Hitman Codename 47

Published by Sold Out Software
Developed by IO Interactive
Platform: PC CD-ROM
Released - Out Now
Price : £4.99

You play as a bald headed hitman. Your identity is unknown at the beginning of the game and all that is evident is that you have a barcode on the back of your head and someone is giving you contracts to kill by the lorry load. The first level you play is sort of a tutorial level (fully subtitled) and sees you escaping from an asylum. You are familiarised with your instruments of death and how to use them. After the tutorial it's into the game proper. The game features missions set in Hong Kong, Columbia, Budapest, Rotterdam and the Asylum in which you begin the game. Each mission involves multiple assassinations and our character constantly has a target in his sights.

What makes Hitman stand out from other games though is that you only get one chance to perform your task. If asked to assassinate a negotiator, you get one shot. Should you scuff your shot you will not get another as guards and police pepper you full of lead whilst in pursuit of you. Of course once you've made the kill you still have to make it to the exit point to be sure of a successful mission.

On the whole, Hitman: Codename 47 is an extremely enjoyable experience but there are some niggles. You can't make your character crawl which would have proved useful in certain cases. It would have also been good if you could have played the whole game from a first person perspective as this would have allowed you to be more aware of your immediate surroundings. Perhaps the fact that you cannot save mid-mission will annoy some people but after all, a hitman has to be a perfectionist and tapping a quick save key every five seconds isn't really the same feeling is it? For some the mission objectives may be a bit thin on information but personally I combated this by playing through the mission a few times and just getting the feel for it.

One of the main problems with shoot 'em up games, particularly in one that requires stealth, is that you don't see any visual notification of the audible alarms that have been raised. You are notified of such things in Hitman and are told things like 'the guards have been alerted' and such like. When there is a cutscene (hardly any in the game) it isn't subtitled. To be fair though the mission briefings are given fully in text and pressing the F1 key during a mission recalls the objectives. Any conversations that you have in a mission are subtitled. All in all Hitman is deaf gamer friendly.

Recommendation: If you like games that are immensely challenging then Hitman might be your cup of tea.

Suitability for deaf gamers: The cutscenes are not subtitled but otherwise it's OK.

Overall Game Rating: 3.5/5