Hitman: Contracts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hitman: Contracts | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | IO Interactive |
| Publisher(s) | Eidos Interactive |
| Engine | Glacier engine |
| Release date(s) | April 20, 2004 |
| Genre(s) | Stealth, TPS/FPS |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Mature (17+) (Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs) |
| Platform(s) | Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox |
| Media | CD-ROM (2), DVD (1) |
| System requirements | PC: Pentium III 800 or Athlon equivalent, 256 MB RAM, 32 MB Video Memory, 2.0 GB hard drive space |
Hitman: Contracts is the third game of the Hitman video game series, released April 20, 2004. It portrays events that occur all throughout the series.
Contents |
[edit] Theme
Hitman: Contracts centers on a series of flashbacks Agent 47 experiences as a result of both his injuries and drugs he administers to counteract them. As he takes shelter in a hotel room, he slips in and out of consciousness, experiencing memories of previous contracts he has been hired for. Each mission is segued to be an action taken by 47 in his room, or by some element of his surroundings. For example, removing a painkiller needle from his thigh induces a flashback that opens with him removing a syringe from a man's neck.
[edit] Features
The suspicion meter has been improved and is less sensitive and unpredictable when compared to that of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin. Enemies will generally not recognize 47 while in disguise unless an obvious action is taken, such as standing directly in front of them for an extended period of time or wielding a firearm (unless it is not considered suspicious in the current circumstances - for example, holding a pistol as a police officer). Enemies are also less likely to open fire for minor actions such as running indoors. The graphics underwent major upgrades as well, with the addition of reflective surfaces and new shading techniques that contribute to the dark nature of the story. Most levels also contain strong sexual themes. Non Playable Characters can also be temporarily knocked out from bullet wounds. Some may lie on the ground clutching their waist, and others have many signs of a dead body, yet be displayed as living on the in game map, after a period of 5 minutes they wake and run wildly. This is a noted feature that has not appeared in any other game in the series. Also, although Hitman: Blood Money was the first game in the series to fully implement the "Accident" system, many hits in this game allow for methods of murder approaching accidents; for example, in Beldingford Manor it is possible to smother one of the targets to death making it appear as though he died of suffocation. Also in general opportunities to poison targets' food or drink are much more common than in the previous games.
[edit] Tone
Virtually every review of Contracts has made light of how, in sharp contrast to previous games in the series (rife as they were with globetrotting and sun-kissed locales) every single level happens either at night or in the midst of foul weather (with the arguable exception of the Training mission, which happens indoors). However, other elements contribute to the overall macabre, gloomy tone of the game. Several levels include disturbing imagery beyond what has been seen in the series' previous entries. The best example would be the second level called "The Meat King's Party", an S&M party taking place in a slaughterhouse. One scene in particular features the mutilated corpse of a teenage girl hanging upside down from a ceiling, wrapped in plastic, her bloody severed arm on the floor beneath her for you to collect; behind her, the girl's obsessed kidnapper has created a shrine to her, centered around a large photo of the girl, on which he has written the word "BITCH" in her blood. A record player nearby plays Paul Anka's Put Your Head on My Shoulder, while the girl's killer, an obese, semi-nude man in a bloody apron, cackles in what sounds like a clip from Pink Floyd's The Wall. This same level features disturbing depiction of strong perverse and morbid sexual behaviors between people wearing leather masks and bondage outfits, and mating next to gory animal corpses and carcasses.
In another level, Traditions of the Trade, the player can stumble across a cordoned off police crime scene. Upon entering the wing of the hotel the lighting and shading changes from the warm brown and red tones of the rest of the building to a dark blue-gray scheme. Windows are opened, thin white curtains blowing in the wind as rain enters. Entering the crime scene, players can find the body of a recently murdered man on the floor, the room covered with blood. The adjoining bathroom is drenched in blood as well, the bathtub full of blood and, possibly, body parts. It is possible to see the ghost of the murdered man by looking into any of the mirrors in the wing. The ghost can also be followed into a room farther down the hallway that is occupied by an emotionally disturbed security guard, implying the guard's guilt.
However, quite apart from purely visual material, the game is set apart from the other three entries in the series by how clearly it demonstrates its dubious, violent and existential morality known. Often, even why the targets themselves have been selected seems somewhat questionable: this is best illustrated by Rendezvous In Rotterdam, when 47 is told to kill one of the two "innocent" targets in the whole series, a private detective who has been tortured repeatedly after attempting to infiltrate a biker gang. He is then told to kill the leader of this gang and retrieve photographs detailing the Chief of Police of Rotterdam in a compromising position. As such, rather than dispensing with corruption, as in most of the levels, he is actually aiding it.
All this adult material makes Contracts the darkest and most violent Hitman to date. Although, this nightmarish style of the flashbacks in the game are considered to depict 47s actual feeling of the world around him. This gives the player more understanding of who he is in a more spiritual way. The fact that the psychopathic behavior of his targets is so clearly put into play, shows how 47 in some light sees each of his enemies indifferently, and where as the villains of the game are portrayed in a darker light, the hitman himself appears as a kind of hero. Without this aspect, the series without a doubt might make the player less and less sympathetic with 47, therein causing a decline in specific fan base. "Contracts" becomes more of an overview or a guide in this way than anything else. Although it might begin as very confusing for a player new to the series, after having completed the game it will allow for the player to enter the series at any point and understand exactly what is going on.
