Customer Reviews

Hitman Contracts

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Hitman: Contracts is another solid addition to the very entertaining Hitman series. It maintains the tension, open-endedness, great graphics, and convincing atmosphere of Hitman 2 and adds a few improvements. Overall, Contracts is not as good as Hitman 2, which is one of my favorite games of all time. Contracts offers only 12 missions, has inferior music, has some minor technical issues, and a few other problems. The game is not completely open-ended, since you do have set objectives and cannot progress to the next mission without completing them. However, you do have some options regarding how you approach a mission. It's really a game that's worth playing at least twice just to take advantage of the alternative ways of completing the various missions. For anyone who is a fan of the Hitman series or likes stealth games, I recommend Contracts (but try to get it at a discounted price). However, it is best to play it after playing Hitman 2, which is the real star in this fine game series.

Gameplay: Much the same as Hitman 2. The controls (mouse and keyboard) are easy to learn, and you can play the game from 1st- or 3rd-person perspectives. The game encourages stealth and conflict avoidance and rewards you for clean kills and limiting "collateral damage." However, you can approach a mission any way you'd like: you can go in with guns blazing, use a mix of stealth and aggressive tactics, or go for the coveted rating of "silent assassin." The sneak ability is improved over Hitman 2, allowing you to move faster while in stealth mode. Also, some of the levels are rather large, and you'll have to replay them in order to just get a feel for them and to determine possible strategies. Contracts is darker than the previous games, both in regard to weather (it's always raining or snowing) and the subject matter. Curiously, some of the earlier missions are harder than later ones. I found that the SWAT missions were the most intense, and the Hong Kong missions were the easiest to achieve the "silent assassin" rating on. On expert (medium) difficulty, the game lasted about 27 hours for me, as compared to Hitman 2 which lasted over 40. You could probably finish it in less than half that time if you didn't care about your rating and went in shooting everything (which does not always work).

The game does have its flaws. My biggest problem was the fact that you couldn't bring weapons that you found in one mission (or earned through getting the "silent assassin" rating) into new missions. This was a BIG oversight on the part of the developers, and one of the reasons that Contracts is clearly inferior to Hitman 2. On the bright side, your weapons are nicely displayed in a greatly expanded training area, and you can choose to use whichever ones you'd like if you replay completed missions. Also, you can conceal a sniper rifle in a carrying case in some of the missions. Still, one of the most impressive things about Hitman 2 was the freedom to choose your instruments of death and not have to just accept the ones that the game gives you. Another problem is the AI of characters. On a few occasions, my cover was blown for no apparent reason. At other times, I could sneak by guards who appeared to be looking right at me. Overall, Contracts just didn't seem as polished a product as Hitman 2. In places, the game ran slower on my machine, even though it more than surpassed most of the recommended specs. (I think this was mostly due to some of the lighting and weather [snow] effects.) Also, the game crashed to desktop 5 times during my 27 hours of gameplay, for no apparent reason.

Graphics: The game looks quite good. All of the scenary was convincing and immersive, and the weapons looked and behaved as you would expect. Agent 47 walks as cool as ever, and his sneaking looks better too. However, I hope that Hitman 4 does a better job with the way he runs, which still looks...uncool. Cut-scenes are all nicely done and tie the various missions together. Character models are well illustrated, and weather effects create a gloomy mood. Lighting effects are great, but will slow down game performance in a few places.

Sound: Convincing for the most part. Voice acting is good and has the appropriate accents. Ambient sounds are done well, as are the sounds of weapons. The largely techno soundtrack by Jesper Kyd is not nearly as good as his excellent orchestral work for Hitman 2, but it will do. Overall, there are no notable sound issues in this game.

Hitman Contracts is not a prefect game by a long shot but it did offer a few improvements to the franchise.

