Developed By: IO-Interactive
Published By: Square Enix
Release Date: January 31st, 2017
Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PS4 (Reviewed)
Price: Included in Hitman – The Complete First Season ($59.99)
IO-Interactive is a force to be reckoned with. The first season of Hitman was an amazingly impressive example of both stealth and episodic gaming, and the constant added value made the $60 entry price seem like a bargain. There were only supposed to be six missions included in the first season, but IO threw in two bonus missions, multiple Elusive Targets, and an almost infinite amount of created Contracts. Hell, IO was supposed to be finished with 47 beyond the occasional Elusive Target, but they kicked off the new year with a third bonus mission that relieves some of the…political stress from the past few months.
Just listening to some nice music.
Unlike the previous two missions, World of Tomorrow and The Icon, Landslide is decidedly more peaceful. World of Tomorrow had underlying tension with all of the different chemical weapon aspects in play, and The Icon revolved around a grouchy actor screaming at every person in his path. Landslide, on the other hand, just seemed to be entirely relaxing and upbeat with the music festival background. Yes, it’s strange to say this while hunting down a world class heel in need of a violent death, but hear me out.
Sapienza is a beautiful environment during both day and night. The sunset, however, makes the world even more gorgeous than normal. And the addition of operatic singing from the stage just puts the environment over the top. It’s entirely possible to just look around and admire the world for quite some time while ignoring the actual mission objective.
So pretty.
The setting of a music festival is fantastic, but why is Agent 47 in town? Well, he has been hired by the soon-to-be-dead Silvio Caruso to assassinate a dastardly politician named Marco Abbiati. The businessman-turned-wannabe mayor–who hits on anything with a falsetto voice–has some villainous plans for Sapienza, and Caruso wants them stopped.
He loves to hit on the locals.
In order to achieve this goal, 47 is given free reign of almost the entire city of Sapienza and even more outfits. And of course there are even more humorously named Challenges to complete. Just look for the one with “urine” in the title. Killing Abbiati, while easy, is super satisfying and just a little gruesome depending on your method. I played “Landslide” five times in one night before starting the review, and I’m not even halfway done with the Challenges. Of course, it also helps that I’m still trying to track down every inflatable alligator. It’s such a great touch that IO includes them in multiple missions.
When it comes to outfits, a couple of options reappear, such as the priest outfit, but the majority of disguises are brand new. Sapienza is filled to the rafters with security guards, sound engineers, tourists, and caterers. Plus, there are some mission-specific disguises that are fantastic. Wandering around disguised as a nervous lawyer is laughter-inducing, especially when watching the toupee sit awkwardly on 47’s head.
Puking in a Hawaiian shirt? Must be a Jimmy Buffett fan.
While “Landslide” is a very entertaining mission with some unique Challenges, it is significantly easier than any previous contract. One factor comes from only tracking one target, another comes from having outfits that aren’t as suspicious to NPC’s, and the third comes from the target. Abbiati is portrayed as more of an evil idiot, and he goes out of his way to present assassination opportunities. Don’t get me wrong; killing him is quite satisfying. It’s just less of a challenge than eliminating Penelope Graves or Jordan Chase. Landslide can be completed in in 10-30 minutes; The Icon, on the other hand, sometimes took 45-60 minutes.
Hitman – The Complete First Season is a phenomenal game. Each level is increasingly difficult, but the extra time learning the game basically teaches you how to be a master assassin without too much stress. The targets are all worthy of death, the environments are beautifully designed, and the assassination options are just so satisfying. Landslide continues this impressive trend with a dirtbag target and a truly enjoyable environment to explore. It’s simply another impressive release from a very talented developer.
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