Will Square Enix Stealth Hitman in to the Bargain Bucket?

Alex from GamersFTW writes:

“...let’s just hope Square Enix doesn’t stealth Hitman in to the bargain bucket. I’m not saying cheap games are bad games, remember, Fallout Shelter, Hearthstone, and even Guildwars doesn’t cost a penny to play. I’m just hoping Square Enix get it right this time. After all, maybe their last assassination went down a bit too quiet.”

[Maple22]

I seem to remember there being a fair bit of hype around Absolution, that quickly died down after its release. Personally I'm not so good at the stealth, so these games aren't ones I play regularly, but if they had a good formula to start with, stick with it I say!

[_-EDMIX-_]

? I mean...you know of a game that long after its release gets um "hype"?

That can be said about any game thought lol. I'm getting it for that sweet stealth and all those options to kill.

[LonDonE]

Yup i bought absolution day 1 full price and within 30 days price dropped to dirt cheap, i wont make that mistake again.

I will wait, then buy the new hitman after it drops which it will!

[_-EDMIX-_]

? Bud...within 30 days, all games drop price (if your getting it used) soooo don't ever buy any game new if thats the case.

That is not the teams mistake or the publishers mistake..pretty sure thats yours.

I don't buy new because I magically expect it to stay 60 FOREVER lol, I know it will go down in price...don't care.

I want it day 1, thus will pay full price.

I got MGSV day 1 and Until Dawn day 1.

http://www.amazon.com/Metal...

and

http://www.amazon.com/Until...

Sooo I Could care less that I can get them now for cheaper...

[LonDonE]

@edimix
Dude obviously games/everything drops value over time, but FOR ME absolution dropped to insane levels way too fast!!!

i didnt say i blamed the dev, you are assuming this.
But because game sales was most likely tanking the dropped it, either that or the retailer i got mine from over ordered stock, then sold it dirt cheap.

I think it was amazon, not sure but i remember contacting support and telling em "hey i paid full price, and within 30days the price tanks! wtf???" Lol and they told me the new price was set by publisher so couldnt help me.

Regardless i am a massive hitman fan, love blood money the most on x360.
Which is your fave? :)

But ye i enjoyed absolution but prefered blood moneys sand box and missions etc.
So for me, its better to wait for certain games, they drop fast and no point buying day one.
Day 1 buys for me are for games like mgs5, halo5, fallout, xenoblade x, etc third party games not so much so chill pal sheesh

No where did i say i expect it to stay full price, please dont assume :)
And i buy used multi plats allot unless i LOVE the devs and want to support them eg witcher 3 CDPR bought day 1 full price gladly.
I work in a games shop among other places, i know full well how games/products drop in value lol
We sell used games at my store.

[HRD_Games]

There has been a trend of late in Square-Enix games making linear games (Final Fantasy 13's corridors being the worst), but it feels like they're trying to scream "WE'RE SORRY" by returning to far more open sandboxes (Like Final Fantasy 15's massive world). Maybe Squeenix, maybe we can be happy together again.

[Yukes]

Why do you have to bring up FFXIII - I'm sobbing again now. Think Hitman works best as a sandbox, but still convinced by the open-world take yet.

[_-EDMIX-_]

...or they have the media format to actually now do those concepts now. There is a reasons why FFVersus 13 now FFXV was actually only on PS3, hell when they where making it to FFXV..it was still only being made for PS3, when they asked them about moving it to next gen, they at one time had 3 versions.

A PS3 version and the XONE and PS4 version, why no 360?

its likely due to the media format being so small as to why even MGS4 has never been ported to 360.

I don't think it was just Square seeking to make it linear by design, they would have needed to drastically scale back graphically how the game looked like in order to do that and it was something they probably didn't want to do.

Also consider the concept of FFVersus is the concept of FFXV, it being open like that was part of the over all concept since it was started in 2005, so I wouldn't say they are returning as much as they are finally releasing the concept they wanted back then.

