World of Assassination Trilogy (Hitman) Levels: Ranked
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21 Games
Carpathian Mountains
Rating: 2/5
High score: 157,990
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I know this is meant to be more of a cinematic/set piece thing to cap off the story but it kinda sucks and I would've rather had a long cutscene if it meant some of the other maps could've had more time put into them.
The moving train setting is (as always when it shows up anywhere) a gag but this doesn't really hit any of the marks of what I enjoy about levels in this trilogy. It was simplistic to a fault.
Also they gave us shirtless Agent 47 but didn't give an unlockable/general skin to use elsewhere? Delete it.
Rating: 2/5
High score: 157,990
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I know this is meant to be more of a cinematic/set piece thing to cap off the story but it kinda sucks and I would've rather had a long cutscene if it meant some of the other maps could've had more time put into them.
The moving train setting is (as always when it shows up anywhere) a gag but this doesn't really hit any of the marks of what I enjoy about levels in this trilogy. It was simplistic to a fault.
Also they gave us shirtless Agent 47 but didn't give an unlockable/general skin to use elsewhere? Delete it.
ICA Facility
Rating: 2.5/5
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Combining both Freeform Training and The Final Test even if the locations and theming are different, they're both tutorial sections. As far as introducing the mechanics and open ended approach available to the game's design the tutorials work about as well as one could want. I just don't care for the ship or the military building as a setting.
Rating: 2.5/5
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Combining both Freeform Training and The Final Test even if the locations and theming are different, they're both tutorial sections. As far as introducing the mechanics and open ended approach available to the game's design the tutorials work about as well as one could want. I just don't care for the ship or the military building as a setting.
Colorado
Rating: 2.5/5
High score: 200,175
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Probably my least favorite map in terms of aesthetics up until this point. It isn't ugly or anything but it just comes across as fine next to absolutely gorgeous as seen elsewhere.
There's an almost complete lack of social stealth elements here in terms of crowds and the assorted interactions that was sorely missing for me. Playing this one felt more like Splinter Cell than what I had come to love about Hitman but it was probably intentional. variety is nice and all that. Could absolutely deal with less of the serious tone, however.
I'm glad leaving through the basement was eventually not made the mandatory way to exit the level as that probably would've damaged it quite a bit more in my favor.
Rating: 2.5/5
High score: 200,175
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Probably my least favorite map in terms of aesthetics up until this point. It isn't ugly or anything but it just comes across as fine next to absolutely gorgeous as seen elsewhere.
There's an almost complete lack of social stealth elements here in terms of crowds and the assorted interactions that was sorely missing for me. Playing this one felt more like Splinter Cell than what I had come to love about Hitman but it was probably intentional. variety is nice and all that. Could absolutely deal with less of the serious tone, however.
I'm glad leaving through the basement was eventually not made the mandatory way to exit the level as that probably would've damaged it quite a bit more in my favor.
Dubai
Rating: 2.5/5
High score: 205,998
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...and the award for most disappointing map vs my expectations goes to
I've been dying to get to this one ever since I saw the image on the campaign select screen. I thought I was in for some outdoor high rise exploration which there is some of that but everything else just feels like ground that was covered elsewhere in a much better way.
This kinda felt similar to Hawke's Bay in terms of it being more cinematic and set piece focused so I'm not sure if that comes with this being an opening level or if the third game shifts focus in how the level design works. I guess I'll see.
I was able to pull off finishing this one in 30 seconds somehow with a SA so speedrunning is definitely a bit interesting here but that's about it.
Rating: 2.5/5
High score: 205,998
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...and the award for most disappointing map vs my expectations goes to
I've been dying to get to this one ever since I saw the image on the campaign select screen. I thought I was in for some outdoor high rise exploration which there is some of that but everything else just feels like ground that was covered elsewhere in a much better way.
