The previews raved and now the reviews are... well contaversial to say the
least. So why are opinions of this long-awaited game bouncing from one
extreme to the other? Read on in hopes of shedding some light on the subject.
Hitman hit U.S. shelves on November 20, and, ten days later, the reviews are
finally beginning to surface from several gaming web sites. Why such a delay?
Well, interestingly enough, causes for the review delays can be attributed to many
of the complaints about Hitman shared by these reviewers. It seems that
Eidos may have given into the infamous "just get it out in time for the holidays"
pitch that has been raising the salaries of marketing managers for years, while
lowering the quality of many promising games.
In Daily Radar's
review, the author complained that its editors never even
recieved an early build to get a head start on the review. Instead, they had to
wait for the retail release. This, combined with the above mentioned "sneaky",
quietly announced release, usually means, as Daily Radar put it: "the game is a
disaster." Despite any wariness, however, the editors loved Hitman and gave it
a "Direct Hit" rating.
Contrary to Daily Radar's review, Hitman was
trashed by Gamespot, where the title
recieved an overal rating of 5.2 on a scale of 10. Graphics and sound both
high scores, but gameplay and value were branded with below-average scores of 4.
Throughout the review, the author could hardly find one positive aspect of the
gameplay other than, "the stealth and combat sequences can be fun." He quickly
covered himself, however, with, "Just when you start having fun..." (insert own
negative comment here).
So how can two writers, reviewing the exact game, come to two completly opposing
conclusions? Well, just read a few of the user
reviews at PCgameREVIEW. The
scores are coming in at either a full 5/5, or a more meager 2 or 1 out of 5.
No one "sort of" likes this game. Hitman is a genuine love it or hate it,
hit or miss title.
Although overall opinions of Hitman vary, there are several flaws that all
parties seem to agree on. It's just that some believe these flaws ruin the game,
while others are able to overlook them. The gameplay aspect that is talked about
in nearly every review, letter, or comment is the camera persective. Most argue
that the third-person view, while the player can swith between two different angles,
is somewhat awkward and often impeads peripheral vision. The other most often-heard
complaint is the lack of in-game saves. Players are sometimes forced to replay the
same mission several times until they get it right, which can obviously be
frustrating. On a more positve note, everyone agrees that Hitman's graphics, sound, and
animations are superb.
Ultimately, fans of stealth shooters will likely have a better chance of enjoying
Hitman than gamers new to the genre. After all, adding to the lack of saves
if the fact that Hitman just a downright difficult game (I like to say
"challenging"). And about the "classic" status - Some of the greatest games
in history have had a loyal group of fans, as well as a cult of, for lack of
a better word, haters.
What do you think? Send comments to hitman@3dactionplanet.com
