New Hitman: Absolution trailer

A new trailer for Hitman: Absolution was released today, showcasing some actual gameplay footage of the upcoming title. The trailer is narrated by a woman who describes how the player has two ways to use the killing power of the world's most deadly assassin, Agent 47. What that means is that the player can play the game as they always have, like a gun slinging maniac, or like a silent assassin.

Get syringed n00b

The game is being developed on the Glacier 2 engine and it looks phenomenal from what I saw in the trailer. The lighting in different environments displayed in the trailer looks fantastic, casting perfectly rendered shadows. Character models also look much better from what I saw, actually looking like people instead of looking like they're made of plastic.

The gameplay looks like traditional Hitman styled gameplay but on steroids. The stealth kills looks brutal, one involving a fireaxe to the throat of a poor henchman that never saw it coming. The gun play looks very improved upon too with the addition of what seems to be a quick targeting mode where 47 is able to slow down time and quickly pivot and blast enemies surrounding him. Environmental hazards seem to be a big part of this game as well seeing that Agent 47 kills enemies through shooting explosive objects a few times in the preview.

Agent 47's version of a spinal tap

One thing I really like in the preview is how Agent 47 will actually act the part of the people he dresses up as. In the trailer, he kills a police officer and steals his uniform so he can blend in with the officers at what looks to be a crime scene. As he walks through the hall of officers, he tilts his hat and changes his mannerisms to match that of a police officer. It really beats the old games in which 47 will just boringly walk into a new area without reacting to his environment. The preview also show 47 walking through a giant crowd of people and displaying good crowd movements similar to the ones in Assassins Creed. 47 will gently push people out of the way, or NPCs will try to avoid bumping into 47, adding a sense of realism to character movement.



I have been a huge fan of this series since I played Hitman 2 back when I was still in elementary school. I have never been more excited for a title in this series and I really think that this could end up being the best one of all. We will have to see when the game is released on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 sometime this year.