Joe: That fake bald effect is top notch. I haven't seen a fake bald look that good since Doug Walker pulled it off.

so far, meh.

No loadout selection, no actual contracts... And I don't like to play just for score to compare it to others; I want to be rewarded for playing really cautious and smart! You can't even unlock upgrades for your gear without playing online...

I'm not completely giving up on the game now, as I'm still at the first actual level. But I might wait and see if some patches will follow.

Good review Joe!

I never got into the Hitman series, so to hear that this could be a good starting game for beginners is good. I may look into it.

Still have other games I'm more interested in or want to finish first, so I probably won't get it right away if I decide I want to get it.

my god, joe. did you shave your head for this?!

Still have it reserved at GameStop, will get it when i get the chance. :D

Better get it quick. The GameStop in the mall near where I live only holds games for 48 hours, then it goes on public sale.

I can't wait for what the DLC'll be like, they have a really good opportunity there to adress some of the more lacklustre aspects of the game play and where it was watered down well there.

They might even add some more missions :D

There is one thing Ive seen another reviewer mention, and I wanted to get your opinion on Joe.

Ive heard that the game does what it can to discourage gunplay. If you pull out your guns and use them (even in sections where youre forced to do so) you start receiving pretty harsh score penalties. Is this true? Did you feel like the game was punishing you for taking a guns blazing approach?

This is true. The highest scores are rewarded for the silent assassin ranking.

Wow... It's been a while since I saw a literal putting a woman in a fridge...

He shaved his head for the review. Now that's commitment.

No badass seal of approval??

This game is an improvement in the Hitman series in almost every way. No Agency profile of the villains makes this game better, not worse. In past entries, the only character development or information you got was in a purely text/dossier format. In Absolution, there are dozens of NPC conversations that are actually fun and interesting to overhear, cutscenes of the villains, and an emotionally driven story that leads the player to want to kill those villains and protect Victoria, as oppose to just getting a contract and doing it because it's your job. As the campaign mode states every time you click on it: It's Personal.

Furthermore, the Contracts system is a massive addition, and the scores/upgrades you receive after each section give you a goal and an incentive. The upgrades may not be that impressive, but because there is a score you must reach to "complete" the stage, there's a clear reason to sneak through it instead of shoot through it, as missteps can subtract thousands of points and close off some challenges. Also, Contracts mode allows you to mark any character in nearly every stage for elimination, making levels highly customizable for replay value and difficulty. Long after you've memorized the paths of every guard, players can challenge you to something in the game you haven't even considered.

Challenges also make a big difference. With basic challenges like Suit Only and Infiltrator, it encourages the player even more to get through a level in a sneaky way, where you have to avoid disguises and avoid being seen even once. In past games, such as Blood Money, the only reason to not be seen was because you personally didn't want to be seen; there wasn't really any in-game reason or reward for doing so, except for a meaningless rating and money for guns--which is a problem this game fixes.

I NEVER understood the point of buying guns and gadgets before a contract. The whole point of Hitman, in my opinion, is to discover clever and clean ways to dispose of your targets without being spotted. Customizing an M4 for the purpose of shooting up the place and murdering everyone you see goes against that idea completely, and Absolution presents the most accident kills and the most unique ways of dispatching enemies than ever.

And I understand where you're coming from with the hand-to-hand combat, but Hitman was never about a combat system. Of course it's not going to have the combat system of an Arkham or an Assassin's Creed; it's not an action-orientated game. NO game would include a complex hand-to-hand engine unless it was the main focus, and a single "boxing" mini-boss wouldn't warrant an engine of that detail, especially when there are half a dozen other ways to kill that boss.

There's just so much more to this Hitman than any previous. It has it's small problems, but they mostly add to the trademark punishing difficulty and dark atmosphere of the series.