Review: Hitman: Sniper Challenge (PS3)

 Pros:Super addictive; Sniping is satisfying; Unlockable abilities; Requires good strategy to achieve high scores.

Cons:Occasionally dumb AI.

Hitman: Sniper Challenge
Developer: IO Interactive
Publisher: Square Enix
Genre: Action
Platforms: PC, PS3, X360
Price: Free with Hitman: Absolution pre-order

It's been a long time since gamers have had the opportunity to silently assassinate drug lords as the bald, barcoded Agent 47. There are still four months to go until Hitman: Absolution hits the shelves, but IO Interactive has given fans loyal enough to pre-order the game a little something to whet their appetites.

Hello, 47!
Hitman: Sniper Challenge isn't a demo of Absolution. It's a pre-order incentive, with a single level that lasts 5 minutes per play. While this may not seem particularly inventive at first glance, Sniper Challenge is a great idea nonetheless.

If looks could kill… Hitman would be a lot less fun.

While you may be tempted to think that the mini-game is a test of your sniping speed and ability, that isn't the case. In a nutshell, it's a single level that places Agent 47 on a rooftop, training his scope on a terrace party in the next building. There are around 15 bodyguards spread across the map, in addition to a primary target that arrives in a helicopter and roams across the terrace, moving in and out of sight. Your job is to dispense of all of the above without anyone knowing. This is where the "challenge" bit comes in. Sure, you can go all guns blazing and use your l33t sniping ability to shoot every living head that dares to enter your cross-hairs, but that sort of lampoonery will hurt your score. Players are rewarded for killing targets in innovative ways, as well as shooting random trinkets (rubber ducks, stripper boots, gnomes, and such) hidden across the map.

Pick 'Em Off
It takes a few play-throughs to grasp exactly how things work, but it gradually becomes an addictive process of poring over the in-game achievements and ticking them off your list. Each achievement increases your overall score multiplier, which gives you a progressively higher score each time. Your scores are logged on global and country-wise leaderboards.

It isn't just about high scores though. You see, how well you fare in Sniper Challenge impacts the abilities and items that will be unlocked out of the box when you fire up your copy of Absolution. It's a simple yet clever idea that's been implemented well. Although each attempt takes an average of five minutes, the game kept me busy for a good three hours as I tried to better my score each time.

Agent 47 has a price on his head — literally.
 

I See Dead People… Through Walls
The game seems technically sound, with the shooting mechanics working as they should. It's rewarding to score headshots on moving targets, and incredibly satisfying to get into a rhythm and chain kills for kill-streak multipliers. The AI can be a bit dumb at times with the henchmen's propensity to completely ignore dead bodies. One can only hope that's an issue specific to Sniper Challenge and not Absolution as a whole.

The new Glacier 2 engine does its job well, although the environment isn't really built to bring the best out of it. If you want a look at how the game will actually look and feel, check out the new 17-minute-long Streets of Hope gameplay video.  Note: The video walks you through an entire level of Absolution and gives away pretty much everything about it, so you might want to stay away if you're an ardent fan.

This is what happens when you skip church!

Although the scope (pun not intended) of the level is limited, the Instinct mechanic finds its way into Sniper Challenge. It's essentially a direct copy of the Detective Mode from Rocksteady's Batman titles, and this is where my only complaint lies — not in terms of the mini-game, but the general direction that Hitman: Absolution seems to be headed in.

Level Rating: Silent Assassin!
As a fan of the Hitman franchise for the past ten years, I'm not particularly impressed by how the previews seem to be advertising Absolution. There seems to be a marked emphasis on giving Agent 47 superhuman powers (seeing through walls, much?) and on violent combat and gunfights, which takes away from the tension of assassinating targets without leaving a trace of 47's existence. IO has promised a "purist mode” for fans who would rather not know where their enemies are lurking.

Personally, I feel Hitman as a franchise is built upon the ideal of forgoing guns for good old-fashioned intellect. Therefore, playing with hints and help defeats the very purpose. I suppose it's a way to reach out to newer audiences, or as us fanboys call it: selling out. That said, I was pleasantly surprised by the addictiveness and depth of Hitman: Sniper Challenge. If this is a sign of things to come, Agent 47 looks set to deliver a headshot to the stealth-action genre all over again.

Gameplay And Design: 4/5
Graphics: 4/5
Sound: 3.5/5
Mojo: 4/5

Overall Rating: 4/5