10 Video Game Sequels That DRASTICALLY Missed The Point
7. Hitman: Absolution
Expectations are a funny thing.
Hitman: Absolution has the reputation of being the worst game in the franchise, but if it was your first Hitman game, you'd wonder what the problem was. Yes, it's forehead-smackingly tone-deaf at times (if you've played it, the words "BDSM Nuns" will have automatically sprung to mind), but as far as linear stealth games go, it's actually one of the better ones of the PS3/Xbox 360 era.
To understand the problem, we need to take a leaf out of wrestling legend Kevin Nash's book and take a look at the adjective - "linear".
Absolution's biggest problem was that the previous entry in the franchise - Hitman: Blood Money - was the perfect distillation of the Hitman formula. Blood Money gave players large, open-ended maps to play in and a variety of tools with which to accomplish their brutal work. Absolution's shift to linear, A-to-B levels was seen as a huge step back for the franchise, and effectively garroted the fanbase's faith in the series.
Fortunately, the developers won the fans back with the exquisite Reboot Trilogy, proving that not every misstep need be as fatal as stepping under a chandelier when a suspiciously tall, bald, and tattooed janitor is standing next to the release switch.