Hitman: Absolution is an intens mix of serenity and obscenity, its foul-mouthed criminals and grubby henchmen adding a layer of thick grime to otherwise quaint small-town screets and warm desert sands. Returing antihero Agent 47 is a ruthiess contrast to both the beauty of his surroundings and the foul crooks he butts heads with; he's a steadfast and well-dressed killer who finds pleasure in careful planning and clean kills. Once again, he dons his btightly buffed shoes and exercises a combination of stealthy maneuvering and brute force to and the lives of those most deserving of their demises. Not every method of murder is as satisfying as you'd want, but plays well and looks sumptuous.
More intringuingly, it fills its world with such disgusting wastes of sepace that you're happy to lodge bullets in their heads. The best missions immerse you in Hitman: Absolution's twisted look at Americana and are teeming with contemptible characters drawn from the botton of the cultural barrel. You may event find 47's inital actions hard to witness: his first contract is to assassinate his former handler at the Agency, Diana Brunwood, who has apparently gone rogue. Her last wish as you watch her perish by your own hand: that you protect a girl named victoria and, in turn, be branded as a traitor.
