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More intense action with good ol' Agent 47!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 22 / 22
Date: October 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Hitman: Contracts is another solid addition to the very entertaining Hitman series. It maintains the tension, open-endedness, great graphics, and convincing atmosphere of Hitman 2 and adds a few improvements. Overall, Contracts is not as good as Hitman 2, which is one of my favorite games of all time. Contracts offers only 12 missions, has inferior music, has some minor technical issues, and a few other problems. The game is not completely open-ended, since you do have set objectives and cannot progress to the next mission without completing them. However, you do have some options regarding how you approach a mission. It's really a game that's worth playing at least twice just to take advantage of the alternative ways of completing the various missions. For anyone who is a fan of the Hitman series or likes stealth games, I recommend Contracts (but try to get it at a discounted price). However, it is best to play it after playing Hitman 2, which is the real star in this fine game series.

Gameplay: Much the same as Hitman 2. The controls (mouse and keyboard) are easy to learn, and you can play the game from 1st- or 3rd-person perspectives. The game encourages stealth and conflict avoidance and rewards you for clean kills and limiting "collateral damage." However, you can approach a mission any way you'd like: you can go in with guns blazing, use a mix of stealth and aggressive tactics, or go for the coveted rating of "silent assassin." The sneak ability is improved over Hitman 2, allowing you to move faster while in stealth mode. Also, some of the levels are rather large, and you'll have to replay them in order to just get a feel for them and to determine possible strategies. Contracts is darker than the previous games, both in regard to weather (it's always raining or snowing) and the subject matter. Curiously, some of the earlier missions are harder than later ones. I found that the SWAT missions were the most intense, and the Hong Kong missions were the easiest to achieve the "silent assassin" rating on. On expert (medium) difficulty, the game lasted about 27 hours for me, as compared to Hitman 2 which lasted over 40. You could probably finish it in less than half that time if you didn't care about your rating and went in shooting everything (which does not always work).

The game does have its flaws. My biggest problem was the fact that you couldn't bring weapons that you found in one mission (or earned through getting the "silent assassin" rating) into new missions. This was a BIG oversight on the part of the developers, and one of the reasons that Contracts is clearly inferior to Hitman 2. On the bright side, your weapons are nicely displayed in a greatly expanded training area, and you can choose to use whichever ones you'd like if you replay completed missions. Also, you can conceal a sniper rifle in a carrying case in some of the missions. Still, one of the most impressive things about Hitman 2 was the freedom to choose your instruments of death and not have to just accept the ones that the game gives you. Another problem is the AI of characters. On a few occasions, my cover was blown for no apparent reason. At other times, I could sneak by guards who appeared to be looking right at me. Overall, Contracts just didn't seem as polished a product as Hitman 2. In places, the game ran slower on my machine, even though it more than surpassed most of the recommended specs. (I think this was mostly due to some of the lighting and weather [snow] effects.) Also, the game crashed to desktop 5 times during my 27 hours of gameplay, for no apparent reason.

Graphics: The game looks quite good. All of the scenary was convincing and immersive, and the weapons looked and behaved as you would expect. Agent 47 walks as cool as ever, and his sneaking looks better too. However, I hope that Hitman 4 does a better job with the way he runs, which still looks...uncool. Cut-scenes are all nicely done and tie the various missions together. Character models are well illustrated, and weather effects create a gloomy mood. Lighting effects are great, but will slow down game performance in a few places.

Sound: Convincing for the most part. Voice acting is good and has the appropriate accents. Ambient sounds are done well, as are the sounds of weapons. The largely techno soundtrack by Jesper Kyd is not nearly as good as his excellent orchestral work for Hitman 2, but it will do. Overall, there are no notable sound issues in this game.

Not prefect

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 12 / 12
Date: July 20, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Hitman Contracts is not a prefect game by a long shot but it did offer a few improvements to the franchise.

Improvements:

Graphics were improved to some degree, mirrors reflected (they did not in Hitman Silent Assassin) and basically a face lift

Some sound effects has improved (Rain)

The Music was definitely better than the previous two, it was dark and some times exhilarating

The storyline has improved also, it moved away from the science fiction of the first, and the heroic stance of the second. It was more dark and intriguing. The ending did not answer all the questions as if paving the way for a fourth installment.

The mood is also more enjoyable, the dark and sadistic atmosphere was at least more enjoyable to me (a women with all her limbs cut off hanging upside down, the ability to poison some annoying horses!)

