This year at Gamescom 2015, I was able to see a lot of cool games, but I have to say that Hitman was defintely towards the top of that list. Given the chance to watch this game in action made me want to take the controls then and there to see what was truly possible. While in the past I haven't really been all that interested in Hitman, especially Hitman: Absolution for it being seemingly linear and more closed off, the new Hitman title has changed my view on the series. What players love Hitman for, aside from how brutal Agent 47 is with an axe, is how creative a player can be to get the job done in the area given to them. Hitman brings back a lot of what players love, and adds a lot of new action and possibilities with everything happening around them. Players have been given the option of packing their own inventory to keep things in tune with their play style. They can bring screwdrivers, axes, sniper rifles, handgun, explosives and more with them to give them the experience they want. The developers promise to give many difference scenarios with many different methods of entry to keep things interesting.
The game will travel the world and give players many beautiful and engaging areas to explore. Players will get the chance to visit Europe, the Americas, and see setting ranging from the posh towns in Italy to busy markets. We started the gameplay demonstration in front of a beautiful palace in Paris where a modeling event was taking place. Our target in this case was Viktor Novikov, well-known to all as the owner of a fashion company, but in reality is the ringleader of the IAGO spy ring. The mission was far from simple with guards all over the grounds of the palace. From the beginning, the player can see how easily they can change things or draw more attention to themselves. If you go where you shouldn't guards will take notice of you, or if you wander between a news reporter and her cameraman, she will scream cut and complain about you. One can only imagine how much attention the player can attract before the mission is a bust. There were several opportunities in getting inside the palace. One can physically attack the guards, climb over some left over construction and scaffolding left in haste, entering the delivery area in disguise as catering staff, or perhaps just walk in the front door. In this case, given we were set up with an invitation, it seems attending as a normal guest and mingling with the crowd is a good way to play things safe. After 47 walks into the crowd he blends in quickly and makes his way across the grand foyer of the palace to the staircase that our target is descending. After his grand entrance, there's immediately a cause for concern and Viktor seems on edge. He then retreats with his staff and we are left wondering if our mission has been compromised or of there is another problem.The player can once again learn more about the situation by listening to conversations around them or by investigating directly. In this case we can hear that theres a problem with an artist that's causing a lot of grief for our target.
We then learn while exploring of all the things that can be tampered with to take out enemies or distract them. Players can tamper with gas tanks, lights, chandeliers, fire alarms, etc throughout the game, along with items like displays and vending machines that take advantage of the coins in past Hitman games. After our glimpse of all the player can use in the environment to gain the upper hand, we journey further through an outdoor banquet area with hundreds of guests before wandering to the runway in the next area. Throughout this journey we can truly see how much we can change. We can subdue staff to take their clothing as a disguise, tamper with food, and more. In the runway area we can stand and enjoy the show, which is something to behold. Not only are the models beautifully crafted, but so is the runway and room around them. They walk below a room-length chandelier that glows a brilliant white, with black footing below them that runs over with water and steam effects. While this is glorious, so is all we can do, so we move along back stage. Here we can sneak in and take out a makeup artist and assume his identity. With his company clothing, we blend right in. We can now wander freely through the area and finally listen in on what bothered our target. It seems he has a problem with the head stylist, which gives us more to take advantage of. In this time we are given several times to charge in and do a hasty kill, but we can always play it cool and set up a long game.
We opt to keep things going smoothly, so we play the NPCs by distracting them with grand displays using the coins we have. After the display draws their attention from other passages, it gives us more access to go further into the palace. Skipping ahead, we end up in the upper floors of the palace hoping to get deeper into the facilities. Here we can assume the role of a member of the catering staff. However, disguises aren't always enough. Not only will security frisk you, but some members of security, enforcers, will be able to see through a disguise and blow your cover. In this case, we simply needed to hide our weapons in crates of food being delivered upstairs and allow the catering staff that have been present to deliver them upstairs for us. As security has seen these members of the catering service all day, they wouldn't bother frisking them or searching the boxes they carry. Seeing as you are new to the scene, the staff will certainly search you and find anything you might be carrying. Once upstairs we see that this game isn't always gentle. You will be put in situations where you are forced to fight or stay on guard if you don't use the environment to your advantage.
In the end we saw the most theatric method for taking out Viktor Novikov. If the player puts in the work, goes unnoticed and sets everything up right, Viktor walks out on to the runway to be received by the crowd to hear a suddenly sound that draws his attention upward. The massive chandelier plummets down to crush him. The last thing we see is Viktors look of terror before we see the Hitman logo. While players can easily handle things more hastily and rush to get their kill, it's very clear that Hitman rewards players with glorious outcomes for those that work for it.
Hitman releases later this year on December 8th for PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox One.
