You can tell that IO wanted to deliver a pulp experience with over the top characters, but it doesn’t really succeed in this endeavor and certain sections of the story feel hastily written, only to give 47 something to do in between killing actual individuals. Sadly, many of the characters are extremely one-dimensional and almost cartoonishly evil. while meeting and promptly eliminating a variety of seedy individuals. What follows is a pretty decent adventure plot that sees 47 explore Chicago and other areas of the U.S. Spurred by his painful memories at the hands of nefarious doctors, 47 goes rogue in order to escape with the girl from the grasp of the ICA. While it seemed like nothing would go wrong, 47 doesn’t immediately kill her and finds out that she’s protecting a young girl from the Agency, a girl whose fate is quite similar to that of 47. The game begins with 47 accepting a special contract to kill his longtime handler, Diana Burnwood.

In Absolution, however, the story plays a big role in the single-player campaign. Sure, you began to find out all sorts of things about 47’s past and about the nefarious Agency and went through lots of rather intense adventures, but you didn’t really need to focus that much on the plot.

The stories of previous Hitman games weren’t exactly their greatest selling points, as you only needed to know that you were Agent 47, a bald assassin that had to complete various contracts supplied by the ICA (International Contracts Agency).

Hitman absolution review