I’m not saying they could have or even should have introduced such a mechanic instead of what we got. I’m just saying let’s not call an obvious bodyguard an “assassin” just because their guns pack more punch than any other. That designation is based on actions, not deadliness, and if IOI was thinking calling them assassins to set them apart was some kind of clever answer to simply seeing them as bodyguards, and helping us remember that we are still in a “world of assassination,” then they were wrong on that. All it did was point out how utterly lazy they are as assassins if they were to be called as such. Say what you will about the ICA agents, they at least had the excuse of just underestimating 47; the ones in Freelancer don’t even know they’re after 47.
Granted, but even there, the ICA agents, and other assassins in the series who were after 47, or his allies, at least behaved like assassins and had bios that gave us info about their skills, so they at least had lore explicitly establishing them as actual hired killers. The ones in Freelancer are only known as assassins because they are mechanically labeled as such.
If, for instance, you went into Apex Predator with no info from Olivia that the ICA were the ones after you, and you came upon the agents, you would know from their actions and general behavior that they were actively hunting you, and would understand that they were assassins seeking you out or lying in wait for you, unlike other guards on the same map (hell, even agent Montgomery had an actual bodyguard of his own). If IOI did not say in their promotions for Freelancer that we’d have to deal with assassins working for the Leaders, and the game didn’t give you that little notice saying an assassin was nearby, and we only learned about these specific NPCs by actually encountering them in the game, would anybody think to call them assassins, or would they just be assumed as the syndicate Leaders’ personal bodyguards, just like the ones that main targets like Novikov and Ken Morgan have? Yeah, they’re more dangerous than other bodyguards in how quickly they can kill you, but that alone doesn’t qualify to be labeled as an assassin, because the nature of the killing these guys do is defensive in nature, not offensive, which is what defines an assassin.
All I’m saying is, calling them assassins is a mislabeling that glorifies what these guys are beyond what they are. I’m not denying that theyre the deadliest enemies in the game as far as the damage they cause, but they would be even more deadly if the name fit and they were actively hunting you rather than wandering around waiting for something to happen just so they can protect their boss.
This will be my first time and it won’t be for any reason that’s my own fault or (in-game, or gameplay-related) circumstance. It’s just the game itself can’t deal… 
and all me tewlz. Gah! 