There were really no filler levels like the previous installments

There are more locations than any of the other installments (Romania, Russia, England, Netherlands, Hungary, China, and France).

The map was improved (now it showed dead people).

More weapons and reintroduction of some that were dropped by Hitman Silent Assassin (Mini Gun, and sniper rifles in suit cases)

The training was better than the previous, it is now completely optional. You can come back to it to try out different weapons you acquired on missions and you can even try your skills and weapons on real people!

The people are not as strict and let you run around more instead of having to annoyingly walk everywhere.

There were things that have not improved:

The annoying interface (I want my saved games separate from my auto saves).

The AI is still quirky at best.

Normally police ask you to freeze before blowing the daylights out of you.

AI still does not recognize pools of blood or inconsistent races (case in point a Hong Kong triad boss will usually not be a white, blue-eyed westerner.

It is still too easy to blast your way through (come on, give us some incentive to use stealth).

There were steps back also:

Certain sound effects are dampened or missing (fiber wire), I do have their recommended sound card (an Audigy 2 ZS).

Certain sound effects are buggy if you do not update your drivers.

Some missions are exact copies (about 5) and some are rather similar (about 3) out of 12 missions this makes most of the world familiar and in some cases extremely easy to accomplish your missions because you already know what to do from Hitman Codename 47.

Only 12 missions, the only reason Hitman Codename 47 got away with it is because it is super hard and it did not repeat it self.

Verdict

Fun but the flaws cannot be overlooked for it to get a perfect score. 8/10 or 4/5 stars.

Hitman Hits New Low

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: May 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

To a fan who greatly enjoyed "Hitman 1" and, to a somewhat lesser extent, "Hitman 2", "Contracts" was a serious disappointment. At the end of the game I found myself wondering: what exactly have IO and Eidos done to justify a new entry in the Hitman series, particularly one selling for a full-game price?

"Contracts" is, essentially, a mission pack. Most of the missions given in this game are shallow rehashes of ones seen in previous versions of "Hitman", which is a tremendous insult to the loyal fans who have followed this series for years.

As the advertising promised, there are some visual upgrades to the game but that doesn't really matter - the engine for "Hitman 2" was more than adequate to present the necessary gameplay world. The new details don't add anything to the game. There is no tall grass to hide in, the nice wavy cloth doesn't actually conceal you. Just seeing the same old surface-level textbook rendering additions found in every other engine in the market doesn't impress me.

"Hitman" just seems dated. Stealth has progressed quite a bit as a game concept in past few years. Sadly, "Hitman" has not. Everything is exactly the same as you remember it from "Hitman 1". You can garrotte with a wire, you have some pistols and machine guns, you can use a knife. Rather than improve or add to this formula, IO has simply redesigned the interface again, and even removed several of the elements previously added to deepen gameplay considered shallow years ago.

For example, "Hitman Contracts" gives you no control over your inventory. You simply start a mission with some equipment. It turns out that this isn't usually a big deal, but doesn't that set off some alarm bells? If it doesn't matter what you bring with you, how robust is your game world?

Adding to the injury is the insult of Eidos' lie about this aspect of the gameplay. Yes, there are "environmental" weapons to be found, but they aren't anything interesting. They aren't even part of the environment - they're just objects placed in a few select locations, all with the same characteristics. You find a meathook? To kill someone you slash it like a knife, they groan and turn into a floppy doll. You find a meat cleaver? Slash like knife, groan, floppy doll. Some levels contain objects that would be cool to use, but they are completely non-interactive. For example on one level there are meat grinders everywhere, but you can't feed a body into them. Most levels simply minimize or eliminate the dynamic objects available.

And killing itself is utterly boring. Run-and-gun shooting is lame because the AI dead rushes you, and you have inhuman stamina. Stealth is not only boring but astonishingly lacking in polish. All of the kill animations are just as poorly coupled as they have been since "Hitman 1", with animation partners misaligned and the distinct feeling that you're watching something canned. And the animations are the same, or very similar, for all stealth weapons available.

General navigation still remains a problem. Despite years to investigate such matters, the developers opted to not give Hitman a useful crouch attack, or even the ability to go prone. Hitting someone at your feet is impossible. Hitman does have a leaping attack, something I greatly appreciate in stealth games, so you can spring at your enemy without first becoming awkwardly familiar with their back half. But stalking people is still completely context-insensitive. If I am inches from my target and he starts to turn around, I would like to move to the opposite of his turn direction and pounce. Good luck getting that to happen in Hitman - the controls are just too imprecise, and it's still hard to tell whether or not someone can see you.

