Hitman: Contracts
Hitman: Contracts is a 2004 stealth video game developed by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It is the third installment in the Hitman video game series. As of April 2009, the game has sold around 2 million copies.[1] High-definition ports of Contracts and its predecessor and successor, Silent Assassin and Blood Money, were released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in January 2013 as the Hitman HD Trilogy.[2] It is a partial remake of Hitman: Codename 47 and a partial sequel to Hitman 2: Silent Assassin.
| Hitman: Contracts | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | IO Interactive |
| Publisher(s) | Eidos Interactive |
| Writer(s) | Greg Nagan |
| Composer(s) | Jesper Kyd |
| Series | Hitman |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Stealth |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Gameplay
In Hitman: Contracts, gameplay takes place in a third-person perspective, as the players control Agent 47, who is sent to various locations to assassinate specific targets. A wide array of weapons can be used, from kitchen knives, assault rifles and handguns to belt-fed machine guns. While stealth and subterfuge is encouraged, the game allows the player to take a more violent approach and gunfight their way to their mission goals. As players progress through the game, they can collect the various armaments found in the levels, allowing them to be used in future missions. Aside from the more straightforward ways of killing targets such as gunplay and strangulation, several missions allow the player more subtle ways to eliminate hits, such as judicious use of poison, or arranging "accidents" like a heat-induced heart attack inside a sauna.
Players are rated on their performance based on several factors; key among which are the number of shots fired, non-player characters (NPCs) killed (and whether they were armed adversaries or innocents), and the number of times the guards are alerted. The lowest rank is "Mass Murderer", which is awarded to players who kill large numbers of NPCs in the pursuit of their target and do not use stealth. The highest rank is "Silent Assassin", which is earned when the player accomplishes their mission without being detected, and generally without killing anyone other than the intended target(s).
Contracts continues the trend of context sensitive actions, which means that one button is used in multiple situations for multiple uses. For example, when the player is near a door, the context sensitive button will allow the player to perform door-relevant actions such as keyhole-peeking, lock picking, or if allowed, simply opening it. When the player is near an unconscious or dead NPC, the same button will allow the ability to either acquire the person's outfit, or drag the body to an area where it will not be found by guards.
Along with the context sensitive button, the "Suspicion Meter" returns as well; this meter informs players of how close they are to blowing their respective cover. Actions like excess running indoors, brandishing weapons openly, residing in restricted areas, or sneaking can raise suspicion. Proximity will also usually raise the meter. If the "Suspicion Meter" fills, guards will open fire on sight of the player and the current cover becomes useless. If the guards discover a fallen body, or if an unconscious person wakes and alerts them, the "Suspicion Meter" will raise much faster than it would otherwise.
Disguises can be either found in the environment or taken from the bodies of male NPCs. Depending on the disguise, the player can then access areas restricted to most individuals in a level. These disguises can be seen through by guards, as stated above; e.g. if guards in a level are all wielding shotguns, a player dressed as a guard but not similarly equipped will draw more suspicion. Also, certain behaviors (like picking locks) will cause guards to see through a disguise as well.
Plot
Cloned hitman Agent 47, a contract killer for the International Contract Agency (ICA), returns to his hotel room in Paris after having been shot during a contract. Believing he will die, 47 collapses and begins reflecting on his past. He initially recalls how he had escaped from the lab of his creator, Dr. Ort-Meyer, in Romania, after having killed him, while evading Romanian special forces who were raiding the site. As he clings on to life, he finds himself recalling his previous jobs that he undertook for clients, assigned to him by his handler, Diana Burwood - the assassination of two fetishists who had kidnapped a client's relative; the assassination of a black marketeer in Kamchatka selling weapons to terrorists, and the destruction of their weapon labs aboard a submarine; the assassination of a corrupt nobleman and his son in the United Kingdom; the assassination of a biker crime lord in Rotterdam; and the assassination of the men who were involved in his cloning, orchestrated by Ort-Meyer.
