The Hitman Series Has Had Some Great Levels Throughout the Years!
The Hitman series started almost 18 years ago with the release of Hitman: Codename 47Â in 2000Â and ever since then the iconic (and very bald!) series protagonist, Agent 47, has been on a lot of missions that have taken place all over the world. Recently, series developers IO Interactive looked back at the nearly two decades old franchise and picked their favorite missions.
“I am in love with Sapienza,” said Marta La Mendola, a level designer at IO Interactive, about the second story mission in 2016’s Hitman. “As an Italian, being in that level is like going back home for vacation.”
“First you are astonished by the environment: this beautiful, quiet little town in Italy, where everyone is relaxed and eating ice-cream, unaware that the ultimate bio-weapon is being created right under their noses,” Mendola continued. “Second, there are plenty of creative ways of taking out your targets and fun disguises to roleplay with: like the Priest! Who has never wanted to be in the confession booth, listening in to people’s dirty secrets?”
Another IO developer, Mathis Widrat, picked the Marrakesh, Morocco level from the 2016 game, calling it “one of the most unique missions in the entire franchise.”
Widrat explained that the Marrakesh level taking place in such a hostile environment differentiates it from past Hitman levels.
“Unlike the previous locations,” Widrat began, “you do not travel to a quiet and peaceful town somewhere in Italy or an Opera House in Paris (#BloodMoney) – but instead to a city which is just one step away from a violent military coup.”
“This adds an additional challenge for Agent 47, since he does not only have to avoid normal guards and police, but also heavily armed soldiers who are eager to shoot any suspicious person on sight,” Widrat said.
Other IO developers picked levels from the older Hitman games such as Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Hitman: Absolution and Hitman: Blood Money.
“I loved A New Life for its great use of a grounded location,” said Lasse Bruun Hansen, who is a level designer at IO. “A New Life” is a mission in Blood Money that takes place in an American suburban neighborhood.
Hansen said that the strength of the level was that it took place in and simulated such a normal or “plain” environment while also being about the assassination of a witness who is under FBI protection.
“Using knowledge of familiar surroundings as a player feels immensely satisfying and highlights the great use of ambient life that the series is known for,” Hansen added. “A New Life is a great example of a well-implemented intimate space and goes to show how versatile and unique the locations in Hitman are.”