Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC

 Developer: Square Enix/Eidos Interactive

 Publisher: IO Interactive

 Release Date: 2012

 Genre: Action

Welcome Back Agent.47

The Hitman series has always resonated well with gamers. This is perhaps due to the fact that everybody’s personal experience with a Hitman game is often inherently different from another.

The Hitman series is one of the few games that allowed the player the freedom to choose their own path, entrusting them with an interactive playground in which they could make their own decisions and determine their own outcome. The fulfilment of completing a designated mission using your own ingenuity, tactics or unique approach was the crucial element which lured players into repeating missions, solely to explore the many different paths available.

The ranking system, awarded at the end of each mission, encouraged players to experiment with different types of methodology. If you wanted to go on a bloody rampage and kill everyone on a mission you could. If you wanted to sneak through a mission with a ghostlike presence, then this was also a valid alternative. Infiltrate a compound with a disguise, or simply learn the routes of the patrolling guards and sneak past; you were Agent.47, it was your decision to make.

Therefore, when I became aware that there was to be a Hitman: Absolution developer session at EGXP, I was eager to attend, hoping to gain a greater insight into Agent.47′s upcoming return.

Cold As Ice

Hitman expectedly drew a large crowd, with the conference hall packed to capacity, a feat only matched by the PlayStation Vita and Uncharted 3 developer sessions that I attended.

Unfortunately, and predictably, no filming was allowed so I recorded the audio of the event. I will do my best to transcribe proceedings and run you through what I saw. Believe me when I say that it was absolutely breathtaking.

Our host for the event was the Lead Producer on Hitman: Absolution, Hakan Abrak from IO Interactive. He stated that Hitman: Absolution would be running on an all new in-house engine called Glacier 2. The demo shown was a pre-alpha build played on the PlayStation 3.

We are reunited with Agent.47 who is the target of a city wide man hunt. Located in rainy Chicago, Agent.47 is in an unusual situation in the fact that for once he is not the hunter. Trapped in a dusty, derelict library, Agent.47 has to rely on his instincts and his experience if he is to have any hope of making it out alive. 

Hakan stressed that IO Interactive have opted for a more cinematic experience with Hitman: Absolution, highlighting the fact they have created a rich, living, breathing world. By implementing a new AI system called ‘Intelligence Spectrum’, the AI have a larger variety of nuances in their behaviour, changing the way enemies and NPC respond, with the goal of creating more unpredictable and lifelike encounters.

A new aspect that has been added to Hitman: Absolution is the Instinct feature. The Instinct feature enables the player to see the world through the eyes of the ultimate assassin, Agent.47. The Instinct feature is an umbrella feature which enhances all of Agent.47′s abilities. Hakan assured the audience that all these features would support the foundation and the essence of all Hitman games, that is player freedom and freedom of choice; which I’m sure will come as huge relief to the Hitman fans around the world.

Through The Eyes Of A Killer

The demo began with lashings of rain spattering on a window pane, providing a false perception of tranquillity. Moments later, Agent.47 came crashing through the glass, making his way out on to the rain soaked ledge of the library. The music exploded through the conference hall, with a trio of loud, swelling sirens announcing the presence of Agent.47.

Pressed against the wall, Agent.47 peers through the adjacent window, noticing that his only exit through the library is swarming with cops. Agent.47 slowly made his way down onto the lower floor, seamlessly taking cover from bookshelf to bookshelf. As a guard approached Agent.47′s position, the audience were shown the first glimpse of the Instinct features. Agent.47 was able to detect enemies heat signatures and movements, represented by a flaming line leading to their likely destination. Once the guard had made his way close enough to Agent.47, he was able to quickly manoeuvre his way to a more advantageous position, bypassing the incoming guard.

One of the guards was assigned to fix the electricity breaker box, powering the dimly lit rooms. Agent.47 uses the surrounding environment to his advantage, sabotaging the power much to the dismay of the police, ultimately providing a perfect opportunity to advance into the next area.

Deadly with any tool available at his disposal, Agent.47 finds a plug lead on the ground, wrapping it round his hand; waiting for the opportune moment to straggle the guard in front. Using the instinct feature, Agent.47 scans his surroundings and when the coast is clear, straggles the helpless guard blocking his path. Brutal, violent and explicit best describes the significance of Agent.47′s viscous actions.

