The Hitman video game by Danish developer IO Interactive has been one of the big surprises of the year, with its great sandbox gameplay that allows players to complete the game’s missions in so many different ways. Playing as the bold antihero and professional killer known as Agent 47, players get to take down targets all over the world, from a high-class Paris fashion show in the game’s first episode to a sunny Italian coastal town in the second, and the northern African city of Marrakesh in Hitman’s recently released episode 3.
And while each episode features two major targets to deal with (for instance, bioengineer Silvio Caruso and his lab partner Francesca de Santis in the second episode) the game also features what’s known as “Elusive Targets”.
These are high-profile assassination targets that Agent 47 must take care of, but the catch is that they only hang around for a specific period of time in one of the game’s levels, before disappearing forever. Also, players only get one attempt to take down the target, and if they are caught or killed in the act there are no second chances, plus saving the game is not allowed during these missions either…
We saw the game’s first Elusive Target, a forger with the name Sergei Larin back in May, in the game’s Paris setting, and now the latest target is live in Paris too… The guy is wealthy entrepreneur Jonathan Smythe known as “The Sensation”, who’s also wanted for committing crimes worldwide, according to the game’s briefing video above, and is throwing a party on the palace grounds in Hitman’s Paris level unaware that man on a mission Agent 47 is out to get him…
(Warning: spoilers follow)
Based on my personal attempt with this contract in the Hitman video game, I can say that players should look for Smythe in the area around the gazebo in the palace gardens, next to the open field where Novikov’s helicopter in parked. Those who have completed some of the challenges in the Paris mission will also know this is the area where Novikov’s meeting with Decker takes place… There is one gate leading to this area guarded by two CICADA bodyguards, while the other two are locked.
Getting a bodyguard disguise would be the best bet, as this allows you to get past the gate and enter the Elusive Target’s private party, although you must be careful inside as a couple of bodyguards will recognize Agent 47 is not one of them… Taking a lockpick with you is a good idea, as unlocking the gate further from the palace (the one close to the river) will offer a escape route once “The Sensation” has been dealt with. Another option would be to use a sniper rifle, firing from the large balcony on the palace’s top floor, although this is not the approach I took myself.
What is clear though, is that Hitman’s Elusive Target contracts are exciting, tense affairs, and if the game’s future episodes manage to be on a par with what’s been offered so far (particularly the splendid murder sandbox Sapienza was) then there is no doubt that this Hitman game could be a solid candidate for game of the year.