While a landmark title for several reasons (it should be noted that, while it isn't the first game to utilise a proper physics engine, it's certainly one of the earliest games to use such technology), I played through it and most of the other Hitman games recently and, wow, this game has aged like a dead skunk on the side of the road in summer. There's not a single mechanic in this game that I would classify as being 'properly developed'. They all run the gamut from "Wow, is this just broken?" at worst to "Why is this so janky?" at best. With the exception of the hotel, I think all of the levels are honestly pretty poorly designed, the gunplay is weak, the stealth frequently unreliable and *very* trial and error (which is made exceedingly frustrating thanks to the abysmal save system, meaning a mistake requires going back to the main menu, then loading the mission back over from the beginning), and just... ugh. I'm still very glad the game exists, though. On its own merits, it has a kickass soundtrack that allowed Jesper Kyd to really begin getting a foot in the door of making more OSTs, which is great, because he's one of the best composers around these days. And while the stealth mechanics aren't particularly well-programmed, and the levels don't help matters any, this game served as a great foundation upon which to start improving both of those aspects for later games. And, indeed, from the failings of this game, we got Hitman: Contracts, my favourite game in the series, which based half of its levels around Hitman 1's levels, except made into something of quality. To me, I only find this game interesting as a way to see how impressive IOI were when it came to being able to improve from their mistakes. Hitman 2, while it had its own flaws, was such a drastic improvement over this game. Then, at least for me, they peaked with Hitman: Contracts, which has great level design and the best implementation of the disguise system (at least the way I like it. Blood Money was too forgiving, I think). The only other game developer I can think of that went from unimpressive to *extremely* impressive in such a short span of time is CD Project RED.
This video made me so happy, you have no idea. Despite being kind of a trainwreck I loved Hitman 1 when I first played it. It reminds me of Goldeneye 64: clunky as hell and really weird, but still pretty awesome.
That's pretty much the consensus from long-term fans of the series, that Hitman: C47 had its flaws, but the parts of it that worked are worth treasuring.
Stealth games have evolved from line-of-sight ('don't let them see you') based mechanics into the notion of 'hiding in plain sight'. Thief's darkness and Hitman's disguises are different approaches to this idea. Where can they go from here? 'Don't even be there'? Remote manipulation techniques such as hacking, taking over units, usage of drones and the sort seem to suggest this direction.
I think there's such diversity in how stealth-based mechanisms can be implemented, depending on what other genres a game belongs to, that this can transform the player experience.
More specifically: look at 2D Stealth Games and 3D Stealth Games - completely different, despite the similarities in concept of keeping yourself concealed from enemies! Then if we look at genres like the RTS, Immersive Sim and Action-Adventure, and how those incorporate elements to create Stealth Games, again the branches of player experience can diverge wildly.
I'm pretty sure you could walk around with your weapons out provided it fit the disguise, (I played all the Hitman games.) although it's been AGES since I played Codename 47. I.E. I'm pretty sure in the hotel level you could walk around with your weapons and even go through metal detectors and nobody would care if you had a security guard outfit on. I remember in one of the triad levels I'd shoot a guy and if I got away fast enough nobody would care. I hated Hitman 2's disguise system. You could attract suspicion from anyone provided you got close enough, and I think the weapon you carried mattered too, (in the Russian mission they'd care alot more if you had a sniper rifle compared to a different weapon or no weapon) and it got extremely frustrating when a guard would get suspicious enough to walk towards you, and if you let him get too close, disguise blown. Run around? Disguise blown. Disguises all had varying levels of effectiveness depending on who saw you and the interface doesn't tell you, (You had a "suspicion meter" of sorts but it was very unhelpful and unclear what it indicated, i.e. bar flashing, how fast, how red it is, how much is filled, etc.) It's especially bad during the Japanese Snow missions, I remember one where you had to go through a blizzard to reach a castle and it