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Deadlight, Hitman Absolution join gratis Games With Gold in April
Whether you'd prefer to gingerly hop your way through the decrepit ruins of humanity or dispatch targets with the cold, remorseless professionalism of a trained killer, Microsoft's Games With Gold promotion has something for you. Come April 1, Hitman: Absolution will be available as a free download for all Xbox Live Gold members. Our review awarded Hitman: Absolution 4 of 5 stars, and said that while it has minor flaws, the grim gameplay and glee of assassinating a difficult target overrides any technical issues. Hitman: Absolution will only be available for free until April 16, at which time it will be replaced by Deadlight. This post-apocalyptic platformer, developed by Tequila Works, received 3 of 5 stars in our review. While Jess found certain gameplay elements frustrating, she fell for Deadlight's art design and meticulous world building, and enjoyed the experience overall. As with all Games With Gold offerings, the only requisite for downloading the above games is an active Xbox Live Gold membership. Full details on how to enroll in Xbox Live Gold can be found on the Xbox website. [Image: Square Enix]
Hitman: Absolution to get Elite Edition on Mac this spring
) If you're wondering what that gleaming sphere popping above the bushes is, veering closer and closer to your MacBook (why do you leave your MacBook out in the yard?), Agent 47 and Hitman: Absolution is coming to Mac this spring courtesy of Feral Interactive. No news yet on a more specific date for the 2012 stealth adventure, or how much will ring up on the till when you scan 47's neck. Feral notes all the game's additional content features in the codenamed "Elite Edition," including the standalone sharpshooting of Hitman: Sniper Challenge. [Image: Square Enix]
IO says next Hitman will go back to the sandbox
IO Interactive wrote an open letter to Hitman fans this morning, detailing the direction for the Agent 47 game the studio is working on. Doing everything next to apologize for Hitman: Absolution, the studio said the next game will go back to Agent 47 at the "prime of his career" (in gameplay terms that should mean Blood Money), with the support of his handler Diana Burnwood and the shadow organization she works for. "We've adopted an open, non-linear level design approach to the game, ensuring the game will play out across huge, checkpoint-free, sandbox levels," the IO letter notes. "Our aim is to create living, breathing and believable levels which will allow gamers to play around with the AI to create those unique moments every fan of the Hitman franchise loves." Absolution's clever Contracts Mode will return, which allowed players to challenge friends to different level scenarios, but Agent 47's Mary Poppins-like bottomless "magic pockets" featuring an entire arsenal won't. The studio plans to share more "further into 2014."
New contracts find their way into Hitman: Absolution's dossier
Square Enix has added some new featured contracts to Hitman: Absolution today. Somebody wanna wake up Agent 47 and tell him to suit up? These new contracts, which are custom scenarios conjured up by developer IO Interactive, are specific to each platform. On PC, the new contract takes Agent 47 to a haunted house, while the PS3 contract tasks him with taking down a pyromaniac with a penchant for selling ice cream. The Xbox 360 contract, pictured above, highlights a massacre in a donut shop. Hitman: Absolution launched in late 2012 and added some new mechanics to the sandbox murder formula established by earlier entries in the series. In our review, we said the game "has its flaws," but they're negated by the game's "healthy dose of stealth and creative assassinations." IO Interactive is currently working on a new entry in the series for next-generation consoles and PC.
PS Plus August freebies: Hitman Absolution, Runner 2, Star Wars Pinball
The August incentives for PlayStation Plus subscribers have been revealed, starting tomorrow with a free copy of Hitman: Absolution. IO Interactive's latest entry in the stealthy kill-em-up series deviates from the established formula, our review says, but offers a "healthy dose of stealth and creative assassinations." Other free games up for grabs in August are PS3 games Runner 2 and Star Wars Pinball, Machinarium on PS Vita and Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower, compatible with PS Vita and PSP. Tomorrow's PSN update will also yield discounts on Rayman content and a few new games – all of which you can see listed over on the PlayStation Blog.
Hitman: Absolution is absolutely $12 at Best Buy
Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Hitman: Absolution are on sale for a mere $12 at Best Buy right now. While the deal includes free shipping, the game is no longer listed as available for shipping. Instead, those looking to save a few dollars on the game can opt to pick up a copy at select locations that still have it in stock. If the diminishing stock at our local stores is any indication, this deal many not last much longer.
Hitman: Sniper Challenge, Gyromancer line up on Core Online
PopCap puzzler Gyromancer and Hitman: Sniper Challenge are the latest targets for Square Enix's browser-based Core Online service. Sniper Challenge, if you remember, was a pre-order bonus for Hitman: Absolution. What both games coming to Core Online does alert us to are changes to the service's payment structure. It was originally completely free-to-play, albeit with intermittent ads. However, free play is limited now to 20 minutes each day (still with ads). At 20 minutes a day, it's going to take about a month to complete Tomb Raider: Underworld. You can pay $2.99 per month to get full access to Core Online's library, which at present includes Hitman: Blood Money, Hitman: Sniper Challenge, Gyromancer, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Tomb Raider: Underworld, and Mini Ninjas. Alternatively, each game can be bought individually for $4.99.
