Stealth & brains over brawn

Play the role of a hired assassin in the fifth instalment of the franchise, but only if you have lots of patience

Chinatown was teeming with people. But I had a single mission. Eliminate my target and make a quick getaway.

The plan seemed simple. Use the crowd to get close to the don, create a distraction to get his guards away, make a clean kill and blend into the crowd. First, I tried spiking his food, but I was spotted. Next I tried to get a clean head shot, using the bursting fireworks as cover. I was a bit off target, injuring him. I was successful the next time: Life seldom gives one so many chances.

Being a hired assassin may not be every person’s cup of tea, but it certainly is challenging and a lot of fun. Before you haul me to the authorities (and throw me into a mental asylum), let me clarify all the fun takes place within a game, as Agent 47’s numerous fans may be well aware. Hitman: Absolution, Agent 47’s latest adventure, is a classic stealth shooter which gives hours of fun.

But one should be ready to put in long hours — patience is rewarded, impatience can be fatal. Brain and stealth score over mindless hail of bullets. So, if you’re one who loves to go through a game with your guns blazing, this one’s not for you.

The game begins with Agent 47 being sent to kill his former handler

Diana Burnwood, accused of betraying The Agency. Diana has saved Agent 47’s life in the past, so it does raise doubts in the hired assassin’s mind. After all, she’s the only human with whom he’s formed something of a bond. But he shrugs it off, calling it “just a job”. The mission, also the game’s tutorial, ends with Diana being shot by Agent 47. Before she dies, Diana begs Agent 47 to protect Victoria, a young girl in her charge. He agrees and puts the girl in an orphanage.

Then begins Agent 47’s quest to uncover the truth about why The Agency wants Victoria so badly. The plot becomes complex, enjoyably so, and the campaign is pretty long, a welcome surprise in these days of short campaigns. The game has two modes — the Story mode, where you pursue the mission to uncover the truth about Victoria and the Contracts mode, where you can not only take up challenges created by other players, but also customise contracts. This mode will be a favourite with Hitman fans.

At the beginning of each mission, one is given the target and objectives. But there’s no fixed way to carry out the missions. Yes, it involves killing people, but there are so many ways of doing just that.

A helpful addition to this instalment is Instinct, which lets you see your enemies through walls, while a line of fire shows you in advance, the path your adversary will take. It’s very helpful if you’re not cautious. And, of course, this mode also helps draw casual gamers to its fold.

The game has five difficulty levels, and takes on a whole new dimension at each level of difficulty — sometimes that’s akin to playing a new game, which is good because you can play the campaigns several times. This makes it worth every paise you’ve paid for the game, which retails for the PC at Rs 999.

If there’s one chink in the well-designed games armour, it is this: Even after one dons a disguise, it can be blown any moment. This makes sense when you’re in a group of workers or guards at a residence, but it defies logic when you are disguised as a policeman and another cop from another part of the town sees through your bluff.

But then, is logic supposed to work in a world where a man with a barcoded pate can blend in with the crowd? The very fact that my friend spotted this glitch points to the success of the game… or the real world it has spawned in the minds of its players.