[rainslacker]

I have to agree with EDMIX here. FFXIII seemed incomplete. Going by the history of the series, the games were typically linear at the beginning, then opening up the entire world to play in. Pulse seemed to be positioned at a place that would allow the player to open up their game and go do whatever they wanted, but the world was pretty much empty of everything but scripted plot points and monsters to fight. There were even a few places which seemed like they were supposed to have towns and it wasn't there. NPC's were non-existent, and there was absolutely no reason for this other than space concerns. Given the abundant media attached to the game, it's likely they chose to keep that as opposed to trimming it back to provide more content.

[GamerGabs]

Never been the biggest fan of stealth games, although Dishonored did change that for me. I think Dishonored got it right with its linear story, but allowing players to explore the environment and get the job done in their own way. To be fair I've never actually played a Hitman game (they've been on my steam wish list for a while now though). Just hoping they get this one right for their fan base.

[c00lvilKid69]

Blood Money is definitely the best game in the series. It has aged really well too. Dishonored was a great game, and partly carried by the universe it portrayed. A lot of people enjoyed that, I think.

[bixxel]

Basically: HITMAN and Dishonored are the ONLY two games (on earth) that promote a linear story with LOTS of creativity, freedom, openness and brainstorming. No other game came close to this (except MGS V :Phantom Pain and Deus Ex).

[Yukes]

Good article. I watched the extended Hitman playthrough at EGX 2015, and I'm cautiously optimistic. I do wonder if the series' magic has gone, though; Io-Interactive seem to be advocating that big is better, with larger crowd-sizes and more ways to kill targets in an open-world environment, but I worry about a lack of structure.

[bixxel]

Oh, don't worry about that. So far from what I've been playing from the Hitman Alpha, it's all great. Only the issue is with the slow interaction animations. But then again, it's Alpha.

[MrsNesbitt]

I'm skeptical whether open-world hitman will work? But I felt like this with MGSVTPP and it worked. Interesting to see how the full game will play. Enjoyable article :)

[bixxel]

Hitman isn't open world. It never will be. Unless Ubisoft starts developing Hitman.

[c00lvilKid69]

What’s that saying?

‘If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.’

You’ve hit the nail on the head - a lot of hype that didn’t really live up to expectation. They managed to alienate their fan base with linear game play and scare away potential new players with heavy stealth sequences. Like trying to straddle two horses and ending up straddling none.

[scarecrow2014]

I played Hitman Blood Money back when I didn't have a full appreciation for stealth games and didn't appreciate it fully at the time. I liked Hitman: Absolution, for the most part, but looking back on it Blood Money was much more fun to play (I cleared it recently).

You're right though I am nervous about the game being released in 'chapters', but I just hope the disguise system is better next time around. Every cop in Chicago knowing everyone of their co workers faces. Just plain no.

[bixxel]

The Alpha that I tried out has perfect disguise system. Not everyone recognizes you. Only the head of staff, the target's personal bodyguard and the close friends of the guy whose clothes you stole (your friend goes to the bathroom after talking to you for 5 minutes, and suddenly he returns as a bald guy ?? WAT ?!)

[scarecrow2014]

That sounds promising. YAY :)

[1noobgamer]

Sorry... who are Square Enix again?!

[ConboyAdam]

So open world Hitman, that would be Grand Theft Auto without the fun and social satire but oodles more skulking around dark alleys

[joedom]

I thought Absolution was a disappointment, especially with its lacklustre story. You're right; the Hitman games are definitely dependent on good levels that you want to replay in order to find different ways of completing it.

Fingers crossed that the next game will be a return to form!

[c00lvilKid69]

You’re right about the lacklustre story, especially towards the end of the game. I didn’t like the way they tried to characterise Agent 47 either. Half of the appeal was the mystery.

Blood Money was great for replaying levels though, don’t you think?

[_-EDMIX-_]

Well they do say a focus is on the hits and not its story this time around, which I'm happy to hear.

[scark92]

IO Interactive* :)

[Yui_Suzumiya]

I last about 10 minutes in these games, lol