Grab Hitman: Absolution PC for $7.49 at Amazon
You can snag a PC download of Hitman: Absolution from Amazon right now for just $7.49. And by "snag," we don't mean with garrote wire. Use your mouse, silly.
Hitman Absolution companion app is a sociopath's best friend
Now you can buy clothes on your phone, just like a real contract killer. Actually, the Hitman ICA app does a lot more than that, integrating with Hitman Absolution in several interesting ways. You can browse player-designed "Contracts" on your phone and push them to your game, and you can buy weapons and disguises.There's also an "ICA Database" with various tips and guides, achievement tracking, stats, and more. This seems like the rare mobile companion that just makes the main game a nicer experience! It's free on iPhone and Android.
Hitman Absolution for $10 as Steam weekend deal
This weekend, you can become Agent 47 for a bargain price of $9.99. Hitman Absolution is 75% off through Monday at 10AM Pacific, as a Steam Weekend Deal. Agent 10 doesn't have quite the same cache.If you prefer, the Xbox version is also downloadable at a discount: it's $19.99 through Games on Demand.
Hitman Facebook promo killed; must have had 'small tits'
If you logged online early enough today, you could have sent death threats to your friends on Facebook, courtesy of Square Enix and Agent 47 with the "Hire Hitman" app. Not only were these death threats, but they were full-on hits, with the targeted Facebook friend going through a process that flashed pictures from their profiles in front of their eyes before they were killed. To top it off, the hits were identified by awkwardly specific reasons such as "her ginger hair, her muffin top, her hairy legs," or "her small tits."Yes, this was a real thing you could do this morning. Square Enix since removed the app, not long after launching it and just after Rock, Paper, Shotgun wrote about it. We can't imagine why, though Square sent over a statement that cleared it up nicely:"Earlier today we launched an app based around Hitman: Absolution that allowed you to place virtual hits on your Facebook friends. Those hits would only be viewable by the recipient and could only be sent to people who were confirmed friends. We were wide of the mark with the app and following feedback from the community we decided the best thing to do was remove it completely and quickly. This we've now done. We're sorry for any offence caused by this."This attempt at crude viral marketing is reminiscent of other hackneyed ads, such as Resident Evil 6's human butcher, Resident Evil 5's real-world severed-limb hunt, the brass knuckles EA sent us and quickly requested back for Godfather 2, or The Walking Dead FPS' necklace of human ears. Rockstar similarly caved under pressure with Bully in the UK, changing the name to Canis Canem Edit after a maelstrom of hyperbolic public attention labeled the game a "Columbine simulator."If you want to experience the Hire Hitman app – too bad, because it's gone. Take This Lollipop, however, is still live on Facebook and uses the same premise, though it doesn't allow users to engage in name-calling, bigotry, death threats or misogyny.
Hitman: Absolution crash-fixing console patch targeted for next week
Square Enix aims to patch Hitman: Absolution on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 sometime next week. The update is intended to fix crashing issues with the console versions, reported in notable numbers on official forums. They arose soon after the game's November 20 release, but a fix hasn't yet been provided. If the crash occurs while the game's autosaving, save files can become corrupted and result in hours of lost progress.Square Enix community and social media head Phil Elliott apologized for the ongoing issue on the game's official forums, noting "the lack of information [made available] is less than optimal." Elliott said the patch has to be internally tested before being approved by Microsoft and Sony, and as such Square Enix can't confirm an exact release date.Meanwhile, PC players can sneak, dress up, and mulch in the knowledge that their version received its first patch last week. Among other fixes, the patch addresses problems with transferring unlocks over from Hitman: Sniper Challenge.
Hitman: Absolution's Deus Ex DLC in action
Hitman: Absolution's Deus Ex: Human Revolution DLC garb, which launched a couple weeks back with the game, has a newly released trailer featuring the futuristic fashion Agent 47 can wear on his latest contract.
Hitman: Absolution XBLM avatar items are squeaky-clean
You're about to assassinate a highly trained group of killing professionals and maybe a ninja or two. You have your guns, ammo, a fresh suit and quiet shoes – but you need one more thing to complete an outfit of inconspicuous stealth. A rubber-duck hat.A new line of avatar items based on the Hitman: Absolution universe are available now on XBLM, including the aforementioned rubber-duck hat, branded shirts, a Blake Dexter suit and a chipmunk costume, all running 80 to 320 MS Points. If you ever have an assassination assignment at a county fair, consider this your avatar set.Check out the entire lineup of new items here.