This kinda felt similar to Hawke's Bay in terms of it being more cinematic and set piece focused so I'm not sure if that comes with this being an opening level or if the third game shifts focus in how the level design works. I guess I'll see.
I was able to pull off finishing this one in 30 seconds somehow with a SA so speedrunning is definitely a bit interesting here but that's about it.
Isle of Sgàil
Rating: 3/5
High score: 197,963
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Wavered between a 2.5 and a 3 for this one. The one challenge being a Tomb Raider reference pushed me over the edge towards bumping it upwards instead of down.
The map is deceptively small giving off the vibe that this is gonna be a more simplistic mission but that's anything but the case. Navigation here is a complete nightmare and it never really seemed to take hold for me across the replays even. I'm here for the large, sprawling maps in this trilogy but the other big ones aren't anywhere near as bad as this one is to get around on a moment to moment basis.
Throw in some bland/samey settings with a lot of the catacombs and this wasn't a big favorite. My least favorite Hitman 2 map, easily.
Rating: 3/5
High score: 197,963
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Wavered between a 2.5 and a 3 for this one. The one challenge being a Tomb Raider reference pushed me over the edge towards bumping it upwards instead of down.
The map is deceptively small giving off the vibe that this is gonna be a more simplistic mission but that's anything but the case. Navigation here is a complete nightmare and it never really seemed to take hold for me across the replays even. I'm here for the large, sprawling maps in this trilogy but the other big ones aren't anywhere near as bad as this one is to get around on a moment to moment basis.
Throw in some bland/samey settings with a lot of the catacombs and this wasn't a big favorite. My least favorite Hitman 2 map, easily.
New York
Rating: 3/5
High score: 158,423
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Such a relief after Isle of Sgàil in terms of navigation. I'm not completely into the bank setting but it was refreshing nonetheless.
I don't think I'm wild about most of the non-assassination objectives that have popped up in the missions across the trilogy. I know why they're there in terms of variety and the story or whatever but I could easily do without.
Rating: 3/5
High score: 158,423
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Such a relief after Isle of Sgàil in terms of navigation. I'm not completely into the bank setting but it was refreshing nonetheless.
I don't think I'm wild about most of the non-assassination objectives that have popped up in the missions across the trilogy. I know why they're there in terms of variety and the story or whatever but I could easily do without.
Marrakesh
Rating: 3/5
High score: 189,530
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Night time >>> day time.
It's not bad or anything but coming after Sapienza and Paris was gonna be a rough time for almost any level. I really missed the verticality in this one. I can see what they were going for with a larger map in terms of horizontal space but things like the protesting crowd and markets ended up feeling underused. So many buildings that are completely closed off or lead to nothing which is a far cry from what was seen only a level before in Sapienza.
With the way this everything is laid out it almost reminded me of playing Hitman: Absolution more than the new trilogy. From what I remember that game had tons of missions made up of small portions that felt completely separate from the others. Thankfully the comparison doesn't go any further than the structure and this wasn't a miserable slog like that game.
I enjoyed some of the escalations in this area more than the main mission. Wish I realized a decent sniper rifle was hidden in the requirements for one of them earlier off because the base ones were trash.
Rating: 3/5
High score: 189,530
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Night time >>> day time.
It's not bad or anything but coming after Sapienza and Paris was gonna be a rough time for almost any level. I really missed the verticality in this one. I can see what they were going for with a larger map in terms of horizontal space but things like the protesting crowd and markets ended up feeling underused. So many buildings that are completely closed off or lead to nothing which is a far cry from what was seen only a level before in Sapienza.
With the way this everything is laid out it almost reminded me of playing Hitman: Absolution more than the new trilogy. From what I remember that game had tons of missions made up of small portions that felt completely separate from the others. Thankfully the comparison doesn't go any further than the structure and this wasn't a miserable slog like that game.
I enjoyed some of the escalations in this area more than the main mission. Wish I realized a decent sniper rifle was hidden in the requirements for one of them earlier off because the base ones were trash.
