History VideoGame / HitMan

Each title follows the career of Mr. 47 (Creator/DavidBateson), a genetically-engineered super assassin. Accompanied by his handler, Diana, he performs high-level hits for a clandestine [[MurderInc "Agency"]] whilst avoiding the law (and industry rivals). It plays like a {{pastiche}} of [[SpyFiction spy]]/crime thrillers, blowing kisses at Creator/IanFleming and Creator/JohnWoo in particular.

Players are [[GameplayGrading scored on stealth]], so ideally, you should only kill your targets and leave without alerting anyone, like a real assassin. That said, if (hah! ''when'') you are discovered, or if you become addicted to the RagdollPhysics, you can Rambo your way through everything in your path--but you won't escape the consequences if you leave a trail of bodies behind you. The missions aren't really designed for FPS-style killing, and you'll soon find that stealth is far more fun and rewarding. (Or you can just [[SoMuchForStealth cave their heads in with a fire extinguisher]], that works too.)

** ''Hitman'' was one of the very first titles to attempt having enemies react realistically to being shot (the first one to actually use it was ''VideoGame/JurassicParkTrespasser''). As this was the early stages, shooting someone with, say, an elephant gun could very easily catapult them over a 10ft wall and across the map. (''The SILENT BUT DEADLY ASSASSIN!'')
** Even 47's trademark [=.45s=] were enough to make someone go cartwheeling backwards, and if you were accurate enough to repeatedly land hits on them while they were midair it could make for some [[TheJoysOfTorturingMooks truly amazing acrobatic feats.]]

** The Jordan Cross hit serves no purpose other than drawing Cross' father away from his private island so the Shadow Client can take him out. The ICA is not happy upon finding out about this. Ironically, the ICA used the exact same method to draw out Hayamoto in ''Silent Assassin''. Jordan also bears some similarities to Chad Bingham, a scion who escaped justice following a crime of passion, and now lives in fear of his father trying to kill him (as evidenced by his dialog if 47 poisons his cake).

* ANaziByAnyOtherName: Dr Ort Meyer in the first game (of the Mengele sort). And Hendrik Schmutz in ''Blood Money'' to some extent (blond race supremacist).

** "Death Factory", the weapons testing area of Blake Dexter's plant, is quite vast. Of particular note is the minefield testing area, where Dr. Green sits in his skybox and detonates hogs in a facsimile of 1950's American suburbia. Dr. Green informs you over the intercom that the whole place is honeycombed with mines. If you wander into the path of one, it won't be fun.
** ''Hitman'' (2016): For 47's final exam, Soders prepares a "no-win" scenario. Which turns out to be a Soviet airbase.

** ''Hitman'' (2016): 47's second test is a mock-up of an air force hangar.

Each title follows the career of Mr. 47 (voiced by Creator/DavidBateson), a genetically-engineered super assassin. Accompanied by his handler, Diana, he performs high-level hits for the ICA ([[MurderInc International Contract Agency]]) whilst avoiding the law and industry rivals. It plays like a {{pastiche}} of spy/crime thrillers, blowing kisses at Creator/IanFleming and Creator/JohnWoo in particular.

* HideYourChildren: There are no children of any kind in the game. Although Victoria is treated with kid gloves by 47 and Diana, she's conveniently sixteen years old, and mostly appears in cutscenes, besides. ({{hand Wave}}ed in that all of the children were sent away on a field trip before the gunfight took place.)

** ''Contracts'': Second verse, same as the first. You have to thwart Frantz's and Boris' attempts to get their hands on a bomb again. In this hotel, the nice thing about Fritz's dental clinic is that the walls are lead-lined to hide his explosive, so nobody outside (or inside, if you fire a gun next door) will hear your gunshots.

* AmoralAttorney: The shotgun-toting lawyer in "Anathema", the literally devil-horned Andrei Puscus, and Ken "The Brick" Morgan.

** The Jordan Cross hit serves no purpose other than drawing Cross' father away from his private island so the Shadow Client can take him out. The ICA is not happy upon finding out about this. Ironically, the ICA used the exact same method to draw out Hayamoto in ''Silent Assassin''.

