Hitman: Absolution Difficulty Levels Revealed, Which Will You Play?

IO Interactive is trying to make Hitman: Absolution cater to a vast array of players. The game will be playable in five different difficulty levels to ensure that everyone will be challenged by the game.

The difficulty levels, revealed by Kotaku, vary in many different ways. For starters, they determine the amount of enemies you'll face in a mission as well as their reaction times. The difficulty will also determine whether or not you can create checkpoint saves.

One key variable in the difficulty levels is Instinct. Instinct is a brand-new gameplay mechanic introduced in Absolution. It's a special ability that the player can activate at will. Instinct can highlight enemies and their patrol routes even through walls. It will even let you stroll past someone who might otherwise blow your current disguise. Instinct is a finite resource in all difficulty levels, but its exact rarity varies.

Here's a run-down on each of the five difficulties:

Easy

• Players can activate additional checkpoints
• Instinct regenerates
• Instinct will provide hints
• Enemies react more slowly than normal

Medium

• Players can activate additional checkpoints
• Instinct does not regenerate
• Instinct will provide hints
• Normal enemy presence with normal reaction times

Hard

• Players can activate additional checkpoints
• Instinct depletes when used and does not regenerate
• No Instinct hints
• Additional enemies with improved reaction time

Expert

• No player-activated checkpoints
• Instinct depletes when used and does not regenerate
• No instinct hints
• Maximum number of enemies with fastest reacton

Purist

• No Help
• No guides
• No Interface
• Only a crosshair

Personally, I prefer it when a game allows you to toggle individual difficulty settings rather than giving you levels to choose from. For example, I'd like to have enemies with the fastest reaction time possible but also be able to create additional checkpoints. Still, this broad range of difficulty levels should accommodate most players.

So, readers, what's your plan for Absolution? Are you going to brave Purist mode, or stick to a more manageable difficulty level? Voice your opinion in the poll below.