Half assassin, half crazed gunman: Hands-on with Hitman Absolution (games.on.net)

So what’s it like to be a grim-hearted killing machine for hire? The premise of IO Interactive’s Hitman games is a complex and sinister answer to this fantasy, but there’s one obvious suggestion at hand: You’d probably need to be quiet about it.

Up until now, the emphasis has been very assuredly on stealth. Stealth, as you might’ve noticed, is not a gameplay mechanic that’s anywhere near as in fashion as it was during the formative years of Sam Fisher and PSX-era Solid Snake. IO are cluey guys. They know this. They also know that no one would give a crap about Hitman if it weren’t for an impressive legion of bedroom bodybaggers attuned to its particular brand of mark-the-target-and-make-it-ha ppen.