This game can be considered training software to be a hired killer. This isn't a parental warning, this is a compliment. Playing this game can actually teach you about how various assault weapons work, about lining up a sniping rifle, and various techniques to infiltrate the enemy like switching clothes with guards. Hitman is a great concept, and it plays great!

This game is the true successor to the Thief games, now that there probably won't be another sequel to them. Like Thief 1 and 2, more rewards go to stealthy play, and unnecessary kills work against you. However, whereas Thief almost always wanted you to go around stealthily and dispose of enemies quietly, many portions of Hitman force you to pull out an Uzi and just start shooting everyone. They wouldn't give you weapons like the M60 and the minigun if stealth was the only means to victory.

After playing the demo for about ten minutes, I knew I had to buy this game.

The individual levels in Hitman all have a different feel from one another, and most have a unique strategy to finish the level than in previous ones. An early mission has you sniping from a rooftop. Then the next has you strangling a limo driver while he is urinating in an alley, stealing his clothes, and planting a car bomb that you later set off from a safe distance.

A few levels only require you to go in with guns blazing. Most of these missions can be solved in various ways. When playing a level a second time, things can go wrong which changes your requirements. Guards finding a dead body too soon, or missing an easy shot can cause prime targets not to appear where they should, or doors to become locked making things difficult. A few levels actually have some random locations for items you need, which means each time you play, you will have to search out the level as if it was your first time again.

There are thirteen levels total, and they exist within five locations. After your training mission, the first four levels takes place in Hong Kong, which is appropriate since a lot of the game play feels like a Hong Kong action film. Then you end up in the Colombian jungles for five through seven. Then you have a single mission in a beautiful Budapest hotel. Then you end up in Rotterdam for missions nine and ten, before finally finishing the last two levels in an unknown city. The cut scenes in between levels do make one wonder what exactly is the point to all this, but there is a total continuity that only becomes truly clear in the final level.

The weapons in Hitman are varied, with only a little overlap. For silent kills you have a knife and a fiber strangling wire. These allow you to kill relatively silently and don't use any ammo. You will spend a lot of time in 'sneak' mode slowly approaching an enemy from the rear and then strangling him or slitting his throat. For small firearms you have a Desert Eagle, a Colt 1910, and a Beretta that comes both with and without a silencer. Some pistols have larger clips and/or make more noise when fired. The noise factor is a big one in this game, so just picking the strongest handgun isn't always the best tool for the job. There are also shotguns, of a few different varieties. One of which is an automatic. There are also some small automatic weapons like an Uzi. And there are larger assault rifles like the AK-47, AK-103, M-16 and even a silenced version of the M-16. These weapons aren't just different skins around the same weapon. The M-16 will keep the bullets closer together if you hold down the trigger, and is more accurate at medium ranges than the AK series. A weapon that I only saw in a few levels was the M60. This massive gun does amazing damage, and holds more rounds than anything other than the minigun. The minigun appears to be the same weapon everyone loved to see in the original "Predator" movie. It takes a few seconds to whir up, so be prepared. But boy, does this weapon mow down the enemy quickly. One disadvantage with it however, is that you can only walk, not run while holding it. This isn't too much of a problem, but even turning around is slow, which makes it difficult to draw a bead when being attacked from all sides.

And then there is my favorite weapon, the sniper rifle! There are actually two sniper rifles, one is a semi-automatic with six shots, but I only saw this weapon once. The sniper rifle can be hidden inside of a briefcase so that you can walk around with it. It will take you several seconds to assemble it, so don't expect it to be of much help if cornered, not that this weapon works well at all for firing at approaching close range enemies. There are three levels of zoom on the gun, and the gun will 'wander' up and down the higher the zoom. This makes it very hard to make your shots, even with practice. This isn't an easy one-shot kill weapon like in Unreal. Hitting someone in their armor, or an appendage, will do great damage, but may not kill them, giving them time to scream for help or run. Still there was a great joy when I climbed into a sniper tower, slit the sniper's throat, and used his weapon to pick off a half dozen snipers in other nearby towers.

For my first sniper kill, I shot a guy in the chest and he flipped back appropriately and a pool of blood slowly formed from under him. Trying the level again, I only wounded him in the arm, and he went running back to his waiting limousine. I missed him since it is very hard to aim as he was running back, but for my third shot, I waited by the open door of the car, and got him just as he entered my crosshairs. It was truly a tense kill!

