Hitman 3: Contracts

This is the first one in the Hitman franchise that was really polished, beautiful and pretty much bug-free, even though you'll always come across the odd complaint about the AI. For me it was a remarkable experience. I remember the dark setting, the music, the flashbacks, the excellent reboot of the missions that had been pretty crappy in Hitman 1 (Hong Kong Blue Lotus, the ship in Rotterdam, the hotel in Budapest and the Asylum), the final mission with a clear hint at Léon the Professional and other beautiful missions like the Russian submarine, the Meat King, the English Manor.

The game certainly has great atmosphere (OST and locations) and rewards exploration (with early weapon unlocks), but that's where the praise ends. The AI can spot you through your disguise regardless if your actions (even when silently approaching from behind), which gets frustrating quickly. The AI also has a "hive-mind" reaction, which can also be annoying if you are used to more "realistic" approach of modern stealth games, in which you can neutralize allerted enemies before the entire level starts chasing you. Lastly, melee weapons are unreliable as enemies tend to spot you before you enter in the melee weapon's effective range.

Oozes atmosphere. Each location is dark, wet, and grimey. The targets are sick, sadistic scumbags. Kyd's soundtrack is a low key, dark electronic pulse that sets the mood. The escape from the Paris SWAT team felt straight out of a Jean-Pierre Melville flick. My only complaint is that guards are always supicious of you regardless of disguise, movement speed, etc. Avoid them altogether if possible.

I have long waited for this game to appear on GOG catalog. Get it right now because this is one of the best Hitman games ever done. Half of the game levels are remake of the old ones appearing on the first game. Lots of enjoyment assured.

Game is completely broken and impossible to play on Windows 11. I tried to limit fps by 30 in Nvidia control pannel but it does nothing. Agent 47 won't move or will be very, very slow.