HITMAN™: Episode 4 - Bangkok for Windows

HitMan is back - this time in Thailand

The previous HitMan games have been a little hit and miss (pardon the expression), and the movies were just awful, so how does the 2016 version stand up against the rest? Let us not forget that the Hitman games were the first to take the Metal Gear Solid version of stealth and try something new with it. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t, this time--it works.

Great location for a little stealth killing

The previous versions were partly about trial and error and partly about finding the most suitable route, but this game is more about trial and error.

The location and colors are beautiful, and the hotel looks a little like the one from Hitman Blood Money. Your job is to complete missions either quietly and carefully, or by blasting your way through and hoping for the best. The previous games had a lot going for them, and most of the bad ones were bad because of shaky mechanics or railroading issues. HITMAN: Episode 4 - Bangkok allows for more trial and error. Games such as this often have one or two preferred methods and then eight other methods that will get you killed, but with HITMAN: Episode 4 - Bangkok, you may try something, fail, and then come back to either tackle it again and win, or come back and find another route.

A little like the Blood Money House of Cards mission

The game is a good successor to 'Tradition of the Trade'. The game is more interesting because of the open-ended design. It gives the player more options and opportunities to complete the mission as he or she sees fit. Just like with the other games, you have a series of skills and talents that you can use to complete your mission. You also have a fair share of tools you may use in order to break and enter, monitor, or kill. The game rewards people that take their time, and for people that don’t mind trying something and then try something different next time. The graphics are simply beautiful, but the downside is that you will need 8GB of RAM and 50GB of storage to play it. You will also need a 3.4GHz CPU (Central Processing Unit) and 4GHz GPU in order to play the game successfully and without problems. Do not forget that this is downloadable content, and you will still need the full Hitman game in order to play HITMAN: Episode 4 - Bangkok. Be warned that the game is more difficult because the environments have fewer hiding spaces, more cramped spaces, and guards that are spread more evenly around the map. The map does look similar to that of the House of Cards mission in the Blood Money game, but they have dramatically increased the difficulty level. The map is not big, but there are more than five routes and methods to kill your target. It is not really a map for newbie players; it is more for Hitman veterans that are looking for a challenge.

Conclusions

It is good that the developers allow different missions to be purchased in this manner, but most people will probably opt to buy the full DLC package at a later date. If you fancy a challenge and you figure that previous episodes were too easy, then this is probably for you. The game has a fair amount of replay value, but the number of routes towards your target is a little limited.