Hitman III

[JaySevenZero]

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions for Hitman III for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder that where the feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but keeping it brief is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mostly reading out essays. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.

[Ak1ra]

Hitman 3 was my first entry in the Hitman series, I never heard of the previous games, a classic case of IP amnesia.
And what an IP to have missed out on! I won't steep my praise on the previous titles but simply urge others to listen to the outstanding previous Cane & Rinse episodes on those titles.
Safe to say that after the first mission, I stopped and completed 2016 and Hitman 2 back to back before continuing.
Hitman 3 improved in exactly the way I had imagined, keeping the great gameplay elements like the mission stories, the ingenious and elaborate bad murders but merely refined them.
The stealth "MGS Radar" system seemed more intuitive and natural, the story missions helped complete the narrative exquisitely. And there lies the bitter sweetness of this game, it was subtle and respectful but nearing the end, I knew this was going to end, for good.
I can't wait for IOI's next project and I have no doubt that they will bring a thrilling, funny and innovative take on the James Bond franchise.
I just hope that they are not bound to a specific film, so that they have freedom to flex and flourish.

[Tolkientaters]

I haven't played Hitman 2 yet, so this was a pretty major upgrade over 1. Every level aside from the final was fantastic, I especially liked Chongqing and Berlin along with Dartmoor. I do wish there had been more ICA agents in Berlin, but IO nails this gameplay and it looks phenomenal. I'm really excited to see what they do with the James Bond Liscense.

[AndrewElmore]

three word review: Carpathia Good, Actually

[Thomas Ell]

Hitman 3 felt like a fitting climax to my Hitman journey. I was a mature first year student in 2016 needed something to fill time between lectures and in 2021 was a new dad on paternity leave, needing something to dip into in between trying to get sleep in the day and middle of the night insomnia. Being able to boot up the game, do a challenge or 2 then go back to real life made this perfect for me at the time. I must have sunk 50 hours into this game without even finishing it (something I didn’t manage for Hitman 2016 either) and that’s high praise of the ‘I wonder what will happen if…’ gameplay. ‘What will happen I throw an explosive duck through the window?’ ‘What happens if I poison every drink in the Berlin juice bar?’ ‘What happens if I mess with these parachutes?’.

I didn’t finish 2016 because I lost interest in Colorado and never went back to it, and Chongqing turned me off (it was a bit too big and overwhelming) which means I haven’t seen the final few levels but the many many hours spent in Berlin and Dartmoor means that I’m happy with the value I got from my 25 quid sale price.

My son is now 7 months old and I still dip back in when he’s napping to try an elusive target, play some Hitman Roulette (an amazing bit of problem solving for those comfortable enough with the maps and mechanics) or complete a challenge I hadn’t before. Agent 47 got me through those moments of real sleep deprivation and this game is an easy recommendation for someone with precious little gaming time.

[RadicalDog]

It feels like part 3 of one very long game, and that reflects how I've played this series - never more than 3 levels within a particular burst of interest. I'm also not particularly interested in replaying levels endlessly - blasphemy, I know! It's more like a wonderful holiday pack. I get to spend a couple hours visiting somewhere nice and murdering millionaires. I can think of a few who I'd like to see in Corsica...

[Toon Scottoon]

This is the first Hitman game I've ever played. I'd heard the effusive praise for the series on this show and in other gaming outlets, and heard talk of the gallows humor on display during Agent 47's earlier murderous campagains, but without having ever pulled the trigger on a previous title, I just didn't realize how much more clearly the jokes hit when you are experiencing them yourself. It is almost as if the designers set out to create a simulation of one of those anecdotes you might hear at a party, where no one laughs and then the teller, clearly holding back mirthful tears, says, "I guess you had to be there," only in this case the teller is Hannibal Lecter and the story is probably about someone getting crushed in a grape vat, or exploded by a golf ball, or decapitated by a hair dryer. Okay I don't think that last one ever happens, but if there's another Hitman game who knows? That's the thing about a good hit or a good joke, you never see it coming.

Three word review: Super Murder Maker

[Rhaegyr]

I've not even played this game yet so my comment is worth very little but still, I'd still like to comment on the series as a whole (as all three games seem very similar bar the levels).

Hitman (2016) was my first foray into the series and I've not looked back since. It's a genre I never knew I needed and there's absolutely nothing else out there like it.

I've done practically everything possible on Hitman and Hitman 2; the only reason I've not played this one yet is that once it's done I feel there'll be no more Hitman for a long time and I love savouring each level.

I look forward to playing it

[Simonsloth]

Not for pod but I would encourage you to get hitman 3 as there are seemingly never ending monthly events which add new items, challenges and nonsense to keep the fun alive. It’s kind of intimidating how much they are doing on a regular basis that I can’t commit to any of it!

