Customer Reviews

Hitman Contracts

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Thank you, IO Interactive! You've kept everything that worked in "Hitman 2" and improved what didn't.

1) BIGGER MISSIONS. While there are only 12 missions in "Contracts", compared to the 20 in the previous game, we are rewarded with huge-and I mean HUGE!-levels. Sure, "Hitman 2" may contain more missions, but some of them are extremely thin, like "Murder At The Bazaar" and "The Graveyard Shift". Even if you take your time and use stealth, those jobs barely last five minutes. Not so with "Contracts". Each mission is a labyrinth, filled with wrong turns, dead ends, heavily armed bad guys and trigger-happy cops. Finding your way in and out undetected won't be easy.

2) NEW WEAPONS. All of your favorites are back (Silverballers, automatic shotguns, sniper rifles) plus some new toys. Stun-guns, syringes, meat hooks gold-plated Desert Eagles, Micro-Uzis, SILECENCED Micro-Uzis (oh baby!), plus, brace yourselves, a mini-gun. That's right-a mini-gun! If you don't know what a mini-gun is, it's an electric powered version of the Gatlin Gun, made famous in several Arnold Schwarzenegger movies. It holds four thousand rounds and fires fifty shots a second! Perfect for getting into those hard to reach areas.

3) IMPROVED VOICE-ACTING AND DIALOGUE. With the exception of
47's voice, most of the acting in "Hitman 2" made me wince. Remember the drunk Agent Smith? Awful. It was all you could do not to shoot him. But the acting in "Contracts" is much, much better. And the actors are given more intelligent things to say.

4) BETTER DEATH EFFECTS. When you killed somebody in "Hitman 2", their bodies just dropped, which was appropriate when you shot them in the head or the heart, but not when you shot them in the leg. In "Contracts", you can actually wound people without killing them. They'll squirm and moan while you go on about your business. And when you do kill someone, a pool of blood spreads beneath their bodies. Nice.

4) A DARKER, GRITTIER STORY. One of the problems that I had with "Hitman 2" was that 47 didn't seem to have any personal interest in his assignments. It was just do the job and go home, and that's fine. He's a hitman-that's what he's paid to do. But he's not a robot, much as his creator hoped he would be. In my opinion, the best missions in "Hitman 2" were the
first ("Anathema") and the last ("Redemption At Gontranno"), because both revolved around the three basic traits of all great stories: Rescue, Revenge and Survival. All except Love, and you could argue that that was present, too. ("You have been a friend to me," said 47 to Father Vittorio, deeply moving words from a man who was taught to kill without emotion.) "Contracts" picks up on this theme, offering us a more internal view of 47 than we've had before. We find him near death, floating in and out of consciousness while a doctor digs a bullet out of his gut. It's in this state that 47 flashes back to the jobs that haunt him the most, and you'll notice that all of these jobs have a nightmare quality to them, especially "The Meat King's Party", which I won't go into here, but YUCK! It all ends with a bang, though, not a whimper, as 47 wakes in the present to find himself surrounded by half-a-dozen SWAT teams. Sounds like a job for the mini-gun.

Before I go, I want to warn the squeamish that "Hitman Contracts" is rated M for Mature and it wears that M proudly. This is absolutely not a game for kids or impressionable adults. There is strong sexual content-no nudity or porn or bad language, but still highly suggestive behavior, stuff that you don't want to explain to a wide-eyed eight year old. Plus, some of the gorier aspects of the game may be too much for some to handle. But if you loved "Hitman 2", like I did, then you won't have any complaints with "Contracts".

I really liked Hitman 2 (PS2), so i decided to check out "Contracts". They definitely made a lot of improvements in the gameplay. There's more freedom and more attack options. Also the realism and detail is noticably better. My only complaint is that some of the levels are pretty lame. Infact, 2 of them are nearly identicle. However, there are still a few really awesome levels. "The Meat King's Party" is a good example of a decent one....you pretty much ambush this drug party with all these people strung out on Opium...pretty cool. So if you're into shooters and esspecially if you liked Hitman 2, check out "Contracts".

