The series was born out of the desire to allow players the freedom to pick and choose how to go about the task of completing assignments, and levels were designed to allow for sprawling, open-ended gameplay. Characters went about their activities regardless of whether or not anybody was there to observe them, and depending on the player's actions, a climate of tranquility would quickly erupt into mass hysteria. Or not. Perhaps violence would take place in the darkest recesses of a peaceful bedroom, or at the end of a neon-washed alley with no one the wiser. Either way, it was ultimately up to the player to experiment with various methods and explore the myriad paths. Levels were massive and stuffed with so much detail that it guaranteed players would need several playthroughs to discover every nook and cranny, utilizing fresh tactics each time to adapt to new circumstances. With the addition of Absolution however, things started to adopt a more streamlined and singular path, and the end result was a schizophrenic mishmash of contradictory design. The mammoth environments of past games were replaced with a fragmented structure of interconnected side streets and sub-sections which were put in place to accommodate the checkpoint system. In previous games the pacing was controlled by the player; it was up to you to devise tactics that would take you through the entire level, with contingencies for every possible phase of the plan. By contrast, Absolution pushes the idea of checkpoint-to-checkpoint strategy with exploratory options often limited to the simple question of whether to go left or right, and the lack of meaningful options became transparently obvious during the occasions when players were boxed in and forced to carry out a very linear sequence of events until the target was eliminated in just the way the script demanded. All the upgrades, perks, and disguises in the world won't do a bit of good if you're dropped into a sandbox but only allowed to dig in one corner. What do you think should fixed for the next installment? What are you hoping to see? Share your thoughts in the comments!