was frustrating because the ninjas would break the expectations of all other levels by rushing up to you to "Check your ID" despite being clad head to toe. Also snipers shooting ya. I never bothered to get a perfect score for a number of reasons (Not that kind of perfectionist) but if I was, I'd be in even more frustration because the trucks would sometimes run over the ninjas at the checkpoints (Checkpoints as in where they inspect the truck, not actual video game checkpoints) which would ruin a perfect score. Contracts was pretty similar to Hitman 2, but it felt like my disguise was unfairly blown much less often. Blood Moneys was alright but it felt a bit too forgiving. Run around, bump into people all you want, etc. I DID like how weapons being found during a frisk would just mean you'd be turned away. You could even push a button to have your guns confiscated from you and they'd let you through. (Although I might be getting mixed up with Hitman 2016, if they DID confiscate them they wouldn't carry them to a security room compared to if they found them lying around.) I hated Absolutions "All mechanics in the world know eachother" system combined with having to drain a meter just to cover your face. I did like how they'd escort you out if you were trespassing. I liked how if you looked away when hiding in a crowd (might be the case in 2016 too) your face would be hidden. (wouldn't work when out of a crowd) Hitman 2016 IMHO has a good compromise. Not EVERYONE knows eachother (And sometimes people in a different uniform can recognize you!) and you're blatantly told who can see through your disguise as well as which weapons you can be seen using. Few complaints were the suspicious people would get their attention attracted from pretty far away, even if you were not looking towards them. Also if you submit to a frisk with weapons on you, they'd straight up arrest you. (I would have preferred it like blood money where they'd either let you walk away or take them away from you, although it might have been more realistic this way.) EDIT: That Rotterdam mission gives me PTSD. The bomb one. HATED it! Was VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY long with no real checkpoints and if you got spotted you'd have a limited amount of time to kill the target or the mission would fail. + numerous times where your disguise could just blow for no real rhyme or reason, and snipers beyond the draw distance. I think you having to follow that guy right behind at the gates is part of that same mission too. I had to cheese that one by using a car bomb you could obtain to blow him up when he tries to escape. Then I think after you kill him you had to kill his right hand man on a submarine if I remember correctly. It was just not fun and took me a long time (with a walkthrough no less) to complete. All in all I loved the series as a stealth game fan. I even liked Codename 47 despite it's shortcomings. (Outside of a few levels)
Thanks for leaving such a detailed piece of feedback! Carrying certain larger weapons, like the sniper rifle, is OK as long as they are holstered. As soon as you get ready to shoot/stab/garrote someone, enemies who see you tend to shout an alert and open fire. That seems to be a fixed rule. Again, the AI design seems to be a touch inconsistent, so I prefer not to take my chances... I think Hitman is a fine example of a series that has seen improvement through the use of more complex systems, AI design and generally the evolution of game engines and processing power. The original Hitman was, at its core, an idea that was ahead of its time - not unlike the Class of '98 games, which pioneered a lot of stuff we would come to see in future stealth-based titles. So I think it's appropriate that there have been significant gaps between the Hitman sequels, given how broad the differences are between them on a functional level - though some would take issue with certain mechanisms, for sure. The Rotterdam assassination was definitely the toughest mission in the game. You not only had to know about the car bomb trick (for a long time I assumed this was the only way you could kill the target, but apparently he's on the ship somewhere), you had to account for all the potential 'glitches' in the AI - such as the soldier who charges at you on the quay sometimes, right after you pick up the bomb. Once the bomb has been planted without alerting anyone and you get on to the ship, it's moderately easy to kill off the loyal crew members and trigger the target's escape. I hate the final mission. It relies on the weakest element in the whole game - namely, shooting enemies who are trying to kill you. That said, I still have a soft spot for Hitman: Codename 47, like you. There's a certain charm to its ambition!