As he recalls these cases, a doctor from the ICA arrives and performs emergency surgery on 47 before he can bleed out. At the same time, officers from the Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale (GIGN) arrive at the hotel in order to secure 47. While the ICA doctor is forced to flee without dressing the wound, 47 regains his strength and addresses the matter, before recalling the briefing for his current contract. He quickly recalls he had taken out two of the three targets he had been sent to eliminate (an event later addressed in Hitman: Blood Money), all of whom were involved in a child prostitution ring operation in Eastern Europe. He soon recalls the third, a corrupt officer in the GIGN named Inspector Albert Fournier, who was responsible for his injury after he was tipped off to his presence.
As the GIGN prepare to storm his room, 47 decides to complete his contract, and evades them. Upon reaching the streets, he proceeds to kill Fournier and escapes the scene, reaching Charles de Gaulle Airport. Boarding a plane that is leaving the country, 47 is reunited with Diana, who confirms his suspicion that someone knew about the contract and warns him that the ICA is being targeted by the same group. 47 agrees to handle the matter, and take possession of a file regarding the problem. The group in particular is The Franchise, an enemy of the Agency who is seeking to undermine them and gain control of governments worldwide.
Soundtrack
| Hitman: Contracts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Jesper Kyd | ||||
| Released | June 2004 | |||
| Genre |
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| Length | 60:31 | |||
| Label |
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| Jesper Kyd chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| SoundtrackNet |   |
Hitman: Contracts Original Soundtrack was composed by Jesper Kyd and released in 2004. The score features the same Latin choral arrangements as in all the other scores; however, they are heavily sampled and mixed into the dark electronic soundscape. As summed up by Kyd, "First of all it is a much darker score. Hitman 2 was an epic story that kind of spanned all over the world. This one, although there are different locations, it's not one big epic story. It's a lot of darker, psychological small stories mixed together, so the score follows the darker aspect of Hitman and his career."[4] The score was awarded the title of "Best Original Music" at the 2005 BAFTA Games Awards.[5]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "White Room & Main Title" | 5:31 |
| 2. | "SWAT Team" | 3:58 |
| 3. | "Hong Kong Underground" | 4:43 |
| 4. | "Slaughter Club" | 8:51 |
| 5. | "Streets of Hong Kong" | 6:40 |
| 6. | "Double Ballers" | 2:36 |
| 7. | "Winter Night" | 3:34 |
| 8. | "Weapon Select Beats" | 1:40 |
| 9. | "47 Detected" | 3:10 |
| 10. | "Invader" | 3:41 |
| 11. | "Slaughterhouse" | 6:13 |
| 12. | "Sanitarium" | 4:29 |
| 13. | "Budapest Bath Hotel" | 5:23 |
| Total length: | 60:31 | |
Besides the original Jesper Kyd score, the game features the following songs:
- "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" by Paul Anka in Level 2 "The Meat King's Party". 2:37
- "A Different Kind of Love" by Dick Walter in Level 4 "Beldingford Manor" 5:18
- "Immortal" by Clutch in Level 5 "Rendezvous in Rotterdam".
- "Walking Dead" by Puressence in Level 6 "Deadly Cargo".
- "Le Souteneur (Monsieur Claude)" by Faf Larage in Level 12 "Hunter and Hunted".
Reception
| Reception | ||||||||||||||||
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Hitman: Contracts received mostly positive reviews, with praise aimed at the improved gameplay elements, graphics, soundtrack, darker tone and atmosphere, while criticism was directed towards the familiarity and the lack of significant changes and additions from the previous game.[6][7][8]
References
- "Corporate Strategy Meeting" (PDF). Square Enix. 22 April 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- Sarkar, Samit (28 January 2013). "Hitman: HD Trilogy trailer revisits the series' hits". Polygon.
- SoundtrackNet review Archived 2012-02-23 at the Wayback Machine
- IGN: Jesper Kyd Speaks on Hitman: Contracts Archived 2012-02-06 at the Wayback Machine
- MonstersandCritics.com - Hitman: Contracts Soundtrack Wins at 2005 BAFTA Games Awards Archived 2012-07-21 at the Wayback Machine
- "Hitman: Contracts for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- "Hitman: Contracts for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- "Hitman: Contracts for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- Reed, Kristan (April 15, 2004). "Hitman: Contracts Review". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on June 22, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
- Kasavin, Greg (April 20, 2004). "Hitman: Contracts Review". GameSpot. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
- Perry, Douglass C. (April 16, 2004). "Hitman: Contracts Review". IGN. Retrieved April 23, 2015.