** So where, exactly, do they keep the revolvers?

Each title follows the career of Mr. 47, a genetically-engineered super assassin. Accompanied by his handler, Diana, he performs high-level hits for the ICA ([[MurderInc International Contract Agency]]) whilst avoiding the law and industry rivals. It plays like a {{pastiche}} of spy/crime thrillers, blowing kisses at Creator/IanFleming and Creator/JohnWoo in particular.

** Fearing for his life, Gen. Zhupikov defects to Germany in order to gain political asylum there. He also takes with him a missile guidance system, which he intends to sell to NATO once he arrives in Germany. To make matters more interesting, the Russians are plenty mad that the General has defected and have sent a cleaner to the Embassy.

** In the ''Hitman'' '16 training missions, the targets, guards and civilians are played be ICA employees. 47 can throw them off buildings, drown them in toilets or throw knives at them which remain stuck in their heads. Good thing Diana told him beforehand that all weapons are just "simulated".

** "The Crows" are a pair of assassins, Raymond and Angelina, who have a loose affiliation with The Franchise. They're both wearing dorky bird costumes which ordinarily would give away their positions, but blends in well for this nighttime mission.

*** Th Achievement for using a Katana in ''Absolution'' is "Go Medieval on his Ass." Note also the reference to ''Film/BadLieutenant''.

* ''Hitman Trilogy'' (2007) - A box set that includes the [=PS2=] versions of ''Silent Assassin'', ''Contracts'' and ''Blood Money'')
* ''Hitman HD Trilogy'' - A compilation of the same games as above, but remastered on [=PS3=] and Xbox 360. A digital bundle was also released for the Xbox 360, titled the ''Hitman HD Pack'', containing just ''Silent Assassin'' and ''Contracts'', as it was aimed at players who already owned the stand-alone 360 version of ''Blood Money''.

* ''Hitman HD Trilogy'' - A compilation of the same games as above, but remastered on [=PS3=] and Xbox 360. A digital bundle was also released for the Xbox 360, titled the ''Hitman HD Pack'', which contains only ''Silent Assassin'' and ''Contracts'', as it was aimed at players who already owned the stand-alone 360 version of ''Blood Money''.

* ''Hitman HD Trilogy'' (Updated Rerelease of ''Silent Assassin'', ''Contracts'' and ''Blood Money'', released in 2013 for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.)

** A notable thing about [=NPCs=] is that they aren't very observant. They rarely if ever glance upwards, and if a locked door is suddenly wide open, no one cares. (A common exploit is to shoot/wire guards through half-open doors.) If gasoline is pooling around their feet, no one smells it.

** ''Silent Assassin'' contains a tongue-in-cheek reference to another IOI game. Zoom in on some ammo boxes (.45 ACP) and read the inscription: ''Favorite ammo of Chris Walker, freedom fighter and all-around good guy.'' You can also spot a screenshot from the game in "Shogun Showdown" on a computer monitor, even though ''VideoGame/FreedomFighters'' was released a year later.
** A very subtle one in ''Blood Money'' is on "A New Life". It's a ranking called The Russian Hare, based on the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuFNjXlNiXk real life exploits of a WWII sniper]] for those who one-shot kill combatants with the sniper rifle.

** Dolph the Fascist Hippo, [=FCK=] soccer, [[VideoGame/CommanderKeen Dopefish]], Webcomic/PokeyThePenguin, [[VideoGame/MiniNinjas Hiro]] and others.
** The rubber ducky that appears in every installment is notable because it even made it into the film adaption and [[VideoGame/TeamFortress2 was referenced in a cross-promotion crossover]].

* BikiniBar: The Flamin' Rotterdam, the Pink Rabbit, the Pink Mansion, the Shark Club, and the Vixen Club.

** Dual-wielding guns. Alas, it takes ages for 47 to prepare them, they make your targeting reticule go crazy--and in ''Silent Assassin'', they're so powerful, the target tends to go ''flying'' into the path of bystanders, so you'll probably never use them if you're concerned about stealth! These things just stick out like a sore thumb, so only use them if you've been found out. The double shot means almost an assured kill.

