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Play 'Hitman Go' on Gear VR and Oculus Rift tomorrow
Hitman Go is a smart reimagining of a languishing franchise that lit up mobile devices when it first launched in 2014. It took the painstaking stealth assassinations of the original Hitman series and transformed them into a minimalistic board game. Now it's headed to VR by way of the Gear VR and Oculus Rift tomorrow, May 12th.
Best of the Rest: Mike's picks of 2014
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. Desert Golfing Imagine you're stranded in the middle of a vast desert with nothing but a golf club and ball, rolling hills of sand stretching as far as the eye can see. You're not going anywhere soon. May as well play a few thousand rounds and work on your swing, right? Whoa, did you see that cactus on hole #316? Maybe it was a mirage, but I swear I found a rock on hole #537. This delightfully minimal, endless version of golf doesn't drown players in features. Instead, Desert Golfing perfectly mimics life on a desert golf course: Serene. Sometimes maddening.
Hitman Go adds Hitman 2-inspired levels, on sale this week
Square Enix updated Hitman Go yesterday, adding new levels to the diorama-style puzzle game on iOS and Android. The game's eight new levels are based on Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Eidos' 2002 game for PC, Xbox and PS2. Additionally, the publisher dropped the price of the game to $1.99 (€1.79/£1.49) for one week, so those that have been on the fence about buying the assassination-themed puzzler may want to act fast. The Hitman 2 levels are locked to players at the outset, but can be accessed in one of two ways just like the game's "Airport Box" update in July. Players will naturally unlock the Hitman 2 set by progressing through the game or can choose to pony up an extra dollar (€0.99/£0.69) to access the eight puzzles. The update brings the total number of levels in Hitman Go up to 91. Developer Square Enix Montreal's next mobile Hitman spinoff, Hitman: Sniper, soft-launched in Canada on iOS earlier this month and will arrive in the rest of the world this winter. [Image: Square Enix]
Killer discount temporarily drops Hitman Go to $2
If you've been waiting for the right moment to pounce on Square Enix's bold yet surprisingly successful mobile reimagining of the Hitman series, now's your time to strike: Both iOS and Android versions of Hitman Go are currently available at $2, a 60 percent discount off its standard price. Unlike its console- and PC-based third-person action game forebears, Hitman Go is akin to a puzzle game played out on a board of stylized miniatures. All of the murder-for-hire action of the franchise is included in Hitman Go, but the game itself is a more tactical experience that requires careful planning and execution. Rushing in with a basic idea of who you have to kill and then deciding to dispatch everyone with akimbo pistols will almost never accomplish your mission, and most often will riddle your character's bald corpse with innumerable bullets. Those intrigued by this price cut should be sure to grab Hitman Go as soon as possible. This discount is only valid until August 25, after which the mobile game returned to its standard $5 price point. [Image: Square Enix]
Hitman Go's 'Airport Box' update filled with 15 new levels
Hitman Go received an update that brings 15 new levels to Square Enix Montreal's puzzler on iOS today. The "Airport Box" update will soon arrive on Android, and is the first content update for the game since it launched in April. Airport Box also adds a new "civilian mode," moving walkways, new enemies and the ability to skip turns to the diorama-like strategy game inspired by the Hitman series. Hitman Go's new levels can be unlocked through natural progression in the game, or purchased for $0.99 (£0.69, 0.99 euros). Following the success of Hitman Go, the developer announced Hitman: Sniper in early June, which is expected to launch for free later this year. As Square Enix Montreal told Joystiq at E3, its design concepts could allow the studio to approach any Square Enix property with a "new recipe" for mobile platforms. [Image: Square Enix]
Hitman Go dev locks and loads Hitman: Sniper
Square Enix Montreal announced a new game based on the Hitman series for mobile devices today, Hitman: Sniper. As with the developer's recent approach to mobile in Hitman Go, Sniper is "tailor-built for touch screen devices." It plans to show off the game on undisclosed smartphones and tablets at E3 next week. Hitman: Sniper is a "massively competitive sniping game that will focus on the subtlety of execution," according to the developer. Players will complete contracts that include any number of assignments and targets, each expected to be worth replaying multiple times to topple other players' scores on leaderboards. Square Enix Montreal drew comparisons to IO Interactive's Hitman: Sniper Challenge, which launched ahead of Hitman: Absolution, and that those familiar with the stand-alone game will "have a pretty good idea of the sort of action you can expect" from Hitman: Sniper. When the developer announced Hitman Go in February, it noted that it was working on "something else" that fit "perfectly within the Hitman fantasy." The sniping game sure seems to fit that bill, and will launch "later this year" for free with optional in-app purchases. Square Enix Montreal just began offering Hitman Go on Android devices yesterday and is "working hard on the next set of levels" for the game. [Image: Square Enix]
Hitman Go now accepting contracts on Android gadgets
Having already surprised the iOS audience with its pleasantly novel take on contract killing, Hitman Go is now ready to dispatch targets on Android devices. Unlike prior games in the stealthy series, Hitman Go is more akin to a puzzle game, where players must carefully maneuver the bald assassin through stages that resemble a traditional board game. The core goals of remaining undetected and finding the most efficient means to kill a target remain paramount, but Hitman Go infuses these traditional elements with a quiet subtlety not found in prior entries. "The play style recalls the strategic thinking of the console/PC games, but does so with an entirely new style that fits touch-based devices like a fine leather glove," wrote Anthony in our 4 of 5 stars review. Those interested in picking up Hitman Go can now find the game on the Google Play Store at a price of $5. Be careful not to confuse Hitman Go with the similarly-titled Hit Mango, a 2D fighter in which you beat fruit into a pulp. [Image: Square Enix]
Joystiq Weekly: VR walker Omni, Hitman Go review, Mario Golf's season pass and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. Okay, we have to admit that the Omni, a motion-tracking platform that associates real-life walking with in-game movement, is kind of ridiculous, right? Yeah, we do and we will - as long as we can also acknowledge how interesting the concept is. Sprinting in reality to hurry down a virtual hallway probably won't be as quick as strafing with arrow keys, but the tradeoff sounds worthwhile. Pairing Omni with the Oculus Rift would bring us closer to the hectic deathmatch action of games like Halo 4, but we could also do rhythmic leaps through stages of Runner 2 or wildly-dangerous imitations of Mirror's Edge's parkour. Hmm ... maybe Omni should be bundled with life insurance. We can ponder the benefits of treadmill controllers together, but if your brain needs a break from all that, there's plenty of gears to switch to after the break. Between a glimpse of the new Ace Attorney game, reviews for NES Remix 2 and Hitman Go, and an exploration of morality systems like those found in the Infamous and Mass Effect series, there's lots to think about beyond how physical our video games could be in a few decades.
