Hitman HD Trilogy

As a whole this HD collection offers fantastic value. It’s a great way for the fans of the series to relive the games and if you’re a fan of the genre and never played these games, this collection is a must buy although it isn't a trilogy per se.

The Hitman HD Trilogy represents incredible value for money, and for the most part, it seems to have aged rather well. In terms of an HD remake though, IO and Square have seemingly done the bare minimum here to get it to market. A remastered soundtrack and some re-recorded lines would have been nice, but instead, the best you can expect is a lick of paint.

They're definitely showing their age, but beneath the elderly visuals and slightly crusty controls lay the roots of a creative and rewarding series of games that probably don't quite get the credit they deserve.

A plain remake of the classic games, bringing just higher display resolution, remaining the original gameplay intact with all its good and bad. This is a thing for fans, collectors and gaming historians that are not afraid to go through their nostalgic memories.

You can throw poison sausages at people and dress up as a clown. [May 2013, p.85]

Aside from the addition of Achievements and necessary interface tweaks, the games are essentially identical to their original versions — for better and for worse.

If you've only played Absolution, these games will come as a surprise. They're more sandboxy, less handholdy experiences. They lack polish, perhaps, but between them they chronicle the invention of a genre, before it was left behind.

Hitman: HD Trilogy is a good part of Stealth history in videogames. Blood Money is still great six years later, and Silent Assassin and Contracts have interesting gameplay elements. But, Where is Hitman: Agent 47?

We appreciate Square's willingness to keep the original spirit of the games unchanged, but they should have done more to make the last-gen games more pleasant to see on modern consoles. The result is too rough and probably advisable only to the stealth genre's super-fans.

For those who have fond memories of the early Hitman games, the HD trilogy accomplishes its goal. It is faithful to the originals (although in the case of Silent Assassin and Contracts, probably too faithful). However, for those who don’t have those nostalgic ties or are new to the series, Absolution is unquestionably a better choice, and those who enjoyed Absolution and are looking for more Hitman will want to think twice.

It's intriguing to see the evolution of Agent 47's murderous tactics across these seminal entries, but much as Silent Assassin was lauded upon release for its many kill options, it's a startlingly clunky experience nowadays.

Quotation forthcoming.