For anyone that saw the reveal at this year’s E3 you’ll probably be pretty fired up about the prospect of the new Hitman game, which will be released later in 2015. However, you may have also picked up on some of the complexity around the release, which is planned to be in bitesize chunks throughout 2016 following the initial launch in December 2015, so you’ve probably got a few question still about what to expect.
We’ve put together our preview of the game to help to explain the situation to make it as clear as possible to understand the release details. You can also check out the latest video content at the bottom of the page, along with our thoughts on the plot, gameplay and graphics for the upcoming game.
Release date
While Hitman (2015) has been confirmed for an initial US and UK release date of the 8th December 2015 on PS4, Xbox ONE and PC, that’s far from the end of the story as it is only a portion of the game’s main campaign, locations, missions and online play that will be available from day one. The rest of the game will subsequently be released in downloadable batches throughout 2016, providing new missions and locations along the way.
It will be download only to begin with, but it will go on to be released as a physical disc later in 2016. The packet-based increments seem to imply that this will still include as element of digital download as more missions and locations are released. Developer, IO Interactive, has confirmed that the game is not an early access release, so you should expect a polished and impressive finished article from the initial outing and every release after that.
The good news is that it will all be bundled up with just one cost for all of the content, so there will be no paid DLC or micro payment a to worry about. In the US the cost will be $60, but in the UK there are a few price points being bandied around with PC pre-order at £39.99 and PlayStation 4 at £44.99, but we’ll be surprised if they don’t equalise a little closer to the £40 mark sooner or later.
Story
Hitman (2015) doesn’t follow on from the chronology of the previous games in the series, but then IO Interactive have been very specific in saying that it doesn’t necessarily reboot it as such either. Nor does it take it’s cue from the Hitman: Agent 47 movie that’s doing the rounds at the cinema at the moment. Instead, the intent is to present what the developers are calling a “pure” Hitman experience with you playing Agent 47 in full command of his perfect assassin powers. As an International Contract Agency operative you’re tasked with picking off whoever gets put on his hit list, which is supplied to him by his handler, Diana Burnwood, and the story will develop from this stand point as new content is released in 2016.
Gameplay
While the story doesn’t follow on from the previous games in the Hitman series, the gameplay does somewhat. Described very well as a creative stealth action game, it’s a pretty unique proposition in itself with very few, if any, comparable games out there. Essentially, the new addition takes this concept to the nth degree, providing you with large interactive locations that act as micro open world sandboxes in which you can write your own symphony of assassination.
You’ll essentially be given the details for your mark and get sent off to wreak havoc however you see fit, choosing how, where and when to complete the job. This gives you the freedom to use your creativity to deliver the kind of ice cold kill that would go down well at a KGB after dinner party talk. If you’ve had a tough day at the office, this could mean a route one, headlong march of ferocious force, but if you want to tap into your mastermind strategies you can set up an elaborate plan of sublime hitman marksmanship.
There will be a lot of different weapon options available to you within each of the missions and you can see a few of them in action in the gameplay trailer below. These will range from brutal implements of destruction like a fireman’s axe to a silenced pistol, deadly poison, Samurai sword or Agent 47’s trusty sniper rifle.
Though you will be able to decide how you make your kill, you’ll also be able to play through missions a number of times to try your hand at different styles of pulling off the hit. The game will then reward you for complete mastery of a level once you’ve completed it with all of the optional kill styles, which range from Sniper Rifle and Deadly Poison to Guard Disguise and Remote Explosion. As you skill up, more of these will become available, adding even more variety and options to the game.
Like Watch_Dogs every non-player character will have a name, which you’ll be able to use to your advantage as you try to work out how you’re going to get the job done. Equally, every room you enter will be different, with consequences involved in the choice over which ones to snipe from, hide in or barge through.
Enemy guards vary in their difficulty too, so a disguise might fool the majority of them, but every now and again you’ll come up against one that’s smarter than the average bear. Your cover will be blown and you’ll have to improvise to be able to get through the sticky situation to continue your mission and complete the target kill.
It looks like there are going to be a lot of locations to get a feel for with more of these being released throughout 2016. These will be scattered all over the world and include seafront hideaways, underground bunkers, European cities and red carpet catwalk events.
Contracts mode will return to Hitman (2015), but details are limited at the moment about how this will be delivered and how it’s been developed since the last game in the series. It will undoubtedly be the main focus of the online gameplay, with you competing against other people to earn money to upgrade and buy new weapons. If Absolution is anything to go by you should be able to create your own targets for other people to try their hand at too and designate anyone within a location as the target, but we’ll update when IO confirm the details.
Live events will also make up a big part of the online gaming side of things. Some of the targets that are created for these will be one-off, limited time live events, which could give every player in the world just 48hrs or so to get the mark and then when the time is up you’ll never see the target again. It all sounds very exciting, but it also sounds like there’s a little scope for disappointment as limited time live events may not fit into everyone’s busy lives very easily.
Graphics
From the look of the launch trailer we’re expecting great things from the graphics in Hitman (2015) with some stunning sandbox locations, impressive detail and great lighting effects. However, it’ll be interesting to see just how big the locations are, as IO has specified that they’ll be bigger and more in-depth than ever before, so if they’re all as well rendered as the trailer below it should be a very good looking game.
One of the most impressive elements of the visuals is facial rendering and animation, which is usually one of our bug bears. However, IO has done an incredible job of getting this right for the most part, especially with Agent 47, who looks pretty cool as he skulks, stalks and marauds through the game.
It’s not quite perfect – hairlines look a bit wiggy in parts and some body movement and shape is a little off (check out the shoulders on the model part way through the gameplay video). If we were being picky, we’d also have to call out the blurring of backgrounds to reduce the need for long draw distances, which is a good device to create depth and focal perspective, but feels a bit over used at times. That said, it’s still got a lot of visual impact and some sublime graphical details.
First impressions
With such a unique and slightly convoluted release date plan for Hitman (2015) there’s definitely a bit of risk for IO Interactive and publisher Square Enix. However, we think it’s going to be a risk that’ll pay off in a game that should keep on giving right the way through 2016.
It looks good and the added size, depth and detail in the sandbox locations should make for an epic gaming experience, but it will all ride on the quality of the online live events and contracts. If these are completely absorbing and engage gamers in and among the storyline drops then it could keep fans very happy throughout the year.
 preview from the computer games section of Tuppence Magazine with the latest on story, gameplay and graphics for the Xbox ONE, PS4 and PC game.){kind=link}