Hitman III - January 2021 - Xbox One, Series X|S, PS4/5, & PC

[Anne Summers]

I've been playing this in VR and it's one of the funniest (and funnest) gaming experiences I've ever had. It's absolutely janky as shit, but the sense of immersion being "in" a Hitman environment is amazing. Particularly so for the levels in 1 and 2 that I know like the back of my hand, so much fun just wandering off to find what a particular location that I remember being a nice environment in 2D feels like in 3D.

But the most fun thing is how clumsy and ineffective it makes Agent 47. So often I have just had to resort to slapping an enemy (or a random civilian) around the face or throwing something ineffective at them because of the poorly implemented VR controls that make doing anything super-complicated. It's shit but just really hilarious, part of me hopes they never fix it. 

[therearerules]

Just completed the whole trilogy on Gamepass. Cannot fault the scope or ambition of all these clockwork levels, and had some wonderful moments, but I'm note sure about going back through the stories. Early on I stopped replaying levels for story missions, as the mission guidance was either too handholdy, or completely useless (find the safe combination ,when it could be anywhere on the elvel for example). Ultimately whilst it's great to see that there are lots of different ways to do something, it's the fact that I can find my own which makes it fun, not ticking them all off. Also, this game is ridiculously generous. If I didn't have a gamepass backlog the length of my arm I could spend endless hours on it.

[Vemsie]

https://kotaku.com/hitman-3-year-two-ambrose-island-free-level-agent-47-1849339605
 

 

[JoeK]

Does anyone have the Steam version of this and can tell me if I need to have the previous games installed fully to get them all nice and updated to the Hitman 3 engine? I feel like killing people in preposterous ways, and I've yet to indulge in this one!

[SharkyOB]

2 hours ago, JoeK said:

Does anyone have the Steam version of this and can tell me if I need to have the previous games installed fully to get them all nice and updated to the Hitman 3 engine? I feel like killing people in preposterous ways, and I've yet to indulge in this one!

 

No, as long as you've done all the transfer stuff Hitman 3 contains the content from the other games as DLC.  

[b00dles]

1 hour ago, SharkyOB said:

 

No, as long as you've done all the transfer stuff Hitman 3 contains the content from the other games as DLC.  

Annoyingly I bought the first set on pc, so they are the only ones I don't have in "one" but it's great to be able to play them all in the one game

[JoeK]

3 hours ago, SharkyOB said:

 

No, as long as you've done all the transfer stuff Hitman 3 contains the content from the other games as DLC.  

 

Hmm. Oddly, the game seems to have installed everything - all the original games' levels appear to be there (and the thing is telling me the access passes for both Hitman 1 and 2 are there), yet the game effectively bugs out as soon as I try to start one of the levels...apart from the training one. Need to have a look and see what's going on, because I'm really not keen on installing the 150gb that is Hitman 2 if I can avoid it! 

 

Edit: Did a couple of reboots, and it seems everything's working fine now, which is nice. 

 

Ray tracing is nice, but having it all on full whack is definitely not an option at 4k  

[Vemsie]

 

[Kryptonian]

That looks interesting  

[Pob]

Sounds really good. I wonder if each of the 'boss' targets are new, fully-scripted characters with their own routines, or if there's a random element to it? I assume the missions that lead up to each showdown task you with killing some random existing NPC.

[fragglerock]

A simplification of bundles is coming. and it maybe worth buying version III now and you will get I and II comped to you in a few weeks

 

https://www.ioi.dk/hitman-3-to-world-of-assassination/

 

Quote

As of 26 January 2023, the following changes  are planned to come into effect.

HITMAN 3 will become ‘HITMAN World of Assassination’, which will also include access to HITMAN 1 and HITMAN 2 through our existing Access Pass system. Current HITMAN 3 owners will get a free upgrade to HITMAN World of Assassination on all platforms

Quote

Let’s break it down. We’re streamlining the (many) offerings currently on the stores down to two products. These will replace existing ways to buy HITMAN 1, HITMAN 2 or HITMAN 3.
 

HITMAN – World of Assassination (approx. $70 USD or local equivalent)
Includes: HITMAN 3, plus H1 GOTY Access Pass and H2 Standard Access Pass.

HITMAN – World of Assassination Deluxe Pack (approx. $30 USD or local equivalent)
Includes: H3 Deluxe Pack, H3 Seven Deadly Sins Collection and H2 Expansion Access Pass.

 

[fragglerock]

Also it won best vr game on Steam... A statement about how poor vr is at the moment as the vr mode is pretty janky I found.

 

https://store.steampowered.com/steamawards/2022/

[thesnwmn]

8 hours ago, fragglerock said:

A simplification of bundles is coming. and it maybe worth buying version III now and you will get I and II comped to you in a few weeks

 

https://www.ioi.dk/hitman-3-to-world-of-assassination/

 

 

 

And in the winter sale it's £17.49

[thesnwmn]

8 hours ago, fragglerock said:

Also it won best vr game on Steam... A statement about how poor vr is at the moment as the vr mode is pretty janky I found.

