#Hitman: Absolution

[pedroam-bang]

Hitman: Absolution (2012)

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

Hitman: Absolution (2012) developed by IO Interactive and published by Square Enix's European branch.

[quiettime3]

Hitman: Absolution

Hitman: Absolution is a controversial game, not because it deals with a contract killer with the sense of whimsy you’d usually see applied to a set in a comedy club, but because it simply isn’t a very good Hitman game. Compared to previous entries in the series like Blood Money and Contracts, it tries to be more action-focused and expand on the backstory of the enigmatic protagonist, Agent 47, with a sort of irreverent tone that feels more like it belongs in a B-movie than a stealth game. Compared to future games like the now iconic Hitman reboot from 2016, the controls aren’t nearly as slick and levels are much more linear, limiting how you play in order to keep you on the path to the story the game wants to tell. On its own though, I honestly think Absolution isn’t nearly as bad as the rep it gets implies.

I understand why long term series fans were disappointed by Absolution upon initial release. It limits exploration much more than the previous open world levels of Blood Money and Contracts, and the character of Agent 47 seems to have been dumbed down and flanderised to an extent. Whilst the story is entertaining in an ironic, self-deprecating sort of way, there are more than a few cringe-inducing characters (nuns in bondage gear wielding automatic weaponry anyone?) and it definitely doesn’t quite hit the mark on the dark humour the series became known for.

Still, I came into Absolution as my first Hitman game, and I had plenty of fun exploring the environments it had to offer. Discovering signature kills was satisfying, and even the jankiness of the disguise system presented a sort of interesting challenge when it came to learning the game’s quirks. The instinct system is a great idea, proven by its implementation in the later reboots, and the graphics are definitely a point in the game’s favour. As long as you aren’t expecting perfection, there’s plenty you can get out of Hitman: Absolution. I’d say it’s worth the price of admission, even if it’s just to see the early versions of some of the systems from IO Interactive’s more recent takes on the series.

Pros:

• Interesting level concepts are fun to explore and map out in your mind

• Plenty of potential challenges to impose on a space to extend your playtime

• Pretty good graphical style, even if it does go a bit heavy on the bloom at times

Cons:

• Given the unique storytelling, I’m not surprised this game led to a soft reboot for the series

• I ran into a very nasty bug quite late on that corrupted my save - though it has been many years since this happened!

[vasilisahappy]

My series of platinum trophies that I once bravely received. Not all platinum trophies are easy to get! So I'm doing great! 😍

[rudolphsb9]

If I had a nickel for every headcanon I made to spite the original creator directly, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice.

[bangpuddingmuffin]

Hitman: Absolution

Well, that's Absolution done again. Some fun levels, some fairly bad levels. The writing was far too edgy for me, but as a stealth game it's a fun enough time. It made me want to play Hitman 2 again (2018, not Silent Assassin), so that's something as well.

Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMOeTsMoezKY5V0XcHhNtmhlvh9ArSxyV

[void-of-unparalleled-chaos]

Caught Between Your Teeth (DPxDC prompt)

I DO NOT OWN THESE CHARACTERS OR THEIR WORLDS. I DO NOT INTEND TO MAKE MONEY WITH THIS POST. IF THIS POST IS ON TIKTOK I DID NOT CONSENT TO THAT. IF THIS DISCLAIMER IS MISSING THEN THE POST WAS EDITED TO NEGATE IT

Its a well known fact that ghosts are not human. Any Amity Park resident would be able to tell you that, even without the ectobiologists shouting it from their questionably legal tank of a car.

Danny Fenton is no exception, and really, he shouldn't be as surprised as he is.

Unlike the living, ghosts need ectoplasm to substantiate themselves. It could easily be found within the plants that litter the ghost zone, but like any ecosystem, there is variety.

Some ghosts are able to subsist off of simple grasses. Others prefer the fruit and leaves from flowering bushes. Some ghosts even strip the bark from trees to suck the ectoplasmic sap out from within their trunks.

But other ghosts are not meant to eat the plants at all. These ghosts with their sharpened teeth and claws are predators. Unable to extract the ectopalsm they need from plant life, they instead take it from other ghosts. Some are able to get by without ending their chosen prey, sucking out just enough ectoplasm to get by like a parasite. Others rip and tear into ghostly flesh and lap up the spilled ectoplasm until their quarry is no more.

Since his accident, Danny has become quite adept at catching stray blob ghosts, but they simply aren't cutting it anymore. The odd ectopuss didn't quell the hunger either. After the animal based ghosts failed to satisfy him, Danny was slapped with the realization.

