Impressions: Hitman beta

My oh my has the new Hitman been making headlines. The game was originally set to launch as a typical standalone game only to be announced as an episodic title seemingly out of nowhere. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that move done before—especially with a game that raked in preorders and is only a few months away from releasing to the public.

Ballsy.

All things considered I enjoyed Square Enix and IO Interactive’s last entry in the series, Hitman Absolution even though it was a bit over the top and preferred action over the stealth mechanics the series was born from. So when a representative reached out to me to try out the beta I couldn’t say no because, well, it’s a fucking Hitman game. I put in a few solid hours through the three mission beta and here is what I walked away with.

  • The game looks slick and is built from the same Glacier engine that powered Absolution. This time around there are noticeable refinements in lighting and clarity. I wouldn’t say it’s gorgeous or a representation of what current gen consoles can deliver, but it looks pretty good. Kind of the way Fallout 4 looks pretty good.

  • With that said the game does flex some of the console’s muscle by giving us levels loaded with NPC’s, although the framerate seemed to take a bit of a hit in crowded locations like the boat level. The impact to the game’s performance is nowhere near as bad as what we saw in Assassin’s Creed Unity with it’s throngs of civilians, but it was something I noticed when the shit hit the fan.

  • The cheeky slo-mo effects are (thankfully) gone in the latest version of Hitman, bringing the game closer to it’s stealth roots.

  • In other Hitman games if you were disguised as say a mechanic all other mechanics would catch onto you rather quickly. That’s not the case here. Now only a couple people, identified with a white circle above their head, will grow suspicious of you. Just stay clear or take them out you’ll be okay. It\’s a welcome change because why bother having disguises if they never worked on anyone?

  • Speaking of disguises, the newest game allow you to do what’s called “blending in” which really is a neat mechanic. While playing the boat level, for example, I stole an outfit from a crew member and worked the bar close to where my assassination target was conversing. It really adds to the game by having you not just standing there like a dumbass in a uniform but actively engaging in being an undercover agent.

  • The opening cutscene had an unforgivable lip sync issue that really pulled me out of the moment. It doesn’t help that this was followed by a few seconds of audio skipping/framerate dropping shortly after in the next scene. But this is a beta after all and something I’m sure will get fixed by the time the game comes out.

  • There are multiple ways to take out your enemies from the classic piano wire to the throat all the way to sabotaging the ejector seat of a jet which results in something rather hilarious….

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p>Overall I had fun with the latest entry in the Hitman series. It feels like a trademark Hitman game through and through and that’s not a bad thing. We’ll see what everyone else thinks when the game launches March 11.

Antonio Worrall
Antonio Worrallhttps://antonioworrall.com
I'm a Senior IT Support Engineer, every day tech geek, gaming enthusiast, world traveler, and foodie living with my wife and cat in the NY/NJ area.

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