Hitman:Contracts is wayyy underated-why,its actually the BEST Hitman game yet.
Its a lot more violent than the previous titles-which is how an "Assaination" game is meant to be,Just look at Manhunt for example that game is quite cool-yet its bloodie and violent as its a game about "Killing".
These games are rated M for reasons-GTA is rated M,Metal Gear Solid is rated M and so on.
The games quite cheap too,so if you are looking for a fun thrilling,stealthy killing game than try the Hitman games-Hitman:Contracts being the best!
Hitman comes 2nd in my faverite stealth series after Metal Gear Solid.
bye.

I loved Hitman 2 but I was a bit dissapointed in Hitman Contracts for all the same reasons most of the people here said.... same missions repeated, no new improvments. The music and story line were way better in Hitman 2. Other then that the graphics are a little more tweeked and the AI is a little better this time around, it's just a rehash of the previous Hitman games and deffinetly not as fun to play as the others were. I'd like to see EIDOS take a risk and do something different with the next Hitman.

As a huge fan of Hitman 2: Silent Assasins, I was very eager to play Hitman Contracts. After beating the game in about 3 days, I am hugely disappointed. There are about half as many levels as the previous game, and all of them seem like they are on the same location. In Hitman 2 there were many different environments and locations, with many different types of enemies. In Contracts all of the levels feel the same, and all of the enemies are practically clones. When I did beat the final level, the game just ended. I had no idea it was the last level, partly because it was so easy, and it seemed as though I had only played a few missions to get there. Hitman Contracts is a real miss in my opinion, and it is a disgrace compared to Hitman SA. The only improvement they did make is the Training option. One can go back and choose from their "earned" weapons stash and fight fake enemies or practice on the shooting range. If you feel as though you have to play this game, RENT IT first.

First off, let me warn you that I haven't really composed my thoughts so this review may seem a bit all-over-the-place.

I just felt I should say something after seeing all these misleading 5-star reviews. Those people aren't the real, hardcore Hitman fans. They're just into the running-and-gunning. I'm probably about halfway through the game right now and am really disappointed. I didn't realize this was literally a remake of Codename 47. It took me a few missions to figure it out.
Anyway, if you thought Silent Assassin and Blood Money were two of the most brilliant games ever, then you understand what Hitman is about and should be able to relate.

This doesn't have the great, movie-like storyline that Silent Assassin had. You just randomly appear at missions not knowing why you're there. You feel really disconnected too. In Silent Assassin, it really draws you in and you become part of it. You care about what you're doing, how you do it and the rating you get. After missions, you'd be back at your church sanctuary where you got a sense of being back home and like you could relax for a minute. There was a story to follow.
In Contracts, none of that is here. There is no story at all so far. I imagine that by the time I finish the game, it will finally reveal itself to me, but I wanted to go on a great journey with this game like I did with the prequel and the sequel.

Stealth is often impossible here and much of the time, running-and-gunning is the best thing to do. You'll try for the Silent Assassin rating, but by the time you finish your mission, you don't really care if you didn't get it. You're just so relieved that it's over and you can move on.

The weapons are ridiculous, bogus, futuristic-looking toys that sound as weak as they are. In Silent Assassin, when you blast someone with your double ballers, it's like hitting them with a train. It felt good to wield that power. In Contracts, you have to shoot them at least twice with these weak pistols to take them down, unless of course it's a headshot.
It's pretty much like this with all of the guns. In SA, when you pull the trigger, it felt good and substantial like you were doing it yourself. In Contracts, it's distant and arcade-like or something. It's like shooting firecrackers at people.

The levels are big and confusing. I just finished the mission "Traditions of the Trade" and if I didn't remember it so perfectly from Codename 47, (the first Hitman game that was only released on PC if you don't know what I'm talking about.) I probably would have been stuck there forever instead of just a couple hours.

The walk/run/sneak aspect of this game doesn't appeal to me. In SA, you walk by default, then hold L2 to run or L1 to sneak. In Contracts, L2 sneaks and whether you walk or run is dependant on how far you move the joystick. Unfortunately, mine are overly-sensitive so I just run the whole time. Fortunately, my enemies don't seem to care either way.

Unlike in other titles in this series, you don't get to choose your weapons for the mission. You start every one with the double ballers, a silenced single baller and sometimes a sniper rifle. I think that when you finish a mission with a new weapon, it just becomes available in the training section of the game. How lame is that?

From the main menu, you can select "Training". It's lousy and ridiculous and after trying it out for the first time, it's likely you'll never want to do it again. Enough said.

