While you argue about the Rotterdam levels, I’m getting rid of the training facility
Training Facility [6] -2
Asylum Aftermath [14]
The Meat King’s Party [23]
The Bjarkhov Bomb [9]
Beldingford Manor [26]
Rendevous in Rotterdam [19]
Deadly Cargo [22]
Traditions of the Trade [23]
Slaying a Dragon [17]
The Wang Fou Incident [6]
The Seafood Massacre [22] +1
The Lee Hong Assassination [22]
Hunter and Hunted [18]
2 Likes
Training Facility [4] -2
Asylum Aftermath [14]
The Meat King’s Party [23]
The Bjarkhov Bomb [9]
Beldingford Manor [26]
Rendevous in Rotterdam [19]
Deadly Cargo [23] +1
Traditions of the Trade [23]
Slaying a Dragon [17]
The Wang Fou Incident [6]
The Seafood Massacre [22]
The Lee Hong Assassination [22]
Hunter and Hunted [18]
2 Likes
Training Facility [4]
Asylum Aftermath [14]
The Meat King’s Party [23]
The Bjarkhov Bomb [9]
Beldingford Manor [26]
Rendevous in Rotterdam [20] +1
Deadly Cargo [23]
Traditions of the Trade [23]
Slaying a Dragon [17]
The Wang Fou Incident [6]
The Seafood Massacre [22]
The Lee Hong Assassination [20] -2
Hunter and Hunted [18]
The Lee Hong Assassination is also a very bad remake and has the audacity to blatantly copy the name of the glorious original.
I’m joining the Rendez-vous reinforcement troops and would strongly nudge its hate brigade towards others targets.
6 Likes
The gloomy atmosphere and a somehow even more confusing layout than the original makes LHA such a chore to play through. I have around 300 hours in Hitman Contracts (don’t ask) and I don’t think I’ve beaten Lee Hong and Wang Fou Incident more than 5 times each. The restaurant just feels so dead and the people artificial (which they are but you know what I mean)
In the original, everything is colorful and interesting to look at, with the basement being really the only confusing part of the map.
Same goes for Traditions of the Trade - another remake which I feel did not at all benefit from the Contracts atmosphere. I never much cared for the dumb ghost easter egg or the murder scene as both of them feel tacked on to suit the forced horror vibe. Really the only thing they added are the poison and sniper kills for Fritz but you have no reason to go for the former because for some dumb reason they made him stay in the pool area for like 8 minutes with a single guard. It’s as if they’re forcing you to do one method while also pretending there are alternatives. With nothing else to do in the hotel besides killing Franz (which would take 3 minutes at most for anyone with half a brain) you are just encouraged to eventually head to the pool and put Fritz out of his misery.
They had such a good opportunity to make Franz an actually interesting target (sorry I know he’s your favourite) but they instead chose to keep him stationary and made his brother basically ststionary as well.
Of all the levels, Beldingford Manor is the only one where the horror vibe works. On the rest of them it just feels forced and unnecessary and most of the time works against the overall quality.
Rant done. What was supposed to be just a short comment about LHA turned into a weird ramble about this game in general.
7 Likes
Yeah, I can’t say I really “get” The Lee Hong Assassination, either version. I have no idea why both focus so much on these confusing grey, dull, boring basement corridors. Frankly I would of thought the remake would of tried to cut out the basement or at least minimise rather than just expand it.
Kindof said it before but really, Contracts is best when it’s doing its own levels, and the best remakes are the most unfaithful to Codename 47, I do think Deadly Cargo is the best remake level of Contracts because of this.
2 Likes
Training Facility [2]-2
Asylum Aftermath [14]
The Meat King’s Party [23]
The Bjarkhov Bomb [9]
Beldingford Manor [26]
Rendevous in Rotterdam [20]
Deadly Cargo [23]
Traditions of the Trade [23]+1
Slaying a Dragon [17]
The Wang Fou Incident [6]
The Seafood Massacre [22]
The Lee Hong Assassination [20] -2
Hunter and Hunted [18]
Anyone wants to do the honors of putting training to rest?
Personally I think the best remake was Traditions of the trades but that is mostly because of the quality of the original.
