Sethos, you liked Blood money right? Be honest with me, how is Absolution as a hitman game?
Yeah, I did like Blood Money.
I don't want you to put too much into what I have to say, as I've done like 3 missions and my primary goal was checking out how it looked, meaning I may not have been going all Hitman on it. However, you can already see the more confined gameplay compared to the previous games. It definitely feels less free and like you always know where to go - In the other games you could wander around a big ass hotel for an hour, checking out target routes and routines. Now it all seems very OH CUT THE POWER, MOVE INTO THE HOUSE HE'S GUARDING, OHHH A SNIPER RIFLE OUT OF NOWHERE HOW CONVENIENT.
But it's not bad, you get to do all the Hitman stuff of being badass sneaky, hiding bodies, figuring out the best way to get rid of a target without alerting everyone around you etc. but the big freedom aspect has been toned down quite a bit. You can still roam around a level, check out your options and take it slow but that free feeling of wandering around a big location as a 'regular' guy is now replaced with more confined spaces and being a wanted man, so you feel very restrained in your movement.
It's a good game, best looking game this generation without modding, shooting feels great and I love the ragdoll. Lots of atmosphere and sweet kills but just have to come to terms with the new style of play.
So a true Hitman game it isn't, for me. However it's a tight, fun and good looking experience with Hitman elements. Still, it also has some severe 'dumbing down' in terms of boxes and cupboards to hide bodies always seem extremely appropriately placed right next to key guards, stuff like that. In the other games I could be dragging a corpse through an entire compound looking dodgy as hell in an attempt to find a good hiding spot.