It's amazing how easy it is to placate thirsty "WRPG" fans.
Dragon Age 2 (a shitty game that "Amalur" shamelessly copies) looks like a masterpiece in comparison. Not a "hidden" gem by any means, simply a bad game.
All the hangups people have with this game are purely based on emotion and not logic. Apart from being more overtly story driven than the prequels and some eyebrow-raising moments (47 angstily cutting his tattoo with a razor), there is nothing that makes Absolution not a "real Hitman game". Remember that the previous installments had forced action sequences too.
Definitely NOT the best game in the series regardless of what poseurs say. Bigger and better than the prequels however? Easily. Notably the last Hitman game that Jesper Kyd worked on.
Basically a remaster of the first game in the H2 engine with some minor improvements, with some (great) OC missions thrown in. All framed as the dying hallucinations of a wounded Agent 47, which goes a long way towards humanizing him. Superb soundtrack by the indomitable Jesper Kyd.
Puzzle game masquerading as an assassin simulator. Perform action X, Y, Z = receive the titular Silent Assassin rating. Do not perform actions = do not receive rating. Simple as that. Still, there's nothing quite like it. Also, amazing soundtrack by the genius Jesper Kyd.
Unlike the sequels which fall squarely into "stealth" puzzle/adventure territory, C47 is more of a third person shooter with quirks. The Rambo approach is very viable, more so as there is no rating system. Still, the garrote wire is there if you want to use it. Also, easily the most satisfying ending of any Hitman game.
Blatant ripoff of MGS only celebrated for its graphics at the time. Ultra linear. The protagonist (a veteran spec ops guy) can't hit a target from beyond 30 feet, making you rely on dubious "stealth" mechanics (crouch in shadows = become invisible) and stupid gadgets like plastic grenades and sticky knockout gas cameras. But hey, at least he can do a jumping splits in a narrow corridor, a useless move that you will use maybe twice in the whole game.
Auto-aim in a PC shooter from 1998 (!!!!). Says it all really. If you approach this game as an FPS you will have a bad time because it is the OPPOSITE of realistic, with aimbot enemies and useless body armor. Not to mention, missing weapon models. As a tactical puzzle game however, it is indeed revolutionary, with nothing really coming close except the sequels. The bulk of the fun of the game consists of coming up with a tactical plan that will minimize friendly casualties. Most of the challenge of the game is self-imposed however, even if you get most of your team killed, they will be replaced by an infinite supply of faceless "reserves" à la Cannon Fodder who are no worse than the named characters. Also the planning interface is quite unergonomic, to put it mildly. In short, the "thinking man" will not play this game as a "shooter".
Rainbow Six shooting mechanics + no planning + wide open areas = teh suck. Enemies will aimbot you from 1000 feet away if they glimpse one pixel of your foot in a bush. Amusingly enough, you CANNOT do the same because of the retarded "blooming crosshair" mechanic. Gameplay devolves either into savescumming or creeping at a snail's pace across maps, scanning the horizon every 5 seconds for enemies and then getting killed by them anyway and savescumming. No wonder the sequels (with a few exceptions) turned into generic TPS.
