Life is great when developers stick to their promises. We were promised incoming shrapnel by IO Interactive, and indeed it arrived (but ouch).
IO has officially unveiled the fifth Hitman game, titled Hitman Absolution just as one of our previous stories indicated. The announcement is unsurprising to say the least, as IO made sure to drop a trail of hints leading up to this announcement. Little detail has been released so far, but we can expect a lot more to come very soon.
The announcement lays to rest any speculation regarding what IO has been up to since Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days - and also sheds a little bit of light on the game's details. In a press release announcing the title, IO reveals that Absolution will be showcasing their new proprietary Glacier 2 game engine. The engine, developed wholly to take advantage of the current generation technology, will no doubt bring us the most detailed and visually stunning Hitman yet. In fact, IO boasts that the game has been built from the ground up:
"[Hitman Absolution] has been built from the ground up. Boasting a cinematic story, distinctive art direction and highly original game design, Hitman Absolution combines much-loved classic gameplay with completely new features never seen before in the Hitman franchise."
Absolution picks up where Blood Money left off taking Agent 47 on what IO describes as a "personal journey":
"[Players will be taking] on his most dangerous contract to date. Betrayed by those he once trusted – and now hunted by the police – he suddenly finds himself at the center of a dark conspiracy and must embark on a personal journey through a corrupt and twisted world."
This seems to suggest that gamers will be getting a much closer look into their favorite bald sociopath's psyche - probably one of those "completely new features" mentioned earlier. It could be a good thing since the Hitman games haven't changed much over the years, not that anyone complained - they've always been fun and the stories have been engrossing. The combination of player freedom and plot have definitely kept gamers coming back for more - but there's always room for improvement. Tore Blystad, the game directer at IO Interactive explains:
"For the first time we are taking Agent 47 on a personal journey which allows us to explore other parts of the Hitman fantasy. This is both a familiar and yet significantly different experience from other Hitman games; something our silent assassins will relish, as will all those new to the Hitman world."
Check out the official Hitman Absolution teaser below:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AGN5DJ7MV4
The trailer is as subtle as Agent 47 himself. The brief glimpse of our main man fastening his silencer to his trademark Hardballer/Silverballer pistol shows us that Agent 47 might be just a bit angry with the person whose head is scheduled for extra ventilation.
Another minor detail of the trailer is the barcode at the end. The '47' is highlighted for obvious reasons, but the "110706" is a much subtler way of hinting that we can expect a full reveal on June 7th: E3.
The press release states that IO will be "showcased by invitation only" at this years expo - which is about a month away. It's not likely we'll hear too much about the game until then, but if we do, you can be sure we'll pass it right along!
What new gameplay features do you think IO has added to the game? What do you hope to see?
Hitman Absolution will be available on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 (hopefully this year).