Hitman: Sniperby Gary Alexander Stott
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Format: Android, iOS
Out: 04/06/2015 Publisher: Square Enix |
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Hitman: Sniper is a pleasant surprise, albeit one with a few bullet holes beneath its shiny surface. Following up on last year's excellent Hitman GO, Square Enix Montreal have crafted a fun and often challenging mobile sniping game that tasks the player with eliminating 11 members of the Conclave, a dangerous network of Eastern-European criminals.
The entire game takes place around a lush mansion in Montenegro, where the targets have foolishly gathered for the night, watched closely by the cold, observant eyes of Agent 47. From a vantage point high above, the player must observe these targets and exploit the environment around them in order to pull off the perfect assassination One thing that becomes immediately clear upon starting up the game is just how beautiful Sniper's environment is. The Unity engine powers a vast and crisp mountain backdrop, and the complexity of the structure within is revealed through choice lighting. 47's array of unlockable rifles (there are 14 in total, all of which can be upgraded through in-game currency) are well-modelled and fire with a resounding boom. The game is also gorgeously soundtracked, reacting intelligently to the relative intensity of any given situation. The set-up is certainly well-envisioned, but how does it play? |
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In many ways, the title has much in common with 2012's Hitman: Sniper Challenge, a standalone title made available to those who pre-ordered Hitman: Absolution. This small game scored players' performance based on a variety of factors, such as efficiency, time, stealth, enemies killed, and number of headshots, featuring plenty of opportunities to perform 'accidental' environmental kills. All of these elements are present in Sniper. Where Sniper differs, however, is in its progression system.
The game is comprised of over 100 short contracts that task the player with not only assassinating a target, but completing a number of challenges. These range from simple objectives such as finding and destroying a number of laptops, to somewhat harder goals such as performing a series of headshots on moving targets. This adds welcome variety, as players will find themselves assassinating the same targets from mission to mission, as the entire Conclave are always present in their usual spots, along with their bodyguards. That said, the importance of each respective target is regularly shifted.
The game is comprised of over 100 short contracts that task the player with not only assassinating a target, but completing a number of challenges. These range from simple objectives such as finding and destroying a number of laptops, to somewhat harder goals such as performing a series of headshots on moving targets. This adds welcome variety, as players will find themselves assassinating the same targets from mission to mission, as the entire Conclave are always present in their usual spots, along with their bodyguards. That said, the importance of each respective target is regularly shifted.
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Primary targets are essential to completing each contract, and are designated with red markers, where as secondary targets, designated with purple markers, can be killed for optional bonus points. Basia Romanowski, for instance, may be the primary target in a contract that requires the player to kill 5 bodyguards. The rest of the Conclave will be present, but killing them is optional. In the following contract, Romanowski will be demoted to an optional secondary target, where as another member of the Conclave will take the reigns of primary target, and the additional requirements of the contract will also change. Players are given a reason to despise each and every member of the Conclave through voiceover briefings from Agent 47's handler, Diana, providing both motivation to undertake each contract and satisfaction upon successfully eliminating each target.
Killing targets for the first time results in their name being added to a roulette wheel that spins at the end of each contract. If the wheel lands on an executed target, the player is rewarded with weapon parts that go toward unlocking new rifles. If the wheel fails to land on a target, the player is given in-game currency instead. This provides a constant reason to keep playing, as each rifle packs its own unique abilities. The starter rifle can track enemies through walls, for instance, where as a later weapon can fire off explosive rounds. This allows for variations in personal play style that can make all the difference on the game's leaderboards – and Sniper sure wants you to care about its leaderboards. Linking to Facebook rewards players with in-game currency and allows friends to compete against one another in a bid to hold the highest score. Alternatively, players can compete against the world at large through a range of leaderboard tiers unlocked through progression.
Killing targets for the first time results in their name being added to a roulette wheel that spins at the end of each contract. If the wheel lands on an executed target, the player is rewarded with weapon parts that go toward unlocking new rifles. If the wheel fails to land on a target, the player is given in-game currency instead. This provides a constant reason to keep playing, as each rifle packs its own unique abilities. The starter rifle can track enemies through walls, for instance, where as a later weapon can fire off explosive rounds. This allows for variations in personal play style that can make all the difference on the game's leaderboards – and Sniper sure wants you to care about its leaderboards. Linking to Facebook rewards players with in-game currency and allows friends to compete against one another in a bid to hold the highest score. Alternatively, players can compete against the world at large through a range of leaderboard tiers unlocked through progression.
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The game controls through a series of basic touch gestures such as dragging to aim, pinching to zoom, and tapping to fire, all of which become intuitive through play. Alternatively, there is an option to use an on-screen button to shoot. It's all too easy, however, to tap in the wrong place and suddenly lose sight of a target, which can be frustrating should it occur during a window of opportunity. 47 also has access to a slow-motion focus mode activated through the tap of a conveniently large button. The rifle ability buttons, on the other hand, are slightly too small for mobile screens, and accidentally firing 47's rifle at the wrong moment can totally derail a contract. Additionally, there's a reloading minigame completed through timed swipe gestures that allows 47 to load his rifle sooner. It can feel a little gimmicky at first, but soon becomes important when things heat up – which they do, frequently. There's something undeniably rewarding about landing a headshot on a moving target just as they're about to escape.
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The result is an action-oriented game in which each scenario is presented as a puzzle for the player to solve. It's certainly a more conventional approach than Hitman GO's chess-like style, but its existence as a mobile game affects its standing in ways that the former title avoided through purposeful design. GO's success comes from it being consciously adapted to meet the strengths and weaknesses of the mobile platform. It is a calm and simple game designed to be taken slowly. Sniper, on the other hand, requires a higher degree of timing, control and environmental awareness, and this can be hard to achieve depending on the environment in which the game is played. Aiming, for instance, is subject to become significantly more difficult if the player is in a moving vehicle. While the core mechanics are fun, they are perhaps better suited to home platforms, where precision and focus are easier to achieve. As previously stated, Sniper Challenge presents a similar experience, and works perfectly on home platforms.
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Unfortunately, Sniper is also a victim of charged downloadable content in the form of purchase-only weapons. Bear in mind this game is not free-to-play. The barrier to entry is £3.99, and that alone should rule out the need to charge players for additional content that can be used to gain an unfair advantage. Purchasables vary in price, but one particularly noteworthy rifle is locked behind a £7.99 paywall, and gives its users a 360% score bonus. That isn't to say players who refuse to pay money can't attain similar perks; the best rifle in the game provides a massive 410% score bonus and is unlocked by reaching the highest tier of the leaderboard. However, in the early stages of the game, it is perfectly possible for players to be competing with rivals who already have a significant advantage, and this is unacceptable in a game that places so much emphasis on its competitive leaderboard system. It would have perhaps been more advisable to offer additional environments, providing further variety and challenge for dedicated players who are able to learn the mansion inside and out.
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Hitman: Sniper is a polished and well-imagined experience brought down by its failure to play to the strengths and weaknesses of the mobile platform. Its core mechanics are fun and rewarding when they work, but are subject to accidental control inputs, and require a degree of precision and focus easier found on home platforms. Moreover, its decision to lock certain weapons behind a paywall affects the balance of the leaderboard rankings it so fervently promotes. It's worth checking out if you're a fan of the franchise, but if you're only going to play one Hitman game on mobile, you'd be better off playing Hitman GO, a title more suitably adapted to the platform.
