http://www.hitmanfor...tid=39&id=30055
The Demo - First Impressions
by dark in category Guest Columns on April 18th, 2006
The demo begins (as you would expect) with a menu screen - the background is a picture of 47 in Vegas,
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and the music is a change from what we have been used to in previous titles - very quiet at first, and then quite loud and quick (the track has featured in some of the trailers). It is a mixture of the orchestral music of Silent Assassin and the darker mechanical sound of Contracts, a fusion which works extremely well (kudos to composer Jesper Kyd). Selecting the 'Tutorial Demo' option, we are subjected to a frankly awful loading screen. It is dull, uninspired and...for want of a better term, naff. It makes you appreciate the loading screens of Silent Assassin and Contracts more than you might have before - still, this is an incredibly minor and insignificant part of the experience.
The cinematic before the mission is very well done as we have come to expect from the Hitman games, and successfully sets up the mission whilst remaining entertaining to watch. After the cinematics the game kicks in, and the graphics we are presented with are quite nice - a little too pixelated to be called anything wonderful, but not bad either. The water effect is instantly recognizable as an improvement, and 47 himself doesn't look too shabby - as you can check out with the new fully rotatable camera. This new element works surprisingly well and is easy to get the hang of, the transition of the old play style to the new is an easy one (although it may be harder to go back). Turning the camera to the sky, there is a kind of blustery, grainy effect that is very noticable, yet very hard to put your finger on...whatever it is, it certainly enhances the mood and captures the feel of this abandoned run down area.
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Something else which strikes you right from the start is the maturity of the title...while the aesthetics and music are not as dark as contracts, the mood certainly is. The violence seems all the more gritty and real this time around, with events such as a tortured blindfolded innocent being covered in petrol and set on fire, the bone crunching noises as 47 slams a hammer into his enemy's skulls, (the ensuing struggle to remove said hammer from said skulls), and the rather colourful language...within two minutes I'd heard 'fuck' and 'nigger' about six times. More realistic I suppose, although it seemed pretty forced to me. While the violence may be more realistic, the effects of it are not - the ragdoll phsyics apparently remain unchanged, from the distance people fly when shot to the odd shapes they make as you drag them. This isn't an issue that bothers me, but I am aware many people were hoping this was changed. On the bright side though, bullet holes are back by popular demand, and they aren't badly implemented either - not too obtrusive and unrealistic, but noticable.
The AI would appear to be improved - in some cases at least. I was rather annoyed in one seciton when I turned out the lights only to see about six identical NPC's all turning left and right on the spot in unison - not a very realistic representation of confusion. However, later on when I shot a gangster in the back of the head and his ladyfriend ran off, I was very pleasantly surprised when she came across another pistol I had dropped, picked it up and raised it to shoot at me! The fact that she seemed as accurate as any of the guards perhaps raises a few issues, but I thought it was impressive none the less.
The new abilities 47 now posesses are certainly all very welcome - smaller obstacles can now be hopped over without a second thought, as opposed to being the impossible barriers they once were. Guards are now easily distracted by quickly throwing an object (although for some reason 47 can't chuck a coin more than a few metres). Disarming and indeed punching and headbutting foes is extremely useful - in a similar way that Sam Fisher punches and stabs his enemies at the push of a button in the latest Splinter Cell, you wonder how you ever did without it in the previous games. The disarming may in fact be a little too useful - once you've mastered it, it isn't very demanding at all to sprint about the place snatching everyone's weapons off of them. Let's hope that the 'proper' levels will give allow the guards a few more tricks up their sleeve's to counteract this. My favourite addition by far has to be the ability to push people, not only does it have excellent practical uses, but it's also funny as hell to chase a helpless bystander around, pushing them over anything you feel like.
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The statistics screen worked out a lot better than I was expecting, with several various outcomes achieveable (I keep getting new ones). The articles manage to appear well written whilst also containing all of the relevant statistics - apart from the time it took you to complete the level, which is a worry. Of course this would be unrealistic in a newspaper report, but I do hope they find some way to slip this statistic into the full game. The newspaper is also littered with funny in-jokes and referances to other missions, it's really rather impressive.
In conclusion, this demo shows great signs of promise for the full game, but that is unfortuantely all it does. Choosing the tutorial level as a demo was not, in my opinion, a wise move - it is extremely linear and lacks many ways of deviating from the rather boring and clumsy route - it is impossible to complete without being seen numerous times, and indeed fighting numerous people. You are also only given the chance to wear one disguise, and given that it only has an effect in one room, it is clear this demo is missing some very important elements. If I were new to the series, this would not impress me - however, I'm not, and I can see the huge amount of potential it presents for taking 47 into a level where he can actually go where he wants. Hopefully the next demo, (May 11th) will give us a real level to play in.
Article by dark