Hitman: Absolution Preview: It Could Go Either Way

Hitman: Absolution is one of those games that could go in one of two directions: complete disaster or one of the greatest games of the year. You play as a hitman (who really *looks* like a hitman, to hilarious effect. Smile from time to time, dude!), and really take on the modern day assassin experience from top to bottom.

Each mission involves, what else, killing people. Small photos of your targets appear in the top right corner as you scout for them, occasionally turning on the Instinct feature, where their bodies turn red.

The game features a rating system, where you get more points depending on how silent an assassin you are. Staying undetected, hiding the body, creating distractions, leaving no trace of your presence and stealing disguises from unconscious bodies all up your score. In the demo we watched, some of the decisions the developers made were so specific, I had a hard time believing they could be figured out without help - more help than the optional in-game clues offer.

One of my favorite moments watching the demo was when Agent 47 pushed a target off a roof, then set off an intricately planned explosion. The idea was to make it look like the target died in an accident. There is also a great feature where you can go into slow motion and target multiple enemies at once. It's messy and leaves a lot of bodies to hide, but man is it cool to look at.

When I got my hands on Absolution I found the target easily enough, but couldn't deduce out how to take him out stealthily, so eventually just shot him in the head and did my best to then hide from police. Master assassin that I am, I got caught hiding in a dumpster. I'd like to think that with more time, my brain could be able to strategize in the way the game calls for, and if all the pieces come together, this fifth installment of the Hitman franchise could be an epically successfully stealth game.

Hitman: Absolution will be released for Xbox, PS3 and PC on November 20th and is definitely worth checking out. If it lives up to its potential when it comes to stealth strategy, it could end up being THE game of the fall.