7 / 10
24 May 2004 at 12:24
Review by: owtlawz
Death becomes Eidos. How so? The company has literally made a killing in recent years with its best-selling Hitman franchise. But now, in its third rendition, the series is beginning to show its age. While Contracts corrects many problems that plagued previous entries, it also introduces several new drawbacks. Bearing this in mind, it proves a suitable fix for bloodthirsty gamers, yet hardly the remorselessly addictive diversion many had been hoping for.
The game opens with the program's star, Agent 47, splayed out on a hotel room floor. Dizzy and disoriented, our resident anti-hero drifts in and out of consciousness while reminiscing about past exploits. Each flashback -- roughly a dozen are offered in total -- represents a standalone scenario that players must complete. Less a cohesive tale than pastiche of disparate missions, the adventure largely relies on a slapdash setup reminiscent of the disappointing Tomb Raider: Chronicles.
In the opening scene, the protagonist must escape from an asylum crawling with drooling mental patients and roving Romanian SWAT teams. A later episode is set within a rural English manor, complete with guard dogs and huntsmen who shadow your movements. Further into the plot, a strip club in Rotterdam hosts the proceedings. Stick with the game long enough, and you'll also visit global hotspots that include Hong Kong, Kowloon, and Siberia, each presenting its own unique challenges.
While an interesting collage as a whole, these vignettes ultimately suffer for their presentation. Because no single meaningful goal underscores the yarn, the collection of available assignments feels haphazardly strung together. Accomplish associated tasks, which range between assassination attempts, rescue missions, and dirty bomb disposal duties, and you simply transition to the next stage with little fanfare. As for the interstitial cutscenes, the less said, the better.
Ironically, this disassociation with the story makes sifting through the many adult-oriented situations much less disturbing. Rampart drug use, ritualistic mutilation, partygoers cavorting in a converted slaughterhouse... you name the vice, it's on casual display.
Despite conceptual issues, Contracts isn't half bad, being more accessible than anything the series has delivered to date. One-touch controls let you swap weapons, change out equipment, and pop off shots without breaking a sweat. Context-sensitive commands can be pulled up by simply holding down a button and cycling through selections. A dual stick control scheme (or standard mouse and keyboard combination on the PC) allows for responsive strafing, and ensures that simple operations like crouching, walking, running, or climbing stairs won't frustrate.
Enhanced mini-map functions also minimize opportunities for annoyance. Goals are clearly marked, as are important hotspots, notable characters, and enemy positions. Zoom functions and helpful hints also appear on occasion. These touches go a long away, especially since the title is much more open-ended than its predecessors.
Fans of the series will, for the first time ever, experience a Hitman outing that they'll be willing to tackle more than once. Stealth, brute force, subterfuge... strategic possibilities within every scenario are limited only by your imagination. To go in guns blazing, or lace the bad man's borscht with laxative and shoot him in the head while he's on the can -- that is the question. Whatever the particular tactic you dream up, the simulation can handle it.
Unfortunately, the key determinant for success is sheer persistence. Trial and error factor heavily into the game, and forced restarts are frequent. Memorizing enemy placement and movement patterns is a necessary evil as well. Artificial intelligence is spotty at times, too vigilant at others, periodically throwing the best laid plans awry to boot. The bottom line: patience is a prerequisite, and this isn't a game for the short-tempered.
From an audio-visual standpoint, backdrops are pleasantly gruesome, and the sounds of battle ring out with acceptable clarity. A mature recreation if ever there was one, the game quickly justifies its rating by offering controversial sights such as pooling blood, mangled torsos, and sexual situations with reckless abandon. Though the faint of heart are advised to stay away, the average onlooker will be more than satisfied with the overall presentation.
Morally bereft hobbyists and closet masochists alike should take it upon themselves to give Hitman: Contracts a peek. Though unnecessarily macabre, Eidos' newest release sports a delicious mean streak few cold-blooded couch potatoes could deny. A handful of glaring errors and nagging problems hamstring the title, preventing it from garnering overly high acclaim. Afforded the opportunity for a proper sequel though, we have no doubt that Agent 47 still has what it takes to go straight for the jugular.
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