All of this is further hampered by the uncooperative gameplay experience. This game is so rigid, so irritatingly constrictive, that all joy is quickly sapped from your being. It is impossible to be ranked a "Silent Assassin" unless you do exactly what the game developers intended. You can come up with your own ways (mostly) to get from point A to point B of the pre-set plan, but coming up with your own plan is virtually impossible. Because the game arbitrarily enforces rules which it does not even tell you about. The first level of the game has a shocking example of this. The asylum you are in is raided by cops. Think you can steal a cop uniform and walk out the front door? Good luck. Even fully covered with a SWAT uniform and acting completely unsuspicious, you will be recognized and shot. This hit-and-miss rule enforcement occurs throughout the game.

There are so many other minor nitpicks. Why do I only have one passive means of disposing of people, which is itself only effective for a few minutes? What kind of knockout drug lasts five minutes anyway? Why can't Hitman kill anyone with his bare hands? Why can people see me through curtains and doors? Why does running when everyone else is running make me suspicious? Why is there no icon indicating what is in my quick-draw slot, and why does the inventory open to the wrong item when I check it that way? Why can't I pick up a dead body rather than drag it slowly behind me? Why am I considered suspicious when I get close to any NPC, even when my face is fully covered? Why is it so difficult to get the "take clothes" action to appear in the action menu?

"Hitman Contracts" is a frustrating experience. Depending upon how much you are willing to tolerate the long-existing flaws of this particular stealth game, you might enjoy it. But I definitely recommend renting it first. The fact that the game feels identical regardless of your platform indicates how shallow the game really is. Definitely a disappointment, and possibly a franchise killer.

Best By Far

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: May 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I have played Hitman 1 & 2 and have just finished Contracts and I can honestly say this is the best one so far. Eidos took everything that was extremely well done in 1 & 2 and combined them into this installment. I especially enjoyed the new missions this one had to offer as well. I found them to be very well done and more realistic as opposed to some of the suicide jobs in Silent Assassin. Although I was a bit surprised to see several of the missions taken from Hitman 1 but redone and put into contracts. However I didn't find this to be a negative because I personally thought they improved upon them greatly. Another positive of this installment is the tremendous amount of freedom you are given to assassinate your target. You are allowed to use items found in the environment, such as a pillow to smother your victim in his sleep, or the old fashioned technique of a silenced berretta to the head. Speaking of killing I greatly enjoyed many of the improvements they made on the subject. For instance now knives and edged weapons are more powerful then in Silent Assassin, your sniper rifle can be carried in a briefcase again like in Hitman 1, and when in sneak mode you are able to move a lot faster, which helps tremendously. Eidos also made many new improvements and additions to your weapon inventory as well. Such as the new mini Uzi's, a 357. Magnum, and if you are really bored a meat hook. The graphics in Contracts are the best I have seen in the series. The textures and characters look very smooth and realistic, as a game could make them. The sound is incredible once again, from the sound effects and voices, to the boom and patter of lighting and rain. And as always with this series, the musical score is once again fantastic.
I found this game very enjoyable and a worthy sequel. I would greatly recommend this game for anyone who is a fan of the Hitman series and for those who are just discovering it. I would also highly recommend this game for people who have only played Silent Assassin so that they can experience the redone missions without already knowing how to complete the job.
: Parents Beware: This game is rated Mature for a very, very good reason! There is a very high level of sexual content, and the violence is to a great extreme. This is by far the most Mature and sexually and violently outlandish of the three. For instance: in the first actual assignment you are at a bondage/fetish party complete with lap dancing hookers and an opium bar where people are getting as high as a kite. So I say again if you aren't sure whether to buy this for your kids research it thoroughly, you won't be sorry.

Curse of the sequel catches up to Agent 47

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: May 31, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I won't waste your time with talk about graphics, etc. Because we know they are awesome. I am a huge fan of the cold and methodical character known as Agent 47. But on this outing the writers went with the old 'each mission is a piece of his memory' leading up to the present. This is a notch above using time travel as an easy wrap-up to the story --but it's still a tired plot device.

Someone reviewed this game and mentioned how great it was to see 47 look at himself through a glass darkly (e.g., his own memories). But really, he was far more introspective in the second Hitman game "Hitman: Silent Assassin" and in that game he shows his humanity to a greater degree.

Hitman: Contracts is 'okay' but not great --definitely not what I was hoping for after Hitman: Silent Assassin. My rating is 4.5 stars in everything EXCEPT for the story writing (which so important to immersive enjoyment) that the game overall gets a 3-star rating.

