Hitman - Episode 5: Colorado

Colorado scores an unexpected win when it comes to a much overlooked element. [Dec 2016, p.80]

A challenging episode, but it never hits the level of Paris or Sapienze. It's fun for a while, but nothing all too memorable.

The fifth episode delivers a rather high difficulty spike, which was honestly needed in the episodic Hitman. It is an improvement over the previous episodes and deserves to be played by Hitman fans and stealth fans in general.

Not the most visually appealing episode, but Colorado has its own charms and sees the story come to the forefront, if a little too late to have the impact it desires.

In a way it’s a nice change-up to the established formula to date but the drab and gloomy farm isn’t an especially memorable environment. It is, however, the trickiest series of hits this season thanks to a big push for stealth, and probably the lengthiest episode so far.

Despite its low points, the tension that permeates Colorado works tremendously in its favor, leading to a more consistently enjoyable 'Hitman' episode than 'Bangkok', which remains a low point for the game. While there isn't nearly as much personality or humor as there perhaps should have been, there's still plenty of fun and excitement to be found within the militia camp. It's also the biggest leap forward for the story thus far, and builds toward what should be a tremendous climax when the game's final episode hits next month.

Hitman: Episode 5 strips everything right back in order to focus on stealth, stealth and more stealth, but this shift is exactly what the series needed. Another triumph.

A slight improvement on the disappointing Bangkok level, but the lack of traditional Hitman thrills don’t make this a mission to remember.

Colorado may not be as impressive or vibrant as Sapienza or Bangkok, but it brings its own new take to the game. With a newfound focus on stealth, sniping, and uniforms, this latest mission does well to bring back memories of the sneakier Hitman of old, but some frustrations and annoyances due to the difficulty are present.

Episode 5 sadly proves the episodic model does not fit the franchise, or at least this incarnation of it, and that we may have been better off with a more traditional release. If it succeeds in one thing, it’s to set up an explosive finale in the sixth episode.

When you strip away the silly executions and crowded, dense maps, Hitman is still a solid stealth experience.

Quotation forthcoming.

As a penultimate episode to the first season, Freedom Fighters makes an effective statement, even though there are flaws in its execution.

Hitman's purest stealth episode so far is a white-knuckle ride of espionage and action amidst the backdrop of enemy territory, as Agent 47 finally begins to uncover the threads of a season-long conspiracy.

The targets are harder to kill and the environment isn’t as pretty as previous missions, but Colorado offers excellent gameplay and tons of replayability.

In all seriousness, I feel a little duped with Hitman's Colorado DLC.