You will also get some unusual items like bombs and detonators, poison to put in food, GPS tracking devices, and etc.. All of these are usually level specific. You also get some of these non-weapon items each level, like a bullet proof vest (always worth the purchase!), a compass and binoculars with built in night vision.

Whereas Thief has you spending a lot of time hiding in the shadows, in Hitman, there doesn't appear to be anything like that. What you get instead are two things. One is a 'sneak' mode, which lets you duck, and crawl slowly towards the enemy, or past him. The other is the ability to change clothes. You can switch clothes with any corpse. There are at least two dozen different outfits I saw in this game. Almost all missions demand that you steal clothes, unless you intend to try and play the game by just charging through everything with guns blazing. In an early level I had to keep changing clothes between two or three different characters just to stay undetected. What happens in various levels is that you may kill a waiter, but his body will eventually be found, and a warning will go out telling the guards to be on the lookout for a suspicious waiter. Time to put on a guard's outfit, or something else for a while. You tend to want to hide your weapons most of the time, but it is perfectly alright to have a weapon in your exposed hand if it is what the person you are dressed as is supposed to be carrying. On the eighth level I was disguised as a Colombian solider, and as long as I had an AK-47, I could walk right past a group of guards without any problems. If I tried to carry the sniper rifle, or beretta, it was open season on me instantly. It is always scary when trying to walk around guards, because even though you are in the right outfit, you never know when one of them might recognize you from an earlier encounter and open fire.

Unlike Thief or Deus Ex, in Hitman when hiding a body, you actually have to drag the body along the ground. The physics are great, although it is often hard to position the body just right so that it will fall down the sewer hole you are aiming for. It is also slow going dragging the bodies, so there are some tense moments when a cop or innocent sees you, and you have to quickly take them out before they can call for assistance, and dispose of the bodies before anyone else sees you.

The A.I. is usually a wonder as well. Innocents respond to seeing you wielding a dangerous weapon by screaming and fleeing. Other people may cower and beg if you shoot a victim in front of them. One of the scariest moments I ever had in the game was when I had shot a number of people at close range, but was disguised as one of them, so when a bunch of other guards came to investigate, I just stood near the bodies. Suddenly all the guards slowly looked up at me as if realizing that I didn't belong and opened fire. Sometimes the A.I. seems to be lacking when guards appear to be able to see you, but do nothing suspicious, but that isn't the norm. The A.I. is at least the equal of Thief 2, and that is no small compliment.

The graphics in Hitman are excellent! This is a new engine, that I believe only exists for this game so far. I was consistently amazed at the beauty from level to level. However, there was a noticeable frame hit when there were numerous enemies on the screen. I think the physics in the game slowed it down more than any of the graphics did. The third person view is an unusual choice, but it works for the game better than a first person view would have most of the time. The third person view really lets you see the physics of your own character's animations in action. Swing the knife back and forth and watch your tie swing realistically back and forth. In Hong Kong, a number of the enemies have pony tails which look perfect swinging back and forth when they turn their heads. People all look great, and it is truly eerie when they walk by you and turn to give you a dirty look. In one level, a stripper has to be seen to be believed. She moves just that realistically.

The maps have a couple of unusual graphic tricks too. The ferns and other plants move realistically as you walk by them. In one level as I was crossing a narrow bridge just over a rushing river a large tree branch hits floats by, almost hitting the bridge.

The physics in the game is where the engine really shines. Aside from things like the tie and the pony tails, almost every movable items, including people, respond better than in any other game I've ever played. The people move very realistically, and so do their corpses. Shooting a person's corpse on the ground will propel him forward a little bit, or just hitting an appendage will only move that appendage. Unleashing the minigun on a body is incredible in the way it slowly pushes the body backwards, but you can actually swing him around if you aim only at his head or his legs.

In one level I shot a pistol at a shotgun, and the bullet flashed as it ricocheted, and the shotgun slid forward just a little bit. Shooting your opponent will randomly drop or throw his weapon some distance, where it will behave realistically as it hits tables or walls. When you shoot people, their bodies respond in varied, but realistic ways. I shot a number of guards up in towers, and some I hit in the chest were thrown up and out of the towers. Others, slammed forward into the wall, and slumped down slowly. One amazingly fell over near the edge, and I watched as one arms fell over the edge, which slowly pulled the rest of his body with it.

