It’s been just over half a decade since players last saw Agent 47, the bald, bar-coded protagonist from IO Inertactive’s excellent Hitman series. That’s a long break in video games as the lifespan of franchises, trends and even consoles can be played out in less time. Let's hope Hitman: Absolution is worth the wait.

Stealth games have been hit hard in recent times, and not just by the release of the Hitman movie starring Timothy Olyphant – and the less said about that, the better. With action games – and principally shooters – still dominating the current gen of consoles, stealth games have come under pressure to widen their appeal by including shooter mechanics and features.

Hitman Absolution: Features

Hitman Absolution has followed suit by including some new aspects that give players more choice in how they approach the game. That is to say, that in Absolution, Agent 47 is now as much an action hero as he is a silent killer.

The biggest new feature is ‘Instinct’, a renewable resource the player powers up by performing stealth takedowns, stashing bodies and swapping clothes with victims. Players can then spend ‘Instinct’ to activate Agent 47’s ‘Point/Shoot’ ability. This allows them to stop time briefly, mark a series of targets in their environment and then take them all out with the flick of a trigger. The results look spectacular; in a ‘Point/Shoot’ cinematic, the camera whirls around the screen, pausing briefly to capture every headshot and every explosion in stylish slow motion.

Hitman Absolution: Gameplay

Players can also use Instinct to briefly see through walls and note the position of any enemies in their environment, and also, to see the paths of any patrolling guards. In this way, the Instinct mechanic also augments the player’s actions if they decide the direct approach isn’t to their liking.

It should be pointed out at this juncture that it’s still possible to enjoy Hitman Absolution as a classic title from the series. The new features can be turned off and players can sneak about in the dark to their heart’s content.

Hitman Absolution: Verdict

Purists will probably gripe that this is the only way a Hitman game should be played, but really, Hitman Absolution’s stealth-oriented gameplay can co-exist quite peacefully with the new, high-octane experience.

This is both gratifying and also the clearest indication the developers haven’t lost sight of what made the Hitman series so beloved to begin with. Absolution may be a little noisier than previous Hitman iterations, but crucially, it looks no less fun to play.

Hitman Absolution availability: 2012

Hitman Absolution price: TBC