I found this video while searching for more games that utilizes disguises as a mechanic. I notice that most of the games other than Hitman that has disguises are really old which makes me wonder, why don't more stealth games use disguises as a game mechanic? My guess is that because its a lot more difficult to implement well because the disguise mechanic in Hitman games are a lot more complex than the other examples. Not only are there multiple types of disguises, each disguises lets you do different things (e.g. poison food as waiter, carry guns as guards) and allow you into different places. My favorite disguises are the ones that gives you unique interaction with your target like the P-Power disguise or the submarine mechanic disguise which gives you a unique opportunity to kill your target. It would be cool to see a stealth game that puts more focus on disguises and social manipulation as oppose to hiding in a bush or poorly lit room. I imagine it being like the Sims if your Sim also happens to be an assassin who's pretending to be a chef to assassinate his target.
so in Arkham Asylum Rocksteady stole Spiderman's versatile web shooters as Grapnel guns and Hyper Reflex Combat Abilities from Spider-Sense into a Counter Mechanic Muscle Reading Ability , and the Ledge Perching Dangling from webs or ropes style stealth only for Insomniac to steal it all back again only bigger better faster cooler and newer for Spiderman's first historically impeccable adaptation
The idea of disguise is so cool, facing your fears head on without them knowing. And it's a shame that very few games (even non-stealth) follow this. Very small feedback : I understand how you wanted to sound at the conslusion of the video, but it didn't came off well. You should've synced your music with your narration.
Thanks for that. Audio editing is probably my greatest weakness. Do you think I should've used another track entirely, or just synced the song at the end so it didn't kick in right at the credits, or used 'cues' for "Infiltration... Observation... Execution..."?
IMO, you should've started a new track when you reached a concluding point, and raised the sounds just a bit when you narrate your endlines. I think you can see Ahoy and Raycevick for reference. Not exactly like them, just to take note at how they use their audio during narration.
Oddly enough, I tended to do that for my other videos, but thought I'd try something new here! Different strokes for different folks, I guess. Anyway, point taken, I'll probably go back to the old format for the next time. Thanks again for the feedback. :)
While a landmark title for several reasons (it should be noted that, while it isn't the first game to utilise a proper physics engine, it's certainly one of the earliest games to use such technology), I played through it and most of the other Hitman games recently and, wow, this game has aged like a dead skunk on the side of the road in summer. There's not a single mechanic in this game that I would classify as being 'properly developed'. They all run the gamut from "Wow, is this just broken?" at worst to "Why is this so janky?" at best. With the exception of the hotel, I think all of the levels are honestly pretty poorly designed, the gunplay is weak, the stealth frequently unreliable and *very* trial and error (which is made exceedingly frustrating thanks to the abysmal save system, meaning a mistake requires going back to the main menu, then loading the mission back over from the beginning), and just... ugh.
I'm still very glad the game exists, though. On its own merits, it has a kickass soundtrack that allowed Jesper Kyd to really begin getting a foot in the door of making more OSTs, which is great, because he's one of the best composers around these days. And while the stealth mechanics aren't particularly well-programmed, and the levels don't help matters any, this game served as a great foundation upon which to start improving both of those aspects for later games. And, indeed, from the failings of this game, we got Hitman: Contracts, my favourite game in the series, which based half of its levels around Hitman 1's levels, except made into something of quality.
To me, I only find this game interesting as a way to see how impressive IOI were when it came to being able to improve from their mistakes. Hitman 2, while it had its own flaws, was such a drastic improvement over this game. Then, at least for me, they peaked with Hitman: Contracts, which has great level design and the best implementation of the disguise system (at least the way I like it. Blood Money was too forgiving, I think). The only other game developer I can think of that went from unimpressive to *extremely* impressive in such a short span of time is CD Project RED.
This video made me so happy, you have no idea. Despite being kind of a trainwreck I loved Hitman 1 when I first played it.
It reminds me of Goldeneye 64: clunky as hell and really weird, but still pretty awesome.
That's pretty much the consensus from long-term fans of the series, that Hitman: C47 had its flaws, but the parts of it that worked are worth treasuring.
Stealth games have evolved from line-of-sight ('don't let them see you') based mechanics into the notion of 'hiding in plain sight'. Thief's darkness and Hitman's disguises are different approaches to this idea. Where can they go from here? 'Don't even be there'? Remote manipulation techniques such as hacking, taking over units, usage of drones and the sort seem to suggest this direction.
I think there's such diversity in how stealth-based mechanisms can be implemented, depending on what other genres a game belongs to, that this can transform the player experience.
