The Hitman series of video games has been going strong since the first game was released back in 2000, and the franchise is one of the best-known in gaming, with nine games having been released to date (including the pretty good mobile outing Hitman Go), while two movies based on these games have hit the theatres so far as well.
The Hitman video games have quite a following, who enjoy the series brand of stealth gameplay and assassination missions in which players get to travel the world taking out unsavoury characters for an organization known as the ICA (International Contracts Agency).
What’s great about these games though, is the enormous amount of player choice they offer, as it’s possible to take out targets in many ways from using poison or weapons like protagonist Agent 47’s trusty silenced pistol, or even more inventive killing devices like explosive golf balls… It’s also fun to resort to a variety of disguises to get close to Agent 47’s victims, infiltrating heavily guarded locations in order to complete Hitman’s missions…
Although the previous game in the series Hitman: Absolution left some fans disappointed due to the linearity of its levels and the lack of choice seen in the earlier Hitman: Blood Money (still the best Hitman game for many), this year’s new Hitman game has certainly been a return to form for Danish developer IO Interactive, even if some have criticized the episodic format this new Hitman game is being released in.
And there have been 3 episodes of this Hitman 2016 game so far: Paris, Sapienza and Marrakesh, while the game’s fourth episode, which is set in Thailand, will be released on August 16. And most Hitman fans would agree that episode 2, which was set in the Mediterranean town of Sapienza, has been the best so far, due to its great Italian atmosphere and multiple assassination options.
Sapienza was a great episode, but will Thailand be even better?
Sapienza was a sprawling and beautiful location with many possibilities, plus the mission also featured the added objective of destroying a lethal virus in a finale that wouldn’t be out of place in a James Bond movie. But those who’ve been following this latest Hitman instalment are likely wondering if the upcoming Thailand episode will be able to top the greatness of Sapienza, or whether it will turn out to be slightly disappointing as the earlier Marrakesh episode was.
Infiltrate a luxurious hotel to assassinate a music star in Hitman’s next episode.
At least the Thailand episode (which takes place in the capital, Bangkok) is set in another beautiful location: the luxurious Himmapan hotel, where music star Jordan Cross and his family lawyer are enjoying a surely comfortable stay (that is, until Agent 47 shows up to crash their party).
Some of Hitman’s best missions have taken place in posh hotels like this one, an example is an earlier mission in 2006’s Blood Money game which was set in Las Vegas’ Shamal Hotel, and was undoubtedly one of the series’ highlights. And exploring Bangkok’s Himmapan hotel will likely be another great experience in this Bangkok episode, especially if the mission is as tightly designed as Hitman’s earlier Paris mission, which certainly gave players plenty of murderous fun. Plus there’s surely something perversely satisfying about getting to kill a super-rich music star like the game’s fictional Jordan Cross, adding to the mission’s appeal no doubt…
So hopefully this Bangkok episode will turn out to be another superb level in this Hitman game, one that hopefully is able to match the Sapienza mission for fun and thrills when it’s released this August.
Note: Hitman: Episode 4 Bangkok will be released on August 16, 2016. Available on PS4, Xbox One and PC.