[Rhaegyr]

Not for pod but I would encourage you to get hitman 3 as there are seemingly never ending monthly events which add new items, challenges and nonsense to keep the fun alive. It’s kind of intimidating how much they are doing on a regular basis that I can’t commit to any of it!

That's the problem - it's taken me the best part of 6 years just to 'finish' the first two games to a standard I'm happy with (and I've not even done all the challenges or any of the escalations).

They'd said it in previous podcasts but it still stands; this could be a proper desert island game.

[Cardb0ardC0wb0y]

*NOTE* Apologies for the length of my post, it looks like I have written a LOT (I may have got a bit carried away), but I have done my best to break it down in to segments for ease of use, in case you would like to use anything I have written to discuss certain levels or features in the game. I absolutely will NOT be offended if you decide to use some, all, or absolutely NONE of what I have written in the show itself, it’s just been fun to put in to words my thoughts on one of my favourite games of this generation. Thanks for the opportunity James H.





I’ve been a Hitman fan since playing Blood Money back on the PS2, and since then have been back and played all the console-available games I could get my hands on. I played Contracts on PS2 as well, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin on Gamecube, and even went back and played these all on the excellent 360 HD collection, before enjoying Absolution upon release (and yes, I did actually enjoy it!).

I loved Hitman 2016, and when I bought Hitman 2 on day one, I played it pretty much non-stop for almost a year, to the detriment of everything else (including RDR2, which I also bought only two weeks before)! The wealth of additional content and new levels kept me inhabiting the world of Agent 47 and the ICA for far longer than any rational person would care to admit.

I eagerly put my pre-order in for Hitman 3 Deluxe Edition, both to get the pre-order bonuses and to make sure I got day one access to all the extra content on offer (but the less said about that, the better). Upon playing the base game for the first time, it’s clear that IO have taken all the tricks they learned from Hitman 2016 and Hitman 2 and built a world which is a marvel to explore, and to find new ways to manipulate (and in some cases, break) to your own nefarious advantage. There are a few new gameplay features that have been added in, but really these only affect early level playthroughs; things like unlocking shortcut doors & hatches which remain open on future playthroughs are handy, although using the new camera to hack widows & panels and entering 4-digit security door codes are a neat touch at first but quickly become an annoyance, especially when they have to be done every time a level is played (even if you do manage to memorise the codes). However, these are normally only limited to a couple of instances per level, which mitigates the frustration to some extent.

There is no training level this time; Hitman 3 throws the player straight in to the main first level, set atop an enormous skyscraper in Dubai. It does give the player a few simple instructions on how to use the new camera and codes, and does have some basic tutorial instructions, but presumably IO are expecting players at this point to have at least some familiarity with the series, and hand-holding is kept very much to minimum. As you would expect (being set in Dubai), the first level is wonderfully lavish with some fantastic verticality. Sneaking on to the upper floors without being detected can be particularly tricky, especially on higher difficulties, or when chasing that elusive SASO ranking.

The second level, set in a sprawling English mansion, is arguably the best level in the game, if not the series. The level could also be seen as a loose callback to the earlier English level, Beldingford Manor from Hitman: Contracts, which was one of the more enjoyable levels from that game. It is another level which requires demands repeated playthroughs to work out and learn how best to sneak your way between floors, using ledges and pipes outside the building to avoid guards or get nearer to the target, and it does become quite tricky to remember which windows lead to which shortcuts. Even after literally months of replays and additional contracts I still sometimes find myself going out the wrong window, although I always find this amusing rather than frustrating, as I have no-one to blame but myself! The location was also repurposed for one of the more entertaining pieces of post-release content – The Dartmoor Garden show, where the grounds are re-imagined as, well, a garden show, with random targets to take out in new and imaginative ways.

Berlin is easily my favourite level from any Hitman game, full stop, but I also know this level is one of the more divisive ones in the series. It is set in an underground nightclub that is obviously IO’s stand-in for the famous Berghain nightclub, and rather than just the usual one or two targets, this time there are ten to choose from, the twist being that this time the targets are actively hunting 47 instead of just going about their business. To make things even more interesting, they are all undercover, so upon initial playthrough you have no idea who could be your potential killer. However, after you discover them they will be permanently marked as targets on the map and using instinct. Personally I think it would have been amazing if IO had found a way to randomize which NPC was an assassin on each playthrough to really keep the player (and 47) on their toes, but I can understand it is probably easier to dream than to do.