Improvements:

Graphics were improved to some degree, mirrors reflected (they did not in Hitman Silent Assassin) and basically a face lift

Some sound effects has improved (Rain)

The Music was definitely better than the previous two, it was dark and some times exhilarating

The storyline has improved also, it moved away from the science fiction of the first, and the heroic stance of the second. It was more dark and intriguing. The ending did not answer all the questions as if paving the way for a fourth installment.

The mood is also more enjoyable, the dark and sadistic atmosphere was at least more enjoyable to me (a women with all her limbs cut off hanging upside down, the ability to poison some annoying horses!)

There were really no filler levels like the previous installments

There are more locations than any of the other installments (Romania, Russia, England, Netherlands, Hungary, China, and France).

The map was improved (now it showed dead people).

More weapons and reintroduction of some that were dropped by Hitman Silent Assassin (Mini Gun, and sniper rifles in suit cases)

The training was better than the previous, it is now completely optional. You can come back to it to try out different weapons you acquired on missions and you can even try your skills and weapons on real people!

The people are not as strict and let you run around more instead of having to annoyingly walk everywhere.

There were things that have not improved:

The annoying interface (I want my saved games separate from my auto saves).

The AI is still quirky at best.

Normally police ask you to freeze before blowing the daylights out of you.

AI still does not recognize pools of blood or inconsistent races (case in point a Hong Kong triad boss will usually not be a white, blue-eyed westerner.

It is still too easy to blast your way through (come on, give us some incentive to use stealth).

There were steps back also:

Certain sound effects are dampened or missing (fiber wire), I do have their recommended sound card (an Audigy 2 ZS).

Certain sound effects are buggy if you do not update your drivers.

Some missions are exact copies (about 5) and some are rather similar (about 3) out of 12 missions this makes most of the world familiar and in some cases extremely easy to accomplish your missions because you already know what to do from Hitman Codename 47.

Only 12 missions, the only reason Hitman Codename 47 got away with it is because it is super hard and it did not repeat it self.

Verdict

Fun but the flaws cannot be overlooked for it to get a perfect score. 8/10 or 4/5 stars.

I have played Hitman 1 & 2 and have just finished Contracts and I can honestly say this is the best one so far. Eidos took everything that was extremely well done in 1 & 2 and combined them into this installment. I especially enjoyed the new missions this one had to offer as well. I found them to be very well done and more realistic as opposed to some of the suicide jobs in Silent Assassin. Although I was a bit surprised to see several of the missions taken from Hitman 1 but redone and put into contracts. However I didn't find this to be a negative because I personally thought they improved upon them greatly. Another positive of this installment is the tremendous amount of freedom you are given to assassinate your target. You are allowed to use items found in the environment, such as a pillow to smother your victim in his sleep, or the old fashioned technique of a silenced berretta to the head. Speaking of killing I greatly enjoyed many of the improvements they made on the subject. For instance now knives and edged weapons are more powerful then in Silent Assassin, your sniper rifle can be carried in a briefcase again like in Hitman 1, and when in sneak mode you are able to move a lot faster, which helps tremendously. Eidos also made many new improvements and additions to your weapon inventory as well. Such as the new mini Uzi's, a 357. Magnum, and if you are really bored a meat hook. The graphics in Contracts are the best I have seen in the series. The textures and characters look very smooth and realistic, as a game could make them. The sound is incredible once again, from the sound effects and voices, to the boom and patter of lighting and rain. And as always with this series, the musical score is once again fantastic.
I found this game very enjoyable and a worthy sequel. I would greatly recommend this game for anyone who is a fan of the Hitman series and for those who are just discovering it. I would also highly recommend this game for people who have only played Silent Assassin so that they can experience the redone missions without already knowing how to complete the job.
: Parents Beware: This game is rated Mature for a very, very good reason! There is a very high level of sexual content, and the violence is to a great extreme. This is by far the most Mature and sexually and violently outlandish of the three. For instance: in the first actual assignment you are at a bondage/fetish party complete with lap dancing hookers and an opium bar where people are getting as high as a kite. So I say again if you aren't sure whether to buy this for your kids research it thoroughly, you won't be sorry.