Danny may be half ghost, but he is also half human.

Ghosts are not human.

He is so hungry.

Even now in his human form, Danny can feel the ribs poking through his sides. The shaking of his arms has yet to subside. He doesn't know if its from the gnawing in his stomach or adrenaline.

He can't put it off anymore. He needs to eat. But even though it's a fundamental need for survival his obsession tugs at him in protest. He needs to eat, but he needs to protect too.

He can't stay in Amity Park. That much is certain. The citizens of Amity Park are out of the question, and while the GIW started off as bumbling idiots, they have been getting smarter. He can't subsist off of them, especially with how weak he is in his starved state.

Danny is smart. Surely he can find a food source if he is clever about it. He just needs to flush them out like a cat after a rat. Or maybe he doesn't need to flush them out at all. Maybe he can lure them in like peanut butter in a trap.

His legs shake as he stands from his crouch. As he rises he licks the blood from his claws. Danny stares at what remains of the white suit, it's drying tatters stained crimson.

Yes. If he puts himself in the right positon the vermin will waltz right into his waiting claws, and with her filthy streets and dark corners, where better to find a rat than Gotham.

[really-fucking-sleepy]

I just had to, omg I love him..

[lulu2992]

Today is the fourth anniversary of HITMAN 3, the last game in the World of Assassination trilogy!

I’ve wanted to write something about it for a while because I love it, but as much as I enjoyed playing it, taking my time exploring the levels, finding useful objects, taking notes, completing challenges, listening to conversations, following my targets, and being as stealthy as I could to reach “perfection” in each mission, what I’d like to talk about today is the scenario. Indeed, this trilogy doesn’t just have good gameplay, a nice soundtrack, and pretty visuals, it also has a great story.

My favorite thing about Hitman, at least in the most recent games (the first I played was the divisive Hitman: Absolution), also happens to be one of the main focuses of this trilogy: the relationship between the protagonist, Agent 47, and his handler (I would even say the deuteragonist), Diana Burnwood.

To me, their bond is just so special, unique, and compelling, so nearly four years after finishing HITMAN 3, I decided to write this post as an attempt to finally organize my many thoughts about it, but also and mostly, about them.

My relationship with theirs: how it started vs. how it’s going.

When I want to summarize what’s going on between Diana and 47, I usually like to describe their connection as “platonic, but more in the French acceptation of the term”... which must sound rather confusing or boring to most of you, especially if you’re a native English speaker, but I’m not, so let me explain what it means to me.

I must digress for a moment here but, the first few times I saw people use the term “platonic” in English to talk about friends or even family, I was quite confused. In French, if we say a relationship is “platonique”, there’s only a small chance that what we mean is, “They’re just friends” and a much higher probability that what we’re actually saying is, “They’re having a soulmates-level of romance so deep and spiritual that carnality is completely unnecessary” instead. I’d find it weird to use that word to describe relationships that are inherently not sexual; it mostly refers to a “special” kind of romance in French.

And this is what Diana and 47’s relationship is to me: something powerful and unconventional that I don’t think can reasonably be described as definitely romantic but that simultaneously manages to be, somehow, the ultimate form of romance.

So, as a fan of this unusual and seemingly unbreakable bond, playing through the entire trilogy was a delight. There were a few scenes in the first two games that made me smile like an idiot (such as this one), but in HITMAN 3 in particular, there were even more moments to enjoy.

I was pleased to see 47 get a bit upset when he realized Lucas didn’t fully trust Diana and to hear him affirm she would make things right because “she always does”, felt vindicated when she told Edwards he was “delusional” if he thought she could betray 47, was touched when Olivia said she understood why he wanted to “protect her”, then both surprised by the bluntness and happy with the assertiveness of 47’s “You don’t know her” after she questioned Diana’s allegiance, and I even pretty much turned into that “excited Kermit” reaction GIF when Diana explained she was 47’s only weakness even though that was exactly what I expected her to say.

Finally, in Mendoza, the most exciting mission for me despite its worrying name (“The Farewell”), I loved their conversation at the beginning, was glad to hear that he was right about her true intentions and loyalty all along, and much like he clearly was, caught off guard when she touched his hand. In the rest of the level, I enjoyed following her around and found their banter and synergy quite delightful, especially at the end. Then, of course, there was also the tango.