Whittleton Creek
Rating: 3/5
High score: 191,937
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The more conventional setting is nice but so much of the appeal on this map felt surface level. The more I played it the more it fell in my favor.
One of the simplest maps outside of the tutorial levels which in and of itself isn't necessarily a bad thing but the lack of complexity tanks the replay value.
Rating: 3/5
High score: 191,937
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The more conventional setting is nice but so much of the appeal on this map felt surface level. The more I played it the more it fell in my favor.
One of the simplest maps outside of the tutorial levels which in and of itself isn't necessarily a bad thing but the lack of complexity tanks the replay value.
Bangkok
Rating: 3/5
High score: 198,368
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An improvement over Marrakesh even if it's only because of me enjoying the setting of this one more. The hotel and surrounding exterior areas look stunning.
Ken Morgan is among my least favorite objectives in the game(s) and he feels like he was just shoehorned in out of obligation of having a second target. After the first few runs through the map I've taken to just poisoning the food from the start as most other options for him seemed to involve waiting or tons of backtracking. I loved the Tuk Tuk mission story and was glad to have seen it once, still.
Some parts of the map feel a bit condensed in terms of approach options for my liking as well. I'm mainly thinking of some of the upper floors with the cameras and open access being gated off to all but one or two (at least apparent to me) choices. There's always the option of getting Jordan Cross to come to you and never bothering with the upper floors but I like to mess around with different outcomes.
Agent 47's phone call to the front desk for room service was iconic.
Rating: 3/5
High score: 198,368
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An improvement over Marrakesh even if it's only because of me enjoying the setting of this one more. The hotel and surrounding exterior areas look stunning.
Ken Morgan is among my least favorite objectives in the game(s) and he feels like he was just shoehorned in out of obligation of having a second target. After the first few runs through the map I've taken to just poisoning the food from the start as most other options for him seemed to involve waiting or tons of backtracking. I loved the Tuk Tuk mission story and was glad to have seen it once, still.
Some parts of the map feel a bit condensed in terms of approach options for my liking as well. I'm mainly thinking of some of the upper floors with the cameras and open access being gated off to all but one or two (at least apparent to me) choices. There's always the option of getting Jordan Cross to come to you and never bothering with the upper floors but I like to mess around with different outcomes.
Agent 47's phone call to the front desk for room service was iconic.
Mendoza
Rating: 3/5
High score: 198,462
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Pairs nicely next to Chongqing sequentially as they both absolutely nail the aesthetics/setting but fall into similar pitfalls elsewhere. In the case of this particular map, the prevalence of "back" areas and how samey they all get did a bit of damage to my overall enjoyment.
It's not bad by any means and is miles ahead of something like Colorado or Dubai, just a bit middling for me? I was originally gonna rank this below Bangkok and maybe even Whittleton Creek but the mission story with the tour and various things to do there pushed this over.
Rating: 3/5
High score: 198,462
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Pairs nicely next to Chongqing sequentially as they both absolutely nail the aesthetics/setting but fall into similar pitfalls elsewhere. In the case of this particular map, the prevalence of "back" areas and how samey they all get did a bit of damage to my overall enjoyment.
It's not bad by any means and is miles ahead of something like Colorado or Dubai, just a bit middling for me? I was originally gonna rank this below Bangkok and maybe even Whittleton Creek but the mission story with the tour and various things to do there pushed this over.
Chongqing
Rating: 3/5
High score: 192,167
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It looks absolutely stunning but as with Dubai, I was once again drawn in by the aesthetics and setting but left with a middling map experience.
Everything on street level or above is fine but head underneath to the labs and it's an absolute slog. Firing employees to get to a point where you could use the core to kill Imogen Royce was interesting the first time but that's pretty much all that jumped out to me in the lower levels.
I could spend 8 hours taking screenshots on this map.
