shooter

I would of given it 10 stars but, I guess that wasnt an option. This game redefines the whole "shooter" genre. Who else besides me is getting sick of the game that tests how fast you can click, rather how fast you can think? Well, I am and this game rocks the boat! I am not talking about the demo. The demo is like playing on the "paint" program compared to the full game. I used to love Half-Life, and still do! But, to play Hitman, oh my GOD, its as if Im in heaven! The graphics are so incredible, I got lost in the game. The plants move as you walk into them; the fishtanks break; you can even see yourself in the shadows, strangling a chef! Its great! However, there IS a drawback: the graphics are so incredible, if you dont have a suitable graphics card, a part might be messed up. The gameplay and lasting appeal is also great! There are numerous GIGANTIC missions that will keep you on as long as you can keep your eyes from falling out. The levels are different in their own ways and are very nice. WAIT! YOU MUST HAVE 128mb RAM! You can play with 64mb ram, but I warned you, It WILL go slow when you get into some serious gunfights. It will go sooo slow that you will be thinking that you are watching a picture show. I found out the hard way but it is such a good game that I spent $50 to get another 64mb. These are good requirements...

128mb RAM, 500 mhz, good graphics card, good sound card

the rest you should know about. This game is great. DONT forget the pluses! The minuses can be a big part of some action, but if you have the above requirements, get this game. If you dont buy this game, I will personally have a talk with the 47 himself. HAVE FUN! Oh! One last thing, this game can go both ways, you better be able to think. DO NOT load the game thinking its a gorefest run-of-the-mill shooter! You must THINK! THINK! THINK! THINK! DONT GET BOGGED DOWN BY THE THIRD LEVEL EITHER! Thats a tough one, but if you get that one, you will pretty much know what they expect. BUY! BUY! BUY THIS GAME!

If you liked the theif series you will love this game. It was developed by IO interactive, people I have never heard of, but this was a great game. It does not have multiplayer capabilities, but it's single player game is great. The only thing that would turn some off is the lack of an in game save feature. This game requires patience to enjoy, you need to scout the locations to determine how to make the hit (there are multiple ways to terminate the mark) then carefully execute. Need to pass through a metal detector? Can't bring guns, but you could bring the piano wire and strangle a gaurd, take his clothes, drag him to the bathroom and hide him in the stall. Then you can access other areas and maybe get close enough to make the hit...But then you need to get out alive. The game maybe short, but there are few flaws and the missions are so fun that most will play their favorite missions again. Let's just hope iO releases the software developers kit! The Hitman community would explode with user created missions and MOD's. I hope you enjoyed this game as much as I did.

Especially if you have already played Hitman 2, or Hitman: Contracts, do not buy this game. Perhaps it would have been fun, or less frustrating, had I -not- played the other two awesome games. This game is riddled with bugs, flaws, and just stupid design decisions.

The first is that it does not work on a great many newer computers. Fortunately, it works on mine, but I have tried lending it to two different people. Neither one could use it, and the Eidos Support page is very helpful, essentially saying it's Microsoft's fault, and they have no intentions of releasing a fix to make Hitman more compatible with newer systems.

The map is useless, showing only you and your exit point. It is even more frustrating than that, but there aren't enough words to describe everything, so I'll move on.

You cannot save; you must complete the entire mission before it will autosave for you.

You cannot check during the game to see if objectives have been completed; if you're unsure, for example, if you've properly hidden a body, or placed something at the scene of the crime, or maybe if you went on a rampage and aren't sure if you hit your target or not, you need to go all the way back to your Exit point to see if the objectives are marked as complete or not.

Many of the buttons and commands require you to be in a very specific location to access them. You can be looking directly at a button, moving the cursor around in front of it, but it may be that you need to be standing a few feet away, facing in the opposite direction to use it. Time-wasting trial and error is wonderful, especially when you can't save the game.

Finally, the AI is just great. I loved pulling a silenced gun a ways behind a civilian, sending him immediately running, as he obviously heard me pulling the gun from my coat. The old man then soaked three shots to the body. So these civilians are psychic -and- sporting body armor!

In conclusion, Hitman 2 was amazing fun. I opted for the Silent Assassin style myself. Hitman: Contracts was not as good as Hitman 2, but still great. The original, Hitman: Codename 47 shows me that the design team was lazy, the support team ineffective, and the game ended up being more frustration than it's worth to play. Buy one of the other games, and play it twice. Skip this one.