Developer: IO Interactive
Publisher: Square Enix
Platforms: PS4, XBOX ONE, PC
Tested On: PS4
Hitman: Episode 3 – Review
We’ve already been to France (Paris) and Italy (Sapienza), but this time IO Interactive is taking us to Morocco. Agent 47 is putting on his best summer suit in Marrakech, for the third episode of the latest HITMAN game. Here, he is taking on a double contract and navigating through the busy markets and small alleys that Marrakech has to offer, all while trying not to get noticed by the many heavily armed guards protecting the city, and more importantly, our targets.
Story
With episode 3, the episodical HITMAN game is switching to top gear. In Marrakech, the game’s biggest episode so far, Agent 47 takes on a double contract on massive scale. Not only is he hired to assassinate what could be the most heavily protected man in all of Morocco, he also has to eliminate another key character, to prevent a coup d’état from taking place. To describe Agent 47’s mission as a “political powder keg” might even be an understatement. In the series’ typical style, your reasons for undertaking this mission aren’t completely selfless however. The attempt to overthrow the current regime is putting your client at great financial risk. Potentially saving the nation by fulfilling your contract is just a nice side benefit.
As usual, HITMAN provides players with an extensive briefing and detailed background information on the targets. The series manages to immerse players and establish its story quite well.
Graphics
The graphics in this game are fantastic, HITMAN really does a great job establishing the protagonist’s surroundings and making them look different every time. The episodic model works here and is actually refreshing, every episode takes players around the globe and every mission feels completely new.
The amount of details in the environments is great and the Marrakech episode uses another great colour palette, similar to the Paris and Sapienza installments. Little stalls with vendors selling brightly coloured fabrics or beautifully detailed oil lamps really set the tone, and the busy markets are a great set for a game like this one. The Marrakech episode manages to feel different from the previous missions, while remaining loyal to the overall tones of the game.
Sound
Unfortunately, the thick American accents feel more out of place the further we go. NPC’s with an American accent felt a little unbelievable in Paris and Sapienza, but in Morocco they just completely ruin immersion. While the game does a great job explaining the background of the targets and making its environments feel realistic, the voice acting serves as a constant obstacle when it comes to taking the game completely seriously. We understand English voice acting makes it easier for players to follow the story (without having to read subtitles), but maybe some different accents could have done the job.
However, as it seems the accents are here to stay, it’s worth noting that HITMAN does have decent background music and does a great job blending in spoken audio with naturally occurring sounds in the environments.Other audio effects are of similar quality to previous episodes, and are more than satisfactory for a game like HITMAN.
Gameplay
Just like the previous episodes, the Marrakech episode focuses on HITMAN’s action and stealth components. Aiming to eliminate both general Reza Zaydan en banker Claus Hugo Strandberg, you are given plenty of time to fully prepare for your mission as you choose which suit, weapons and other items to equip. A full background story on both targets gives players plenty of information and helps them plan out their strategy. Again, there are plenty of different options to choose from as you decide how you’d prefer to take out the targets. You can use disguises to sneak closer to your objective, or go in heavily armed with a variety of weapons of your choice. Overall, players are really encouraged to properly think about their preferred strategy. It’s really all up to the players in this one, and there are many different achievements to encourage players to try and switch things up in a next playthrough.
The HITMAN series has proved its worth, the many different options to play through a mission make for a great amount of variety when it comes to gameplay and replayability. There are advantages and disadvantages to the episodic model that the game is employing, but overall the episodes manage to feel like a coherent game while still offering enough variety to feel different every time you start up a new mission. Similar to games without an episodic release schedule, the game gets increasingly more difficult the further you get.
Conclusion
While we were sceptical about the episodic release model, it does seem to work for this particular game. HITMAN proves to be a worthy title in its genre, and provides players with many hours of replayable content. The Marrakech episode is a beautiful new addition to the game.
Hitman: Episode 3 - Review,
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