Rating: 3/5
High score: 192,167
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It looks absolutely stunning but as with Dubai, I was once again drawn in by the aesthetics and setting but left with a middling map experience.
Everything on street level or above is fine but head underneath to the labs and it's an absolute slog. Firing employees to get to a point where you could use the core to kill Imogen Royce was interesting the first time but that's pretty much all that jumped out to me in the lower levels.
I could spend 8 hours taking screenshots on this map.
Mumbai
Rating: 3/5
High score: 198,252
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Feels like the largest map in terms of scale but navigation is thankfully simple enough with practice.
The maelstrom is a huge bummer to have to deal with after the first few runs and I eventually took to starting from the overpass and exploding his ass with a scooter from above. Not a fan of some of the more railroaded elements that pop up in a few of these maps. Stuff like the basement exit in Colorado was irritating but only mandatory the first time through. I'm not sure how they'd get around finding out the maelstrom's identity here in terms of logic but it's still annoying to do each time.
The side story with the other flop assassin is one of my favorites across the trilogy.
Rating: 3/5
High score: 198,252
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Feels like the largest map in terms of scale but navigation is thankfully simple enough with practice.
The maelstrom is a huge bummer to have to deal with after the first few runs and I eventually took to starting from the overpass and exploding his ass with a scooter from above. Not a fan of some of the more railroaded elements that pop up in a few of these maps. Stuff like the basement exit in Colorado was irritating but only mandatory the first time through. I'm not sure how they'd get around finding out the maelstrom's identity here in terms of logic but it's still annoying to do each time.
The side story with the other flop assassin is one of my favorites across the trilogy.
Hawke's Bay
Rating: 3.5/5
High score: 193,004
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Really solid for a tutorial and more narrative based level. I liked the home invasion aspects and then the reverse of needing to get out of the eventual guard filled house.
Not a ton to shit yourself over in terms of nice aesthetics or anything but the modern/tech focus in the house was fun.
Rating: 3.5/5
High score: 193,004
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Really solid for a tutorial and more narrative based level. I liked the home invasion aspects and then the reverse of needing to get out of the eventual guard filled house.
Not a ton to shit yourself over in terms of nice aesthetics or anything but the modern/tech focus in the house was fun.
Haven Island
Rating: 3.5/5
High score: 152,917
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Agent 47 disguised as a fitness instructor and giving commands to the island's guests, purr.
Absolutely stunning, one of my favorite maps aesthetically.
Both of these DLC maps did a nice job of toning things down without going too far like something like Whittleton Creek did in my opinion.
The weather shifting to being stormy was a standout moment for me.
Rating: 3.5/5
High score: 152,917
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Agent 47 disguised as a fitness instructor and giving commands to the island's guests, purr.
Absolutely stunning, one of my favorite maps aesthetically.
Both of these DLC maps did a nice job of toning things down without going too far like something like Whittleton Creek did in my opinion.
The weather shifting to being stormy was a standout moment for me.
Hokkaido
Rating: 3.5/5
High score: 204,824
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Feels a bit like what Bangkok was working with in terms of one centralized building as the core setting but it was executed a bit better for me. The snowy setting and high tech set dressings helped set this apart from all of the other maps that I'd played up until now which probably helped too.
Lots of interesting assassination opportunities in this one, even with the one target being completely stationary. Being able to take out that same target without even coming close to it in terms of proximity makes for some interesting route options when doing replays and trying to do various challenges or optimizing your score.
This is probably the most confusing map in the first game in terms of navigation. Even during my last run for level 20 mastery I was still getting a bit tripped up with trying to navigate from one portion of the hospital to another. Not so much of a bad thing (at least for me) but I can definitely see it being annoying for some.
Rating: 3.5/5
High score: 204,824
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Feels a bit like what Bangkok was working with in terms of one centralized building as the core setting but it was executed a bit better for me. The snowy setting and high tech set dressings helped set this apart from all of the other maps that I'd played up until now which probably helped too.
