There's no plot behind any of them, no messages from Diana to explain why these pieces need to be toppled or complex conspiracies linking things. Here though, it feels like a perfectly sensible approach.Įach map has a simple objective: reach the end or kill a target, with the assassinations played out to the usual haunting sounds of Ave Maria. In an actual stealth game this would obviously be ridiculous, as well as incredibly expensive in terms of shoe leather. It's not possible to simply skip a turn either, or not throw a throwable when triggered, leading to a lot of 47 shuffling around awkwardly or trying to take an odd-number of steps back to a point to get a guard from behind.
It's a cold series of decisions and observations that actually feels oddly appropriate as a metaphor for how 47's honed reptile brain processes the world, with each element added to Hitman Go layering on extra complexity and intricate designs to guarantee guards are always in the worst possible position at the worst possible time. Normally, this is where 47 would be getting killed about a 104 times and thinking "Fair enough." This being a puzzle game, it's not possible to simply shoot obstacles most of the time, though 47 can occasionally pick up a sniper rifle or pair of Silverballer pistols to take out a single target (or multiple, if they're on the same point) and clear adjacent squares respectively. It's turn based – first you go and then all the enemies – but quickly ramps up from static enemies to trickier obstacles like patrollers and knife-wielders and guards with dogs capable of directly chasing 47 around the map, and those maps stepping up in complexity to add locked doors and keys, trapdoors that act as teleporters, disguises that allow 47 to walk past one enemy type with complete impunity, and throwable objects that can draw a big cluster of guards into exactly where you want them. It's not, however, a board game to the point of being static or simplistic. (And ideally not Mouse Trap, because who wants to play that tedious thing for the 10 cool seconds at the end?) This is a board game, and board games only have to be internally consistent. It's not important whether a guard can 'see' you, for instance, just whether one is about to intercept or be looking in the wrong direction when you make your move. It's a style that both lends itself well to the iPad and allows for crystal-clear rules that embrace not having to play within the constraints of reality. It's not instant, but it's fast enough not to be annoying. When 47 himself slips up, he's also just knocked over with a click of pieces coming together and the board quickly reset for another attempt. There are no “accidents.” Taking someone out means taking them off the board, an unseen hand carefully putting them to one side until the map is done. Each level is presented as a physical game, each hit as a series of wooden boards, and everything from guards to 47 himself as little wooden game pieces that click around with a wonderful tactility. Both, however, pale next to its true achievement: feeling enough like a Hitman game to wear its name with honour.Īt least part of this is admittedly down to the aesthetics. That it exists at all is honestly something of a surprise, and that it pulls it off, a pleasure. Hitman Go is a board game-styled mobile version of everyone's favourite bald, barcoded master assassin that has about as much in common with its trademark stealth action as Clue does with real detective work or Carcassonne with medieval city planning.