Both from a writing and gameplay perspective: I think both introduced elements full of potential but fell flat in execution.
I would have fixed the bug that affected some of the scoring, and have not required instinct to move past NPCs in the same outfit, and instead incorporate enforcers like WoA had, at the most. And I wouldnât have left the fates of Faulkner and Birdie open-ended.
3 Likes
Having to use instinct all the time really killed the game for me! Writing and tone aside, being unable to stand in public for more than four seconds robbed the social stealth experience and turned it into just another âhide behind coverâ style stealth game. 47 is the face in the crowd, not the dude having to crouch most of the level to avoid being seen.
I felt like a social outcast who wasnât allowed to see the Chinese New Year fireworks and was relegated to SWAT turning between pillars in the shadows 
3 Likes
Exactly, it literally went against one of the main factors that makes 47 the best in this world. 47 gets the truly difficult assignments that most other assassins donât want to touch because most of them are trained primarily for the kind of stealth that is prominent in Absolution. Ducking, crouching, hiding, rolling, climbing; these are the moves that the typical hitman might do.
Although it came after the fact, WoA confirmed that the disguise mechanic is not typical in their world. 47 more or less pioneered the concept of just knocking a person out and taking their clothing. Sure, he didnât invent an assassin taking a disguise to blend in and get close to a target, but most others have to carefully select who they are going to impersonate, and if the rival assassins in Blood Money and the ones sent in Apex Predator are any indication, they don their disguises before arriving to the location, and if they have to replace someone, they kill or knock them out without taking the disguise off of them. Parchezzi taking the janitor uniform off someone in the White House appears to be an exception rather than his usual practice.
47, however, seems to be unique, or at least extremely rare, in that he can take some 90% of disguises off of male subjects at virtually any time and remain undetected, on the fly, multiple times in a single mission. This seems to be his singular gift in the world of professional killing. Absolution handicapped that immensely, reducing 47 to the level of an ordinary assassin, and while 47 is almost emotionless, we know from H2SA that he does have a slight sense of pride and ego, as he stated he doesnât do ânormalâ hits. He would be loath to be considered on the level of an ordinary agent, and thatâs what Absolution made him be, at least in terms of stealth. Sure, it goes to show how awesome he is when heâs brought down from legendary to a mere badass and still complete the game with a perfect record, but he could probably have done it a lot faster and more efficiently if the disguise system wasnât sandbagged.
Terminus Hotel: 47 gets one of the goonsâ disguise, knocks on Blake Dexterâs door, shoots him and Layla in the face, boom! Two-thirds of the game over, right there.
I would suggest:
- More missions with targets.
- Ability to select a loadout before a sub-mission. E.g., having to do the whole Hunter and Hunted section just to start the last sub-mission âChinese New Yearâ in 47âs suit (instead of a disguise) is pretty frustrating.
- More options to kill a target. I do think about Wadeâs mission (orphenage) where two options are given: either a shoutout, or a silent kill with hot vapors. More options would be a way to improve this specific section.
- Disguise system: a mix between the WoA sustem and something similar to Blood Money. Presence of some enforcers where instinct should be used to evade. But also, all persons with the same disguise become suspicious if one of them has been found inconscious and ânakedâ.
- Introduction of real CCTV in some missions (some CCTV are present, but only for cosmetics purpose).
2 Likes
1 - Make instinct an information tool only. 47 would no longer use it to scratch his head/tip his hat. It wouldnât need to be replenished anymore
2 - Some enemies would act as enforcers, while others would only blow your cover if they saw you do something illegal
3 - Have targets placed in most of the missions that didnât have them before. More guards/civilians in certain areas
4 - No penalty for subduing non-target npcs
5 - Save system like in Woa, as a replacement for the checkpoint system
I think these would make the game decent at the very least.
2 Likes
I would still keep instinct for stealth, but it would only be needed for enforcers.
3 Likes
Youâre right, what sets 47 apart from every other supersoldier assassin is his ability to blend in like a social chameleon. While it added realism insofar that you wouldnât take the clothes of someoneâs closest bodyguard and not be spotted as an imposter, but removed realism when every food vendor in Chicago knew each other by sight. You can imagine my enjoyment on the rare occasions where 47 gets a unique disguise like the barber in Hope, wherein you can stretch your legs and actually walk about like the old days.
ICA grunts by the events of Absolution know 47 to take disguises (and even putting the bodies in dumpsters), so they can be forgiven for their hypervigilance. But in a genre with titles like Splinter Cell or MGS where you canât afford to be even heard by the enemy, Hitman has always be a nice anxiety reliever in that 47 can walk about without fear of getting shot. Absolution made it more of a Splinter Cell game, but with civs going âErr..dude, whatâre you doing?â
The save system is horrible. It takes the fun out of experimentation if you only have those buggy checkpoints that donât even properly save your inventory.
Seems as if save systems have always been the bane of iO
2 Likes
I liked Absolution. It was fun. But it wasnât a Hitman game. The easiest solution to âfixâ it: Replace 47 with a generic character and leave it be. Not that I care, I enjoyed the game with 47 in it.
2 Likes
When Absolution first released, I was one of Absolutionâs biggest supporters. I have this guy to prove itâŚâŚâŚâŚ
However, when comparing it to the WOA trilogy, you donât realise how inferior it is in comparison. Donât get me wrong, thereâs plenty of elements from Absolution that was great, such as the instinct for some stuff, the dragging of bodies mechanics etc, but the WOA trilogy knocks it out of the park.
I thought the few things that were met with negative responses was the lack of sandbox levels, checkpoint system and always hiding in cover most of the time when playing.
4 Likes
Hitman: Absolution is an interesting take on modern gameplay and expensive cast and cinematics
However it lacks what made the core of Hitman: freedom of approach, and the newly introduced disguise system kinda broke the usual take of approach on those games
This made it an interesting videogame, but not a real Hitman game sadly
Still enjoyable to play, it had nice gameplay elements and brought the roots of what is HITMAN today
But nonetheless, you should consider it like an extra spin-off, a closer, more personal take on 47 and everything that surrounds him
More details: [Fan Review]Dear Hitman Absolution Developers...[CLOSED]
3 Likes
I would have made it so the Chicago Police only had blue flashing lights. Sorry for such a nitpick response but the team at IO did just a wonderful job of capturing the feel of Chicago so it bothered me that they missed that.
Anyway to really answer the question, less linear, less scripted kills; same as most people.
2 Likes
Simple: more sexy nuns.
5 Likes
Story-wise imo 47 and Diane tryinâ to be mentors/parents to Victoria and preventinâ to build a new â47â in the whole ICA civil war was such an interesting concept to explore but they missed the mark so badly: I wish they would redo it because if written correctly, it would work, and could have been a perfect way to end his arc with him finally acceptinâ his more human side and closinâ the franchise. Wish they would reboot the entire story too.
It could have been a something more similar to Corvo and Emily in Dishonored, idk.
1 Like