Lots of interesting assassination opportunities in this one, even with the one target being completely stationary. Being able to take out that same target without even coming close to it in terms of proximity makes for some interesting route options when doing replays and trying to do various challenges or optimizing your score.
This is probably the most confusing map in the first game in terms of navigation. Even during my last run for level 20 mastery I was still getting a bit tripped up with trying to navigate from one portion of the hospital to another. Not so much of a bad thing (at least for me) but I can definitely see it being annoying for some.
Paris
Rating: 4/5
High score: 203,434
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A great introduction to non-tutorial gameplay for the trilogy. Things originally felt a bit overwhelming for me with the multiple levels of the mansion with countless rooms on top of the grounds outside but once I got into things a bitsy I was obsessed.
The opportunities for speedrunning in this one (not getting into any of the complicated glitches that I've seen some do) are absolutely wild.
Walking the fashion runway will probably be one of my favorite moments across the trilogy.
Rating: 4/5
High score: 203,434
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A great introduction to non-tutorial gameplay for the trilogy. Things originally felt a bit overwhelming for me with the multiple levels of the mansion with countless rooms on top of the grounds outside but once I got into things a bitsy I was obsessed.
The opportunities for speedrunning in this one (not getting into any of the complicated glitches that I've seen some do) are absolutely wild.
Walking the fashion runway will probably be one of my favorite moments across the trilogy.
Santa Fortuna
Rating: 4/5
High score: 195,421
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Taking people out while hiding in the fields is so much fun.
Three targets means a shit ton of variance in route planning and potential optimization. Playing around with chasing high scores on this level was such a rush.
This felt similar to Marrakesh with it being a dense level horizontally with portions of it feeling segmented off from the rest but it was executed much better. It might not be the actual case but it felt like there were a handful of options to move from place to place whereas that level felt more restricted.
I did have my only crashes while playing through the trilogy on this map. Taking on something of a rampage playthrough while clearing out paths to drag the target's bodies to the hippo for the one challenge led to multiple crashes. Not sure if this is an issue that crops up on other maps when you kill a ton of people or not. I only experienced it here in my various runs and playthrough experiments.
Rating: 4/5
High score: 195,421
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Taking people out while hiding in the fields is so much fun.
Three targets means a shit ton of variance in route planning and potential optimization. Playing around with chasing high scores on this level was such a rush.
This felt similar to Marrakesh with it being a dense level horizontally with portions of it feeling segmented off from the rest but it was executed much better. It might not be the actual case but it felt like there were a handful of options to move from place to place whereas that level felt more restricted.
I did have my only crashes while playing through the trilogy on this map. Taking on something of a rampage playthrough while clearing out paths to drag the target's bodies to the hippo for the one challenge led to multiple crashes. Not sure if this is an issue that crops up on other maps when you kill a ton of people or not. I only experienced it here in my various runs and playthrough experiments.
Dartmoor
Rating: 4.5/5
High score: 199,289
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The gloomy manor setting is wonderful and among the best of the aesthetically darker maps.
It isn't always a hit but I really love how III experiments with the conventions of Hitman map and level design. This time around sees the opportunity of disguising yourself as a private investigator and solving (or not) a crime. Being able to implicate a variety of suspects leads to a bunch of potential assassination set-ups and I definitely intend to go through them all someday. It might not be something that holds up to multiple replays afterwards but the first runs on this map were among the most memorable parts across the whole trilogy. As always, if one doesn't want to do the more scripted route there's a ton of other options to do which is nice.
Not 100% sure how I feel about the addition of in map shortcuts to maps in this game. I enjoy the convenience of them, don't get me wrong. I'm just not sure about them factoring in to chasing high scores and otherwise.
Rating: 4.5/5
High score: 199,289
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The gloomy manor setting is wonderful and among the best of the aesthetically darker maps.