** As long as you're wearing the right disguise, guards generally don't mind if you try to navigate the levels in more-than-suspicious ways (climbing the pipes and walking on roofs). In one level of ''H2'', you can silently attach the bomb to a car while disguising as a limousine driver... and go straight down the sewer hatch, which guards apparently consider a perfectly normal thing to do.

** The [=W2000=] rifle from ''[=H2=]'' is a bit different from the one used in ''[=C47=]'' in that it's a bolt-action, i.e. you have to reload after each shot. The Custom Rifle is more up your alley. It's wielded by the enemy snipers, so it's possible to grab one early -- if you don't care about ratings.

** In [=H2=], you can use the hospital vents to scope out which O.R. the cult leader is staying in, but the game engine apparently wasn't ready for this yet, so the "vent" is accessible by ladder. You don't even have to crouch.

** ''Hitman 2'': It's just possible that Gen. Zhupikov [[http://hitman.wikia.com/wiki/File:KGBOfficer_full.jpg might have a drinking problem.]] He also has a bad habit of intercepting drinks meant for the other guests, which proves fatal when the waiter turns out to be 47. (Ironically, the first General you encounter in the game is constantly sipping from a glass, only it turns out to be water if you kill him.)

** In H2, the German Ambassador is a good acquaintance of Gen. Zupikhov and has agreed to squirrel him out of Russia. Also, he apparently has an appetite for sweets as can be seen by the sheer amount of chocolates stashed in his embassy safes. (He's not all bad, though; if you save him from the Spetnaz, he'll let you walk off with the suitcase scot free.)

** Leave it to ''Hitman 2'' to [[DeconstructedTrope take the fun out of the anti-materiel rifle.]] The [=MI95=] (real name Barrett [=M95=]) is so unique to the region that it will '''ATTRACT''' passerby. This is bad news if you do not want to be seen with it, since you can't just drop it and wait for the [=NPCs=] to leave. Note that the game considers this to be both a Sniper Rifle AND a Heavy Weapon due to its enormous power.

** 47's signature weapons are a pair of custom stainless steel AMT Hardballer pistols with stylized fleurs-de-lis engraved on the slides and Pachmayr American Legend grips. Not too shabby. It was just a plain AMT Hardballer in the original game , but they got a chrome makeover in ''Hitman 2''. In ''Silent Assassin'' and the movies, even his silencers are chrome-plated.

## In H2, the client is Sergei, a Russian mob boss who is assembling pieces of an untraceable nuclear warhead.

** Depending on the difficulty level, you can only save a certain amount of times during a single mission, or sometimes not at all. In [=H2=], you're still rewarded with a bonus save if you rescue Agent Smith or Mei Ling, which is nice, as those missions are easily the most grueling of the game.

** There is a scarecrow functioning as a training doll in The Gontranno Sanctuary in ''Hitman 2'' which has Ivan's clothes and hat. You crossed paths with him in "Gunrunner's Paradise."

** In the ad following "Amendment XXV", the two boxers that fight it out at "IOI Grand Palace" are actually Martin Guldbaek and Rune Brinckmeyer, two programmers that worked on the previous ''Hitman'' games. Brinckmeyer sat out ''Hitman 2'', though. They also programmed ''Freedom Fighters.''

** Cawing outside of the Gontanno Sanctuary in the final level of [=H2=]. ''Blood Money'' opens with them fluttering around the gravestones at 47's funeral.

* CrowdPanic: Civilian [=NPCs=] panic and flee at anything vaguely violent or seeing someone with a gun in a non-military context. They'll also run if they find evidence of your handiwork, i.e. corpses or in some cases bloodstains. In [=H2=], the civilians will give you more headaches than the guards in most cases.

** Cutscenes eat up way too much time in ''Hitman 2''. It is important that you skip the cutscene which follows after you shoot Sergei through the confessional window; if you don't, then most times Sergei's [=SP12=] Shotgun will eat through your health in an instant (although sometimes he will just bolt upstairs). If you skip the cutscene, it will keep him from firing at you roughly 95% of the time.

