Over the years computer games have just kept getting better and better. In fact it is hard to call some of them "games" anymore. "Pong" and "Tetris" are games. You press buttons in a patterns and with each beep you watch your score go up. Sure it's fun and "Tetris" is a great classic, but all that seems to be gone now. Games have no score and many are ditching the "powerup picking up" gimmick. You pick up realistic looking guns, sneak around realistic looking locations, with increasingly realistic, but still fun consequences. These games are simply becoming bent on realism. Or at least a fun version of something that we call "game realism." As much as I played and enjoyed "Tetris" my pulse never quite raced as much as it did when I was infiltrating a powerful mob boss's headquarters, getting passed his body guards, and finally doing him in. "Doom" was somewhat like this and it is too a classic, but in retrospect, "Doom" is hardly real. It's a horror action game. "Hit-man: Codename 47" actually makes you feel that you are in Kowloon and tracking targets that are just as lethal as you.
In short, it's nothing short of thrilling. The selection of guns and equipment allows you many approaches to each mission. The John Woo/Chow Yun-Fat approach may be a good (and FUN!) idea, but so might be the sticking to the shadows and armed with a knife strategy. The beauty is that you decide. You get the report at the beginning of your assignment and you decide how to handle it. You might have strict guidelines so you might not be able to cause fireworks right away, but sometimes you can literally wage a one man Rambo style war on a camp of soldiers. Whatever you do, it's a blast.
However, there are some faults that need to be mentioned. First, you can't save mid-level. With some of these levels getting pretty big and teeming with bad-guys all packing lots of firepower could result one false move being your last. That adds to the tension, but also the frustration and could tends to encourage calmer approaches to game especially if it's your first time through. Also, the lack of info become increasingly frustrating. Some missions, especially towards the end are sure to give you some major surprises that you didn't see coming. Frustration will inevitably accompany these since there are hardly any clues to you figuring your situation out. But hey, I guess the life of a Hit-man ain't easy...
... and in the end this is a great game with an awesome premise. Both a smart game requiring strategy and calculation and a good action game with many possibilities for intense shootouts. --- 8/10
Rated MATURE for violence