Despite all of these flaws (and I'm sure there are some that I've forgotten to mention), this is an OKAY game. If you are the true Hitman fan that I am, this isn't for you. Silent Assassin was brilliant. After Contracts, it seems that the developers realized they needed to get Back to that brilliance and the result was Blood Money.

If you loved Codename 47 for PC, then you might love this. I think they may be equally weak, but in Codename 47, there was more of a story to follow. Despite the fact that it was frustratingly difficult, (just as Contracts is) some of the missions were more fun and to me it felt more like it was part of the series.
Contracts isn't terrible, but it's nothing to be throwing 5 stars at. Not even close.

If you read the Game Informer review, listed under the "Product Description", it sums this up nicely and accurately.
I can't wait to finish this game and play Blood Money again! :)

~Ted

Sure, you can blast your way through any Hitman game, becoming a mass murderer and beating the whole thing in just a few days, but the most fun is to achieve the "silent assassin" status in each mission. It is very challenging! I found the storyline somewhat confusing, but who cares? The missions are very fun, and sometimes it's really, really hard not to blow your cover. There are some repeated mission from the previous Hitman, but I didn't care because they played out differently and I didn't own the previous version, anyway. No money was wasted. I recommend buying the Prima strategy guide for this game and saving during missions quite often. If you're a fan of strategy as opposed to massive bloodshed, you'll enjoy this game!

Though not a completely new game, takes some missions from hitman 1 and makes them 10 times as good. The weapons all fire and sound like they should in this game. If you like the first mission in this where you have to sneak out of a window, climb down the ladder from the balcony, and steal a car, and oh yeah, you are gonna have to go back and get the car key if you didn't already, if you liked that, then every mission is better than this one. You have to go to meetings as a triad gang member and talk to a cop in a coffe house, you go to a stripper bar, and in the same mission you are on a boat dodging bullets fom good and bad guys, you go to an s and m club(which is also an opium bar, so have fun as an opium waiter), there is a sweet mission in a biker bar.

The greatest thing about this game is that you getta do what you wanna do when you want to do it. You can go into a mission and start running strait ahead trying to shoot everydody as you run by them and just hurry through the missions, or you can be as silent as possible and not have one person even see you with completing a mission. You can go in and kill 100 people or 0. It is your choice. There are literally anywhere from 5-15 different ways to complete each mission.

Also the music is a definite high point. The most original soundtrack I have ever heard on a game.

So for all you people looking for what I think is the 2nd BEST GAME OF ALL-TIME(PS2 WISE), buy this.

And if any of ya go in that hotel and kill like all 100 people, that will be reported to the police and you will be arrested for destructive behavior that could lead to real life crimes. You have been warned.

I was a huge fan of Hitman 2 and spent many days very well entertained by it. Thus, once Contracts came out I rented it on opening day and very soon realized I should have bought it if I had the money. Aside from the noticeable improvements such as the first person view and the new sneaking controls(thank god) there is one aspect of Contracts that is simply amazing: atmosphere. The whole game has been toned down for a much darker mood which certainly seems more fitting to 47's occupation. In H2SA you had all sorts of levels take place outdoors and the lighting was just too bright. Killing Soviet guards in a snowy St.Petersburg seemed like a jovial passtime. By contrast the "siberian" level in this game is vast and filled with blinding snow and howling winds. You can almost feel the unbearable coldness of this place. Well thought out, EIDOS.

Although the levels are highly detailed there's really too few of them. This is probably why Silent Assassin seems easier to attain than in Hitman 2. Nevertheless, after having beaten the whole game on SA I liked going back and discovering other ways to accomplish the mission (which didn't involve bullet-carpeting the enemies).
Overall, a great game that improves on Hitman 2's shortcomings. Well worth the late return fee =)

This game beats the other Hitman games in every category. It sounds better the graphics are just plain out awesome even for todays standards. Even the gameplay itself improved. This game is not for people who get frusturated easily. Trust me. This game gets very hard and confuseing. You'll end up finding yourself getting killed a lot and you just plain out don't know where to go or what to do. The levels have incredible detail and are very well made. You can interact with more objects now, and you get a nice variety of weapons that weren't displayed before in the sereis. So overall the game still remainds extremely hard but if you have the time and patience get it. Because you'll get hooked in the story line and lost in the backround. If you liked the other hitman games then you'll love this way more.