Jesper Kyd's musical composition also reflects this change of tone. Silent Assassin had an orchestral and epic score which created a grandiose atmosphere, but the score of Contracts reflects the game's twisted and sinister mood through dark electronica tracks.
[edit] Plot
The hunter has become the hunted, as 47 is seriously wounded by one of his own targets, who seems to have been expecting him. Bleeding to death and taking refuge in a hotel room somewhere in Paris, France, 47 drifts in and out of consciousness as an army of heavily armed French SWAT units converge around the hotel. The newest game Hitman: Blood Money, has a level (Curtains Down) in which 47 is hired to kill an actor and U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican at the Opera house in Paris. At the end of the level a French policeman on the other side of the street notices him getting away from the crime scene and cocks his gun. It is also noteworth that the gun he cocks appears to be a M1911, the pistol used by members of the Franchise, the main antagonists in the sequel. This could possilbly allude to the fact that the Chief of Police could be involved with the Franchise, for there is no other plausible explanation (at this time) that could explain how he knew who 47 was. The scene ends here but it's possible to conclude that 47 gets badly wounded afterwards. The very first mission of Hitman: Blood Money is a flashback mission in a funfair in which Diana welcomes 47 to the US. Between Curtains Down and this mission is when Hitman: Contracts occurs.
It should be noted, however, that Contracts and Blood Money arguably contradict each other at points. The ending of Contracts shows that Diana is aware that the Agency is being targeted and she knows who is coming after them. It's implied that 47 will be going after their attackers immediately. However in Blood Money, 47 isn't informed that he's being hunted until near the end of the game. Besides this arguable continuity error, the briefing for "Curtain's Down", is different that the briefing 47 got in Contracts, in the appearances of the two targets from "Curtain's Down" and one of their names (Phillipe Berceuse as opposed to Alvaro d'Alvade). Also the Inspector 47 must kill in Contracts isn't even mentioned in "Curtain's Down". However, it could be argued that 47 was intended to kill the inspector after the events of "Curtain's Down", as the Inspector did not attend the opera house. 47's monologue at the beginning of Hunter and Hunted, however, could imply that 47 was taking the personal decision to assassinate the Chief of Police on the basis that he knew too much about 47.
Hitman: Contracts' story centers on 47's flashbacks to earlier assignments. Many of the game's missions are re-imaginings of previous ones in the series. Almost all of the major missions from Hitman: Codename 47 have been re-made and included in Contracts; the exceptions being the Colombia levels, which were scheduled to be included but were dropped, and the final two levels (the first level of Contracts begins with the conclusion of the first game and the escape from the asylum in Romania where 47 was created). The locations visited include Budapest, Hong Kong, Paris, Romania, Rotterdam, Siberia and the United Kingdom.
As is the case with the overlapping of Hitman: Blood Money, there are also some contradictions between the recollected missions and their counterparts in Hitman: Codename 47; for example, in the two incarnations of the mission "Traditions Of The Trade", the first demonstrated Hitman checking into the Hotel Galar under the alias Tobias Rieper, which was used multiple times during the game; in the latter, he anaesthetized a representative of one of the countries attending the UF (really UN since the UF does not exist in real life; it was probably reverted to avoid trademark issues) peace conference being held at the hotel, and checked in under his name, Mr. Metzger (German for butcher). Also in the first mission, the bodies of 18 48 series clones can be seen littered all over the asylum even though 47 only killed 10 clones in the first game. Though this is true, this could merely be how 47 reimagines it in the flashbacks he has, so the developers may not have been attempting to be true to the game canon.
[edit] Trivia
- Jesper Kyd composed Contract's soundtrack, continuing his work with the franchise.
- The face and voice used for Agent 47 is that of David Bateson.
- Freedom Fighters (video game), another game developed by IO Interactive, features a poster of Agent 47 hugging Mei Ling in an advertisement for a movie called Hong Kong Love Story, and also contains several images of Agent 47 advertising men's clothing.
- In the final mission, several French stereotypes line the streets, cordoned off by police. One of these is a mime artist. This character's marker on the map is always shown as living even if he's shot to the point where he seems dead.
- Contracts is the only title in the Hitman series whose final mission can be completed through stealth to achieve the Silent Assassin rank. The final missions in all the other Hitman games involve climatic gun battles making it impossible to complete through stealth.
[edit] Reviews
- Official Xbox Magazine: 6.4/10
- Official Playstation 2 Magazine: 9/10
- PC Gamer: 71%
- Play: 6.7/10
- GameSpot: 7.7/10
- IGN: 8.4/10
[edit] External links
- Hitman: Contracts at MobyGames
- Hitman: Contracts Official website
- Eidos Official website
- Io Interactive Official website
- Hitman Forum Fansite mentioned in Hitman: Blood Money newspaper
|
Codename 47 • Silent Assassin • Contracts • Blood Money |