Probebly, the best put together hitman...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 14
Date: December 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game folks, is one of my favorite games ever made, ever. I don't know about what other people think. But, I can tell you this, i've beat hitman 1, 2, and 3 (contracts). I can easily say out of all 3 of the hitmans that i've beaten, this is easily the best one to me.

As for this game being hard. Just about all of the hitman games are difficult, and require technique, practice, and skills.

Now, its time to go over why I like this hitman over the other hitman's.

1. The sneak mode in hitman 2 makes you move ALOT slower than in contracts. I don't know about people calling this "realistic". In reality, when you move quicker in sneak mode, they are apt to not be aware of their surroundings as soon.

2. As for me beating hitman 1, and not going to enjoy contracts. Bullshit, I enjoyed every minute of contracts, and how the levels were redesigned, as well as re-put together. The whole point of playing a game is to "have fun" right? of course. Just play, do what you can, and have fun.

3. In hitman 2, the music is WAY louder than the people talking, and the gun shots too. I like to hear the gun shots, and people talking just as loud, or at least under my control, to control it. Hitman 2 however, dosn't allow you to do this, you can only bring "The voices" so loud, and "The SOUND EFX" so loud. The sound quality of the gun shots arn't so hot either, esp. compared to the ones in contracts.

4. I am not really interested in hearing about "47's Personal Life". In hitman 2, they made up some dumb "Story" about his "Personal" life, and what kind of person he is. Lets face it, he is 47, hes no joke, he is out there to do his job, he kills, and I play the game to do "His job".

5. If you play hitman 1, and compare it to Hitman: Contracts. You can easily, and most definatly tell that Hitman 1 is not nearly as well as a put together game as Contracts. I am not going to get into why, because there is too many reasons to name why. Just play it, and you will see..

6. As for the guns in Hitman 2, when you go to select the gun in that menu. The gun models arn't nearly as well "made" as the ones in contracts, and I could actually imagine the gun models in the way that make it as black plastic toys.

7. In Hitman: Contracts, the first mission begins as you getting out of where your at alive, and escape from getting killed from a SWAT team thats after you, thats some intense action. In hitman 2, your first mission begins as you saving your "priest" friend, after they show that dumb story line of "47's" (Note: 47's priest friend got kidnapped before your first mission, its the very beginning story line of hitman 2...). I don't know about you guys, but i'd rather be escaping from a SWAT team that wants to track me down, and kill me.

8. I am not interested in taking my time to go to the computer, in hitman 2 to start the next mission. In contracts, it brings you right to the mission, thats all I want, how about you?

9. The syringe in Contracts is pretty useful, You can inject who you need to for the mission with it, and he will be unconscious for a long enough time to do your thing to complete the mission. In hitman 2, They have this stupid bottle thing you use to knock somebody out. The reason why its stupid, is right when they are knocked out, they get back up in no longer than 20 seconds. Sounds like a waste of time to me..

10. The ending in hitman 2 is kind of boring, I am not going to get into why it is because thats for you to find out, and me not to tell you. The ending in contracts puts me into a state of thoughts, thats all i'm going to tell you..

I could go on, and on with more reasons why I like contracts the best. But this is probebly enough to be helpful to you. I like all of the hitmans, above is just why I like contracts definatly the most, and I personally think some people that have reviewed this item have been giving it a bad rep.. By the way the Hitman 2 Soundtrack is a masterpiece, and Jesper Kyds: Hitman music is one of my bigger influences.

I don't care if you give me a non-helpful review, saying that I know what I like about this game, and i've beat all 3 of the hitmans.

To the ones that give me a good review, thank you.. Have a good day...

Later,

Yuri

Victim of its Own Hype

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: April 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I like the Hitman series of games. Actually, I LOVE the Hitman series. This installment, however, is an enormous letdown after playing Hitman 2. First, the game is short, only 12 missions. Beginning to end on professional mode took approx. 6 hours. There is, in my opinion, little replay value as well; most of the missions just aren't enjoyable the 4th time through after you exhaust all new routes of completion. (A few weren't enjoyable the first time.) Seven of the 12 missions VERY closely resemble missions from the first game.

For all of its shortcomings, Hitman:Contracts is a decent game. It is extremely visually appealing, and makes a number of technical improvements on Hitman 2, mainly improvements to AI. One thing I do like is that there are many more tactical actions available, i.e. Jumping between hotel rooms via the balconies.

