Hitman is a video game franchise available on most modern formats.
The games were developed by Danish developer IO Interactive, now a division of Eidos Interactive. Three games have been released in the series: Hitman: Codename 47 (2000), Hitman 2: Silent Assassin (2002), and Hitman: Contracts (2004). A fourth installment, titled Hitman: Blood Money, has been announced for an early 2006 release. A film, starring Vin Diesel as the lead character, is set to release in 2007. See Hitman (2007 film) for more details.
The games have been noted for their impressive musical scores by Jesper Kyd.
Basic gameplay
Hitman presents players with choices in carrying out the game's missions. Players can perform precise assassinations or be incredibly brutal in their own approach to achieving mission goals; however, the game rewards the more subtle approach by giving special weapon rewards when players achieve the Silent Assassin rank (usually achievable by eliminating only the mission's target, and without raising the alarm doing so).
The gameplay revolves heavily around disguises, which the player uses to fool enemies and gain access to restricted areas. The focus of the Hitman series is not hiding in the shadows from the enemy, but rather blending in amongst them (although sneaking behind guards and avoiding patrols becomes more prevalent in the gameplay of later games).
The player's character, Agent 47, is not particularly maneuverable; he cannot jump at all, let alone scale walls or mantle up ledges (there are a couple of pre-scripted places where he can jump from one balcony to another, but these are rare). This generally limits the player to a single plane of movement, although he is often presented the opportunity to move to higher or lower areas through the use of ladders, stairs, elevators, or hills.
A major feature in the game is the "alert" meter, detailing how much attention the player is receiving from the public or guards and is dependent on many things. For example, Walking around in a guard's uniform with the correct corresponding gun won't gather much notice, whereas running around in a waiter's uniform in a restricted area while carrying a giant rifle instead of an appetizer tray will generally result in death.
In terms of action, the Hitman series runs a middle ground between shooters and stealth games. Unlike most stealth game protagonists, 47 can survive considerable damage before dying. Combined with the game's impressive arsenal, this allows for some high-action firefights. At the same time, players are unable to heal 47's health in the middle of a level, which tends to encourage the player to avoid as much damage as possible especially in later levels, where enemies begin carrying high-powered weapons such as shotguns or sniper rifles that can kill 47 in one or two hits. In fact, many levels are possible to complete without firing a single shot; this style of gameplay looks set to become more prevalent in the new Hitman game, Blood Money.
storyline
Published in 2004.
The hunter has become the hunted, as 47 is seriously wounded by one of his own targets, who seemed to have been expecting him. Bleeding to death and taking refuge in a hotel room somewhere in Paris, France, 47 drifts in and out of consciousness as an army of heavily armed French SWAT units converge around the apartment complex.
Hitman: Contracts' story centers around 47's flashbacks to earlier assignments. Many of the game's missions are re-imaginings of previous ones in the series. Almost all of the major missions from Hitman: Codename 47 have been re-made and included in Contracts; the exceptions being the Colombia levels, which were scheduled to be included but were dropped, and the final two levels (the first level of Contracts begins with the conclusion of the first game and the escape from the asylum in Romania where 47 was created).
The "suspicion" meter has been improved and is less twitchy and unpredictable than it used to be. Enemies generally will not see through a disguise, unless 47 stands right next to them for several seconds or enters a restricted area. They will also no longer open fire for little things, such as running or brushing past them. The graphics have also been marginally improved, with the addition of reflective surfaces and new shading techniques.
The game is darker than the previous two entries, literally and figuratively. Literally speaking, all of the levels either take place at dusk, nighttime, or during inclimate weather. No level features sunshine, or even just slightly overcast skies. The game's interiors are either poorly lit, take place in near blackness, or feature eerie, almost supernatural lighting ranging from green-hued fluorescent bulbs to candles. Several fans and reviewers have commented this effect is most likely due to how 47 has recalled them; as he is lying bleeding to death, these memories and thoughts are unlikely to be completely accurate, giving the game a nightmarish tinge in places. Jesper Kyd's fantastic composition also reflects this change of tone and is truely fascinating. Silent Assassin had an orchestral and epic score which created an heroic atmosphere, but the score of Contracts reflects the game's twisted and sinister mood perfectly through dark electronica tracks that could fit in a horror movie. Many fans consider Contracts' music the best of the series.
Several levels include disturbing imagery beyond what has been seen in the series' previous entries. The best example would be the second level called "The Meat King's Party", an S&M party taking place in a slaughterhouse. One scene in particular features the mutilated corpse of a teenage girl hanging upside down from a ceiling, wrapped in plastic; beneath her, the girl's obsessed kidnapper has created a shrine to her, centered around a large photo of the girl, on which he has written the word **** in her blood. A record player nearby plays Paul Anka's Put your head on my shoulder, while the girl's killer, an obese, semi-nude man in a bloody apron, cackles in what sounds like a clip from Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. This same level features disturbing depiction of strong perverse and morbid sexual behaviors between people wearing leather masks and bondage outfits, and mating next to gory animal corpses and carcasses. In another level, the Thermal Bath Hotel, the player can stumble across a cordoned off police crime scene, which features a bathtub filled with blood and a mutilated corpse in the next room. By entering the adjoining wing of the building, the player can actually see the murdered man's ghost drifting around the halls and reflected in bathroom mirrors.
All this adult material makes Contracts the darkest and most violent Hitman to date.
Major or re-occurring characters
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
47
A genetically engineered assassin created from the recombinant DNA of five of the world's most dangerous criminal masterminds. A tall, blue-eyed, bald, no-nonsense individual, who prefers a well-tailored suit and tie and who has a barcode stamped to the back of his head. Tailored from conception to be a ruthless killing machine, 47's strength, speed, and stamina are significantly above the human norm, and he possesses a single-minded, cunning intellect.