As Agent.47 progressed through the library, he notices a stone statue head, which he picks up, delivering a skull cracking, blunt force trauma to the head of an unsuspecting guard, abruptly ending his conversation with the cop on the balcony above. Agent.47 hastily climbs onto the ledge of the balcony, hanging from the ledge. The suspicious guard approaches the edge of the balcony, only to be grabbed by Agent.47 and dragged down to his death, falling through a hole below.

Agent.47 collects the disposed guard’s truncheon, proceeding to move stealthily along the balcony. A number of guards decide to check out the commotion caused by the falling guard’s desperate plea for help. Agent.47 instinctively notices a ledge above the doorway, climbing on to it just in time for the cops to wander haplessly past.

Using the instinct feature to bypass some more police, Agent.47 detects an isolated guard smoking a cigarette. Silently, Agent.47 approaches the guard, wrapping the truncheon round the guards neck, pulling his neck back until a sickening crack caused the audience to squirm at the sheer ruthlessness of the take down.

After spotting the exit, Agent.47′s path to potential freedom is blocked by a large group of cops who are gathered devising a plan to apprehend the wanted assassin. Fortunately for Agent.47, one of the more nervous guards is having trouble with his flash light,  providing just enough opportunity for Agent.47 to swiftly grab the oblivious guard’s gun from its holster and use him as a human shield. The perfect escape tool.

The cops frantically decide on the best course of action as the young hostage pleads for his life. Agent.47 slowly retreats up the stairs leading to the grand staircase that leads to the roof. Forced to act, the cops decide that the hostage is collateral and open fire on Agent.47 who avoids the spray of bullets thanks to his human shield.

Dropping the now worthless carcass, Agent.47 takes cover and the audience is introduced to the combat mechanics. The gun play is a visceral and dramatic experience, with each shot violently erupting from the chamber of the weapon. Agent.47 catches one of the guards with a well aimed head shot, activating a few frames of slow motion as the unfortunate guard slumps to the ground.

Determined to lose his pursuers, Agent.47 shoots a hanging chandelier, dropping down on to the advancing cops below. Agent.47 proceeds out of the library, jumping out of a window onto a rooftop. Hovering in wait for like a bird of prey is a helicopter, forcing Agent.47 inside a rooftop building. The helicopter unloads its chain gun into the building, ripping up boxes, crates and feathers in what seemed to be an empty chicken coop.

Leaping dramatically across a fire exit to an adjacent building, Agent.47 manages to avoid the deadly gaze of the helicopter, disposing of another unsuspecting guard, this time commandeering his uniform. Suitably disguised, Agent.47 purposefully walks across the exposed rooftop, avoiding the attention of the once dangerous helicopter.

After making his way through a rather amusing scene that consisted of a bunch of panicking pot-heads, desperately trying to destroy their countless cannabis plants, Agent.47  makes his way down to the bottom floor. Now surrounded by fellow policemen, a genuinely tense scene occurs as Agent.47 is suspiciously observed by passing guards, the screen slowly fading to grey as the accusing eyes of the police follow Agent.47.

Mistakenly recognised by one of the policemen, Agent.47 quickly turns his attention to blending into his surrounding, picking up a doughnut whilst the SWAT team run past. The mistaken policeman asks ‘Hey your Forster right? I thought you left the force?’. Agent.47 provides a simple response to the inquiring policeman, ‘I never left’, ending the demo by walking out into over a hundred NPC’s showcasing the impressive crowd mechanics seen in previous games.

If Looks Could Kill

The constant chatter and banter between the cops provided a fantastic ambience to the scene, reminding me of the effective narrative often used in Batman: Arkham Asylum. They reacted appropriately to the actions of Agent.47, adding a genuine sense of realism.

The Glacier 2 engine was quite simply, unbelievable. Hitman: Absolution was scattered with incidental details which contributed significantly in bringing the scenes to life. The lighting and visuals effects were some of the best I’ve seen to date, and the fact it was running from a pre-alpha build was simply mind boggling. The scene where the helicopter rips into the building resulting in feathers, debris and shrapnel filling the air was simply spectacular.

Hakan emphasised that the path chosen to complete the demo was one of many, and that there were other ways of completing the mission, exactly what fans will have wanted to hear.

Hitman: Absolution was without a doubt my game of the show. I cannot wait for its arrival in 2012 and am still completely overawed by what I witnessed.

Welcome back Agent.47.