** In ''Hitman 2'', Sergei is the client you've been helping track down all the various missile components. But now he's crossed the line (acquiring a nuke), and the United Nations wants The Agency's help in ridding the world of this clown. It is against The Agency's ethics, such as they are, to perform a hit on a former customer, but they have decided to make an exception due to the business prospects associated with the UN.

** In ''Hitman 2'', Mei Ling is wearing the same purple nightie from Hong Kong. ...Except this is Japan, and it's 5000 ft. higher in altitude and -0° outside the castle.

* ExtendedDisarming: In H2, if you drop all weapons to, say, pass through a metal detector unnoticed, you'll drop: The two handed non-concealable weapon, a Beretta 9 mm, the same with a suppressor, a Tokarev (Russian handgun), a Desert Eagle, a .357 Python, 2 Hardballers, the same with suppressors, a sawn-off shotgun, a machine pistol, a kitchen knife, a combat knife, and a scalpel. You can still ''keep'': the .22 silenced handgun (probably made of titanium, since it doesn't trigger the sensors), the fiber wire (for strangulation), and the chloroform. Made worse than other examples of the trope, since you can carry them all in a tuxedo, and this is supposed to be a stealth game!

** Ditto for H2's "Kirov Park" -- essentially a watered-down and less sadistic remix of the Harbor mission. Even if your shot barely grazes the targets, they'll both flee into their armored limousines, which 47 was [[GambitRoulette kind enough to rig with dynamite.]]

** In ''Hitman 2'', 47 stumbles across a family photo of Charlie and his twin brother, realizing he's just killed the wrong Sidjan. Looks like the Agency goofed.

** ''Silent Assassin'': Sergei appears in the flesh in H2's second mission, "St. Petersberg Stakeout". Just like [[spoiler:the bride]] in ''Blood Money'', he's actually your mystery client, so sniping him by mistake results in a Game Over.

** At the conclusion of ''Hitman 2'', Sergei rings the church bell in Palermo to summon 47.

** ''Hitman 2'' introduced the concept of smuggling items into buildings. (Though actually, hiding guns in the men's room was introduced as early as ''Hitman 1''.) Sticking guns in crates is a regular feature in ''Blood Money'', starting with the training level. The contents of toolboxes will not be searched when you are frisked, and a carpenter's uniform seals the illusion.

** Try climbing a ladder in the Japan missions (''Hitman 2''). By aiming the camera down, you can point it over 47's snow jacket to see he's still wearing his expensive suit underneath -- just like the [[http://media.agonybooth.com/images/articles/Moonraker_1979_Recap_Supplement/splash_780.jpg movie poster]] for ''{{Film/Moonraker}}''.

** ''Hitman 2'' takes this to ludicrous extremes: Climbing a ladder forces the camera in to 3rd person perspective, and it doesn't restrict your firing capabilities at all, meaning you can and are forced to watch Agent 47 run up a ladder in third person while contorting his body so much that he can fire a shotgun directly below and behind him.

** Your next major task in H2 is to retrieve some valuable cargo for the client. It was stolen by fanatics (with the help of the renegade Mr. 17) who have hidden it in the desert. In addition to obtaining the cargo, you are also to kill the people responsible for its theft.

*** Skurky hides within a local church and uses the priest as a shield, just as Sergei does in [=H2=]. Also, the showdown with Travis (''Absolution'') is similar to the final battle with Sergei: A rain-swept cemetery with plenty of guards, and Travis hiding behind an impenetrable door.

** Mr. X in ''Hitman 2''. He's the brains of the operation, with Sergei contributing his manpower and muscle to the cause.

** In ''Hitman 2'', you start the last mission with nothing but the reel of piano wire, while every enemy has a gun - and no spare ammo to loot. It is immensely satisfying when you break into your weapons storage locker after skulking around and being extremely vulnerable.