 

https://store.steampowered.com/steamawards/2022/

 

I'd argue this is an argument of how poor the awards approach is. Players voting for the thing they own and know even if they've never actually used it in VR.

[SMD]

so just to be clear, I have Hitman 1 and 2 with all the DLC on Steam, the best thing for me to do now is buy the base version of Hitman 3 and then upgrade to the World of Assassination Deluxe pack?

[fragglerock]

I think so yes!

[krenzler]

And bought - €20 for all 3 games. What's not to like?

[Pob]

Just seen that the Freelancer update came out yesterday, downloading now. I've been looking forward to it for a while, though I'm still a long way off finishing the main game!

[SonOfSoAngry]

I don't like Freelancer mode. I'm sure someone's been wanting it but it just feels like a shoehorned attempt to make Hitman a "game as service" by throwing everything behind hundreds of unlock levels.

 

I'd rather all the time and effort had just been put into a new map.

[thesnwmn]

Also yesterday the move from Hitman 3 to World of Assassination should have happened. So when I've got some time I might actually dip in.

[Mr. Gerbik]

#perfectondeck

[thesnwmn]

#installingondeck

[Mr. Gerbik]

#60GBfuckinghell

[Mr. Gerbik]

It's perfect on Deck because you can assassinate people while out and about. On the train commuting to work for example, just murdering fools the entire journey. Literally a "world of assassination", while on normal consoles it's more like "a living room of assassination".

[LaveDisco]

I wonder if VR will come to the PS5 version?

[scoobysi]

On 05/01/2023 at 09:22, krenzler said:

And bought - €20 for all 3 games. What's not to like?

I didn’t get my act together to do this, guess I’ll just wait until this version drops back to that price in a sale. I’ve still got loads to do in H1 and H2 anyway.

[Mr. Gerbik]

#43%ondeck

 

Edit: #44%ondeck

 

[Garwoofoo]

Freelancer mode is absolutely amazing. Feels like a whole new game. 
 

Hard as nails, though. Definitely one for those who know the game inside out. 

[thesnwmn]

After playing the initial training mission a few weeks ago I got distracted and didn't do the final test and start the game proper.

 

Decided to return today. Which ground to a halt when I realised I had downloaded the wrong thing

 I'd installed Hitman and not Hitman 3. Once I got that 80Gb downloaded and installed I restarted.

 

Through the first guided training again. Then into the freeform training. Bit of rat poison in the wine and drowned him in the bathroom toilet. Quick jaunt through the final test and it's onto the first real mission.

 

Paris - The Showstopper

 

Soon after starting to explore the venue I stumble upon a conversation regarding a famous model who is apparently my spitting image. My path is set.

 

A smooth takedown of a guard gets me my first bit of access (Ed - the takedown was smooth but the guard was left on the floor of the bathroom because he got spotted trying to move him to a storage room). With my new look I get backstage and knock off a stylist. They get introduced to their new home inside a box and I have the t-shirt and apron look of someone who knows how to do hair or something.

 

After this little spree I'm off into the grounds and spying on my alter ego model's little photo shoot. I overhear an interesting phone call about a planned meeting which seems like it might provide just the opportunity I'm looking for. I choke out the model, take his clothes, and chuck him into the river. (Ed - He actually gets shot and killed attempting to do so the first time).

 

Tasking the time to get some makeup and strut my stuff on the catwalk I hear upstairs for my private meeting. Everyone loves me. I'm a star. Everyone knows my name! After bathing in that glory I pop a bullet in the back of the lovely lady's head, stuff her in a closet and leave through the window and hang from a ledge over the cat walk.

 

What now? I still need to get this other chap and I've done no scouting of him what so ever. I shimmy around the ledge a bit and use my spy-o-vision. Oh god, my luck. He's walking onto the catwalk himself. I wonder...

 

Up onto the lighting rig and I can smash that winch to pieces bringing his day to a crashing end. (Ed - Of course he actually gets spotted the first time climbing into a window full of very serious guards. Then again running around like a loon on the lighting rig. And again trying to get a crowbar from nearby).

 

It's a very nervous exit hanging from the ledge and down some stairs. The cooks in the kitchen all look at me a bit oddly but no one gets all that suspicious as I make a very stylist exit through a cellar door (Ed - would have been cooler to walk out the from door but he was fucking lost).

 

 

What a joy this is. I don't really like most action games and so had given this a miss before. But listening to the Back Page Podcast about it for ages I felt I needed to dip in. And I love the puzzle-y nature of it. The real win is the unrestricted save/load scumming. It makes for real fun. Encourages you to experiment.

[Kryptonian]

1 minute ago, thesnwmn said:

And I love the puzzle-y nature of it.

 

🙌