Hitman Absolution easter egg delivers ice cream at high speeds
This video shows off an easter egg in Hitman: Absolution, in which the ice cream truck Agent 47 drives at the beginning of the game comes back with a vengeance.Courtesy of GameFront, the embedded video explains the steps it takes to find the easter egg, which occurs in the game's "End of the Road" mission. Obviously, that means the video also contains some plot spoilers, so viewer discretion is advised.
Hitman: Absolution DLC has Agent 47 inspired by Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Agent 47 is a fashionista (one doesn't accidentally wear $10,000 custom suits), so it should come as no surprise that he's also fashion forward and into Adam Jensen of Deus Ex: Human Revolution's garb. Today, Hitman: Absolution's launch day, both Adam Jensen's armor and pistol are available as downloadable content in Mr. 47's latest outing on Xbox 360, Steam and, likely, later today on PS3, following the PSN update.The Deus Ex: Human Revolution DLC suit provides "better protection from firearms with advanced armor," while Jensen's pistol can be equipped with a silencer for Agent 47. There are also a series of pre-order bonus costumes available for a buck apiece, or bundled for $6. Agent 47 isn't the only Square Enix protagonist getting in on the dress-up and raiding closets, Sleeping Dogs' Wei Shen also got in on that action.
Metareview: Hitman: Absolution
Agent 47 is back on the job in Hitman: Absolution, which we said in our review "abandoned some of the ideals of the original games in the series, but it delivers with its own formula." Let's see if others thought this was a hit, man. IGN (90/100): "Like Dishonored before it, it's actually a true pleasure to play a game that lets you tackle it from multiple angles. After several years of increasingly totalitarian games where you're very much following a pre-determined path, it's nice to have a game that doesn't just encourage improvisation; it requires it." Polygon (85/100): "Hitman: Absolution is a faster, more streamlined game than its predecessors, but that only makes it different, not bad. The dark humor has been toned down, but still peeks through. The same anti-hero menace and professional purpose remains. And more importantly, the core purpose and gameplay that's always driven the Hitman series is still there. It's not as cerebral as Hitman: Blood Money." Eurogamer (70/100): "Reloading some of its best levels, turning off the hints and watching and waiting, it's much easier to remember what it is that makes Agent 47 so special. Hitman is a series to treasure for those moments, even if Absolution isn't its finest hour. Hopefully it won't be another six years before IO Interactive gets another shot at showing us why." Edge (70/100): "Contracts redeems Absolution, but it doesn't absolve it. The game has taken a unique formula and diluted it, allowing the fashionable trappings of other stealth titles to intrude upon a series that has always confidently eschewed convention." Videogamer (50/100): "Occasionally you'll witness flashes of brilliance, glimpses that suggest IO could yet salvage something from this wreckage for its next Hitman game. And then you finish a stage with a tedious quick-time event, snapping the neck of a morbidly obese Danny Trejo-alike in a wrestling match watched by hundreds - astonishingly earning yourself a Silent Assassin rating in the process - and you shake your head sadly and wonder how it all went so badly wrong."
Hitman Absolution review: Murder by Numbers
Somewhere within the A.I.-powered mind of a target is a kindling of what tomorrow brings; a spark filled with aspirations that will soon come to fruition. Goals to achieve, a life to live. That is, until a bald, bar-coded assassin ends those thoughts by slipping a thin fiber wire around his neck. Or pushing him off a building. Or poisoning his morning latte. Stabbing him. Shooting him. Ending him.Hitman's infamous good/bad guy Agent 47 blends into the background, planning how he will extinguish that spark as a target unknowingly lives the last moments of its life. It's these moments, deciding precisely how to eliminate a target, that imbue Hitman: Absolution with its own special brand of sadistic magic.%Gallery-167638%
Hitman: Absolution launch trailer won't be silenced
Agent 47 comes a-knockin' next week and, well, for starters ... don't open that door. He's not there for a chat. Along with the above launch trailer, feel free to check out our hour-long stream of the game for a better sense of Hitman: Absolution from a safe distance.
Hitman: Absolution 'Contracts' mode won't require online pass in North America
When Hitman: Absolution launches on November 20 in North America, players will be free to access the game's asynchronous online 'Contracts' mode without the need of an online pass. In regions outside of North America, however, the 'Contracts' mode will require a code included in retail boxes of the game.Where things get a little confusing is that the online pass for "Contracts" will be available for free in all regions outside of North America, with the pass available for download from each platform's respective digital marketplace at no charge – even if you're in a region that requires the included code."We'd actually planned to have this mode accessible via a code in the game's box, but we really want to make it available to anybody that plays the game – so we want to take a new approach," the official Hitman Tumblr blog notes.If you're in North America, the mode is just there. "If you're elsewhere, you can redeem the code inside the box, or you can simply select the 'Buy Contracts Pass' option. From there, head to the store where 'Contracts' will be free to access."When Ubisoft launched Driver: San Francisco it too altered the plan for its Online Pass, making it available as a free download after printing issues gave users invalid codes. Square Enix, on the other hand, has decided to forgo the pass to ensure all users can access the mode.
