Hitman: Contracts

"Hitman tries to be action and stealth but gets neither right."

I hadn't played any of the previous Hitmans but heard that they were a mix of stealth and action, letting you play which ever way you wanted to, so I went to my local Blockbuster and rented it. I played it for about 5 hours and just got bored. I never completed it. Hitman is just a dull game that couldn't keep my interest. It has both action and stealth, but got neither of them right.

Graphics---7
They're a mixed bag. Some of the people look nice and the environments are pretty well detailed, but other parts of the game look muddy and the character animation is pretty bad also. This game doesn't look bad at all...it just doesn't push anything. They're just average graphics.

Controls---7
The controls are pretty easy to get used to. It only took me about 15 minutes before I could execute what I wanted when I wanted. They aren't terribly complicated, but they don't have too much to them either. Splinter Cell allowed you to pick up and throw stuff for distractions, hang on pipes, etc. (not saying I liked Splinter Cell...it just gave you more stuff to do). Hitman: Contracts allows you to duck, shoot, and perform some small actions with A (like dragging bodies), but it doesn't give you the same moves that made it fun to sneak around in Splinter Cell. Plus, the lack of a jump button is a very big turnoff. Also, to change your guns you have to enter your inventory. I dont' see why they couldn't implement a way to quickly get your guns, as going into your inventory each time is quite annoying.

Gameplay---3
Hitman: Contracts plays out like many other mission-based action games. You are given a few missions at the beginning of the level and you must complete them to beat the level. The name of the game is supposed to be stealth, but it is just so much easier to run and gun. The stealth part of the game was very poorly designed. Many parts aren't conducive to sneaking around, as they are large areas with guards you just can't sneak past. The sneaking is too much a trial and error and not enough fun. Many times there will be a huge open area and no apparent way to sneak passed. Therefore, you have to shoot everyone, which then alarms everyone else and turns the stage into a run and gun stage instead of stealth stage. Take the second level for instance: you're at a party with hundreds of people and guards...many times it is impossible to not get caught, and once you do, everyone is alarmed. But that's not that bad, because the AI is so stupid that if you just lay low for a while they'll forget about you.
There's also the stupid maneuvers. They give you the option of looking through the keyhole of the door, but you can rarely see anything (due to the skinny peek hole) so it rarely does anything to help you. You also have a peek function that doesn't really peak. I mean it does look around corners, but it is so little that it doesn't help you at all...not to mention that you can just go into third person and see around a corner, making the whole peek function superfluous.
But since the stealth is bad you would think the action would be good, right? Wrong. The aiming is quite jerky. But that doesn't matter anyway because your targeting reticle can be 10 ft. off from a guy and somehow still hit him. And if you try to run and gun too much, you can't hide all the bodies, which will lead to a guard discovering them, which will, in turn, lead to a guard shooting you from a mile away. You won't be able to find him until your dead though, so it doesn't matter

Buy or rent? (Total)---Neither (4.3)
This game might be fun to the longtime fans, but you'll get better stealth games anywhere. I just recently beat The Chronicles of Riddick, which not only has a better shooting aspect, but also beats Hitman in stealth. Or if you want stealth, get Splinter Cell (either one). Rent if you must, but only if you must.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 06/08/04