RE:play - Hitman Absolution

As I start Hitman: Absolution again, after playing/completing it over the Christmas period, I start to realise that myself and Agent 47 aren't that different.
He's a genius killer-for-hire, who can enter a room undetected, ruthlessly kill his target and leave without so much as someone realising he's bald.
Myself, I often download software updates without reading the Terms and Conditions, play games without learning the tutorials and just today, I questioned whether or not to use the milk that had expired this morning (I didn't).

So, with basically the EXACT same characteristics as the worlds most deadly Hitman, I began my second play-through. The game starts off with Agent 47 (AKA me), taking on a contract that see's me hunting and eliminating Diana Burnwood, my former 'friend' and head of The Agency. As the stella agent I am, I find Diana in the shower, looking all glistening and soaped up. After perving on her for a few minutes, I shoot her with my Silverballers (that's not a metaphor) but then I discover she's harboring a girl named Victoria, the latest of The Agency's experiments and so, with memories of my own experiments (I was clinically trialled for some hair stapling), I go rogue, hiding the girl and seeking answers about why she's so freakin' special in the first place.

The most natural way to hold a knife.

So, as the now rogue Agent 47, I go about my business; stealthily taking out various goons as I work my way towards the juicy tid-bits of story. As a whole, the game plays a lot easier and far more forgiving than any previous Hitman, for example, I was doing rather well being all sneaky, taking out guards, placing them in conveniently placed boxes, when upon placing a slumped body in a locker, I was caught. In old Hitman titles, this would mark a pretty much restart of the level. However, Absolution does make Agent 47 able to take care of himself, so the ability to rectify a mistake by slaughtering anyone who see's you is there.

"YOU DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING!"

Another thing, is the added feature of Instinct Mode, which allows me to see enemies and civilians through walls and show points of interest via a path of fire. Just like a real Hitman can.
The new "realistic Hitman mode of wall see-through-ness" is optional, and you may, if you wish, never use it, or just dial it down completely; but as a genuine Hitman, I can't dial down my natural instincts to make fire lines appear as I stake out enemies through walls, I just can't.

As a qualified Hitman, I always use my ability to generate fire at will to burn my victims. Through walls.

A nifty feature of Instinct Mode (other than the aforementioned ability to see through walls and create fire trails!) is that you can pre-determine where an enemy guard may go. This does help tight situations, even if it does give you a slightly unfair advantage. However, whilst in Instinct Mode, once you've stripped someone naked and stolen their clothes, which always 100% fit you perfectly, you're free to use the ingenious 'disguise' system, where I'm able to slightly tilt my head as I walk past guards. Which is absolutely how it happens in real life.

I guess we go for the guy with the floating marker over his head? I'm so good at video games you guys.

A thing that should be pointed out to those who still haven't played Absolution. If you're more of a "run in and kill everything" type of person, then, although the option to do so is there, I would recommend skipping this. Absolution is a game that needs to be experimented with (and not in the creepy way).  There is so much fun to be had deciding a goons fate. Do we drop a chandelier on his head? Shoot him? Poison his drink? Rig the electrics? Or smoother him with our pumped up muscular sweaty armpits? Although the kill options aren't quite up there with the likes of previous Hitman entries, like Blood Money or Contracts, I certainly had fun trying them out. And that's what mass-murdering unsuspecting goons is all about; having fun.

Absolution isn't perfect, but it sure as hell is fun. If athletic bald men are your thing and you have a fetish for outlandishly disposing of goons, then Hitman: Absolution is for you.

Hitman: Absolution is rated M (Mature) by the ESRB for Content Descriptors. This game can also be found on: Windows PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360