Hitman: Absolution

[sambo]

Hitman Absolution footage leaked.

Appparently it's been cribbed from Danish TV. It's a slightly peculiar mashup of the E3 demo footage, which doesn't do a brilliant job of showing what's going on, but you can see that Codename 47 is still doing what he does best.

[GamerMan316]

Hitman has difficulty just for hardcore

Hitman: Absolution features a difficulty level designed specifically for veteran fans of the series, and will reward those who play the game as if they were playing past entries in the franchise.

This difficulty level - and associated achievements/trophies - require the gamer play in true stealth assassin style, Danish developer IO Interactive has revealed.

Lead producer Hakan Abrak said to get the stealth assassin-related achievements you'll need to do a number of things: "We will get into more details at a later point, but obviously it's linked to the playing style," he explained.

"It's more pacify your enemies, be undetected, maybe solve the challenges in a smarter way. That will probably give you a stealth assassin achievement."

The live Hitman: Absolution gameplay demo shown to press sees Agent 47 sneaking about a library, stealthily killing cops and assuming a disguise before escaping into a packed city street.

Absolution has come in for some stick from fans of the popular series for apparently ditching the hardcore stealth gameplay of previous games - in past Hitman games players would often try to kill only the "mark" assigned to Agent 47.

But, according to Abrak, the Absolution demo was choreographed to show off Absolution's new features - and should not be taken to indicate a drastic shift in direction.

"We have a lot of difficulty levels in the game as well," he said. "Rest assured, the hardcore fans that like to have replayablity value in the game or want to have this stealth assassin - you know, I'm the ultimate stealth assassin - that playing style, those achievements, are very much in the game.

"There's a huge replayability value in it and we have some features in the game I cannot speak about that will enhance this and make this easier, and heighten the replayability value for the hardcore players as well."

Does the hardcore difficulty level have a special name?

"Yeah, it has a very special name," Abrak teased. "And I'm pretty sure it's going to please the hardcore fans. I can't say what it is."

[Failed]

Glad they aren't pandering too much to the 'new' casual crowd.

[GamerMan316]

[GamerMan316]

[nCogNeato]

Smexy

[GamerMan316]

[GamerMan316]

Why Hitman Absolution may not be the Hitman game you want. Or a Hitman game at all

[GamerMan316]

[zerosum]

What was that word, Neato... smexy??

Again, I've not been particularly attracted to this series, but what's being presented so far is making this game look more and more interesting.

[ASYLUM NINJA]

Sweet

[BackupLight]

I haven't played a hitman game since... like.. 10 years ago? I vaguely remember sneaking into some manor dressed up as a waiter or something? Probably should play some of the new ones

[ASYLUM NINJA]

lol essentially thats all of them 

[nCogNeato]

[GamerMan316]

Hitman: Absolution Professional Edition Boasts Extra Firepower

Hands up who likes having their games packaged in a clamshell box. Don't know what one is? Neither did we until we saw the Hitman: Absolution Professional Edition, which shoves some rather desirable little extra goodies into its clamshell packaging that actually looks suspiciously like a slipcase.

Square Enix has unveiled the lovely special edition today, which comes with a premium hardcover artbook with a foreword from Game Director Tore Blystad, an exclusive behind the scenes 'making of' DVD and the obligatory DLC pack, which lumps together a bunch of extra weapons.

The Agency Gun Pack DLC comes with the Hitman: Absolution Professional Edition, adding the Agency Jagd P22G pistol for silent assassins and the Agency HX UMP SMG and Agency SPS 12 semi-automatic shotgun for not so silent assassins. Incredibly loud assassins...

Hitman: Absolution will be launching later in the year. Check out the limited Professional Edition below.