Raised in the sterile environment of the laboratory and trained in the fine arts of infiltration and execution, 47 gravitated towards the profession of Hitman upon his release into the real world, joining and eventually becoming the top assassin in the International Contract Agency. Yet, in spite of his creator's best efforts, 47 still possesses a fierce individuality and the spark of a conscience, a fact which greatly vexes his creator.
Although he's usually cold and to the point in his dealings with others, 47 can at times be quite introspective, especially when he's contemplating his own existence. He has no qualms and will kill anyone for money (from corrupt crime lords, to unfortunate opera singers, to a former Governor of Massachusetts), and shows no mercy whatsoever towards said targets, although 47 does take a certain professional pride in not creating any collateral damage. He has demonstrated a degree of mercy towards those people not on his kill list (for example, in Hitman: Contracts, 47 knocks out a butcher with the blunt end of a meat hook, rather than cutting out his throat with the sharp tip).
47 is brilliantly voiced by David Bateson.
Diana
47's controller at the Agency. Diana gives 47 his assignments, briefs him on his missions, and occasionally serves as his guide over the radio. 47 has never actually seen Diana face-to-face, and is familiar only with her voice. She appears to have a serious, business-like demeanor, as well as an American idea of what an English accent is like (whether this is a lacking in the area of voice acting or an intentional reflection on the character is unknown). Diana was seated behind 47 on a plane giving him a briefing at the end of Hitman Contracts. She can be considered an unseen character.
Dr. Ort-Meyer
47's creator and the ultimate villain of Hitman: Codename 47. A brilliant and dangerous individual. Expelled from the scientific community for his radical theories on genetic manipulation, Ort-Meyer has spent almost half a century combining and manipulating DNA in an effort to create an army of perfect super-soldiers. He was responsible for raising and indoctrinating 47 at his asylum, where 47 was kept as a virtual prisoner for most of his life. Ort-Meyer eventually engineered 47's "escape" from the asylum in order to test his performance in the real world. The consummate megalomaniac, Ort-Meyer used his powerful hold over the Agency to manipulate 47 into killing the other 4 masterminds behind the Hitman Project, so that Ort-Meyer could have the fruits of his labor all to himself. Ort-Meyer then attempted to have 47 himself eliminated, having perfected "Mr. 48", an improved, mindlessly loyal series of clones. Ort-Meyer underestimated 47's abilities, and in the final showdown, 47 eliminated the Mr. 48s and Ort-Meyer himself.
Agent Smith
A fairly inept American secret agent with ties to the CIA and the Agency. He has an unfortunate tendency to be captured and tortured by the very people he's assigned to spy on. As a result, the Agency has sent 47 to rescue him on a number of occasions. His torture experiences have caused him to take up drinking on the job, making him even more ineffective. Smith is about as close to a comic relief character as the Hitman series has.
Like 47, Agent Smith dons a variety of disguises, but most often he's seen beaten and stripped down to his American Flag boxer shorts. He seems to regard 47 as a friend, no doubt because 47 has rescued him so many times. Of course, the feeling is not mutual. 47 sees Smith as an ineffective hindrance.
Mei-Ling
A young woman from the Chinese mainland, abducted and recruited into the brothel of Hong Kong crimelord Lee Hong. 47 rescues her in exchange for information about her employer in preparation for assassinating him. After escaping from Lee Hong, Mei-Ling somehow ends up hooking up with Hayamoto, yet another Asian crime lord, and 47 ends up rescuing her again (much to his consternation).
Mei-Ling is apparently the only woman 47 has ever kissed, an experience 47 did not seem to enjoy that much, since 47's conditioning apparently includes a strong lack of interest in sexuality in general (in the original Hitman, 47 reacted to that kiss with significant revulsion. In the remake Hitman: Contracts, 47's reaction has been changed to one of detached bemusement). She was known as Lei Ling in Hitman: Codename 47; the reason for the this change remains unclear.
Sergei Zavorotko
The central villain of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin. An influential Russian crime lord and arms dealer specializing in the transport of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons (NBC weapons). Sergei is the employer and older brother of Boris, one of 47's five "fathers", although he is much more powerful than Boris ever was.
Sergei brought 47 out of retirement by arranging for the kidnapping of 47's friend Father Vittorio, then anonymously arranged through the Agency for 47 to perform a series of hits on his business partners. The hits were merely a diversion, however, and in reality Sergei was using 47 to assemble the parts of a Nuclear Missile System capable of penetrating the American Missile Shield, a system Sergei planned to sell to a wealthy Sikh doomsday cult for a considerable sum of money.
Like 47, Sergei has incredible strength and durability, capable of smashing through wooden walls and surviving a few dozen bullets to the chest. He's no superhuman, though, and dies after a single headshot or 3–4 shotgun blasts. He's very temperamental and often peppers his speech with Russian profanities. He also always carries around a large SPAS-12 shotgun.
Mystery Man
A mysterious man in a black suit. First seen in Hitman 2: Silent Assassin as an advisor to Sergei, he is the one who brings 47 to the attention of Sergei. Ultimately, he convinces Sergei to put out a hit on 47, leading to 47 learning about and killing Sergei. A couple of cutscenes towards the end of the game suggest he is really manipulating Sergei for a higher power. He may be related to the "Rival Agency" in Hitman: Blood Money.
The Albino
47's nemesis in Hitman Blood Money. Mark Pachezzi III aka The Albino is an expert assassin and a master of disguises who's able to blend in the background lke a chameleon to carry out subversive operations