Io Interactive Releases Final Hitman Elusive Target
Io Interactive has been the center of a couple of news stories lately. Last month, we saw them become independent from Square Enix. In the process, they retained control of their original IP.
hitman
Hitman Episode 3: Marrakesh Review
In the three episodes of Hitman we’ve gotten so far, they’ve all been set in very diverse locations. I don’t mean only setting wise, each of the three episodes gives us very different play styles that fit according to each location. In Paris, it was all about infiltrating a runway show. It had quiet outskirts and a very dense center, this allowed the player to do all of their dirty work on the outskirts and plan their way in. Sapienza was very sparse and had a lot of hidden entrances, this time the player could explore the vast setting of Italy and really plan how they got the job done. In Marrakesh, the area is as dense as it could be and it makes you react quickly and improvise frequently. Marrakesh provides the most unique experience while giving you plenty of options to dispense of your targets, making it the strongest episode of Hitman so far.
When you start your mission in Marrakesh, you immediately realize that this isn’t the traditional in-and-out hit. Both of your targets are in two heavily guarded areas on opposite sides of the map. You quickly realize that you won’t be able to get away with that much when the whole area is filled to the brim with witnesses.
As you start exploring and plan your infiltration a lot of “opportunities” will arise. Opportunities are Hitman’s way of telling you that there might be a way in if you follow through with what’s going on around you. Opportunities are multistep processes that will eventually lead you to your target. This time around the opportunities let you do some incredibly fun things. One of them you get to pretend to be a masseuse and snap your targets neck while massaging him. While in another one you can pretend to be a cameraman a drop a giant moose on your target. However, my favorite of the opportunities involves shoving a toilet onto your targets head. I won’t ruin all of the fun for you but trust me, it’s pretty damn awesome.
Source: Namelessdreadx37x
In the other episodes of Hitman you don’t necessarily need to complete the opportunities because of the open nature of them but Marrakesh provides a much more tight and controlled experience, which I ended up liking a lot more than Paris, for example.
The opportunities also make replaying Marrakesh more fun than ever. In previous episodes the opportunities were often left to the side and it wasn’t that fun to see them through. This time around I ended up playing the mission multiple times just so I could see how each of them played out. Each of them have some bizarre and fun twist in them like the ones I mentioned earlier.
Exploring the areas of Marrakesh also end up being more interesting because of the nature of the mission. When going into places you’re never guaranteed to get away with anything. There’s always someone around to ruin your plan making your windows to get stuff done a lot smaller and a hell of a lot more satisfying when it all falls into place. This also makes it so you can’t necessarily brute force your way through the mission like you could in the other two episodes.
Resident Evil Will Be the “Final Chapter” For An Era of Game Movies
Next year the Resident Evil movies finally come to an end with “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter”, and with it, hopefully the end of horrible game adaptations.
It’s amazing that the series has been going on so long. Critics hate it. Fans hate it. But yet its still continuing as a series. Why? The reason is that most of its revenue is coming in from foreign markets, which more than double what’s being made from its showings in North America. However, now thats its over, the brand will end and so will the foreign market’s interest in this kind of movie. Because when you think about it, these kind of movies aren’t really made anymore.
Hitman tried its hand at a movie once more last year, but its critical reception and abysmal box office have shown a difference in the era of game movies. Image source: Foxmovies.com
With the power of the internet, movies are now swapped and changed much more than in the 90’s. Back then, studios would make video game movies and gave little attention to the source material during production. Now? Studios are coming under fire because they didn’t get the original Sly Cooper to voice the character in his upcoming CGI movie. Series fans seem to hold more power than ever, if really because they are a good amount of the demographic the movie is aimed at. The keyword may not essentially be good, but faithful. That is what’s getting people to give it a shot.
Resident Evil tried way too late to be faithful to the original games’s designs. Although credit where credit is due, their version of Wesker is beautifully over the top. Image source: comicvine.gamespot.com
People don’t want to see Mario and Luigi in an apocalyptic alternate dimension with little references to the game, they want to see Mario and Luigi as they are in the games. The movie Warcraft coming out has designs for the orcs that are nearly pitch perfect to how they are presented in the game. Studios know that they can’t do whatever they want with a license, they have to research it, respect it, and be close enough for the fans to recognize it as a faithful adaptation of what they love. The Resident Evil movies changed almost everything about the story but key character names and certain monsters. Nowadays, that won’t cut it anymore.
While not the best movie, Ratchet and Clank was far more faithful to its source material than nearly every other video game movie to date, with the much of the game’s voice cast, designs, and comedy all present. Image Source: Comicsbeat.com
The Resident Evil movies have seemed to beat expectations and continue on its ludicrous and nonsensical storyline that has managed to jump the shark more than a low-rent Vegas stuntman. However, as it finishes, it brings hope that video game movies can start to be what people always wanted them to be. Effort is now at the forefront of making these movies, as the Assassin’s Creed and Sly Cooper seem to have gained a lot of attention, so hopefully Hollywood won’t disappoint.
Whether it be good or bad, this movie has Michael Fassbender. What more do you need? Image Source: Screenrant.com