Hitman Game
Hitman originally appeared as an Eidos Interactive game called Hitman: Codename 47 for the PC in the year 2000. The star of the game is a bald-headed assassin known as Agent 47 – a name derived from the last two digits of a barcode that he has tattooed on the back of his head. Why does he have a barcode on the back of his head? The answer is because Agent 47 is no ordinary man. He is actually the result of genetic engineering, and was created using the DNA of no less than five infamous criminals. This helps to explain 47’s cool and calculated approach to the job of killing, as well as his outstanding physical abilities. We speculate that the mob connection may also be responsible for his love of designer Italian suits.
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Eidos Interactive had enjoyed phenomenal success with the Tomb Raider series of games ever since Lara Croft was given her first outing in 1996. Their Hitman games adopt a similar approach as far as game play is concerned. Players view Agent 47 primarily from a third person perspective, just as they did Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, although the Hitman character can be played in first person perspective as well. Another way in which the Hitman games are similar to those in the Tomb Raider series is that they give the player a real cerebral challenge, and are not simply a matter of running around killing people.
The latter point is an important one. Due to the nature of the Hitman concept, which revolves around working as a hired killer, the storylines are necessarily mature. Blood is shed, people die, language is realistically strong and there is also some sexual content and use of illegal drugs. This led the game to be given a mature rating (18 in the UK) and caused a bit of an outcry among those who have a habit of becoming morally outraged at every possible opportunity. What the morally outraged didn’t realise (because they didn’t take the time to investigate things properly) is that the Hitman games are not about mindless violence at all.
A player who approaches a Hitman game as if it were something like Doom or Quake and therefore goes around shooting characters at random will very quickly discover that he doesn’t get very far. In many cases the only way you can complete a level is by killing as few people as possible, because being an effective assassin requires a lot more than firepower. It requires stealth, cunning, logical thought, the ability to use disguises and – when bloodshed is required – the ability to clean up after yourself so that you delay getting caught. It is all of these cerebral elements that lift the Hitman games to a far higher level than any mere “shoot-em-up”.
Any accusation that the Hitman games glamorise violence is really unfounded. Whilst the Hitman games are far more realistic than games featuring characters like James Bond (because they tend to show more blood), this also means that they don’t portray death in casual or flippant manner. James Bond can shoot thirty people dead and then quip a saucy one-liner in a game such as Everything Or Nothing, and everyone has a good laugh about it. Agent 47 can kill one character and the act is presented so realistically that nobody is laughing. If anything, we think that this makes the Hitman games morally socially responsible than many other titles out there.
From a more cultural point of view, the Hitman games are all superb examples of how popular entertainment can be elevated to a form of art. The soundtracks to the games are so good that they are available on CD from all major stores, and Jesper Kyd, who is responsible for these impressive scores, was given the award for Best Video Game Score at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards ceremony. The scripts are among the best in the video games genre and have inspired the current production of a Hitman movie starring Timothy Olyphant and Robert Knepper, which is expected to premiere in October 2007. With outstanding graphics (especially on the latest high-definition consoles) and superb voice acting and sound effects as well, playing Hitman is more like playing a role in an interactive movie than playing a straightforward console game.
With Hitman games having already made their mark on PC, Playstation 2, Xbox, Gamecube, Xbox 360 and even on mobile phones, and with a Hitman movie set to hit the big screen this autumn, we think that Agent 47 has a long future ahead of him. And who knows – if the Hitman slot machine proves to be as popular as all of 47’s previous outings, online slots players might also have a sequel to look forward to.
