Codename 47 Appreciation thread

could you please link the song itself or the name of the album/ep or whatever it’s on?

this is the original, it’s only 50 seconds so I extended it for my MV
https://youtu.be/8t565nMb4Es

it’s one of his old underground ones so you won’t hear it anywhere official
album name is ‘ss2k16’

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Because it’s been 20 years

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I’ve been working on a video series that compares C47 levels to the Contracts recreations,
I think it will be fun to show how different/similar they are,
I’m just not sure how many people will want to watch it.

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Is there something i should install or fix to play this game on Windows 10? I know these old games usually need some tweaks, that’s why i’m asking.

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I got you covered fam :stuck_out_tongue:

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This is the only entry in the series I haven’t played (I did technically make it to the Lee Hong Assassination but it crashed and I never picked it back up).

But can I just say, man the soundtrack is amazing! Probably one of my favorite in the series behind Contracts.

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To those who live and grow up in Germany, do I remember correctly that the game was on the index at the beginning?

I just talked to my brother about it, and I always thought that was the reason I never played it that time but he says no :sweat_smile:

The Game was available in Stores for a short time and then got banned. The older Brother of my friend bought the game and i got it from him.

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Okay maybe my brother and I are both right than hahaha

Ah man, where to begin?

The beginning, Franz.

It began with seeing this. While I’ll probably never use the CD-ROM again, this box (and the manual that’s inside) are positioned in my appartment in such a way that I can quickly reach it in case of a fire. Hitman: Codename 47 was love at first sight for me, and it all began with setting eyes on this box.

I only played the demos afterwards (just to see the differences) and my cousin once showed me a half-hearted playthrough of The Lee Hong Assassination, but that’s not what sold me. I distinctly remember standing in the shop, and seeing that bald man strangle what would later turn out to be Dr. Kovacs from behind. Just like how the box says in Dutch: a game that combines stealth and action in ways never seen before. It quenched a thirst I never knew I had. When reading the manual, which set the mood perfectly, on my way home in the car, I just felt this was going to be something special. And it was!

List of things I appreciate (this may be edited and expanded upon later in the case of unforgivable oversights):

  • Balanced difficulty: make no mistake, this game is difficult, especially on first runs. People getting stuck in the tutorial because they shoot the second orderly too soon (or because they don’t know how to get the elevator working), figuring out how to get to that Red dragon negotiator surrounded by blue men, impersonating a Red Dragon negotiator to kill a police chief are challenging in their own right, but mission like The Lee Hong Assassination really require a lot to figure out. And there’s nobody to hold your hands. But at the same time, this game can be mastered like no other. Unlike the games that came after, I know I can pick up this game ten years from now and still play it like an expert. There’s a consistency in its design that can’t be found in the other games. It is always a joy to return to it.

  • Supreme controls: This game still has the best inventory system to date. You could scroll through that green drop down menu in real-time, really giving the feeling of 47 reaching in his pocket and choosing the weapon of his choice. It gave a feeling of fluidity that was never found again after. It also allowed you to prepare an item without immediately brandishing it, allowing for on-the-go-planning. But I also loved the combination of the action button and that white dot you could point at doors far away, so you would get that blue icon and already be ready to open that door as soon as the option turned green. It’s hard to explain, but it was smooth as butter that’s been out of the fridge for just long enough.

  • Best atmosphere: the music, as mentioned before, was astounding. I still lsiten to the Rotterdam harbour theme when looking out over the city scape outside my window. It’s both soothing and chilling at the same time. But the maps and environments as well. Rotterdam and the Asylum are chilling to the core. The metallic clangs, crying cats and plethora of menacing faces, or masks, in Rotterdam still sends chills down my spine. The Asylum’s tiled hallways and roaming loonies are equally memorable.

  • Story: This isn’t just nostalgia speaking, this game has got the best story. It was quirky, it didn’t take itself too seriously, but it was serious enough because there was so much MYSTERY. The best stories need mystery, and H:C47 had plenty of it. Shadowy figures meeting in the dark, mysterious letters, a mystical logo appearing left and right, a distant “controller” and equally secretive International Contract Agency. Nothing felt familiar. Nothing felt safe. Nothing felt certain. This was top-notch world building with very few elements.

