Hitman - Intro Pack

Hitman - Episode One is a great video game for fans of the series and offers the freedom that they have long requested from IO Interactive, with Agent 47 once again offered multiple ways and means to take out his targets.

The faults are present at the glamorous, high-stakes launch party and, as a result, Hitman is once again prevented from defining the genre. [May 2016, p.112]

No matter how pretty and nuanced Paris level is, when you have nothing else to play with for a whole month, you’ll get burned out. If Square Enix followed their original plan and released at least three sandbox levels at once (or, better yet, the complete game), it would’ve got a much better reception. [Issue#208, p.52]

Hitman has refined its gameplay, while having options that help newcomers, but should not upset existing fans, and as such, is a solid start that hopefully keeps getting better and upping the variety with each mission added.

The big question mark left dangling over Hitman is whether it deserves its episodic nature then. Put bluntly, it does. The additional time with each map gives everyone room to understand and digest the finer intricacies, while the special challenges keeps things entertaining and fresh. Elusive Targets meanwhile offer unique bonuses for killing them, but you only get one shot. These are neat additions, but there is an unshakeable feeling they have been included purely to justify Hitman being episodic. The fact the Elusive Targets can disappear after a matter of days makes it feels as if gamers are being punished if they don’t get in the door early.

Destination one in Agent 47's now-episodic global travelogue shows IO Interactive know how to get Hitman back in fashion. A strong, stylish opening to the new game.

Hitman returns to form he presented in brilliant Blood Money, but upon arrival it’s a demo waiting to be expanded with free episodic content. Fortunately the available mission in Paris takes place in a huge area (much bigger than the largest maps from previous instalments) and can be completed in many different ways, so I enjoyed replaying it over and over again. [05/2016, p.48]

This is an interesting pilot for a season of contract killings. You’ll get a lot of creative freedom when it comes to fulfilling your contracts while the online-missions keep you motivated until the next episode arrives.

Despite being a smart progression of Blood Money's ideas, Hitman feels unrefined and unfinished in lots of small but important ways.

If the prospect of slowly picking apart the mechanics of giant stealth sandboxes is exciting for you, then Hitman should provide a wonderful experience. But if you’re a one-and-done type of player, then you should look elsewhere.

With the latest installment, Mr.47 is back in his original and true form. For everyone who was looking for the sequel to Blood Money, this is it, if you can get past the rough always-online component that affects the single player experience and leaves a bad taste.

Hitman seems to be having more and more issues with each passing episode — at least on PC — which is a shame considering how much potential it had. Here’s hoping that with three episodes still remaining, Hitman finds its feet again and slays its way into our hearts.

It would have been more honest to call this release a “Preview” or “Early Access” while the developers listen to feedback on several controversial gameplay features, add new levels, fix bugs and deal with server outages. It is easy to get annoyed at all these problems because they spoil a good game.

We will have to wait and see if Hitman's episodic format will turn out to be a successful approach. Right now the experience seems somewhat abrupt. But what´s really important here is that the gameplay is a step in the right direction with a creativity, freedom and fair difficulty comparable to some of the series' greatest moments.

Hitman aims to be the ultimate Hitman game but fails to deliver a good experience to the user due to many technical issues and a business model that is difficult to fit in the industry.