However, main reason I love the Berlin level is the fact that having spent the majority of my twenties out in dark hard trance and techno clubs at weekends, the feeling of being at an actual club is stunningly realised. I loved seeing the sweaty NPCs on the dance floor, the drug dealer hanging out by the toilets (not that I’d know anything about that, of course!), the queue for the cubicles that never seem to move and people hanging out in the bars and chill-out areas, and it is definitely one of the most realistic clubs I’ve seen not only in gaming, but also across most forms of media. It is a compliment to the composer that the club music for this level doesn’t get at all annoying upon repeated listens (perfect for a game where replaying levels is pretty much a necessity). It is, in fact, a minimalist techno banger, and I’m not ashamed to admit I have ripped an mp3 copy from a 30 min Youtube video and frequently listen to it whilst doing the housework or popping to the shops! Plus, being able to disguise yourself as a DJ, sabotage the pyrotechnic equipment and then take out two targets whilst performing to the crowd is one of the all-time great assassinations!

Chongqing is personally a bit of a disappointment after Berlin, despite having a very unique location in the form of the ICA agency headquarters. However, to enter it 47 must first negotiate the upper levels, set in neon-lit, yet run-down Chinese streets. It is a well-designed level, but is actually one of my least-played, for the simple reason that gaining access to the HQ and then travelling around it relies heavily on using the access codes and camera to hack screens and panels, which whilst fine in small doses, does become grating on repeated playthroughs. It is a stunning level to look at, but becomes a bit annoying to actually play multiple times.

If the Dartmoor level was a loose remake of Beldingford Manor from Contracts, then the penultimate level, set in an Argentinian vineyard could also been seen as a remake or reimagining of the Blood Money level, “A Vintage Year”, also set in a winery. It is a large, sprawling level with the possibly one of largest number of “unique” or situational assassinations that I can think of. Completionist or first-time players will want to keep rolling saves during story missions where possible, as many of the same story opportunities have multiple branching paths, which can lead to several different assassinations instead of just one suggested method. This makes it another level with a huge amount of variety in the ways it can be completed, and a definite pleasure to replay again and again.

The final level is completely linear experience where 47 must sneak his way to the front of a train rolling through some Romanian mountains to assassinate his target. As such, it has a largely divided opinion online, although as someone who enjoyed the (fairly) linear Hitman: Absolution, I didn’t mind it so much, even if the replay value is essentially limited to completing the optional challenges, or obtaining the tricky SASO run. It does have a certain cinematic feel (influences from Broken Arrow and Under Siege 2 spring to mind), and the straightforwardness of the level ties in nicely with the idea that the story could not end any other way, as 47, and the series, creep inexorably to their final conclusion. Maybe it might not the best end to the trilogy, but in my opinion, it is certainly a fitting one.

With regards to game extras, the deluxe content sadly is a bit of a disappointment, mainly consisting of escalation levels where you can earn some cool new costumes and gear, most of which I rarely actually use. But, I AM a Hitman completionist and to be fair, escalations are always an enjoyable challenge, but after the remixed levels for Hitman, and the special assignments and bonus levels for Hitman 2, the content just seemed to be a bit unimaginative, and ultimately not really worth paying full price for. I would recommend it at a sale price, however.

The same could be said for the first piece of Hitman 3 DLC (not including weapon or costumes packs), the Seven Deadly Sins. A series of escalations (seriously, IO, more escalations!?) based around (you guessed it) the seven deadly sins, these were ultimately fun and required the player to think outside of the box to complete most of them. The rewards were more costumes and some exclusive equipment that could be used in the main game, some of which are actually really useful, like the proximity sedative mine and the blinding crossbow. However, the price point is widely agreed to be a sticking point for the actual content available, and again, I would only really recommend buying this when on sale.

Like Hitman and Hitman 2, the game is constantly being added to, with both new and old elusive targets popping up, new community-made contracts being rolled out, and new items to unlock, and players can now replay existing elusive targets via the arcade mode (although these have again been styled as escalations, leading to some frustration amongst fans). Excitingly, IO have promised not only a new level later in the year, but also a new Freelancer mode where your contract spans multiple levels, and 47 starts with nothing and has to acquire and carry equipment between levels, or lose it altogether! As always with this series, Hitman 3 has enough gameplay to keep players returning repeatedly. Admittedly, IO might sometimes have misses as well as hits with regards to extra content, but overall it is a credit to them that they keep on adding to and improving the Hitman experience. To that end, Hitman 3 is not only one of the greatest games in the series; it is excellent value for money, great fun to play, and will keep players willing to look outside the core content satisfied for months, and possibly even years to come. IO may be temporarily stepping away from the Hitman franchise in the near future, but I for one am already looking forward to the return of 47, wherever and whenever that may be.