That door in Berlin is the exact one that made me write that post.
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Actually, as much as I love blood money I have to say that I like contractsā atmosphere better, specifically the soundtrack. Apocalypse is a mean sounding track for sure, but the rest of BMās ost kinda fails to keep up with it. One could argue, and smb on this forum already did, that BMās whole shtick was the contrast between falsely perceived reality and the true nature of things. That contrast was best felt through the soundtrack. BM ambience is pretty chill, while the music that plays during combat and when you eliminate your target is intense and ominous. Niels Bie said himself in an interview that io didnāt want the soundtrack to be dark and scary like previous games, and that he has drawn inspiration from bond movies while composing for hitman. WoA soundtrack isnāt bad, but it doesnāt contribute to the feeling of being an unstoppable killing machine that 47 is. It does, however, make you feel like Daniel Craigās Bond.
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Iāve said it before, but Blood Money is closer to The Godfather than Bond in terms of aesthetic. The classic 5 games (moreso the latter half) were pointedly dark and brutal, even when not wearing it on its sleeve. Blood Money is a great example of how to be imposing and brooding without reaching the heights of Contractsā oppressive atmosphere. Itās set mostly during the day and itās actually quite funny, but the subject matter is still dark and the soundtrack is very operatic and foreboding. WoA is for the most part IMO, just feel-good. Thereās never really a point where you question if youāre the good guy in the story, and (story spoilers)with how the story has played out in this trilogy, 47 is damn near close to being an objective hero. There are very few kills in this that make me cringe, and H1-2ās blood system left a lot to be desired (if someone can showcase H3ās blood Iād appreciate it!). Its music does the job but doesnāt contribute to these gamesā atmosphere quite like Kydās work did (I will say Iām hearing good things about H3ās score so Iāll check it out). Thereās a myriad of other reasons why I think the WoA trilogy doesnāt quite reach the heights of the games pre-2010, but thatās for another thread and another day.
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really? I swear I remember it being in there a while after the game came out. Time flies.
Dubai opening music as youāre walking up the steps is a straight rip from Lawrence of Arabia.
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I donāt dig AT ALL the gritty and edgy aesthetics of old Hitman, tbh. I love the new games because they show a lot of colour, luxury and opulence, a thing lacking in a world full of edgy and wannabe āāādarkā"" material
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There are quite a few levels in Blood Money and Silent Assassin that fulfill exactly this requirement. The whole point of that last post was pointing out how you can still be dark without being Contracts
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My first impression, from playing a lot of the first two levels and a bit of the third:
It seems like theyāve gone for fewer mission stories and moments of interactivity but made them more cinematic throughout. Thereās a diminished focus on sandboxiness and an increased focus on a few cinematic runs. I think this will be a popular change overall but an unpopular change on this forum.
Hereās my initial verdict: Hitman III will be considered the best in the trilogy by people who play each map no more than three times; Hitman II will be considered the best by people who play each map no more than 10 times; Hitman 1 will be considered the best by people who play each map a hundred times.
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Canāt say I didnāt enjoy the story, but as is with the soundtrack, its vibe doesnāt fit hitman all that well. I always thought of 47 as someone who would have little to no problem with killing good guys. It just so happens that most of his targets are bad people. Therefore, I didnāt find the idea of Diana being 47ās moral compass, or rather 47 looking for one, too appealing. That said, nothing tops the āwe used to be best buds, 47, so put aside your professionalism, the very thing that made you the apex predator in the first place, inject this memory serum, which may very well be a lethal poison, and letās go on a personal vendetta togetherā thing.
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I agree but spoiler blur this!!!
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Iām with you that the shortcuts make it too easy. Itās what I was skeptical about, but wouldnāt say they make it story focused. They just dumb down the gameplay.
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Omg I just saw this and immediately thought of you lmaooooo.
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I think there are a lot of things going on in these levels (granted Iāve only played Dubai and Dartmoor so far) that wouldāve been called a mission story or opportunity in the last two games, but now donāt have the signposting and guidance, leaving players entirely on their own to figure it out. I was worried too when I saw the drop in mission story count, but my hunch is thatās whatās going on.
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Completely agree with what you and @Kevin_Rudd said, I feel like shortcuts were made with the intention to encourage exploration and new routes for future runs, but they need to be nerfed a bit.
The Berlin shortcut that was mentioned completely negates the point of the clubās main entranceā¦ why would you go through the front with the frisking when you can go to the conveniently placed side door thatās always open?
The only thing I really like about the shortcuts is that they encourage you to find the other side of the door, when you find them locked (makes me want to explore more). Other than that theyāre a bit too overpowered imo.
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Hard to give a first impression when I canāt even play the gameā¦ The servers being down is a serious serious disappointment Iāve been trying to get in since 8 AM on the release date to no avail what the heck?
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This is true to some extent, but Iām finding that on top of that there are just fewer interesting kill opportunities on the targets. Iām not sure there are any other kills in Dartmoor, for instance, that would have been called an Opportunity in Hitman 2016.
This shouldnāt be too surprisingā¦ theyāve been cutting back on signature kills ever since the bonanzas that were Paris and Sapienza. This game is the culmination of that changing design ethos. There are a few really authored and cinematic mission stories, and thereās also still a sandbox if you want it, but thereās not much in between.
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Huh?Are you sure about that?
There are 5 missions during the day(including the tutorial and Requiem) and 7 during the night(excluding Curtains Down because you stay inside the opera house during the whole mission,so the moment of the day doesnāt really matter).So,there are more missions at nighttime in BM.
I havenāt played H3 yet,but I can assure you I preffer H2 to H2016 and I have played each map in H2 more than one hundred times(of course including the time spent playing contracts mode).
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I obviously havenāt found all the shortcuts yet but after a day of playing I know that the ladders in Dubai = good, the door in Berlin = bad. That should be a keycard non crowbar door.
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I think shortcuts are turned off in Contracts mode.
I agree with the first third of that but I still prefer 2 over 1.
Oh nice, youāre right! Thatās a relief 
(Iāve barely touched contracts modeā¦ yet. Although I know you canāt make Diana a target which is sad)
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