Recommendation: Wait for it to go Greatest Hits, it really isn't worth $50. If you can't wait: rent, don't buy. A 5-day rental from Blockbuster will allow you to enjoy (and beat) this game to its fullest without spending $50.

BTW-In response to he gamer's mentioning of a possible Hitman movie, I'd like to cast my vote for Christian Bale as Agent 47. He's very adept at playing emotionless killers (American Psycho, Equilibrium) and also has the right facial contours.

Doesn't live up to the legend

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: June 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I happen to believe that the hitman series is one of the most phenominal series in existance. That said, this game was overall a dissapointment. I have played the first two games and here is what it comes down to:

When we were first introduced to "Tobias Reaper" aka 47 in the first hitman game the idea was ahead of its time in the sense that while almost every aspect of the game was great the only problem was that the graphics were mediocre at best. Even for its time. The storyline and the gamelplay were phenominal though which set up for the next two games in the series. Overall a great game with limitless potential.

In Hitman 2 the graphics had caught up with the game and it was excellent. Good storyline, improved controls and weapons. Only probelm was with this game there were too few civilian settings making the realism drop a few notches. However the game had the best replayability of the series. You can play each level a million times and not get tired of it.

Finally in this installment there were two major problems. The first was that more that half the levels from this game were taken and redone from the original hitman game. The other HUGE problem is that it is very difficult to solve any given mission in more than one way making it a game that once you beat it (which is fairly easy to do quickly) you dont really have fun replaying the levels.

It is a fun game, it just doesn't live up to the first two. If you dont already own it, buy hitman 2 instead of this game. It will keep you occupied for much longer with 8 more missions and more ways to solve each one.

Overall this game was dissappointing, but it is not a bad game, it just cant compare with its predacessors.

big dissapointment but still fun

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: April 25, 2004
Author: Amazon User

There are really only two major improvements over Hitman 2 in this game. You can sneak much faster in this game. Being very slow in sneak mode in the previous two games was a frustration. The weapons are also much better. There are more of them and they are more realistic. This game is by far the most realistic of the three games. There are so many things that are worse than Hitman 2. I have so many complaints, especially after so much anticipation for this game.
The game is a series of flashbacks. Almost every mission is a slight vaiation of a mission in Hitman 1. If you started playing the hitman series from the beginning, you know what to do in most of the missions. The misssion in Budapest for example is EXACTLY the same, except a few differences in the map. But that doesnt make sense that the hotel changed!!! Also, THERE ARE ONLY 12 MISSIONS!!!! That is the worst part about the game. Only 5 of the 12 missions had no influence from Hitman 1. Also, the missions get sort of repetetive. The Missons are set in Romania, Siberia, England, Rotterdam Harbor, Budapest, and Hong Kong. The inventory is also no longer scrollable with the mouse wheel like in the previous 2 games so you have to pause to access your inventory, which is a major pain. There is so much more that I could go on about. Bottom line, if you are a Hitman fanatic you should get this game but if you are new to the hitman series, Hitman 2 is BY FAR the best game in the series and I think that 95% of people would agree with that. I'm hoping that a Hitman 4 is in the works to make up for this game. I'm talking 40 missions all in new and interesting places with more interesting ways to pull off the hits. I hear they are talking about making a Hitman movie. Hmmm who should play 47?

I give it a C+.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game was more of a sequel to the first hitman, which I wasn't much of a fan, and completely ignores Hitman 2. If you are a fan of the first, you will probably like the third. But for those like me that logged 2000+ hours playing hitman 2, this game is somewhat of a disappointment.

The negatives
If you are using an intel graphics chipset, they lack "Hardware Transform and Lighting" which prevents you from seeing the walls and floors. I ended up having to go back to my old radeon 7200 card.

Only 12 missions, which are not long at all, or complex. Most objectives are in the same area. If you go stealth you can simply walkthrough the levels, except when in professional. Even if a guard does become alert, he is isolated. You can have a shoot out on one part of the map, and move to another area like nothing happened.

The cleaner graphics makes it more cartoonish, everyone is larger than the previous 2, and the blood animation is something that you will laugh at. I am done buying sequels when a selling point is an updated engine.

Positives

Other than the intel bug, the game so far seems bug free, except for a few occasions when someone disappears into objects.

There is a cutscene between every level that is in real time, while the missions are flashbacks. Gives the game a more cinematic feel.

Even though infammo isn't listed as one of the cheats, it still works.

The environment as a whole is more complex, but is more linear than the 2nd, about the same when compared to the first.

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