Hitman Beta: 4 Things It Gets Right (And 6 That Really Suck)

2. Really Sucks - Trackable Feats & Opportunities Could Ruin The Core Appeal

'Feats' is the name given to the new checklist of optional ways to complete your objectives, accessible from the main menu. They're tracked online - and therefore not available if your console loses its connection - but the larger problem is by looking at this list for only a second, could, depending on how much you love figuring everything out yourself, ruin the experience somewhat. For many fans, figuring out you can give your target rat poison, before waiting for them to run to the toilet and then drowning them in their own mess would be its own sadistic reward. In this new Hitman, the list of Feats will display a thumbnail showing this can be done right off the bat, and that's before you inevitably trigger an 'Opportunity'. These are 'dynamic' events that happen in the world, which in the second level comes from two technicians discussing how they're going to fix a fighter jet's ejector seat. Once you've heard the start of this conversation (denoted by a massive lightbulb, hence the apostrophes around 'dynamic' earlier), you can track this kill method by following more lightbulb icons, until eventually, step-by-step, you kill your target by launching him out the roof of the facility. On the one hand you've got Assassin's Creed's way of setting up these kills, which is to say, completely hands-off other than dialogue and glowing icons, and the other it's this, where you follow a checklist from beginning to end. Whilst it's satisfying to see the kills play out regardless, you can't help but feel this new Hitman is losing some of its core appeal by 'spoiling' what would be its most impressive moments.