Agent 47, the iconic assassin we all know and love from the Hitman franchise, makes his way to a new platform today as Hitman GO, a turn-based strategy game from Square Enix, hits iOS (Android coming soon). The app will run you $4.99 and features 68 levels available to unlock by completing objectives and side quests.
You may be thinking “68 levels?! That’s more than all the Hitman franchise levels put TOGETHER. Probably.” But this isn’t your typical Hitman game. You won’t be slinking around massive levels picking off unfortunate guards or ducking into hampers and iceboxes with your garrote strung tight as your target approaches. At least not exactly.
Instead, you’ll be maneuvering an Agent 47 game piece (of sorts) puzzle-style around a board – think diorama meets board game – with the goal of getting out of the level unseen. You’ll only be able to move along a predetermined path, so you’re fairy limited in your choices, but each level has a different layout.
Stay behind guards and other characters will keep you hidden in the shadows, so to speak, but be wary; as the levels go on, they increase in difficulty. For example, initially static, guards will begin to rove, so your movements need to be more calculated.
Yet with increased difficulty comes a larger arsenal of strategies that open up to you, many of which will seem familiar from the console games. Hide yourself in that flowerpot over there. Don a disguise to facilitate harmless, albeit suspicious, movement through the level. Drop into a trap door that will move you across the map. Find a key and move through previously locked doors. Eliminate that guard or stealthily maneuver around him. The choice is yours.
Major franchise mobile spin-offs often feel forced or too far detached from the source material, but this doesn’t seem to be the case with Hitman GO. It’s definitely not going to quench your Hitman thirst entirely, but this is a great, cheap way to shake the dust off that black suit and test your prowess on a new playing field.
You can pick up the app from the iOS App Store, and it is available on the iPad 2, iPad Mini, iPhone 4, 5th generation iPod Touch and all newer devices. Check out the release trailer below.