Hitman: Contracts
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| Hitman: Contracts {{#if:{{{image|}}}|<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">{{{image|}}} | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | IO Interactive {{#if:{{{publisher|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)<td>{{{publisher|}}} |
| Release date(s) | April, 21 2004 |
| Genre(s) | Stealth |
| Mode(s) | Single player {{#if:{{{ratings|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)<td>{{{ratings|}}} |
| Platform(s) | Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox {{#if:{{{media|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media<td>{{{media|}}} |
Hitman: Contracts is the third game of the Hitman video game series.
The hunter has become the hunted, as 47 is seriously wounded by one of his own targets, who seemed to have been expecting him. Bleeding to death and taking refuge in a hotel room somewhere in Paris, France, 47 drifts in and out of consciousness as an army of heavily armed French SWAT units converge around the apartment complex.
Hitman: Contracts' story centers on 47's flashbacks to earlier assignments. Many of the game's missions are re-imaginings of previous ones in the series. Almost all of the major missions from Hitman: Codename 47 have been re-made and included in Contracts; the exceptions being the Colombia levels, which were scheduled to be included but were dropped, and the final two levels (the first level of Contracts begins with the conclusion of the first game and the escape from the asylum in Romania where 47 was created). The locations visited include Budapest, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, Paris, Romania, Rotterdam, Siberia and the United Kingdom.
The "suspicion" meter has been improved and is less twitchy and unpredictable than it used to be. Enemies generally will not see through a disguise, unless 47 stands right next to them for several seconds or enters a restricted area. They will also no longer open fire for little things, such as running or brushing past them. The graphics have also been marginally improved, with the addition of reflective surfaces and new shading techniques.
The game is darker than the previous two entries, literally and figuratively. Literally speaking, all of the levels either take place at dusk, nighttime, or during inclement weather. No level features sunshine, or even just slightly overcast skies. The game's interiors are either poorly lit, take place in near blackness, or feature eerie, almost supernatural lighting ranging from green-hued fluorescent bulbs to candles. Several fans and reviewers have commented this effect is most likely due to how 47 has recalled them; as he is lying bleeding to death, these memories and thoughts are unlikely to be completely accurate, giving the game a nightmarish tinge in places. Jesper Kyd's fantastic composition also reflects this change of tone and is truly fascinating. Silent Assassin had an orchestral and epic score which created an heroic atmosphere, but the score of Contracts reflects the game's twisted and sinister mood perfectly through dark electronica tracks that could fit in a horror movie. Many fans consider Contracts' music the best of the series.
Several levels include disturbing imagery beyond what has been seen in the series' previous entries. The best example would be the second level called "The Meat King's Party", an S&M party taking place in a slaughterhouse. One scene in particular features the mutilated corpse of a teenage girl hanging upside down from a ceiling, wrapped in plastic; beneath her, the girl's obsessed kidnapper has created a shrine to her, centered around a large photo of the girl, on which he has written the word "BITCH" in her blood. A record player nearby plays Paul Anka's Put your head on my shoulder, while the girl's killer, an obese, semi-nude man in a bloody apron, cackles in what sounds like a clip from Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. This same level features disturbing depiction of strong perverse and morbid sexual behaviors between people wearing leather masks and bondage outfits, and mating next to gory animal corpses and carcasses. In another level, the Thermal Bath Hotel, the player can stumble across a cordoned off police crime scene, which features a bathtub filled with blood and a mutilated corpse in the next room. By entering the adjoining wing of the building, the player can actually see the murdered man's ghost drifting around the halls and reflected in bathroom mirrors.
All this adult material makes Contracts the darkest and most violent Hitman to date.da:Hitman: Contracts fr:Hitman: Contracts lt:Hitman: Contracts pl:Hitman: Contracts