LET’S GO DENVER
I’ve never been to Denver outside of an airport layover.
I’m sure it’s a lovely place, but Bat Dad has ruined it for me (sorry Brett).
Hitman: Colorado (PC, PS4 [reviewed], Xbox One)
Developer: IO Interactive
Publisher: Square Enix
Released: September 27, 2016
MSRP: $14.99 (Intro Pack) + $9.99 (new locations) or $60 (Full Experience)
In all seriousness, I feel a little duped with Hitman‘s Colorado DLC. At first I thought “Wow, the scenic countryside of the state that gave us Tim Allen (fun fact) will be a nice companion to the mostly posh settings we’ve gotten so far (outside of one small portion of Marrakesh’s map),” but IO Interactive went and just made it a military-themed map with browns on top of browns. Okay.
Continuing the story of the “Shadow Client” (that I don’t think anyone is following), Agent 47 is off to a remote training camp to kill the terrorist Sean Rose, and three other “prominent militia members.” So four in all, but you wouldn’t really know it because they’re so faceless — at least compared to most of the wacky targets we’ve gotten thus far, including a gangster with an Oedipus complex and a trendy band frontman that are worth screwing with repeatedly. These are “Bad Men” and you need to make sure they get their just desserts.
There’s dirt trails, barns, a rickety mansion, and other token rural landmarks, but their uniqueness is covered by barbed wire and brown-flavored military checkpoints and signage. We’ve seen this aesthetic multiple times before (even in the pre-Paris training missions), and so much of it blurs together that I didn’t really bother learning the map so much as meandering around from target to target.
Of course, all of the tricks you’ve picked up so far will work here in Colorado. That’s part of what makes Hitman so special. Whether the game was shipped complete or sold piecemeal wouldn’t automatically alter the quality of each mission (the latter actually implies that the developers have more time to polish), and the underpinning of Hitman is made of strong stuff, which IO hasn’t really needed to tweak since launch, mind.
Tricking people into doing dumb shit won’t get old, especially if you’re bringing in new unlockable spawns and variations into the mix. And if you’re looking for a challenge, you’ll get it here, even on the default settings. Just about every NPC in the place is out for your head at all times, and there’s barely any safe spots to hide if you’re caught. I’ve one-shotted several of the DLC maps so far, but had the most issues with this one.
In a way, even with their flaws, all of the maps so far have felt like they’ve added something to the overall package of Hitman outside of Colorado. I hope Japan is better, but Hitman even does filler right.
[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher. I actually don’t dislike Denver and plan on visiting it one day.]