2 Likes
Training Facility [0] -2
Asylum Aftermath [14]
The Meat King’s Party [23]
The Bjarkhov Bomb [9]
Beldingford Manor [26]
Rendevous in Rotterdam [20]
Deadly Cargo [23]
Traditions of the Trade [24] +1
Slaying a Dragon [17]
The Wang Fou Incident [6]
The Seafood Massacre [22]
The Lee Hong Assassination [20]
Hunter and Hunted [18]
2 Likes
Asylum Aftermath [14]
The Meat King’s Party [23]
The Bjarkhov Bomb [9]
Beldingford Manor [26]
Rendevous in Rotterdam [21]+1
Deadly Cargo [23]
Traditions of the Trade [24]
Slaying a Dragon [15]-2
The Wang Fou Incident [6]
The Seafood Massacre [22]
The Lee Hong Assassination [20]
Hunter and Hunted [18]
1 Like
Asylum Aftermath [14]
The Meat King’s Party [23]
The Bjarkhov Bomb [9]
Beldingford Manor [26]
Rendevous in Rotterdam [19]-2
Deadly Cargo [23]
Traditions of the Trade [24]
Slaying a Dragon [16]+1
The Wang Fou Incident [6]
The Seafood Massacre [22]
The Lee Hong Assassination [20]
Hunter and Hunted [18]
Asylum Aftermath [14]
The Meat King’s Party [23]
The Bjarkhov Bomb [7] -2
Beldingford Manor [26]
Rendevous in Rotterdam [19]
Deadly Cargo [23]
Traditions of the Trade [24]
Slaying a Dragon [17] +1
The Wang Fou Incident [6]
The Seafood Massacre [22]
The Lee Hong Assassination [20]
Hunter and Hunted [18]
1 Like
Asylum Aftermath [14]
The Meat King’s Party [23]
The Bjarkhov Bomb [5] -2
Beldingford Manor [26]
Rendevous in Rotterdam [19]
Deadly Cargo [23]
Traditions of the Trade [24]
Slaying a Dragon [17]
The Wang Fou Incident [6]
The Seafood Massacre [22]
The Lee Hong Assassination [20]
Hunter and Hunted [19] +1
Asylum Aftermath [13] -1
The Meat King’s Party [23]
The Bjarkhov Bomb [5]
Beldingford Manor [26]
Rendevous in Rotterdam [19]
Deadly Cargo [23]
Traditions of the Trade [25] +1
Slaying a Dragon [17]
The Wang Fou Incident [6]
The Seafood Massacre [22]
The Lee Hong Assassination [20]
Hunter and Hunted [18] -1
1 Like
Asylum Aftermath [12] -1
The Meat King’s Party [23]
The Bjarkhov Bomb [4] -1
Beldingford Manor [26]
Rendevous in Rotterdam [19]
Deadly Cargo [23]
Traditions of the Trade [25]
Slaying a Dragon [18] +1
The Wang Fou Incident [6]
The Seafood Massacre [22]
The Lee Hong Assassination [20]
Hunter and Hunted [18]
1 Like
Disclaimer:This is a really,really long post.
The pros and cons in LHA remake
I think gameplaywise,the remake of LHA is superior.The layout for me if more clear,some steps from the original are gone or unnecessary to do(like delivering the jade figurine or rescuing Mei Ling),there are more exits,picking up the laxative/poison makes Hong come to the restaurant(opening up more opportunities to kill him),two different methods to obtain the safe code(which is a great improvement because you can get it from Hong if you want to do a fiber wire kill and you can get it from Mei Ling if you want to kill Hong with a sniper).
But I do agree about the atmosphere of this level.In Wang Fou it isn’t a problem because I like the idea of exploring the dark and empty restaurant without any problems(especially because it makes it easier to kill all the targets with fiber wire and I feel like Hong Kong Underground really fits as a soundtrack in this level),but in LHA it is a problem,a BIG problem.