  • Weapons: I’m no weapon expert by any means, but this game seemed to handle weapons most realistically. Both in terms of names and of handling.

  • Disguise system: It was so good they actually returned to it in the latest trilogy. Yes, enforcers included (Tzun, Lee Hong’s mansion guards, Ochoa’s light-coloured uniforms would in some instances see through lwoer rank uniforms, Blue Lotus guard patrolling aroynd the car also had a suspicion meter for the driver).

  • All guards were enemies: This was before rating systems, before “non-target” kills. You could use the weapons and skills at your disposal to kill guards at your will. Guards are bad guys too. It’s not because they’re lower on the ladder that they should be spared. On the other hand, killing too many civilians or cops actually made you FAIL the mission. Want to wipe out that Indian village? Sure, but you won’t progress unless you do the mission right the next time. Unless you’re called Kim Bo Kastekniv.

  • Missions: I love how many missions were just preparations to get closer to the ultimate targets. The Hong Kong, Colombian and Rotterdam missions all did this supremely well. The Colombian missions got some flak, but sniping the six guards surrounding the captured Indian or feeding a soldier to the Jungle God never bored me. These missions gave an added feeling of targets that were entrenched and hard to reach. In the current generation of games you basically have to open two doors and get the right uniform to get close to your target. It’s just a different feeling. H:C47 is the only game that got it right, because on the one hand these run-up missions were fun on their own, but they also gave you the feeling you were working towards a climax. Hitman 2 Silent Assassin messed that up in both Japan and Kurdistan because those run-up missions weren’t fun (though Japan did get the atmosphere right). Absolution messed that up because the feeling of climax was compeltely absent, they felt more like (often frustrating) filler, and often came after a climax rather than before it.

  • Traditions of the Trade: This mission is the definition of this franchise, of the profession. It is flawless. There’s something about it that makes it feel so real and intimate. Visiting the Gellert Hotel in real life is still on my bucket list.

I’ll stop here for now, but I have the feeling I’m still not doing it enough justice. What a game.

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C47 was the first Hitman game I played (back in 2000-2001?) on our family PC, so it probably has the most fond memories & nostalgia of all the Hitman games for me. I still recall playing the Hong Kong levels for the first time, as well as Traditions of the Trade and loving it. The Colombia levels have gotten a lot of flak I guess, but at least I liked SHTMLF right from the get-go, even if the other two Colombian levels are a bit crappy by comparison. The jungle soundtrack was at least very memorable (well, the whole game’s soundtrack obviously :sunglasses:). C47 overall was basically the game that set the foundation for future Hitman games, so can’t really fault it in that sense. I might indeed be a a bit blinded by nostalgia, but perhaps along with H2:Silent Assassin, I would say C47 recalls the most fond memories for me over the whole series. I’m certainly not saying it’s necessarily the best in the series, and probably has aged quite a lot by modern standards… but whenever I think of it / replay it, it takes me back to those days of the early 2000s. :innocent:

P.S. Out of the first three Hitman games, it also works straight out of the box on my Win10. :sunglasses:

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I wholeheartedly agree with everything you just said. C47 is a great game and works just fine. I love coming back to it.

Good post Ochoa :3 !!!

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No in Codename 47 it doesn´t meter if you leave item on a level or not, you have to buy it again in every new level.

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Where should I start from? The groundbreaking features for its time? The level of graphics (Specially with collisions) that was fascinating, or the story, or the maps, or maybe… Everything?

The game is the one that started it all, and the most memorable one for me.

P.S my favorite target is Jegorov, and best map would be Pablo’s residential ranch in the jungle.

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You mean inverse kinematics :stuck_out_tongue:

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It’s perfectly flawed. Wouldn’t have it any other way.

Well, maybe I’d junk the Colombia missions. And Plutonium Runs Loose…

Yeah I also hate the best missions of this game the most

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Best in some kind of blind nostalgia way, perhaps.

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