Well this is good news. Looks like we are getting another Hitman title in the not too distant future. Not only that, but we are getting it on the PS4, Xbox One, as well as the PC. All from the same company who brought my personal favorite iteration of the franchise, Hitman: Absolution. Color me excited and let's go through what we have been told thus far.
From the below letter it looks like we are going to be playing a prequel of sorts as it is stated that we will be playing as 47 in the prime of his career in the Hitman franchise. Not to mention that the character that spawned the whole drama of Absolution is alive and well. Ok, so a prequel might work out but they are never really all that amazing in my book. I mean, they always seem very convoluted to meld in with the existing lore of the franchise and I don't like being hammered in the head to accept why certain things have to happen in my games so as not to break the space-time continuum. But moving on.
It is also stated that the level designs are going to be more 'sandbox' like without check points instead of a linear path. Is this any different than other Hitman titles really? I though Io did a great job making it feel non-linear, level-wise, before even though the story of the game had to be very linear. Maybe they meant to say that the game's world and story will be a bit more non-linear instead of the levels. I have a hard time remembering any specific levels that forced you down a simple path from A to B unless you were trying to get some specific kill or something. Maybe that was just me.
Lastly, and I'll let you go to read the letter then, Contracts mode is planned to be back and it also sounds like they are going to be forcing a real world-ish inventory system. At least that is how I took the joke about 'magic pockets' and how much 47 could carry in Hitman: Absolution. But who knows? Either way I am excited to hear this news and look forward to what we will be getting from the developer and franchise.
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Dear Hitman fans, We wanted to share this open letter with all of you out there eagerly awaiting more news about what’s happening next in the franchise. At Io-Interactive right now, we are building the next AAA Hitman game for PC and next-gen consoles. It has our total focus and we wanted to take a moment to tell you a few things about it. In the next game you will experience a globetrotting Agent 47 at the prime of his career – the apex predator stalking his prey across the world, with the support of his long-term handler Diana Burnwood and the whole of the ICA. The game concentrates on the core Hitman fantasy of using a wide range of tools to take out a diverse group of targets across expansive, exotic locations around the world. We are building this game on the backbone of the Glacier 2 engine, using the best parts and what we have learnt through Hitman: Absolution and drawing inspiration from past titles like Contracts and Blood Money to fulfil the core Hitman fantasy. That means we’re packing in an extreme level of detail on the largest levels we have ever built for a Hitman game. We’ve adopted an open, non-linear level design approach to the game, ensuring the game will play out across huge, checkpoint-free, sandbox levels. Our aim is to create living, breathing and believable levels which will allow gamers to play around with the AI to create those unique moments every fan of the Hitman franchise loves. Contracts Mode is back – you will be able to create and build challenges by experimenting with the large levels and possibilities within them. And of course, you can share them with the world and challenge your friends or foes to complete your hits. Your rules, your Contracts. You will also be glad to hear that we have removed 47’s magic pockets. We believe that’s all we need to say about that subject. As we get further into 2014, we will reveal more and get into much closer contact with all of you. There are so many things we have planned and we are extremely excited for the future of Hitman. Thank you all for your dedication. We will share much, much more in the coming months. The Io-Interactive Team |