Why I like Wang Fou Incident
I guess you don’t like Wang Fou Incident too much.Well,it is understandable because the car bomb method isn’t fun at all,but I like replaying it for fiber wire(thanks to the darkness of the restaurant the AI is a bit more blind) or sniper runs(just to be clear:that means killing all the targets with fiber wire/sniper without any exceptions,not even the targets sitting at the table and yes it is possible to fiber wire them too).You can even snipe 3 targets with one bullet if you have luck which is awesome.
Atmosphere in TOTT remake
I understand why so many people preffer the original atmospherw(and yeah I am not necessarily a fan of the ghost section),but I really like Budapest Bath Hotel soundtrack and the small bit of Winter Nights in the termal bath section and the best thing about the atmosphere in this level is heraing SWAT team once I pick up the bomb because it makes the escape feel truly awesome
Poison kill for Fritz
However,there is more to do except killing Franz.You also need to get a poison vial and poison the whisky and if you add the time you spend killing Franz,around 5-6 minutes already pass.If you do some additional stuff like seeing some cutscenes(the one with the receptionist or the one with the guard in front of Franz’ room) and maybe take a look at the easter eggs if you are too fast then 10 minutes are gone,so it is not a problem.
Improvements
Well,they made Fritz a much more interesting target by closing the pool area and by adding a guard there because it makes Fritz a bit more challenging to kill and it also gives you a reason to try different approaches.
You can also shoot him with the SPAS-12 shotgun when he gets out of the pool.
That’s true.
They didn't "make" Fritz stationary
I am sorry but I don’t think you chose your words very well(“they made him”).No,they didn’t make him stationary,they kept him stationary because it takes just as long for him to get out of the pool area as in the original version(but in the original version the running speed is also very high,so it is an even bigger problem in that case).
Horror vibes in Contracts
I don’t think all the levels have a horror vibe though.Sure,Asylum Afterneath’s first section,The Meat King’s Party,Beldingford Manor definitely focus on the horror aspect(and I think they nail it perfectly) and some other levels have a bit of horror in them too(like Traditions of the trade with the ghost and the crime scene),but I wouldn’t say Contracts focuses only on the horror vibe.
For example,in Bjarkhov Bomb the main idea is to inspire loneliness and isolation in the vast snowy setting.In Rendevouz in Rotterdam the idea is to make you feel like an outsider in this biker world and it also gives a feeling of loneliness and isolation(because you’ll spend a lot of time in empty rooms or in rooms with few people).
Asylum Afterneath’s second section,Deadly Cargo and Hunter and Hunted are about some really big threats and they want to inspire fear.These missions are basically about life and death.In Asylum Afterneath and Hunter and Hunted your life is threatened by SWAT teams and in Deadly Cargo you fight against a crazy dude who can detonate a nuke in any moment.
In the Hong Kong levels there is just a bit of mistery feeling,but not too many dark vibes.
So,yeah,Contracts isn’t just about horror.There are other things which give it a dark tone too
You knew I was going to ask that.
Well,what exactly makes it so cool?The poison method feels really boring,sniping isn’t very fun because I don’t really like how they designed the vantage points(especially because you can just go on a small unguarded hill and basically get a free kill and any casual can complete the mission in like 1-1:30 minutes SASO) and it is in general too easy to be one of the levels in the second half of the game(in C47 it was the fisrt proper level so it was understandable,but it isn’t here).The only thing I like in this level is the car bomb method.Imo it is the worst remake.
1 Like
Summary
I guess something’s wrong with me because I just can’t get past the dark atmosphere. It just ruins the level for me. I’m one of those people who really love the original LHA, perhaps even more than TotT, because it’s such a different beast when compared to what came before it. Lee Hong actually felt like this powerful crime boss whereas in Contracts he’s just another target that comes after a wave of forgettable goons. You are probably right in terms of the pros and cons, I don’t doubt that if the level was more lively I would play it a lot more but I guess I got too used to the original. It’s weird because I usually don’t give a damn about things like atmosphere if the level itself is fun but this is a special case for some reason. Also are you sure that you couldn’t get the code from Lee Hong in C47? I could have sworn it was possible.