But when the “Necessary Evil” cutscene happened, I was… upset. Well, the first time I saw it, at least, because there is so, so much more depth and beauty to this scene than I initially realized, as concerned as part of me was that yet another franchise I love had forgotten its own lore and was collapsing in on itself before my eyes, ripping away from me what I loved most about it. Thankfully, that was not what was happening.

Looking at what I know of their history, I was and still am very much confident that Diana and 47 would rather turn against the rest of the world (and do it together) than be disloyal to each other, so even though I kept telling myself that her betrayal was fake and she had a plan, I was disappointed to see that, contrary to what I thought, they weren’t past the point of pretending to deceive and/or kill each other as a way to fool and bring down powerful people and organizations. She “killed” him in Blood Money, he “killed” her in Absolution; they were even. She most likely thought things had to happen this way to truly work, but I hoped they were done keeping secrets from one another. I’m still sad she had to trick him, and even more so that, even for just a moment, he genuinely thought she was serious and that he had lost her too.

In the toxin-induced and introspective hallucination that follows, 47 faces his worst fears... and some happen to be Diana deriding, belittling, and abandoning him. This was painful to watch because those are distressing thoughts for him, but to be honest, I also liked seeing just how much she meant to him. When he watches her dancing with Edwards, I couldn’t help but think of that scene in Polarized, the fifth episode of Life is Strange, in which Max, also drugged, has a nightmare and sees her “special friend” Chloe criticizing and replacing her. Fortunately, 47 quickly reconsiders the situation, talking some sense into himself with the help of “Lucas”. The other voice in his mind, Diana’s, encourages him to trust his intuition, and so he finally understands what he has to do.

Although she partly left him in the dark about her strategy and there are certain things she didn’t say, rewatching “Necessary Evil” made me appreciate how much Diana did say and how significant all of that was. Indeed, despite the apparent disingenuity of her act, the context suggesting, at first glance, that she’s either backstabbing him or purely playing a character, and the rather contemptuous tone she made sure to use to fool her audience, it’s since become apparent to me that she meant every single word she said.

She makes it sound like she’s turning against him and doesn’t want to see him anymore, but what she’s actually saying is that he, like everyone else, should be free to forge his own path. Even though she meant no harm and believed it was what he needed when she recruited him, she felt she used him, that he was only a tool, a weapon she controlled, and it was not right. He didn’t object when she chose him as her agent 20 years earlier, but had he not lost his memory and been truly able to make an informed decision, what would he have chosen?

And when she says she knows it was 47 who killed her parents, which is something he (and the players) only recently discovered, although she doesn’t even blame him for it, he apologizes. He sincerely apologizes, with an unusual and palpable pain in his voice. He’s genuinely sorry for what happened (so much so that he thinks that’s reason enough for her to want him dead), and maybe also for not having had the courage to tell her the horrifying truth. She deserved to know, but maybe out of shame, because he didn’t want her to suffer or for their relationship to be affected, he chose not to say anything. Had she known the full story sooner, though, what would she have chosen?

Diana’s last words before she leaves and he loses consciousness are, “This is a kindness. Goodbye... agent”. “Goodbye”, not “farewell”. “Agent”, not “47”. This is the end of the partnership she realized she imposed on him, but whether or not it’s also the end of the friendship they nonetheless built along the way is up to him. She’s been the one making most of the choices this whole time, and now it’s his turn. Calling what she’s just done a “kindness” isn’t a lie or emotional manipulation; it’s a fact. In their “own special way”, they care about each other, deeply and earnestly, but both of them also made selfish decisions they convinced themselves were in the other’s best interest. In that scene, they’re finally facing their past(s) and accepting the truth, freeing themselves and each other in the process.

“Necessary Evil” was initially worrying to watch, but what it shows isn’t the brutal and grim end of a 20-year partnership; it’s a moment of pure honesty, maybe even the most heart-to-heart conversation Diana and 47 have ever had. After this “last tango”, she sets him free, allowing him to live the life he wants. At last.

Although, again, I would have preferred her to do things differently and spare him that suffering, I also absolutely love the fact she didn’t even need to reveal her full plan for him to figure out what it was and carry it out exactly the way she expected him to. I suppose it’s not that surprising since he’s already demonstrated many times in many ways that he knows her better than anyone else does (and vice versa, probably), but it’s still fascinating. They don’t need words to communicate anymore, yet the few they exchanged before leaving Mendoza were salutary. A necessary evil, indeed.