Hitman Go review: The game of death
Hitman Go is the one thing previous games in the series have never been: subtle. In earlier outings, directing Agent 47 through each gruesome assassination occasionally required some subtle thinking. Do I hide in that dumpster? Do I dress up like a clown and sneak through the kitchen? But no matter how quietly or sneakily you offed your targets, you were still playing as a bald man with a barcode tattooed on the back of his head. "Ave Maria" plays every time you garrote some hardened criminal. Hitman games, from the PS2 era up to 2012's Absolution, are silly, taxing, and deft at giving you options, but they're about as subtle as Godzilla's Tokyo vacations. Square-Enix Montreal's new iOS and Android spin on the series, meanwhile, is softly smart and marvelously complex despite its simple exterior. On the face, Hitman Go seems to be all style and no substance, devoid of the chewy, strategic flexibility offered by the console games. Rather than mimic the polygonal 3D style of Hitman as Square-Enix has done with other iPad-ized console/PC spin-offs like Deus Ex: The Fall, Square-Enix Montreal presents Go as a board game, complete with wooden boards and tiny plastic figures that look like tokens straight out of a Risk box. The motif is appealingly sleek, replacing the gaudiness of I/O Interactive's Absolution with primary colors and white space. Even the menus where you select which level to play – the initial release comes with five "boards," the last of which is actually based on Hitman: Blood Money – look hot, with the little mocked up board game box inviting you to paw at the touch screen.
Hitman GO is really killing it
If you've ever played a Hitman game, your eyebrow probably immediately raised at the prospect of a new Hitman game for iOS. The stealth action titles for PC and consoles focus on picking off guards and taking out assassination targets, and in that way Hitman GO stays true to the franchise. Everything else about the game, however, is completely different. Hitman GO is a board game of sorts, with turn-based puzzles taking the place of actual sneaking and hiding. You control your character piece, the titular assassin Agent 47, on a board where your movements are restricted to pre-determined grids. Each level has its own layout, with guards who either stand still or patrol, and either an assassination target or an exit slot you must travel to in order to proceed to the next level. You can trick guards with noise generating items like cans and rocks, and either make your way around them or take them out in order to clear your path. The puzzles range from very simply early on to mind-bendingly challenging, forcing you to memorize guard patterns and use the rare pieces of cover to your advantage. Besting a level is very satisfying, especially when you take out your primary assassination target -- who are always dressed in red -- with Ave Maria playing in the background, and GO manages to feel like a real Hitman title despite a complete change in format. The most striking thing about the presentation of GO is how gorgeous the faux board game looks on a Retina display. You feel like you're actually moving pieces around the board, and the ability to tweak your viewing angle adds to this greatly. Hitman GO is available for US$4.99, and the only in-app purchases on offer are in the form of hint packs, walkthroughs, and early level unlocks, but each board is so much fun to play and beat that you'll have little reason to consider it.
Hitman Go launches April 17 on iOS, Android 'shortly after'
Square Enix Montreal will launch mobile strategy game Hitman Go on iOS on Thursday, April 17. Based on the publisher's popular Hitman series, the diorama-style, turn-based game will cost $5 (£3 / 4.50 euros). Announced in February, the first game from the developer has players navigating fixed, grid-like spaces while using familiar tools from the series, such as Agent 47's Silverballers. Hitman Go will include eight special "Curtains Down" levels based on Hitman: Blood Money. While Square Enix didn't set a release date for it, the Android version of the game will arrive "shortly after" it launches on the App Store. [Image: Square Enix]
Square Enix announces mobile strategy game Hitman Go
The Hitman series will see its first entry on tablets and smartphones in Hitman Go, Square Enix Montreal announced today. The turn-based strategy game will have players navigating "fixed spaces on a grid" while using familiar tools from the stealth series, such as sniper rifles, Agent 47's Silverballers, disguises and distractions. Though it's not clear if the image accompanying the announcement is just concept art, the developer said Hitman Go will use "beautifully rendered diorama-style set pieces." While Square Enix Montreal did not hand out a release date or price for the game, it did note that Hitman Go is "almost ready for launch." Additionally, the developer is currently working on "something else" in addition to the mobile game, which seemingly "fits perfectly within the Hitman fantasy." [Image: Square Enix Montreal]