I hate Wang Fou Incident
That’s an understatement. Every second developing that abomination could have been spent improving other, much better, levels. The main reason why I dislike it is how lazy it is. It looks exactly how I imagine 90% of player-created missions would look like if Hitman got a mission editor. A million boring targets that don’t go anywhere (out of the seven, four are stationary and the other three go to the bathrooms every 60 seconds), NPCs that feel like robots, undeveloped kill opportunities. The fact that this is supposed to be a peace meeting between the triads is so baffling to me. You’re telling me that the Blue Lotus arrive at the restaurant and then just wait in silence for 30 minutes for the Red Dragons to arrive to their own restaurant. It just seems like the devs put 50 NPCs on the map and told the player ‘Go wild’. I realise it’s a bit contradictory to say the level is lazy and undeveloped while also saying they shouldn’t have spent as much time developing it (however long it was) and what I mean by that is that they just should have skipped over the tutorial Hong Kong levels (they feel so weird coming after complex levels like Bjarkhov Bomb or Deadly Cargo) and just made LHA the lone Hong Kong mission. Spend the rest of that time remastering SHTMF and perhaps making another unique mission and call it a day. I doubt anyone would complain if Contracts had 11 levels rather than 12. Sure, there would be less C47 remakes but most of the time when people talk about Contracts’ flaws they are the main issue.
Definitely agree about that.
Forced waiting
Watching the cutscenes or the ghost would get old very quickly and I doubt I would force myself to do it more than once. If we just count the poisoning and Franz, that still leaves you with 2-3 minutes of doing nothing as you still have to wait for Fritz to actually die so you can get his key. I’m curious about this though so I’ll likely hop into Contracts soon to see how manageable it is to actually wait for Fritz, provided I do pretty much everything else during that time.
SPAS+useless sniping
Ehh, the SPAS-12 is just a Terminator reference, I never really considered it a useful asset in TotT because of one of its particular traits: how goddamn loud it is.
I don’t think the lock+guard gives you a reason to try other approaches. It is so easy just to lockpick your way inside and syringe the guard on your way to Fritz. I guess you could say it encourages sniping but you still actually have to get inside the pool for the key so all you really do is waste your time running back down while also now having an alert (his body being found).
That’s true, nothing to say against that.
May have exaggerated when I said the horror vibes work against the all except Beldingford because what you said is true - there are just a few points in the game where they actively try to go for it.
The dark atmosphere adds nothing to and in fact works to the detriment of the entire Hong Kong arc and Traditions of the Trade. On the others it’s fine, but still at times feels forced.
1 Like
Asylum Aftermath [12]
The Meat King’s Party [23]
The Bjarkhov Bomb [4]
Beldingford Manor [26]
Rendevous in Rotterdam [19]
Deadly Cargo [24] +1
Traditions of the Trade [25]
Slaying a Dragon [18]
The Wang Fou Incident [4] -2
The Seafood Massacre [22]
The Lee Hong Assassination [20]
Hunter and Hunted [18]
1 Like
Idk, i just like the atmosphere and the additional approaches it offers, in my opinion its the best of the Remakes. Also i really like the Name of the Mission and its Loading Screen.
I think its odd that its placed so late in the game because it is an easy mission.
I’m still pissed that they didn’t included Say Hello to my little Friend.
5 Likes
Asylum Aftermath [12]
The Meat King’s Party [23]
The Bjarkhov Bomb [3] -1
Beldingford Manor [26]
Rendevous in Rotterdam [19]
Deadly Cargo [24]
Traditions of the Trade [25]
Slaying a Dragon [18]
The Wang Fou Incident [3] -1
The Seafood Massacre [23] +1
The Lee Hong Assassination [20]
Hunter and Hunted [18]
2 Likes
I agree.The original version of Lee Hong Assassination is better overall.
I have already said in another topic that the first 2 levels from C47 shouldn’t have been remastered because they don’t really fit with the standard of Contracts’ levels,but they did a great job with Seafood Massacre in my opinion.
That’s true,but at least you don’t need to waste the syringe anymore and you can use it later on to pacify the guard who is in Franz’s room.
I am not sure about that,but even if it was possible it would mean wasting time running to the house to kill Hong while also needing to avoid Tzun,getting the jade figurine and then coming back again to exit in the boat,so it definitely isn’t convenient.
1 Like