Hitman: Absolution - Reception

Reception

Hitman: Absolution received mixed to positive reviews with most criticism stemming from the inordinate difference in gameplay from previous entries. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PlayStation 3 version 84.83% and 83/100, the Xbox 360 version 79.38% and 79/100 and the PC version 76.13% and 79/100. GamesRadar gave the game 4.5/5, saying "Hitman’s temporary hiatus did worlds of good for the franchise, and Absolution is one of the strongest entries in the series to date." Game Informer gave the game an 8.5/10 saying "Devising a strategy, using the environment and disguises to your advantage, and leaving before anyone knows you’re there are the hallmarks of a perfect hit, and Absolution proves Agent 47 is still gaming's premier hitman." The Daily Mail gave the game a 4/5 saying "Whether it's walking along the sun-kissed balcony of a beach-side villa, or exploring the dank, underground sewers below a nightclub, Absolution brings each world to life with remarkable aplomb." Edge gave it 7/10 saying "The game has taken a unique formula and diluted it." VentureBeat gave it 7.5/10 saying "Absolution aims high but misses the mark." Eurogamer gave it 7/10 saying "Agent 47 doesn't begin Hitman: Absolution with amnesia, but the six years that have passed since we last took control of him in Blood Money do seem to have dulled his creators' recollections of what made him so popular in the first place." GameSpot gave it 7.5/10 saying "Hitman: Absolution's vivid world and enjoyable stealth-action gameplay overshadow its few notable inconsistencies." IGN gave it 9/10 saying "It’s nice to have a game that doesn’t just encourage improvisation; it requires it." Forbes and Kotaku both gave Absolution positive reviews. Giant Bomb gave it 4/5, as did Joystiq. Destructoid gave it 8.5/10. GameArena gave the game a 3/10 saying "IO Interactive needs to restart from the Blood Money checkpoint and try again - they screwed up this run spectacularly."

The Daily Telegraph gave the game a 2/5 saying "Despite the fact that Absolution is a hugely disappointing entry into the canon, Hitman is still a fabulous series." IBITimes gave the game a 5/10 saying "An unremarkable, derivative clone of a game that's barely a shadow of what Hitman used to be." Videogamer.com gave it 5/10 saying "The problem with Absolution is that its new custodians from the Kane and Lynch team seem to have fundamentally misunderstood what made Hitman great." Blogcritics.org gave the game a 3/5 saying "There are definitely good things about it, but all too often the game's failures shine through more clearly than its successes." PC Gamer gave it 66% saying "A passable stealth game, but one that betrays almost everything that, until now, has made Hitman great." GameTrailers gave it 6.9/10 saying "It’s clear that a good deal of effort was put into crafting Hitman: Absolution’s world. This makes its flaws all the more unfortunate." New Statesman gave no rating but said "If developers want to win back fans when they revisit established franchises maybe they should look to what made those games popular in the first place and by doing so maybe they’d avoid stepping on a rake or two." GamerSyndrome gave no rating but said "Hitman Absolution tries to be a jack of all trades but ends up being a master of none." The Irish Times gave no score but said "The move away from the completely open world may leave some hardcore fans of Hitman disappointed." Gaming Age rated the game a 'C' and said "It feels like I’m playing a low rent, knockoff Metal Gear title as opposed to traditional Hitman"The Daily Record gave the game 3/5 saying "While it’s more accessible than previous Hitman games, Absolution loses a lot of the freedom that fans of the franchise love, and perhaps doesn’t necessarily fit the Hitman name any longer" TheEscapist gave no score but said "Hitman Absolution is not the best nor the worst Hitman." Whatculture gave the game a 3/5 saying "Not Quite the expected hit" The Guardian gave it 3/5 saying "The game may look better and play better than any Hitman game before it, but one can only marvel at how IO managed to lose sight of their IP's most appealing aspects so often"