one save, there's also particular challenges rewarding you for doing things like beating it with only killing your target and not disguising ever, and also not being spotted ever, there's a lot to do for every single mission and it does a good job of getting you to learn the ropes while you're not experimenting.

And as a little extra note, the game is jam packed with a bunch of easter eggs or little references that pump the game full of some soul, you can tell that they had a lot of fun developing these games just the same as they did with the originals.

Onto the criticisms though.

As mentioned before, the "Mission story" system could do with more focus on discovering them rather than just hitting a button to be lead to the objective markers.

The story is absolutely dull, nothing is really happening, or at the very least nothing feels like it's happening, because it's just a bunch of cutscenes that don't impact the missions at all, other than a scene on the second to last mission, and it gets a bit dull only assassinating targets who have done bad, come on, it's a HITMAN game, I'd expect to at least start off with a few morally grey missions of just corporate sabotage, taking out suits by sneaking through office buildings.

There's this system called "Elusive targets" which is absolutely terrible, limited time targets that are gone forever (or at least a while) if you mess them up, The game has a lot of replay value as is and making them all permanent, including their rewards, wouldn't be a problem, I don't see any appeal for this.

Some of the levels in the middle of the game are a bit boring, particular the one set in Morocco and especially the one set in Colorado.
The one set in Morocco has a bad problem with just kind of squeezing you in tight locations with you having to navigate an overpopulated clusterfuck to try and find a way through, probably just having to jump to a "Mission Story" and it becomes really difficult to take some of the disguises, particularly the guy putting up flyers, because you have to follow him around for AGES before he's in a decent spot, which you're only getting away with due to bad NPC placement, which gets spotted soon after, not that it matters when you're gone (another criticism, why don't NPCs that you steal the outfit of get upset and compromise your outfit for everyone they're related with once they're woken up?)
The Colorado one is just stuffing you in this open hell-hole where you have to take out FOUR targets, 2 of them aren't too hard, the mission stories they have are easy enough to set up, and the third just stumbled upon my distraction I had accidentally set up when I was taking care of two guys I needed to KO and get past, so I just killed him and stuffed his body in a bush, but the fourth one? what a fucking pain in the ass, and I was doing the "Mission Story"
So first, you have to go listen to the guy's conversation about the Interpol badge, then you have to wait for the planets to align to steal it from him, because before you KO him, you have to wait for the guy just across from him to walk away, make sure the target and their entourage isn't coming, wait for his buddy to turn around, throw a weapon at his buddy, immediately choke the guy with the badge, snag it, and book it immediately, that's the hard part done.

Now you have to get to the target and talk to her to meet you at a specific location, but if you were using "The Point Man" disguise, you're just not allowed anywhere near the house, so you have to wait for her to finish whatever she's doing there or go back and get the "Militia Elite" disguise, once you talk to her you tell her to meet you by a lake, you go through this drawn out conversation, she does this annoying trope that a lot of mission stories have, where eventually they just say "Ok You beat the mission story, all guards fuck off" and then sit around for like 20s before returning to the giant group of people effectively failing the mission story.

Normally that isn't a problem, but I had accidentally landed it with some guy across the lake looking right at us, so I had to wait until he turned around, which just so happened to be right as she finished talking, Thankfully I still had the prompt to push her in the water, but now her guards that were nowhere near me are... hunting me down? And only her guards, I guess when she's not in that scene she's scripted to have her guards react to any kill event like a "push" so you can't cheese it by just having the guards look the other way, but it's way too greedy, she's flagged for this the MOMENT she finishes her scripted "stand by the edge of the water animation"
Thankfully I had a save, so I just timed it right before she finishes the animation and finished the mission easily.

Continuing from the AI though, my final criticism is that the AI just kind of has a lot of issues, a lot of the civilians are effectively props that sometimes react to gunfire (and even then not enough) but it's no big deal, it's really taxing to render in a hundred civilians.
My problem is more the weaknesses of the guard AI, my major complaints involve just how they handle distractions and pathing, it's really easy to cheese dealing with guards, as if you throw something, and they don't watch you throw it, whoever was closest to the object thrown will walk straight to it, no matter what.
I abused this on the final mission to snag a disguise from one of the Yakuza, the target was walking with her 2 bodyguards, I threw a shovel in the room on the left, all 3 were alerted, one guard walked in, I immediately knocked him out and stole his disguise and the other 2 just didn't care that he never returned.
Then when I kind of fucked up the "Mission Story" by pushing the target off a ledge in front of her security, I just hung off the ledge and they just couldn't figure out how to deal with that, they just pathed into the room and just stared at walls, didn't try to go shoot through the window to get me, or to stand next to the ledge and shoot down at me, just stared at a wall and at best just compromised my disguise, which I could easily replace.

And one last nitpick on the AI, the way the AI just stops and says "GET OUT OF MY FACE" if you stand close to them for too long, it's pointless and annoying, so often it'll happen just because you're waiting for them to go through dialogue, or waiting for an NPC to pass by, and it just wastes time because they stare right at you, spend 7 seconds saying "go away" and then turn back around, and it'll interrupt their dialogue and sets them back like, a sentence or two, it never really did anything major but my lord was it annoying every time it happened, which was a lot.

I really recommend Hitman: WoA with my experience so far of the first game's levels though, it's a comfortable in-between of old games like Thief, mixed with some sense of direction and levels that actually look like places of modern era, I enjoyed my time with it and it's one of the few games that makes me want to go back and replay the levels once I'm done going through them one at a time.