It isn't always a hit but I really love how III experiments with the conventions of Hitman map and level design. This time around sees the opportunity of disguising yourself as a private investigator and solving (or not) a crime. Being able to implicate a variety of suspects leads to a bunch of potential assassination set-ups and I definitely intend to go through them all someday. It might not be something that holds up to multiple replays afterwards but the first runs on this map were among the most memorable parts across the whole trilogy. As always, if one doesn't want to do the more scripted route there's a ton of other options to do which is nice.
Not 100% sure how I feel about the addition of in map shortcuts to maps in this game. I enjoy the convenience of them, don't get me wrong. I'm just not sure about them factoring in to chasing high scores and otherwise.
Sapienza
Rating: 4.5/5
High score: 193,711
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This is where it first clicked that this trilogy might be something truly special for me.
An absolute classic. Tons of areas to explore, verticality, assassination opportunities galore, incredible aesthetics, and so on. I originally had misgivings with the requirement for destroying the virus and it being a damper on replays but after some experimentation/time I realized it isn't as much of an ordeal as I originally thought.
Agent 47 as a golf instructor is kinda hot afsdjk;l;fdsajl
Rating: 4.5/5
High score: 193,711
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This is where it first clicked that this trilogy might be something truly special for me.
An absolute classic. Tons of areas to explore, verticality, assassination opportunities galore, incredible aesthetics, and so on. I originally had misgivings with the requirement for destroying the virus and it being a damper on replays but after some experimentation/time I realized it isn't as much of an ordeal as I originally thought.
Agent 47 as a golf instructor is kinda hot afsdjk;l;fdsajl
Miami
Rating: 5/5
High score: 198,329
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hhhhhhh okay this might be the peak. (almost)
Tons of location variety, assassination opportunities, disguises, etc. A race track is probably the last place I'd ever go in real life but as a Hitman map it was such a joy. Beyond that there's still the hotel to explore which has its own enjoyable bits.
Escalations on this map were great. The one that required the use of a shotgun was the most challenging one I've played across the trilogy so far.
Rating: 5/5
High score: 198,329
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hhhhhhh okay this might be the peak. (almost)
Tons of location variety, assassination opportunities, disguises, etc. A race track is probably the last place I'd ever go in real life but as a Hitman map it was such a joy. Beyond that there's still the hotel to explore which has its own enjoyable bits.
Escalations on this map were great. The one that required the use of a shotgun was the most challenging one I've played across the trilogy so far.
Berlin
Rating: 5/5
High score: 194,018
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The best map in the trilogy which is saying a shit ton knowing how I felt about my other faves.
As a general setting this is absolutely stunning with the abandoned factory giving way to a busy night club and surrounding areas being among my favorite settings for a level in ANY game let alone Hitman. Exploration on this map is so rewarding and it doesn't feel confusing at all for how large it is.
As with Dartmoor before it, I once again loved the experimentation with gameplay format and objectives on this one. Having so many targets and being able to pick and choose makes this one of, if not the most replayable maps in the whole trilogy. Tons of interesting dialogues, character details, and otherwise to explore across the whole map. I feel like I've barely scratched the surface across my 6 runs on this map so far.
Rating: 5/5
High score: 194,018
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The best map in the trilogy which is saying a shit ton knowing how I felt about my other faves.
As a general setting this is absolutely stunning with the abandoned factory giving way to a busy night club and surrounding areas being among my favorite settings for a level in ANY game let alone Hitman. Exploration on this map is so rewarding and it doesn't feel confusing at all for how large it is.
As with Dartmoor before it, I once again loved the experimentation with gameplay format and objectives on this one. Having so many targets and being able to pick and choose makes this one of, if not the most replayable maps in the whole trilogy. Tons of interesting dialogues, character details, and otherwise to explore across the whole map. I feel like I've barely scratched the surface across my 6 runs on this map so far.
done
1 month ago