After a mission that serves as the game's tutorial, Diane lies in a pool of blood and shower-door glass, begging 47 to protect a child named Victoria she has in her charge. But IO have made a number of design choices aimed at broadening Absolution's appeal beyond the core Hitman fanbase, and while there's still plenty to admire here, unfortunately not all of the changes work in the game's favour.Ībsolution starts off with Agent 47 being sent to kill his former handler Diane Burnwood, who has betrayed the pair's shadowy employers, The Agency. Hints of it remain in the design of a couple of levels and the eye-watering challenge that's presented by the highest difficulty setting.
This rule of thumb has been almost completely done away with in Absolution, IO's first Hitman game since 2006. But unless you surrendered to the series' signature stealth gameplay, the Hitman games would prove an ultimately hollow experience. Sure, you could blast your way through levels with twin-ballers if you played the games on the easiest difficulty settings. These titles demanded players give themselves over to its open-ended gaming structure where a combination of stoical patience and creative puzzle-solving were rewarded. And it's not just that the game's starring Agent 47, the most stylishly dressed killer in gaming, boasted finicky controls and punishing difficulty levels. T he Hitman series has always been aimed at the resolutely hardcore.
