NYCC 2012 Panels: Remember Me, Hitman Absolution & Da Vinci’s Demons

Hitman Absolution

I never really planned on attending this panel when I was mapping out my itinerary for New York Comic Con, but then I was watching the demo of Hitman Absolution on the show floor and I was interested. I have never played a Hitman game in my entire life. So, I was determined to attend the panel and ask the developers about the methods they’ve employed to appeal to players who are new to the franchise. I started playing the Mass Effect franchise from Mass Effect 2 and it was easy for me to jump in and understand what was going into the story. Hitman Absolution’s Gameplay Director Christian Elverdam didn’t really address my concern regarding the story but he did note that they’ve improved the mechanics and added a more dynamic element to Agent 47’s action so that your actions will reflect in-game to appeal to new players.

However, despite of the partial answer I received from Elverdam, I was quite impressed with what they showcased during their panel. Elverdam showed clips of their Multiplayer mode called ‘Contracts.’ In this mode, you choose a sandbox style map and mark three targets to kill. From what I understood, the contract will be designed based on how you kill the three targets you’ve marked. If you managed to kill everyone without being detected sans a disguise then those will be the parameters of your contract. After you finish your contract, you can post it online for the public to complete themselves in an attempt to beat your score. Money will be deducted instead of ending the game if you violate a parameter. After you kill your first target, the clock starts ticking and the more time passes before you find an exit… the less money you get in the end.

I tried to look for the video they showed in NYCC, but it seems like they use a different map for each convention,  which is cool. I’m uploading the video I took, so that I could expound more on what I saw during the panel. Please forgive the quality, you might not hear Elverdam’s voice clearly and I might have commented a few times. However, I think the video can clearly show you what is going on. This video has three parts that I edited together in one file. Elverdam first shows how you mark contracts and then proceeds with the various ways you can eliminate the targets.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJBsXOfQPkk

Contracts reminded me of how multiplayer worked for Assassins Creed: Brotherhood when it came to the idea of wandering around the map and killing targets. However, IO interactive creates a far more polished and enjoyable multiplayer experience than AC: Brotherhood. From the video, you can see that you can interact with the environment and the map is more dynamic to Agent 47’s actions. I love the ambient sounds as you wander the map, it gives off a tense and anxious feeling. The level design is pretty great, since every corner you explore is not repetitive as it offers a unique feel. There are a plethora of ways to subdue or kill your target, it all depends on the objects you find in your environment plus your creativity. Elverdam shows one way where you can eliminate a target creatively in the video above. It’s pretty hilarious and I believe that this is one aspect that will encourage players to play more multiplayer. 

There was one criticism from a fan during the Q&A wherein he noted that in the demo, it shows you killing a guy in close proximity to another hostile but the AI doesn’t notice it. Elverdam replies that as the difficulty increases, the ability of the AI to notice sound or strange movements will heighten as well.

While I’m not going to pre-order this game on the spot, IO interactive has piqued my interest into jumping into their franchise for the very first time. With lots of games trying to weave multiplayer into games, it’s great to see a couple of games like Hitman Absolution develop unique and polished scenarios for players to play online instead of the usual ‘shooting each other or AI bots’ formula.

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