I won't waste your time with talk about graphics, etc. Because we know they are awesome. I am a huge fan of the cold and methodical character known as Agent 47. But on this outing the writers went with the old 'each mission is a piece of his memory' leading up to the present. This is a notch above using time travel as an easy wrap-up to the story --but it's still a tired plot device.

Someone reviewed this game and mentioned how great it was to see 47 look at himself through a glass darkly (e.g., his own memories). But really, he was far more introspective in the second Hitman game "Hitman: Silent Assassin" and in that game he shows his humanity to a greater degree.

Hitman: Contracts is 'okay' but not great --definitely not what I was hoping for after Hitman: Silent Assassin. My rating is 4.5 stars in everything EXCEPT for the story writing (which so important to immersive enjoyment) that the game overall gets a 3-star rating.

I happen to believe that the hitman series is one of the most phenominal series in existance. That said, this game was overall a dissapointment. I have played the first two games and here is what it comes down to:

When we were first introduced to "Tobias Reaper" aka 47 in the first hitman game the idea was ahead of its time in the sense that while almost every aspect of the game was great the only problem was that the graphics were mediocre at best. Even for its time. The storyline and the gamelplay were phenominal though which set up for the next two games in the series. Overall a great game with limitless potential.

In Hitman 2 the graphics had caught up with the game and it was excellent. Good storyline, improved controls and weapons. Only probelm was with this game there were too few civilian settings making the realism drop a few notches. However the game had the best replayability of the series. You can play each level a million times and not get tired of it.

Finally in this installment there were two major problems. The first was that more that half the levels from this game were taken and redone from the original hitman game. The other HUGE problem is that it is very difficult to solve any given mission in more than one way making it a game that once you beat it (which is fairly easy to do quickly) you dont really have fun replaying the levels.

It is a fun game, it just doesn't live up to the first two. If you dont already own it, buy hitman 2 instead of this game. It will keep you occupied for much longer with 8 more missions and more ways to solve each one.

Overall this game was dissappointing, but it is not a bad game, it just cant compare with its predacessors.

Many people think that hitman 3 is excly as the first 1.
Well ure wrong !
The missions are the same as the first 1, but the suroundings are a little bit diffrent, and there is more weapons.
Simple things like a pillow can become a dangerous weapon.
You can drown people in a pool.
One more thing, to understand exctly what the hell is going on in the game, make shure you passed the 1'st game, or at least know what happened there.
You dont have to, but the game will be more clear if you do.

The game is a little bit hard and you kind of got to think what youre doing, but I passed it.
If you have a qustion what happened after the last level in hitman 1, well you will find out in hitman 3.
What i realy like in hitman 3, is that if you walk beside a guy he wont think ure bad.
In hitman 2 you just walk beside them, and ther alerted.
That realy pissed me off.
In hitman 3 when you look in the keyhole you can look around.
In hitman 2 you saw him turning the knob, but not here.
Graphics are great.
If you dont belive about what I just said, just get a demo and ull see what im talking about.
Anyways I suggest you get this game, you wont regret it.

Also, hitman 4 is coming out in spring 2005.
Dont belive me?
Then go to www.gamespot.com, and see for youre self.

I like the Hitman series of games. Actually, I LOVE the Hitman series. This installment, however, is an enormous letdown after playing Hitman 2. First, the game is short, only 12 missions. Beginning to end on professional mode took approx. 6 hours. There is, in my opinion, little replay value as well; most of the missions just aren't enjoyable the 4th time through after you exhaust all new routes of completion. (A few weren't enjoyable the first time.) Seven of the 12 missions VERY closely resemble missions from the first game.

For all of its shortcomings, Hitman:Contracts is a decent game. It is extremely visually appealing, and makes a number of technical improvements on Hitman 2, mainly improvements to AI. One thing I do like is that there are many more tactical actions available, i.e. Jumping between hotel rooms via the balconies.