In the last scene of the game, one year later, 47 recontacts Diana and informs her of his decision to go back to doing his former job, but this time by choice and on his own terms. “It’s good to be back”, he says with a smile (yes, a smile) on his face. There was one on mine too as I realized this was a callback to the very first “Announcement Trailer” for the World of Assassination trilogy. In the video, however, it was Diana who said, “Good to have you back” while he remained silent the whole time. In more than one way, the trilogy ends the way it started, but the major difference is that 47 now truly has a voice.

“I choose him”, confidently said Diana in the prologue, thus starting their productive partnership. More than 20 years later, he’s back in business, not because he has to but because he wants to, believing his mission is not done and wishing to continue it… but not alone. Finally free to do whatever he pleases and having had time to decide what he wanted his life to be, 47 came to a conclusion, and what he tells Diana in the epilogue, implicitly but assuredly, is, “I choose you.”

Almost six years after it was first announced, the trilogy has come full circle, and it feels like IO Interactive had it all planned out from the start. Diana and 47 are back to being partners, and by embracing their past, they can build their future on better, stronger, and healthier foundations. Now, more than ever, it’s them together against the rest of the world. As a fan of their duo, as well as nicely wrapped-up and carefully written stories in general, I don’t know if I could have dreamt of a more satisfying ending.

Perfectly executed.

[tacticalhimbo]

No one is UNTOUCHABLE.

[sweevanna]

Gun? Nah mate, crossbow.

(Thumbnail for Philmas Day 9 Philza VOD - Hitman Absolution!)

[pedroam-bang]

Hitman: Absolution (2012)

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

[katzkinder]

You’d think I’d have more sky metaphors but no it's always the damn ocean with these two. And ultimately I think it's because the sky is simple. You look up and what you see is what you get. Cloudy, rainy, sun, storm, lightning, even mist, they're all easy to see. You can understand at a glance what's going on with it, but the relationship between Reborn and Tsuna isn't straightforward like that at all

I think the pedestal Tsuna places Reborn on, whether he knows it's there or not, is an important facet of their relationship because it's not just Reborn failing to communicate like a human being

It's Tsuna filtering everything about him through this strange, fucked up gratitude

The first and only time we see Tsuna stand up to Reborn and really hold his ground in a way that has impact on the story is when Reborn has done something that shakes the foundation of what Tsuna thinks is an immutable fact

Reborn has given up, and Tsuna can't accept that

He'll drag you with him to the future if it's the last thing he does. You don't just get to turn his entire life upside down and then disappear from it, leave him to clean up the pieces. Don’t lie and say you didn’t realize when you agreed to this, you agreed to becoming one of his people

It's the difference between teasing a cute little cub and one day that cub isn't so little anymore, and the realization settles in that you've raised a lion

The lion just wasn't supposed to view you as prey

anyway i have a LOT of feelings about these two and their strange… Push and pull. The way they’re more than friends, the way they give each other what they never knew they were even missing.

The way Tsuna gives Reborn the courage to believe again in a life he’d accepted as forfeit.

I don’t… See them as father and child. I just can’t. It’s not them. Reborn isn’t a parent. He’s a mentor, he’s a friend, he’s Tsuna’s family but not like that.

And I don’t think Tsuna would want to ever label reborn with something so vile as the same title Iemitsu has. He doesn’t hate Iemitsu. Not anymore anyway. The man’s just not worth it. But it would leave an awful taste in his mouth, I think. To put Reborn on the same level as the person who abandoned him for his job.

Because Reborn did the opposite. He came back.

[vladolak]

Theres something kind of hot about 47s look in absolution.

Does anyone else see the daddy vibes? 😘

Also.....like .....COME ON!!!! WHY HE GOTTA LOOK SO CUTE LIKE O_O

[dreaming-hibi]

Were we ever told if there was someone behind Vongola Nono's 3 sons dying? Or why all 3 have different surnames?

Yes, Enrico Fermi, the one most likely to become boss (presumebly the eldest), was shot dead during a feud

Yes, Massimo Ranieri, second most likely candidate to become boss, was drowned

Yes, Federico Ferrino, Timoteo's favorite child, was only bones when they found him

But that doesn't tell me who?

Why was Enrico, the most likely candidate, in the middle of a feud? And with who?

Who drowned Massimo? For what reason?

How did Federico become only bones? Who? Why?

Where these 3 deaths in order? Eldest, middle, youngest?

How far apart were these deaths from each other?

How does no one find it suspicious that 3 SONS (with a 4th one gone!) died in such bizarre circumstances?