Insidious. Deadly. Stealthy.

Hmm…

How about stealthy and deadly? While the plot borders insidious, the defining characteristics of Eidos Interactive and IO Interactive’s latest excursion into the universe of Agent 47 is stealth. You cannot gun your way through everything you see. Strangling the lone foe is one thing (if he or she is not moving; if they are moving, forget the garrote), but when they are coming at you in droves, discretion can be the key to survival.

Hitman Contracts is the third installment of the vaunted Hitman franchise – but this time the focus is on stealth. Sure, you will get to kill a lot of people, in most satisfying ways, but you will also have to determine the best time for killing and skulking in the shadows.

This PlayStation 2 title is long on intrigue and action. The plot centers around a hit list, each with increasingly difficult targets and the game hops around the globe to give players more maps to work through. Agent 47’s exploits have a somewhat shaky beginning. The bald assassin has just taken down a target, but something was terribly wrong with the assignment – the target seemed to be waiting for him, and as a result, Agent 47 was shot and wounded.

He stumbles down the corridor of a low-key hotel, finding the appropriate door, and tumbles into the dimly lit apartment, before crumbling to the floor. He is wounded and drifts in and out of consciousness, but this is not to say there are periods in which he blacks out. Oh no, he journeys into his past …

A white room, and a man in a white lab coat lies in the center of the room on the floor.

He looks up at the figure of Agent 47 towering over him. He uses the term “son,” and follows with “you are breaking my heart,” his voice quavering. Agent 47 leans down, but rather than offering a comforting gesture, there is a snapping sound as neck bones give way to stress. The man is dead. Agent 47, stoic in the wake of the act, moves on …

Romania, an asylum where everyone seems to bear a resemblance to the man in the black suit. But the inmates are running the asylum right now, hacking orderlies to bits if they find them. The walls are smeared with blood, and bodies are strewn about the hallways. The Romanian SWAT team is closing in. In the midst of this chaos, one man moves with reason – the goal is escape. Lunatics behind him, heavily armed and trigger-happy SWAT members in front of him, the only recourse is to elude all adversaries to escape this piece of hell.

Does that sound somewhat familiar? It is a derivative of episodes from earlier titles in the series. Delirium can do strange things to people, and one has to wonder if these flashbacks are a sign of regret or maybe glory relived in the view of Agent 47.

The game introduces new weaponry in the agent’s arsenal, some in the form of guns, others in interactive environmental objects. You can use pool cues or meat hooks to dispatch your foes.

The gameplay itself is not a leap forward in the series; in fact, if anything it is more of the same. But that does not mean it is any less entertaining. You will encounter some truly distasteful people in this romp, people and groups of people that dwell in the shadows and gutters of the world, and are best not inspected in the light of what we call civilization. The missions will take you from China to England, with your targets running the gamut from corrupt politicians to crime bosses and terrorists.

IO has done a terrific job with the audio on this title, and the look of the game is smooth and typical of the series – well, the second title, at least. With responsive controls, this game is a delight to play, and quite challenging. This is a game that is somewhat dark – an element reflected in the musical score (by Jesper Kyd) and the lighting effects.

Also the game is big on replayability. Each of the missions is so nonlinear in design that you can actually try it again with a completely different approach. There are obvious easy ways to accomplish the tasks and much tougher.

As is typical of Hitman games, you do have the option to try to disguise yourself to sneak past your foes, but those disguises don’t always work well.

Hitman Contracts is not that innovative. It does not tread new ground for the series but rather does a lateral move. It sustains the momentum without really adding to it. This is a solid game and a lot of fun to play, but IO may have been better served if they had added some dimension to the psyche of Agent 47, more background information to let us get a better glimpse of this anti-hero.

Hitman Contracts is the type of game that will have fans of the series hooked with the surrealistic elements, the glance back and the challenge ahead. It will introduce newcomers to the franchise to the gritty underbelly dominated by the ice-cold deadly abilities of Agent 47. It will provide challenge and hours of enjoyment.
 

Gameplay: 8.5
The game plays out on a rich and moody tableau with large maps, responsive control elements and great interactive environments.

Graphics: 8.8

The NPCs look better and the lighting effects are much better than in previous incarnations.

Sound: 8.7

The musical score suits the game quite well, and the dialogue that jumps at players in spurts throughout the game is well done.

Difficulty: Medium

The AI has been improved, making this a consistently tougher challenge across the board.

Concept: 8.2

In some ways, whiled challenging and with a stronger AI, this game almost feels like it is a filler between Silent Assassin and the next major release in the series. Some of these missions could almost have been part of Hitman 2 as side missions to the main storyline.

Overall: 8.5

The game is strong and entertaining. It is also a little darker than other releases in the franchise, if that is possible when referring to a hitman. This may have been the perfect, albeit wasted, opportunity to give us a little more background info on Agent 47, but instead IO has provided an open-ended series of missions that are long on replayability and increased difficulty. Hitman fans will enjoy this. Those who are yet to experience a Hitman title, but like FPS games with character, will become fans of the series – so refer to the sentence before this.