I Hit People For A Living

Gameplay - 8/10

Storyline - 8/10

Graphics - 9/10

Game Score : 25/30

Welcome to another Friday video game review blog post, today we are going to be looking at Hitman Absolution. Before we dive into the goodness just a small public service announcement this will probably be the last video game review for 2012. Going to close off the year as always with a top ten list of games for 2012 so you can be prepared for that in the coming week. Its been a blast providing you guys with reviews and entertainment via our game-play commentary videos on our YouTube channel. So lets get into some Hitman Absolution...

Hitman: Absolution is an action-adventure stealth game developed by IO Interactive and published by Square Enix. It is the fifth entry in the Hitman game series, and runs on IO Interactive's proprietary Glacier 2 game engine. Before release the developers conveyed that Absolution would be easier to play and more accessible, while still retaining hardcore aspects of the franchise. The game was released on November 20, 2012, which is the 47th week of the year (in reference to the protagonist, Agent 47). The game takes place in the United States, and features an online option. In addition, the game features "instinct mode" which allows 47 to predict enemy patrol routes, much like the "sonar vision" that was featured in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction, "eagle vision" in Assassin's Creed, "tracker mode" in Crysis 2 and "Detective mode" in Batman: Arkham Asylum.

What’s Good:

Superb graphics, game is more accessible than previous iterations, tons of in game content to work for, great versatility in how to approach missions as well as replay value. Soundtrack really fits the tone ad scene changes as you play through the game as well. The interactivity with your environment and how you can manipulate it to progress is very well done and plays well to the motif of being a Hitman that shapes your gaming experience as you see fit. Multiple game difficultly settings to appeal to everyone from the casual gamer to the purist fan of the series.

What’s Bad:

Camera controls at times are a pain, but this is somewhat acceptable as this is a common occurrence in most third person game or it may be due to my personal preference for first person viewpoint. Scoring system penalizes you for killing unnecessarily even if it is you clean up after yourself  so no one notices. This takes away from the freedom they give you in the game and detracts from that overall experience of having total control to progress how you see fit. The instinct meter decreases and replenishes haphazardly, I noticed when I needed it I had little to none there but then randomly I would accomplish things when I didn't need it that would replenish it.

What Should Have Been Added:

I think a nice addition would have been to animate more methods of assassinations or even better yet make varying cut scenes for each assassination and then give the player a choice based on the weapons he has which cut-scene to play out.

Final Thoughts:

While in and of itself a solid gaming franchise this game caters more to the fans of the series and not necessarily newcomers who might have heard good tings about the game. There is a slight learning curve involved in fully appreciating everything that this game has to offer but that shouldn't be a deterrent to any gamers out there but instead an incentive to enjoy the game to its fullest. Hope you enjoy the game-play commentary as always and as always keep on gaming...

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Death Before Dishonor

Gameplay - 10/10

Storyline - 8/10

Graphics - 10/10

Game Score : 28/30

So we had this for a little while now on the lineup to play but Episode 4 of The Walking Dead came out in the same week so we chose to play that instead. Yaay us! Fast forward to this week we dive headfirst into this exciting new IP (Intellectual Property) called Dishonored. It has been heralded as a win for the ideal of new and original ideas still having a place in our world along with the idea that you don't need a multi-player aspect to a game to make it a success. With that said lets showcase the awesomeness that is Dishonored...

Dishonored is a 2012 first-person stealth action adventure video game developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was released worldwide in October 2012 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The game is played from a first-person perspective and allows the player to tackle a series of assassination missions in a variety of ways, with an emphasis on player choice. Missions can be tackled by stealth, combat or a combination of both. Exploring levels opens new paths and alternatives for accomplishing mission goals, and it is possible to complete all missions and eliminate all of Attano's targets in a non-lethal manner. The story and missions are modified based on violent actions, or lack thereof, committed by the player.

Dishonored is played with an emphasis placed on stealth action and the use of gadgets and the environment to eliminate opposing forces. The game world is a series of self-contained, mission-focused sandboxes designed to allow for multiple avenues of exploration in terms of in-game movement and powers. Dishonored also features role-playing game elements such as the ability to upgrade powers and moral choices with focus on non-linear consequences. The game is designed to allow the player to complete it without killing any NPC, including boss characters and mission targets. Actions committed by the player are not judged to be of a good or evil morality, but instead are tracked by a "chaos" system that records how much collateral damage, violent actions and deaths are caused by the player. The game world is modified by how little or much damage is caused, affecting story decisions with an emphasis on not punishing the player or forcing them to choose one style of play over another.

Whats Good:

Creativity is off the chain in this game. There is so much freedom to shape and mold your game-play experience as you see fit that it boggles the mind. You can play the game as a perfectionist completing and collecting all quests and item upgrades or you can play as a ruthless assassin hell bent on killing everything in his path. Then couple that with the fact that the game changes accordingly with the choices you make in regards to being stealthy or not and you have yourself a game with immense replay value.

Whats Bad:

Honestly not much was really missing from this game my only issues were with finding certain mission objectives via the onscreen location markers and fall damage. Aside from that the story was a bit cliche but it fits with the overall theme of the game so I can't really hate on it. Also didn't care much for the game sort of forcing you to collect the Runes and Bone ruins to level up your abilities since that kind of forces you along on the path of exploration if you want to maximize your powers.

What Should Have Been Added:

Honestly I can't think of anything that would have made this that much of a greater game.

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