It would be gauche to say "Hitman 2 is the best" or "Hitman 3 is better". But more on that poisoned chalice in a moment. As usual the story drapes a thick veil of conspiracy theories over all its corpses-to-be. Often rich, always vile, they are heirs of vast oil empires, or owners of manipulative media conglomerates. The targets throughout are as despicable as usual. This is in keeping with moderno-Hitman's pedigree as a game about maintenance workers killing their paymasters. Filled with bodyguards, maids and gardeners, it's as much a grimly smiling parody of Downton Abbey as it is a meta-murderous take on Poirot. The mansion is an upper class wonderhome, all dark mahogany and priceless antiques. This level is the first clue that the designers have decided to throw any remaining plausibility (about 0.01%) out the window and have a party.
You might have already read Alice B's misadventures in a mansion in Dartmoor, England, where you can disguise yourself as a private investigator and take part in a full-on murder mystery. Taken together, the trilogy is a cracking showcase of level design, and Hitman 3 has some of the best so far. So if you asked me "what is new?" I'd have to admit it's only the levels. Because when I think of Hitman, I think of individual levels. Everything else about moving, sneaking and shooting feels identical. I only mention the camera because its addition marks the only real mechanistic difference between Hitman 2 and Hitman 3. Some later uses of the hackcam include opening vents which can be opened with a simple screwdriver anyway. It is not exactly a revolutionary tool in 47's bulging blazer pockets.
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It's sometimes helpful, but not a significant change in the way that Hitman 2 introduced pop-up windows showing events in other rooms, or allowed you to blend into crowds. Throughout levels you'll see terminals that let you open doors or windows from across the room with the hackcam. The new thing in our bald friend's arsenal is his camera, which doubles up as a hacking tool.
To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Pose as a waiter to neatly pour your target's poisoned wine, or lure them into the cellar to bludgeon them with the bottle.
As ever, levels are sprawling clockwork toys of NPC routines, comical eavesdropping, and gleeful killing opportunities. You're off to take care of them amid spy thriller plot twists that see you flying from Dubai to Germany, from China to Argentina. In terms of story, we left barcode boy with some new friends and a list of names - the head honchos of various dynasties who secretly rule the world from shadowy board rooms. But what's inside still has that crunch and flavour you like, so it's hard to grumble when you're stuffing your face. Hold Hitman 3 in your hands and you might remark it feels "a bit light", with the suspicious eyes of someone whose favourite cereal seems to have fewer flakes in the box every time they buy it. Here he is again in the final instalment of the most recent righteous murder trilogy. He visits the rich and powerful once every couple of years, to shove lumps of coal down their throat because they've been selling AK-47s to babies. The empathy-void assassin of the Hitman trilogy is an anti-Santa who only has a "naughty" list and never a "nice" one.
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One last globetrotting murder spree in this reliably fun-loving series of murder sims