Recommendation: Wait for it to go Greatest Hits, it really isn't worth $50. If you can't wait: rent, don't buy. A 5-day rental from Blockbuster will allow you to enjoy (and beat) this game to its fullest without spending $50.

BTW-In response to he gamer's mentioning of a possible Hitman movie, I'd like to cast my vote for Christian Bale as Agent 47. He's very adept at playing emotionless killers (American Psycho, Equilibrium) and also has the right facial contours.

This game was more of a sequel to the first hitman, which I wasn't much of a fan, and completely ignores Hitman 2. If you are a fan of the first, you will probably like the third. But for those like me that logged 2000+ hours playing hitman 2, this game is somewhat of a disappointment.

The negatives
If you are using an intel graphics chipset, they lack "Hardware Transform and Lighting" which prevents you from seeing the walls and floors. I ended up having to go back to my old radeon 7200 card.

Only 12 missions, which are not long at all, or complex. Most objectives are in the same area. If you go stealth you can simply walkthrough the levels, except when in professional. Even if a guard does become alert, he is isolated. You can have a shoot out on one part of the map, and move to another area like nothing happened.

The cleaner graphics makes it more cartoonish, everyone is larger than the previous 2, and the blood animation is something that you will laugh at. I am done buying sequels when a selling point is an updated engine.

Positives

Other than the intel bug, the game so far seems bug free, except for a few occasions when someone disappears into objects.

There is a cutscene between every level that is in real time, while the missions are flashbacks. Gives the game a more cinematic feel.

Even though infammo isn't listed as one of the cheats, it still works.

The environment as a whole is more complex, but is more linear than the 2nd, about the same when compared to the first.

I never played HM1 right through but HM2 was a "hit" for me. I am currently playing the 3rd installment and have found it to be satisfactory to the series. It would have been nice to see some connection to the last storyline in Silent Assassin (I wonder who writes these things?) Who can deny that playing 47 isn't a blast?! (However, my pet cat could have done better in writing the storyline!) No offence Eidos, but you'd think with the time and energy put into making one of these games that there could have been a little more creativity in the writing. Voice-acting is supurb and graphics are pretty good. There are some bugs with models walking through closed doors and AI being somewhat inconsistent, but overall a bearable gaming experience. Personally I wouldn't have paid so much for the game knowing what I know now. I may have waited for the price to come down in a year (Kinda like "waiting for the video") because it doesn't stand out to me as "explosive" in nature. I will reiterate though, I am satisfied with this game overall and would hope that Eidos put more effort into the next installment of Hitman. (Because 47 deserves better, don't you think??)

There are really only two major improvements over Hitman 2 in this game. You can sneak much faster in this game. Being very slow in sneak mode in the previous two games was a frustration. The weapons are also much better. There are more of them and they are more realistic. This game is by far the most realistic of the three games. There are so many things that are worse than Hitman 2. I have so many complaints, especially after so much anticipation for this game.
The game is a series of flashbacks. Almost every mission is a slight vaiation of a mission in Hitman 1. If you started playing the hitman series from the beginning, you know what to do in most of the missions. The misssion in Budapest for example is EXACTLY the same, except a few differences in the map. But that doesnt make sense that the hotel changed!!! Also, THERE ARE ONLY 12 MISSIONS!!!! That is the worst part about the game. Only 5 of the 12 missions had no influence from Hitman 1. Also, the missions get sort of repetetive. The Missons are set in Romania, Siberia, England, Rotterdam Harbor, Budapest, and Hong Kong. The inventory is also no longer scrollable with the mouse wheel like in the previous 2 games so you have to pause to access your inventory, which is a major pain. There is so much more that I could go on about. Bottom line, if you are a Hitman fanatic you should get this game but if you are new to the hitman series, Hitman 2 is BY FAR the best game in the series and I think that 95% of people would agree with that. I'm hoping that a Hitman 4 is in the works to make up for this game. I'm talking 40 missions all in new and interesting places with more interesting ways to pull off the hits. I hear they are talking about making a Hitman movie. Hmmm who should play 47?