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(More customer reviews)Hitman: Contracts is another solid addition to the very entertaining Hitman series. It maintains the tension, open-endedness, great graphics, and convincing atmosphere of Hitman 2 and adds a few improvements. Overall, Contracts is not as good as Hitman 2, which is one of my favorite games of all time. Contracts offers only 12 missions, has inferior music, has some minor technical issues, and a few other problems. The game is not completely open-ended, since you do have set objectives and cannot progress to the next mission without completing them. However, you do have some options regarding how you approach a mission. It's really a game that's worth playing at least twice just to take advantage of the alternative ways of completing the various missions. For anyone who is a fan of the Hitman series or likes stealth games, I recommend Contracts (but try to get it at a discounted price). However, it is best to play it after playing Hitman 2, which is the real star in this fine game series.
Gameplay: Much the same as Hitman 2. The controls (mouse and keyboard) are easy to learn, and you can play the game from 1st- or 3rd-person perspectives. The game encourages stealth and conflict avoidance and rewards you for clean kills and limiting "collateral damage." However, you can approach a mission any way you'd like: you can go in with guns blazing, use a mix of stealth and aggressive tactics, or go for the coveted rating of "silent assassin." The sneak ability is improved over Hitman 2, allowing you to move faster while in stealth mode. Also, some of the levels are rather large, and you'll have to replay them in order to just get a feel for them and to determine possible strategies. Contracts is darker than the previous games, both in regard to weather (it's always raining or snowing) and the subject matter. Curiously, some of the earlier missions are harder than later ones. I found that the SWAT missions were the most intense, and the Hong Kong missions were the easiest to achieve the "silent assassin" rating on. On expert (medium) difficulty, the game lasted about 27 hours for me, as compared to Hitman 2 which lasted over 40. You could probably finish it in less than half that time if you didn't care about your rating and went in shooting everything (which does not always work).
The game does have its flaws. My biggest problem was the fact that you couldn't bring weapons that you found in one mission (or earned through getting the "silent assassin" rating) into new missions. This was a BIG oversight on the part of the developers, and one of the reasons that Contracts is clearly inferior to Hitman 2. On the bright side, your weapons are nicely displayed in a greatly expanded training area, and you can choose to use whichever ones you'd like if you replay completed missions. Also, you can conceal a sniper rifle in a carrying case in some of the missions. Still, one of the most impressive things about Hitman 2 was the freedom to choose your instruments of death and not have to just accept the ones that the game gives you. Another problem is the AI of characters. On a few occasions, my cover was blown for no apparent reason. At other times, I could sneak by guards who appeared to be looking right at me. Overall, Contracts just didn't seem as polished a product as Hitman 2. In places, the game ran slower on my machine, even though it more than surpassed most of the recommended specs. (I think this was mostly due to some of the lighting and weather [snow] effects.) Also, the game crashed to desktop 5 times during my 27 hours of gameplay, for no apparent reason.
Graphics: The game looks quite good. All of the scenary was convincing and immersive, and the weapons looked and behaved as you would expect. Agent 47 walks as cool as ever, and his sneaking looks better too. However, I hope that Hitman 4 does a better job with the way he runs, which still looks...uncool. Cut-scenes are all nicely done and tie the various missions together. Character models are well illustrated, and weather effects create a gloomy mood. Lighting effects are great, but will slow down game performance in a few places.
Sound: Convincing for the most part. Voice acting is good and has the appropriate accents. Ambient sounds are done well, as are the sounds of weapons. The largely techno soundtrack by Jesper Kyd is not nearly as good as his excellent orchestral work for Hitman 2, but it will do. Overall, there are no notable sound issues in this game.
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Hitman ContractsOne way or another the job gets done!Product InformationEnter the world of a hitman - a world of crime sin and greed. Delve intothe mind of Agent 47 and encounter his greatest adversaries completing the workthat made him so brutally efficient and shaped him as an assassin.Eliminate your targets by any means necessary. There are no rules...onlythe contract signed in blood.The professional assassin is swift and silent. Eliminate your targets froma distance. Assume the identity of your victims. Improvise on thejob picking up environmental objects like meat hooks shovels and pillows touse as weapons. In the hands of the ultimate hitman everything becomes aweapon.The professional assassin is also bold and ruthless. Utilize an increasedarsenal of firearms to make quick work of your victims. In the mind of theultimate hitman nothing mattes except the target. Do whatever it takes tofulfill the contract.Product FeaturesTravel the globe eliminating international terrorists and crime bossesfrom your hit list.Complete your mission objectives with a wider variety of tacticalapproaches.Improvise on the job picking up environmental objects to use as weapons.Advanced enemy intelligence uses squad-based tactics to try to stop you.New silent weapons: stun gun syringe pool cue meat hook fire pokerand more.Increased assortment of firearms: assault rifles sniper rifles SMG'sshotguns handgunsSystem RequirementsWindows 98SE 2000 XP (Admin rights required for 2000 and XP)(Windows 95 and NT are not supported)Pentium III 800MHz (or Athlon equivalent) processor256MB of RAM100% DirectX 8 compatible Sound Card2GB free hard drive space4X CD-ROM Drive or higher100% DirectX 8 compatible 32MB Direct3 Card with TnL support100% DirectX 8 compatible keyboard and mouseNOTE: You may need to update your hardware drivers before playingthe gameRecommended RequirmentsPentium
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