When Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and IO Interactive announced they would remaster 2006′ Hitman: Blood Money and 2012′ Hitman: Absolution, I was totally caught off guard as if agent 47 himself just appeared behind me, ready to strangle my neck with his fiber wire! I mean, HITMAN 2, the sequel to the reboot of the series has just been released and now we’re presented with a remaster of not one, but two of his titles! That’s what I call a great surprise!
For those unfamiliar with the franchise, Hitman is a series of stealth games in which you play as Agent 47, a bald and emotionless assassin who does whatever it takes to accomplish his tasks. He works for International Contract Agency (ICA or The Agency), a not-so-secret organization (since everyone with enough money can contract their services) as a killer for hire, executing his services with unprecedented efficiency. Until one of his jobs made him confront his own past and discover he’s a genetically modified and enhanced (Xbox One X enhanced?) clone with superhuman skills and reflexes that make him an ultimate weapon. His career has been through some up and downs ever since, with situations where his own agency went after him. But he’s managed to survive for nine games (including two mobile-only titles) and two movies (while the first one gives a good glimpse about his world, the second one is just tolerable). And now Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and IO Interactive give us the chance to play again two of his best (if not the best) adventures. So, suit up and follow me while I brief you about your mission, agent.
As this is a review for a bundle, let’s take a look at each game separately.
Our review for Hitman: Blood Money HD (Click here)
Our review for Hitman Absolution (Click here)
Hitman HD Enhanced Collection [Score: 75/100] A perfect opportunity for old fans to replay two of the best entries of the series or to introduce new players to two of the best titles of the franchise, Hitman HD Enhanced Collection is a great package for old and new fans of the Danish studio games. There’s a huge difference between the two titles in this bundle due to the age of each one. And now I can’t help but think how great it would be great to see the older one (Blood Money) upgraded to Glacier 2, looking as beautiful as Absolution is right now. There’s still something weird in seeing a new Hitman title (even though it’s a remaster) released less than two months after the last entry to the series (HITMAN 2). Moreover, as a big fan of 47, I’m more than glad they did it.
With a history of gaming that goes from his old man’s Atari 2600 to his Xbox One, Rafael or RAF687, our Brazilian editor, has a love for games as old as he can remember. He has already spent countless hours in many consoles (Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega Saturn, PS1, PS2 and Xbox 360) and is always ready for more (as long as his wife is asleep). Raf has been writing for LifeisXbox since 2017, with a passion for games of almost all genres – though we know he has a special place in his heart for RPGs, racing games and anything that includes pixel art. Writing about games has always been a childhood dream to Raf, dream that he has fulfilled reviewing games for you here. You can drop him a message at Twitter, Facebook or Xbox Live at any time.