Hitman: Contracts

"Hitman: Flashback style!"

Hitman: Contracts. The eagerly awaited third installment of the Hitman series. But is this an innovative sequel, or just Eidos's cash cow?

Hitman: Contracts

Story
Hitman: Contracts begins in France, with Agent 47 returning to his hotel room after his latest hit. He has been seriously injured, and seconds after entering the room, he collapses in the doorway. 47 now has several flashbacks of some of his greatest missions throughout the years (Reminds me slightly of another Eidos title involving a certain Miss Croft!). Between each mission there is an interlude showing 47's progress in the hotel room. The story is not very well structured to be honest, (and I can't stand 'flashback' games anyway, they aren't very creative) and since some of the missions are actually from the first Hitman game, there is a lot of recycled material.
5/10

Gameplay
Those of you who have played the earlier Hitman titles will know what to expect here. As Agent 47, a genetically engineered assassin for hire, you go through a series of 12 missions (Yes, 12. Compared to Hitman 2's 21!). In each of the missions, you have to kill some target(s), in any way you like. You can charge in guns a blazing and kill everything that moves, or you can don a disguise, and take out the target with deadly efficiency. It's up to you, and how you like to play. This is one of the best things about the Hitman series. There is no right or wrong way. As for the missions themselves, unfortunately they are not really up to scratch. There are only a few really good, well structured missions, and as I mentioned, some of them are just recycled from the first game. Added with the fact there are so few missions, this is a real disappointment.
7/10

Graphics
Pretty nice graphics. Not a huge leap from Hitman 2, but still pretty nice. My only gripe with the graphics department is that the lip sync is crap. You can really tell that they made the lips move first, and then added the sound, not bothering to make them match. Nothing you can't live with, but annoying nonetheless.
7/10

Controls
Well now, the controls have been changed for some reason. I don't see what was wrong with them before. It is a strange change if you have played Hitman 2, but you will get used to them quickly. The new controls are still pretty good, though.
9/10

Sound
Quite a change in the soundtrack this time around. Gone are the orchestras, and singing choirs. Now the soundtrack is a lot more techno. This is either a good or bad thing, depending on your tastes. Myself, I like it.

As for the voice acting, it is really good, especially 47 himself, who sounds cold and merciless, the way that a killer should.
9/10

Lifespan
Twelve missions. Some of which are extremely short. You get the picture.
5/10

Replayablilty
Well, there is a bit of this. After you have completed all the missions (which doesn't take long), you can go back and replay them all, and try out different strategies to get the job done. You can also try to get all the weapons, which to do completely, you have to get a Silent Assassin rating in each level. All of that will take quite a while to do. Pretty good replayablity.
7/10

Overall
Hitman: Contracts is pretty disappointing. Eidos really should have spent more time making more creative missions, and not just re-use old ones. Not a bad game, but it could've been so much better. Let's hope the in-development Hitman 4 will be a better game.
6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 07/21/04