More specifically: look at 2D Stealth Games and 3D Stealth Games - completely different, despite the similarities in concept of keeping yourself concealed from enemies! Then if we look at genres like the RTS, Immersive Sim and Action-Adventure, and how those incorporate elements to create Stealth Games, again the branches of player experience can diverge wildly.
I'm pretty sure you could walk around with your weapons out provided it fit the disguise, (I played all the Hitman games.) although it's been AGES since I played Codename 47. I.E. I'm pretty sure in the hotel level you could walk around with your weapons and even go through metal detectors and nobody would care if you had a security guard outfit on. I remember in one of the triad levels I'd shoot a guy and if I got away fast enough nobody would care.
I hated Hitman 2's disguise system. You could attract suspicion from anyone provided you got close enough, and I think the weapon you carried mattered too, (in the Russian mission they'd care alot more if you had a sniper rifle compared to a different weapon or no weapon) and it got extremely frustrating when a guard would get suspicious enough to walk towards you, and if you let him get too close, disguise blown. Run around? Disguise blown. Disguises all had varying levels of effectiveness depending on who saw you and the interface doesn't tell you, (You had a "suspicion meter" of sorts but it was very unhelpful and unclear what it indicated, i.e. bar flashing, how fast, how red it is, how much is filled, etc.)
It's especially bad during the Japanese Snow missions, I remember one where you had to go through a blizzard to reach a castle and it was frustrating because the ninjas would break the expectations of all other levels by rushing up to you to "Check your ID" despite being clad head to toe. Also snipers shooting ya. I never bothered to get a perfect score for a number of reasons (Not that kind of perfectionist) but if I was, I'd be in even more frustration because the trucks would sometimes run over the ninjas at the checkpoints (Checkpoints as in where they inspect the truck, not actual video game checkpoints) which would ruin a perfect score.
Contracts was pretty similar to Hitman 2, but it felt like my disguise was unfairly blown much less often.
Blood Moneys was alright but it felt a bit too forgiving. Run around, bump into people all you want, etc. I DID like how weapons being found during a frisk would just mean you'd be turned away. You could even push a button to have your guns confiscated from you and they'd let you through. (Although I might be getting mixed up with Hitman 2016, if they DID confiscate them they wouldn't carry them to a security room compared to if they found them lying around.)
I hated Absolutions "All mechanics in the world know eachother" system combined with having to drain a meter just to cover your face. I did like how they'd escort you out if you were trespassing. I liked how if you looked away when hiding in a crowd (might be the case in 2016 too) your face would be hidden. (wouldn't work when out of a crowd)
Hitman 2016 IMHO has a good compromise. Not EVERYONE knows eachother (And sometimes people in a different uniform can recognize you!) and you're blatantly told who can see through your disguise as well as which weapons you can be seen using. Few complaints were the suspicious people would get their attention attracted from pretty far away, even if you were not looking towards them. Also if you submit to a frisk with weapons on you, they'd straight up arrest you. (I would have preferred it like blood money where they'd either let you walk away or take them away from you, although it might have been more realistic this way.)
EDIT: That Rotterdam mission gives me PTSD. The bomb one. HATED it! Was VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY long with no real checkpoints and if you got spotted you'd have a limited amount of time to kill the target or the mission would fail. + numerous times where your disguise could just blow for no real rhyme or reason, and snipers beyond the draw distance.
I think you having to follow that guy right behind at the gates is part of that same mission too.
I had to cheese that one by using a car bomb you could obtain to blow him up when he tries to escape. Then I think after you kill him you had to kill his right hand man on a submarine if I remember correctly. It was just not fun and took me a long time (with a walkthrough no less) to complete.
All in all I loved the series as a stealth game fan. I even liked Codename 47 despite it's shortcomings. (Outside of a few levels)
This is a damned long comment! Thanks for sharing your thoughts in such detail, will reply in full once I'm finished at work. :)
Thanks for leaving such a detailed piece of feedback!
Carrying certain larger weapons, like the sniper rifle, is OK as long as they are holstered. As soon as you get ready to shoot/stab/garrote someone, enemies who see you tend to shout an alert and open fire. That seems to be a fixed rule. Again, the AI design seems to be a touch inconsistent, so I prefer not to take my chances...