There are cut scenes in between levels, and some even during levels. They are all amazing. These aren't just recorded cut scenes using their engine, but instead actually being run in real time. How can I tell you ask? I can tell because it will show whichever uniform I am wearing at the time, as well by the fact that if the camera view is from far away you can see all the dead bodies I've left behind, right where they should be. Also, before each mission there is a cut scene that is made to look like a video surveillance film. These also have an incredibly realistic look to them.

The sounds are all good, and the EAX works great. You hear little background noises in the streets and in the jungles. You can hear far off sounds pretty easily, and still determine about where they are coming from. Your footsteps sound different on different surfaces. Bullets make distinct noises depending on if they hit the ground, cement, glass, wood, your bullet proof vest, and of course your flesh. Each weapon has a distinct sound, and a silenced weapon is just loud enough to make you fear someone else has heard it. Hearing the minigun whine as it whirs up is as exciting as the first time you saw the gun in the movie "Predator". Sometimes the enemy will be able to cry out if not killed quickly enough, and like Thief, enemy guards may come to investigate. As with most games, there are only so many noises and expressions the enemies will say, but Hitman seems to have more than enough. Especially since there are about a dozen different types of enemies depending on where in the world you are, and then there are about a half dozen different skins of those.

Each of the levels is a separate movie within itself, with just a few forcing you to keep the weapons from the previous mission. Most of the levels will remind you of famous murder scenes from well known movies. An early level is blatantly from "The Godfather", where Michael Corleone kills the police chief. If you think it just feels similar, the strategy to solving the level is blatantly from the film. In one level you are given a shotgun disguised in a box of long stem roses, similar to "Terminator 2". Another later level is clearly reminiscent of "Scarface". The level is even called "Say Hello to my little friend", and features your enemy in a white suit sniffing cocaine off his table before picking up his M60 and coming after you. Another late level is very similar to "The Professional", where about forty armed Swat members have you trapped inside of an asylum. There are probably more films that I haven't recognized as well.

It was not initially clear at first what is the difference between the difficulty levels. What I learned is that the enemies may be a little tougher, but the big difference is that you are limited to what weapons you can bring with you into the level. The fourth mission is much easier once I was offered the silenced beretta instead of just the regular one. Another early level won't allow you to have the sniper rifle at a high difficulty setting, making the level extremely difficult.

If you download the demo, it only lets you play the third mission, which is the one similar to "The Godfather". This is actually a pretty tough mission, so if you try it, remember that by the time you get here normally, you will have a little better control and understanding of the game.

As good as this game is, I do have some complaints, but none bad enough to lessen my rating. One is that you have a certain amount of money to spend before each mission, but even on the most difficult level, it is more than enough. You can get docked for unnecessary kills, but even at a hefty $5000 each, you make more than enough if you play the level poorly for this not to be an issue.

I would have liked the statistic screen at the end of each mission to include stuff like total kills, and maybe even by which weapon, like Thief 2 has.

There is no in-level save game feature. Some people will hate the game from the start, just because of this. It does make playing each level again necessary, but I didn't really mind, except for on a few missions where I was still trying to figure out what I am supposed to be doing. Instead, you get three lives, that will cost you money from your earned total each time you use them. You usually start in a safe place, but only carrying what you had with you when you died. This actually almost makes the game a little easier sometimes. An in-level save feature might have made it easier for some people on the larger levels, but I don't know if it would have been at all better for the pacing and tense feeling the game gave me. I played through each level multiple times, and still enjoy going back through some of the non-stealth missions a month after I finished the game. If I could save my game every few steps like in Thief, I doubt I would be as inclined to do that.

My biggest complaint has to be with the keyboard interface. It isn't a bad one; It just needs some work. Why do they make lean right and left the 'a' and 'd' keys instead of the 'q' and 'e' keys like every other game? Why can you not assign hot keys to specific weapons, and instead have to cycle through all your choices with the 't' and 'g' keys. This gets annoying fast when you start carrying a half dozen enemy pistols and you have to cycle past them all to get to something better in an emergency? Why is the '4' key the sneak key? And '1' is the reload key? This could easily have been improved on. It took me forever to find out how to zoom in the sniper scope! This key choice is highly unintuitive.

Hopefully all these minor complaints will be fixed in any sequel, because I want to play more levels! It is a shame that the engine doesn't allow player mods to be made, because I would love to see what others can do with the game.

This game is better than Thief 2, and I loved Thief 2!

The day Hitman 2 comes out, I'm buying it!



Recommended: Yes