Hitman: Codename 47

My actual review of this game would be 2 stars if I was going on how much fun it is, but I give an extra star for effort and kicking off one of my favorite series ever. My personal recommendation is to skip this game entirely and jump in with Hitman 2 or Contracts. Buy this game if you are a completionist but just watch a let's play series to experience what it has to offer. That said, despite the game's age, it's not hard to get it up to par in full screen high definition, you can get the controls somewhat comfortable with a little remapping, but even getting past these technical issues, it's in the design where Codename 47 fails to live up to it's successors.

I would recommend watching Monotonal Lizard's review before buying, it's long, but that way you'll know what to expect, i also spent a while trying to get it to work in 1080p with a usable draw distance. yeah, this game is weird, and also really janky, it's fun, but not really as a hitman game, the stealth is mostly just kill this guy, hide him and take his clothes and now you're undetectable.

If you have played the later versions of Hitman for consoles, or even just know it by the ridiculous movie made several years ago, the original game blows it all out of the water. The mission is simple - take out your targets. However, you're not equipped with full armor, heavy guns and explosives to help you. Most times, you have to smuggle in a piano wire past security to take your target out, find a sniping point overlooking a secret meeting, or even using creative ways of infiltration such as disguises or flat out stealth. There are hundreds of ways to accomplish the mission, whether it be by pure stealth or messy brute force. I have played this game for hours upon hours and could easily play it many more hours. The difficulty of most levels, be it the amount of opposition eying your every move and reporting your suspicious activity or the complexity and size of the area your target resides, you will likely get stuck on quite a few levels trying to plan your hit and escape while trying to survive.

One line review summary: Hitman is still playable even today, but mostly for nostalgic reasons. When this game was released, oh boy. It was so different, a game that finally challenged the player to think differently regarding the way of killing. No more was it only about running in with guns blazing, but you actually had to think strategically. The AI for its time was awesome, it was groundbreaking, and missions were heavily influenced by what the computer would do, and how it would react to the players actions. Back then, that was something completely new and just unheard of and totally awesome. NOW... today, its a totally different ball game. The genre has been extended and various mutations have spawned from the original Hitman formula. There are too many to tell, but Dishonored feels as close a comparison as can get in terms of gameplay (IMHO). Hitman however only gets a weak 2 star rating today. I don't think can't play it much more than the 3,5 hours I have already put in. Lets start with the most important and obvious one, the controls, really do suck, considering today's standards it just doesn't really hold up well anymore. It's very annoying to try and control 47 and trying to do anything is a real hassle. I fail missions because of bad controls. For example trying to choke someone? Good luck 4/10 times you will fail just because of bad controls:/ Graphics, as expected are super outdated, but it doesn't really bother me, im more into game and game mechanics. The sounds in the game are nice, and enriches the game with "realistic" sounds that makes the world a little more lively. Atmosphere is something that really lifts the game, as even today, the game sucks you right in when starting it. WOW, how I love that, 99% of the gaming companies, are you reading this? This is the way a game should be told and played.

I sincereously thought that the game was designed for not to be concluded in a couple of very specific missions. Frustrating and not funny at all. Nevertheless is the birth of 47, the very start of this saga lore and atmosphere. Even if there is only one more convenient way to solve each mission (and even so, there is some forced alert moments) you are actually roaming in big locations, giving you the task not only to accomplish the objectives, but also to find them. In this regard, the stealth-freedom mood is already there. The difficult is not forgiving, take your time and be patient.