Hitman (2016)
The sixth entry in the Hitman franchise, Hitman (2016) is part of the World of Assassination Trilogy, which includes Hitman 2 (2018) and Hitman 3 (2021). To avoid confusion with the other entries in the series (such as the first game Hitman: Agent 47 and the second, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin), each installment of the World of Assassination trilogy is usually followed by the release date when referenced. Developed by IO Interactive and published by Square Enix, Hitman (2016) tells the story of Agent 47, a genetically modified clone developed at a facility in Romania. The game features stealth mechanics requiring the player to avoid detection by hostiles to subdue them silently. Boasting a vast open-world environment and stunning graphics, Hitman (2016) marks the beginning of the incredible World of Assassination Trilogy.
Story
The story revolves around Agent 47, an assassin employed by the International Contract Agency. His handler, Diana Burnwood, gives him a series of contracts that involve assassinating a certain target. As Agent 47 continues to eliminate the targets, Diana starts to realize that the contracts are all related and that a Shadow Client used these contracts to kill members of a secret organization called Providence. Having realized the ICA's unintentional involvement in the murder of Providence members, the leader of Providence requests the service of the ICA to assassinate the Shadow Client.
Trivia
The first Hitman game, Hitman: Codename 47 was released in 2000. The latest entry, Hitman Sniper: The Shadows was released in 2022, making the franchise 22 years old, with regular releases except for a 4-year hiatus between 2008 - 2011. Despite Hitman (2016) being generally well-received, the game initially did not sell as expected. This caused the publisher, Square Enix to pull out during the production of Hitman 2. Although the gameplay for Hitman 2 was the same as the first game, the detailed cutscenes were reduced to a slideshow of still renders that were originally going to be animated. Hitman 3 returned to animated cutscenes, though they were animated in-game rather than pre-rendered and not as detailed as the ones in Hitman.
