Hitman: Codename 47

Старая, добрая хардкорная игра, где тебя за ручку никто не водит, нет "инстинктов убийцы" и прочих помощников, надо голову включать!)

If you've played later entries in this franchise but not yet this it definitely will take some adjusting as there were a number of things they hadn't quite ironed out yet. With that said there is a lot to love here and you can very clearly see the early beginnings of some of the stuff they mastered later especially by Blood Money. One thing to keep in mind is that there are levels in this game that you simply can't complete remaining stealthy and ghosting your way through the entire time and some frustration is experienced just by trying to figure out which ones. It's one of those that is more enjoyable on replay once you know what is expected of you in the various levels. It doesn't quite have the openness to you discovering your own solutions as later entries do and I wish that they had been more honest with themselves about that because there are multiple times in this where you'll come across something and it'll look like an alternative solution but it's unworkable. This does fair pretty well with the gradual drip feed of the backstory in a series that sometimes struggles to provide a compelling plot. A little too much of the time the game is basically you figuring out what you're meant to do and then just do it. This is also one of those early IO Interactive titles where for some reason they were married to this thing of weapon recoil that I can imagine is accurate to real life but is frustrating in games where even a single missed shot can mean failure and having to do a bunch of stuff over again. I really wish they had opted for the kind of focus aim that we saw not that many years after this came out but even if you're standing still taking your time to aim you might miss. The weapon selection is quite good and I cannot hate a game where if you feel confident that you only need one bullet and one specific gun it 100% allows you to buy exactly that and only that and save money for later. It just makes you feel like a complete badass.

Reminds me of the times I was still in school, living with my mom, playing this with my buddies. Those were good times. I miss my friends.

Hitman Codename 47 is an odd one to write about. On one hand, it created one of the best stealth franchises, and on the other, it's clunky, ugly, and the level design is rigid. If playing this game first without any knowledge of the sequels, then I could see a lot more enjoyment being had here. The biggest problem for Hitman fans wanting to experience or revisit this game is that so, so many quality of life improvements have been made over each iteration that going back to this game feels obtuse and frustrating. Let's talk about the level design, for one. If played before any other Hitman, this game plays like a stealth/action hybrid with some very strong puzzle elements (that can sometimes be way too ridiculous to get without some sort of walkthrough). It's a hassle, but it's a fun challenge. Now, if played after Hitman 2 and onwards, this feels like taking a big step backwards in terms of design. For one, this game didn't have the rating system of the later games, which really dampens repeat playthroughs. Levels often only have one "correct" way to silently assassinate a target, and it often involves heavily scripted story sequences that take control away from the player. Enemy AI has way too itchy of a trigger finger. One slight awkward move and the entire level is gunning for you. Instead of big open sandboxes, you mostly get linear levels with a few exceptions. It's easy to see how this turned into the greatness that was Contracts and Blood Money, but it's just hard to go backwards so far. Graphically, the game does look dated, but it isn't so bad that it's unplayable. The physics are as hilarious as ever, which lends some charm to the game. Voice acting is also pretty awful, but in a good way (think Resident Evil). Overall, you won't have a bad time with this game, but you'll almost assuredly have a frustrating one. Would I reccomend it? Maybe. It all depends on how much you can put up with mechanics that were improved exponentially in later entries.

This is the first Hitman game in the series, but I would only recommend playing it for nostalgia or if you really want to see where things started. The graphics have not aged well and the controls are difficult to work with. You're better off playing something later in the series.