** In "Anathema" (''Hitman 2''), the Don's on the upstairs balcony, practicing his golf stroke. After he does, he stands there for a second looking at the ball, which is your cue to snipe him. The club is much weaker in this edition; it will take several whacks to drop an enemy.

** ''Hitman 2'' has a bombastic score provided by the Budapest Symphony orchestra. A few of ''Blood Money''[='s=] tracks make use of a chorus, also.

** In [=H2=] sedating an NPC with a given amount of chloroform will knock them out for a fixed period of time, regardless of whether they are a petite woman or a burly Russian gangster. There is also at least one instance in which a possible means to assassinate two targets is to serve them the same poisoned drink near-simultaneously, following which they both drop dead within seconds of each other, despite their different sizes.

** In the campiest scene (and thus best-known scene) in ''Hitman 2'', Charlie's lady friends will magically produce revolvers from their g-strings and cap you on sight.

** In ''Hitman 2'', Mr. X claims to have actually witnessed 47 in action. It happened in Rotterdam, when 47 was chasing after the biker gang and Boris. Needless to say, X does not appear in [=C47=] or ''Contracts'' as an onlooker or otherwise. After that, we're introduced to Boris' hitherto unknown brother, Sergei, who is making inquiries about his death.
** In ''Contracts'', 47 is ambushed without warning and shot in the middle of a hit. As Diana explains in ''Blood Money'', in recent years a group known as The Franchise has entered the mix and been putting serious pressure on the Agency. According to Cayne, he first got wind of 47's scent during the Chilean mission, which occured sometime between [=H2=] and ''Contracts.''

** The St. Petersberg levels in [=H2=], most noticeably "Tubeway Torpedo". Not only do you have to kill a Russian Army General, but there's a CIA agent being held in captivity in the general's bunker.

** Ditto in [=H2=], when 47 accepts "one last job" involving a summit at the former FSB headquarters. Yet again, you can ignore Diana's yapping and and just storm the place if you feel like it.

** In ''Hitman 2'', Diana gives you a cell phone and pager to entice an interrogator to wander over to the other side of his two-way mirror.

** [=C47=] and H2 used this for 47's death poses.

* 47's own [[GunsAkimbo Silverballers]] from the second game onwards are customised for his own needs. ''Blood Money'' expands on this, allowing the player to customise them to their own specifications along with one weapon in every other category.

Each title follows the career of Mr. 47, a genetically-engineered super assassin. Accompanied by his handler, Diana, he carries out hits for the [[MurderInc International Contract Agency]] whilst dodging the law (and industry rivals). It plays like a {{pastiche}} of spy and crime thrillers, blowing kisses at Creator/IanFleming and Creator/JohnWoo in particular.

** 47 doesn't need to know his target's astrological sign or if they wear women's underwear. He doesn't care. As you progress through [=C47=], though, you may find letters lying about the Targets' rooms. It seems the four men all served in the military together and kept in close contact. In Lee Hong's letter, he spelled out the importance of the Jade Figurine in winning the loyalty of the Hong Kong Triads, which explains how your mystery "client" knew to steal it. Also, Pablo has a letter from some character named "Ort-Meyer" telling him to expect a visit from 47 soon. The missions are broken up by short flashbacks of five guys chatting over a body. Eventually the player will work out that these shadows belong to the men 47 has assassinated.

* PacifistRun: More like "as pacifist as possible within the job description", but getting Silent Assassin ratings in ''2'' and ''Contracts'' generally requires the player to kill or harm no one except for the target(s) of each mission. In ''Blood Money'', the player can kill as many people as they like and still get a Silent Assassin rating, so as long as they MakeItLookLikeAnAccident.

''Hitman'' is a series of [[ThirdPersonShooter third-person]] [[StealthBasedGame stealth]] games by Danish developer [=IO=] Interactive, a former division of Eidos which was later a part of Creator/SquareEnix. As of June 2017, they are now an independent company.

** The 'crazy' father of the bride in ''Blood Money''. It's quite funny to listen to an Radio/AlexJones look-a-like banging on about clones and shadow governments and such, only to be proven right in his obituary.