I think Hitman is a fine example of a series that has seen improvement through the use of more complex systems, AI design and generally the evolution of game engines and processing power. The original Hitman was, at its core, an idea that was ahead of its time - not unlike the Class of '98 games, which pioneered a lot of stuff we would come to see in future stealth-based titles. So I think it's appropriate that there have been significant gaps between the Hitman sequels, given how broad the differences are between them on a functional level - though some would take issue with certain mechanisms, for sure.
The Rotterdam assassination was definitely the toughest mission in the game. You not only had to know about the car bomb trick (for a long time I assumed this was the only way you could kill the target, but apparently he's on the ship somewhere), you had to account for all the potential 'glitches' in the AI - such as the soldier who charges at you on the quay sometimes, right after you pick up the bomb. Once the bomb has been planted without alerting anyone and you get on to the ship, it's moderately easy to kill off the loyal crew members and trigger the target's escape.
I hate the final mission. It relies on the weakest element in the whole game - namely, shooting enemies who are trying to kill you.
That said, I still have a soft spot for Hitman: Codename 47, like you. There's a certain charm to its ambition!
I found this video while searching for more games that utilizes disguises as a mechanic. I notice that most of the games other than Hitman that has disguises are really old which makes me wonder, why don't more stealth games use disguises as a game mechanic?
My guess is that because its a lot more difficult to implement well because the disguise mechanic in Hitman games are a lot more complex than the other examples. Not only are there multiple types of disguises, each disguises lets you do different things (e.g. poison food as waiter, carry guns as guards) and allow you into different places. My favorite disguises are the ones that gives you unique interaction with your target like the P-Power disguise or the submarine mechanic disguise which gives you a unique opportunity to kill your target.
It would be cool to see a stealth game that puts more focus on disguises and social manipulation as oppose to hiding in a bush or poorly lit room. I imagine it being like the Sims if your Sim also happens to be an assassin who's pretending to be a chef to assassinate his target.
Hey ! Congrats on the 1k subs ! Your content is really well put together and I can tell you put a lot of effort in to it ! Thanks for the video !
Thanks, I broke into 1K just after my last video dropped! Glad you're enjoying my work. :)
Someone recommended me this channel and I’m impressed! You just gained another subscriber!
Thank you so much! I'm glad something on the internet surpassed expectations. :D
Stealth Docs I never thought you would heart my comment, it’s nice to know your still around after all this time!
@@Phi_Lix Yeah, sorry, I'm working from home and your comment came through at a busy time, so I forgot to follow up. My error entirely. :)
Stealth Docs Don’t worry about! I understand being a TH-camr can be difficult, especially if you have another job.
My day is that much better.
Stealth Docs
Hitman
*_i think im pregnant_*
great video
so in Arkham Asylum Rocksteady stole Spiderman's versatile web shooters as Grapnel guns and Hyper Reflex Combat Abilities from Spider-Sense into a Counter Mechanic Muscle Reading Ability , and the Ledge Perching Dangling from webs or ropes style stealth
only for Insomniac to steal it all back again only bigger better faster cooler and newer for Spiderman's first historically impeccable adaptation
The idea of disguise is so cool, facing your fears head on without them knowing. And it's a shame that very few games (even non-stealth) follow this.
Very small feedback : I understand how you wanted to sound at the conslusion of the video, but it didn't came off well. You should've synced your music with your narration.
Thanks for that. Audio editing is probably my greatest weakness. Do you think I should've used another track entirely, or just synced the song at the end so it didn't kick in right at the credits, or used 'cues' for "Infiltration... Observation... Execution..."?
IMO, you should've started a new track when you reached a concluding point, and raised the sounds just a bit when you narrate your endlines.
I think you can see Ahoy and Raycevick for reference. Not exactly like them, just to take note at how they use their audio during narration.
Oddly enough, I tended to do that for my other videos, but thought I'd try something new here! Different strokes for different folks, I guess. Anyway, point taken, I'll probably go back to the old format for the next time. Thanks again for the feedback. :)