Hitman: Codename 47 Review

                                  A Journalistic Review by DefiantParrot

                                     *Warning: May Contain Spoilers*

                                      Originally Written: 05/02/2020

Codename: Parrot, reporting for duty

                                                                                              

Developer: IO Interactive

Publisher: Eidos Interactive

Platform: PC 

Genre: Stealth

Release: November 21, 2000

When it comes to video games I've always been a console gamer. I didn't have a computer of my own until well into my twenties and the ones the family had couldn't really run any games. 

I've experimented with some PC games in the past played some Civilization and Knights of the Old Republic but consoles are where I am at my most comfortable. My wings were made for a controller folks there's no way around that. 

But I'm not against stepping out of comfort zone for some games like the one we look at today which is PC exclusive and since I review games in order if I want to look at the rest I need to play this one. 

So let's check out IO Interactive's Hitman: Codename 47. 

Now this is a series I am somewhat familiar with I've played Silent Assassin, Contracts, Blood Money and beaten Absolution. But this series was never my forte. 

I always liked it, respected it and enjoyed the titular character Agent 47 but it was never a series I was dying to play or obsessed over. 

*Whistles nonchalantly*

Well lately I've been in a stealth mood so why not see where one of the best stealth series ever started? That was my thought when I loaded the game up.

It begins with 47 waking up having lost his memories and having an obviously evil man speaking to him over the intercom. 

He walks you through this area which is essentially the tutorial and practically orgasms everytime you pick up a new weapon. 

Here is where you can get a taste of how 47 is going to control in this game and folks it's not pretty. 

I dunno maybe I'm just not used to PC controls especially from the year 2000 I'm willing to acknowledge that but controlling our bald friend here is a chore. 

The basic walking, running and shooting can be gotten used to but when you have to do the more complicated maneuvers it becomes a chore. Trying to right click on something to retrieve what you need, dragging bodies and opening doors simultaneously or selecting a weapon and putting it away quickly it turned into a goddamn headache. 

I mean I know it's a 2000 game and this was when 3D gaming was still relatively new, I can cut the game some slack but facts are facts and fact is I got annoyed and didn't have much fun at times. 

But back to the story for a bit. There's more here than I expected to be honest, the Hitman series was never one for deep plots at least as far as I know but the story here is surprisingly compelling at a point. 

Learning of 47s 'Fathers' and seeing where he was raised and the mad Russian bastard who wiped his memories was pretty interesting and even a little unsettling at times.

I'm glad I experienced the story here if nothing else. 

Just bird watching folks, with a sniper rifle... yeah.

The game is both impressive for its time yet dated as hell these days. For the time the game looks great, character models can be a bit... off. But the game ran well on my PC and the environments can look pretty good. For the time it looks, nice these days it's almost quaint in how it takes me back to my PS2 days. 

47's is fantastic in its ridiculousness

The draw distance can be another issue entirely, it's not a problem in the smaller levels but when you get to the bigger ones like the jungle of Colombia it can be an agonizing experience trying to figure out where the fuck my barcoded bastard was supposed to go.

The voice acting is amazing for all the wrong reasons and I love it. David Bateson has been the voice of Agent 47 since this game and he's wonderful. Let me be clear none of the voice acting is stellar but it is enjoyable if cheesy as hell. The Stereotypical voice acting of different NPC's may put some people off but I just found it hilarious since I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be taken seriously.

The music is really good however. The main theme of this game has been stuck in my head for the past week and Jesper Kyd is a goddamn genius for coming up with this score. No complaints there.

There's a total of thirteen missions here in Codename 47, the game isn't terribly long but your runtime may depend on how quickly you can figure out what to do here. 

The best thing about the Hitman series has been when you're put into a level and you have your target and you have various different ways of taking them out. You feel like a hired killer when you discreetly figure out how to kill your target and maneuver through the area stealthily but deadly. Of course you could always try going in guns blazing and it may work if you wish to do it that way.

In this game however there's not much variety to what you can do. Sure you can try going in guns blazing but that rarely got me any results. There are some missions that are impossible to complete in ways that don't involve stealth. 

Okay so the game wants me to be sneaky but there's several problems with this. 

This game can be unintentionally hilarious

First are those clunky as hell controls I mentioned earlier. On one mission where I had to assassinate a douchebag named Lee Hong I had to kill a dude and take his clothes for a disguise. Once he was dead I was going to hide him in the bathroom but dragging his body and trying to get the door to open drove me up a motherfucking wall and I only had a short time to do this in.

Time is of the essence in alot of these missions you must perform actions quickly to avoid being caught and in this game that is damn near impossible, at least in my experience. 

The other major problem is there are no mid-mission saves. Sure if you fuck up and die you may have a checkpoint and can reload into the level but if you do every guard is still on high alert. Have you been a silent assassin up to this point and fuck up towards the end and have to load back in? Well have fun because every motherfucker will know that you are there and that's just fucking wrong!

This more than anything else is my biggest complaint with this game, replaying a level because of a lack of mid-mission saves is not fun it's just frustrating. 

Enemy AI can be a total fuck up too. Something that works in one playthrough may not work  later in the same level with the same fucking guard and you end up getting shot. The reasons for these dickheaded behaviors are either arbitrary or nonexistant. 

There are also some random variables thrown in for fun. For instance in that Lee Hong mission one of your objectives is to find a safe and open it. It can be in four different locations in this area and with the confusing map, clunky controls, shitty AI and lack of saves it turned into a fucking nightmare. 

I replayed that mission at least 10 times before I finally beat it, fuck Lee Hong and fuck that level. 

Let's not forget the various disguises you can acquire

Now I've been complaining for quite a bit let's talk about some more good things. 

This was one of the first games to use Rag Doll Physics if memory serves. I love this, shooting a motherfucker and watching his flailing corpse fly across the room is awesome and never gets old. 

I love the final level, it can be a pain in the ass since you have to fight like ten enemies at once but the final confrontation with the mad son of a bitch who created you and your 'brothers' was really fucking cool and it elicited that uneasy feeling I mentioned earlier.

But the best level in the game is Traditions of the Trade. This is a true Hitman level, you're let loose in a hotel and you have two targets, there are multiple ways of dealing with them even one involving a Terminator reference this right here shows what the series would later become. 

Forgive me I somehow ended up in a Saw movie

So in conclusion I am really glad that I experienced the beginning of this series. It shows the potential that both Hitman and 3D gaming had at the start of the millennium and it should be remembered for that.

That being said I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone except maybe die hard Hitman fans who haven't seen the start of the series. It's a game that I would classify as a guide game and if you do decide to play it I would recommend alot of patience and a walkthrough.

I give Hitman: Codename 47 my Bronze Seal of Acceptance

For when you have the 3rd best suit at the party

This game is begging for a remake or at least a remaster. I know several of its levels would be revisited in Hitman: Contracts but I think the original here would be a great candidate for a remake. 

Do the Resident Evil or Final Fantasy thing and rebuild the game from the ground up for modern PC's and Consoles. I think you'd have something great then.

As for me I look forward to trying some other PC games in the future and checking in on one of gamings best assassins when the time comes.