20 years in the making: Hitman 3 review
#1 of Hitman 3 review
I know countless others have written reviews on Hitman 3, but I wanted to express my views after beating it and finishing a saga I've loved for over 20 years and was happy to see come to a definitive end.
I recently played Hitman 3 and I was very satisfied with the contracts and how they lead up to Agent 47 finding and killing the man behind his torment. I know there are multiple ways to beat each level and I congratulate players on finding those ways and obtaining those rewards and achievements, but I looked at the contracts and gameplay through the levels as a means to an end to finding how the story climaxes. So I wanted to play each level and do the mission as simply as I could to get to the end of the narrative. I enjoyed it, but I wasn't focused on doing everything just as a competition. I enjoy single player campaigns where I can enjoy a good story. I love a well-developed game with great graphics and mechanics (which Hitman 3 has) but in my opinion, that's just a vehicle to facilitate finding how a story you've been invested in and enjoyed for so long concludes. The graphics were very detailed and the mechanics were very smooth and fluid. I know some have criticized the dialogue as wooden and cheesy, but I really like it, especially when delivered in David Bateson's sinister, revengeful deep tone that he has satisfyingly delivered for over 20 years. Hitman 3 was a great end to a great saga and character. I could really feel the struggle with Lucas Grey and 47 with regards to morality, revenge, humanity, wanting something bad enough to go down fighting for it, and free choice. The freedom of finally being in control of your own life and destiny without someone secretly, insidiously pulling the strings. I found Hitman 3 (as with the other games over two decades) challenging and rewarding enough on the lowest setting, my favourite guns in the series were the Ruger Mk 2 suppressed .22lr pistol, of course the Arcadia Machine and Tool Hardballer 1911 in single and duel wield, suppressed and unsuppressed, and the Walther W2000 rifle, particularly in take-down configuration in Contracts/Bloodmoney. Ever since Absolution, I found that Agent 47's bare hands or gravity were the most satisfying weapons, particularly bookended in the final game with killing Marcus Stuyvesant and and Carl Ingram in Dubai,-I really enjoyed pushing/kicking them off the Burj Khalifi and snapping The Constant's neck in Romania, very personal. It was also satisfying just shooting him. My first go, I shot them both in the conference hall with a guard's gun. I couldn't kill all 11 ICA agents in Berlin, but I commend the skill of the players who did and the stress and begrudging respect their handler had in her tone when you did. Also, shooting five of the agents with the shotgun in the office was intense and satisfying. I made up for it on the train in Romania where I shot or stabbed all the ICA agents on my way to meet The Constant. In Chongdong China, I threw a fire axe at Hush's head in his apartment lab, and a screwdriver at Royce. Youtube was a huge help with exfil since I was under fire. I tried my best at playing investigator in Dartmoor England, (which reminded me of Beldingford Manor in Bloodmoney) but in the end, I just killed Madam Carlisle when she sat at her dead brother's bedside and unlocked the safe myself, although I was impressed with people who could solve it and how you could either kill her or she committed suicide depending on outcome. I just shot Tamera and Don Yates in Argentina (which reminded me of the Chilean vineyard in Bloodmoney) with one of the mercenary's sniper rifles, but I agree, the best ending was when one of the Providence members shot Tamara with a shotgun, and Diana stabbed Don Yates and you finished him off with the same dagger, I also found it satisfying when you (dressed as a soldier) activated a press and crushed Tamera and all that was left was blood! (That reminded me of killing two of your contracts with a ram in the militia training compound in Colorado in Hitman 2) The aspect of individually entering a passcode and finding it was precedence-setting and really rewarding finding where they were. Again, a fantastic end to a fantastic series that started for me when I bought my Xbox and just happen to see Hitman 2 Silent Assassin and grabbed it as one of my free "throw in" games, the rest is history. 47 and Lucas have now found piece and I hope Diana has too.