Video Game Review: Agent 47 is Aging in ‘Hitman HD Trilogy’

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CHICAGO – Is there anything sadder than an aging assassin? In this case, no. Agent 47 has been upgraded to HD when he should have been upgraded in other ways. Unless you’re a total virgin to the series, you are likely to wonder what the heck you’re paying for. Even if you are a virgin you’ll probably walk away wondering why anyone would bother rendering these been-there-done-that titles in HD. The games have just plain aged that badly.

Video Game Rating: 2.0/5.0

The first game in the series isn’t included here but newcomers will get a good sense of how the series has progressed. Still, it was a major misstep to leave it out given the fact that the sense one gets from the marketing is that newcomers are getting to start from the beginning which just isn’t the case. I felt shortchanged. What was IO Interactive thinking? The three games included are “Hitman 2: Silent Assassin” (2002), “Hitman: Contracts” (2004), and “Hitman: Blood Money” (2006). The price point here is $49.99 and for that you get to cycle through 40 missions. This, the inclusion of the Sniper Challenge voucher originally offered as a pre-order bonus on “Hitman: Absolution,” and the slight visual upgrade, are the major plusses for fans.

Hitman HD Trilogy
Photo credit: Square-Enix

But even that visual upgrade is hampered by the fact that the games, especially “Silent Assassin,” just weren’t originally rendered for high detail. Faces benefit from the cleanup, and to a lesser extent so do environments. But, for instance, did “Blood Money” really need that? It’s only a few years old and benefits hardly at all. The stiff animation in the series stands out worse than ever and the textures betray the fact that IO Interactive knew exactly how little they were going to be able to accomplish in making the games look better. In fact, the only major addition here is trophies and achievements. While this is nice it’s not a game-changer — pun intended.

My last major complaint has to do with the clumsy controls. If IO Interactive wanted to improve the games, this is the very spot they should have concentrated their efforts on. I know, I know. “Blood Money” works fine. But the other two games will drive you pretty crazy, especially at key moments.

All of the above said, this series does progress nicely. Starting out as a stealthy stalk, evade and kill, “Silent Assassin” certainly didn’t live up to the challenge of similar games from its period but by the time the series got to Contracts and a little more action was introduced the developers had found their stride. The series did nothing but improve after that though it still ranks below similar games of its type for basic playability and thrills. Agent 47 is still looking for that ultimate mission that will earn him a place in the Game Assassin’s Hall of Fame.

By Dave Canfield
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com