Hitman 2016 is what current gen should aim for

When the PS4 was first announced in early 2013, showing off the improved graphical potential of the new hardware was the name of the game.  “THIS IS NEXT-GEN!” screamed the operatic adverts from the rooftops, flashing their fancy particle and lighting effects for all to see. And for a while, pretty was enough to keep us all happy.

Early titles such as Killzone Shadowfall, and Infamous: Second Son, definitely demonstrated that next step in graphical fidelity, shooting hails of bullets, fiery explosions, and shiny lens flare all over. But soon, we began to peek behind the curtain, and realised that there was little substance hiding underneath Whilst the early PS4 games looked new, they didn’t feel new to play. Old gameplay mechanics from previous years remained, and several titles, such as Call of Duty: Ghosts, and Assassins Creed: Black Flag, were simply glossier versions of their PS3 counterparts.

However, in the first two and a half years of the PS4’s lifecycle, games are beginning to appear that harness the power of its hardware in other ways. Instead of simply being used to create amazing graphics. Recent games have begun to feature more interactive elements than have ever been seen before on console, giving players a larger wealth of gameplay options, and helping to create a deeper world. For example, Dying Light combined a parkour system with a melee combat system, enabling the players to slash the undead, flit over rooftops, or any combination they saw fit, leading to many moments of random chaos. Whilst Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain continued this trend, offering a multitude of physical skills, lethal and non-lethal weapons and high tech tools for the player to shape their own style of infiltration, the game world eventually revealed itself as lots of similar desert and jungle. I believe that IO Interactive’s new Hitman series could eventually beat it hands down with its’ meticulously designed game world, which brims with systems and interactive elements to be manipulated by the player.

The first episode features a contract set during a high-class fashion show in a Parisian mansion on the banks of the Seine. Whilst some grumbled at the prospect of an episodic Hitman title, it actually benefits the mission, which is brimming with layer upon layer of interactive environmental detail. The mansion features unique rooms, from a dusty attic area, down through storage cupboards, bathrooms,  a working fashion show and bar bustling with guests, and, a basement complete with wine cellars and huge kitchen.  Each room features a unique, and contextually appropriate, interactive elements Radios, vacuum cleaners, and even overflowing bathroom sinks can be used as distractions, whilst cupboards can be used to conceal either Agent 47 himself, or a comatose guard.  

The building is swarmed with hundreds of NPCs all with their own routines and dialogue. Super models strut the catwalk, crew and stylists mill backstage, waiters pour drinks and serve food, and guards patrol the grounds, armed to the teeth with automatic weapons.  Blunt objects, such as crowbars, screwdrivers and hammers, litter every corner of the map. As well as being turned into blunt weapons in Agent 47’s skillful hands, they can also be used for their original purposes, to jimmy open locked doors, strip electrical wire, and loosen gas valves. And all this without even mentioning Hitman’s calling card, the accident kills, which are a bevy of bomb exploding, drink spiking, chandelier crushing challenges waiting to be found. Along with the newly revamped disguise and trespass system, sniper rifles stashed in stairwells, crunchy combat, and multiple devious escape routes (although walking cool as a cucumber out of the front door remains a series staple), there’s almost too many layers of gameplay to discuss here.  These systems layer on top of each other in the highly detailed map, to create a mission that is deeper than any the PS4 has offered so far.

Hitman has always aimed to offer freeform experimentation to the player, but technology has always held back this promise. However, the new processing power offered by the PS4 has caught up with the series, finally giving the series a layered and detailed environment full of possibilities for the player to exploit to their own murderous ends.  Hitman’s first episode proves that almost two and half years after the PS4’s release, we can see that games are now using the hardware’s processing power not only for creating visually stunning graphics, but also for layering game worlds with a variety of interactive elements and gameplay mechanics “I CAN DO THIS” will soon replace the phrase “can I do this?” as I plunge  my unsuspecting victims head into a the murky water of a toilet bowl.

Now that’s what I call next gen.