Playing the Hitman trilogy through the World of Assassination package, though I believe that this series can be reviewed both as individual titles, due to the refinement of features, storytelling, and content over the episodic release spanned over 5 years.
Before starting Hitman, I had made the assumption that this series was akin to the earlier Splinter Cell/Metal Gear Solid entries; curated linear levels with an emphasis on storytelling and stealth mechanics. While the emphasis on storytelling and stealth are present, I would be doing this game a disservice by leaving that as the explanation to a refreshing modern take on the stealth genre.
Hitman can be described as an "assassination sandbox". Each level is a pseudo-open world with assigned assassination targets, key points of interest, and subplots that lead the player to piece together new ways to take out their assigned targets. This sandbox-esque open ended mission structure is without a doubt the main allure to the Hitman franchise. There was rarely ever a time where I felt as though there was only one way to complete a task. The game does not feel overwhelming with the choices given, because the game also presents you with “Opportunities”; scripted and timed quest-like story sequences that lead you to themed assassination attempts through the use of characters, events, and environmental chain reactions, all of which are specific to the contained story of whatever mission you are currently on. Opportunities allow for a more linear story that allows you to get a feel for the location. There are multiple Opportunities on each level, and most opportunities have some level of creativity that make you want to replay the levels, if only to see the different outcomes that the developers intended. Aside from these story beats, the game rewards you with different tools/disguises/starting points once you complete certain tasks on each mission. The game rewards replaying levels, and I replayed multiple. Once I completed a mission maybe twice with the scripted Opportunities, most levels opened themselves up to wacky and unorthodox assassination attempts that varied from hidden sniper shots all the way to a rubber duck explosive that gave me more than a couple of laughs off the npc reactions alone (both because of the way dense crowds react to you actions and the tried and true ragdoll death). When I first skimmed through the included levels for the first Hitman installment, I wondered if the value was there due to the admittedly low amount of missions included. While I would still have appreciated more missions in between the cinematic story cutscenes, I also understand that the replayability and optimization of these levels is the main appeal of Hitman.
Speaking of the cinematic story cutscenes, they had my full attention whenever they appeared. They are well written, had amazing ambiance that set the tone for the series, and the acting was top notch. The cutscenes did their job of getting me to jump directly into Hitman 2, but I will say that Hitman (2016) should not be played as a standalone title. This isn’t because I believe that the World of Assassination is SO good that you would be missing out by not playing the other games of the franchise. I say this,because the story in the first act of Hitman is just dripfed context to a much larger conspiracy that the protagonists aim to solve, clearly over the span of three games. Stopping at Hitman (2016) will leave you confused and would ultimately sour an amazing stealth game experience that is clearly intended to be played as a trilogy.
Before starting Hitman, I had made the assumption that this series was akin to the earlier Splinter Cell/Metal Gear Solid entries; curated linear levels with an emphasis on storytelling and stealth mechanics. While the emphasis on storytelling and stealth are present, I would be doing this game a disservice by leaving that as the explanation to a refreshing modern take on the stealth genre.
Hitman can be described as an "assassination sandbox". Each level is a pseudo-open world with assigned assassination targets, key points of interest, and subplots that lead the player to piece together new ways to take out their assigned targets. This sandbox-esque open ended mission structure is without a doubt the main allure to the Hitman franchise. There was rarely ever a time where I felt as though there was only one way to complete a task. The game does not feel overwhelming with the choices given, because the game also presents you with “Opportunities”; scripted and timed quest-like story sequences that lead you to themed assassination attempts through the use of characters, events, and environmental chain reactions, all of which are specific to the contained story of whatever mission you are currently on. Opportunities allow for a more linear story that allows you to get a feel for the location. There are multiple Opportunities on each level, and most opportunities have some level of creativity that make you want to replay the levels, if only to see the different outcomes that the developers intended. Aside from these story beats, the game rewards you with different tools/disguises/starting points once you complete certain tasks on each mission. The game rewards replaying levels, and I replayed multiple. Once I completed a mission maybe twice with the scripted Opportunities, most levels opened themselves up to wacky and unorthodox assassination attempts that varied from hidden sniper shots all the way to a rubber duck explosive that gave me more than a couple of laughs off the npc reactions alone (both because of the way dense crowds react to you actions and the tried and true ragdoll death). When I first skimmed through the included levels for the first Hitman installment, I wondered if the value was there due to the admittedly low amount of missions included. While I would still have appreciated more missions in between the cinematic story cutscenes, I also understand that the replayability and optimization of these levels is the main appeal of Hitman.
Speaking of the cinematic story cutscenes, they had my full attention whenever they appeared. They are well written, had amazing ambiance that set the tone for the series, and the acting was top notch. The cutscenes did their job of getting me to jump directly into Hitman 2, but I will say that Hitman (2016) should not be played as a standalone title. This isn’t because I believe that the World of Assassination is SO good that you would be missing out by not playing the other games of the franchise. I say this,because the story in the first act of Hitman is just dripfed context to a much larger conspiracy that the protagonists aim to solve, clearly over the span of three games. Stopping at Hitman (2016) will leave you confused and would ultimately sour an amazing stealth game experience that is clearly intended to be played as a trilogy.