Monday , March 18 2024
This second-to-last episode is indeed an improvement on previous entries.

PlayStation 4 Review: ‘Hitman: Episode 5 – Colorado’

The last entry in this new Hitman is rapidly approaching, but we still have time to look at the recently released penultimate episode, Colorado. This look at the episode is much enhanced if you have read previous entries (so you should probably do that before continuing).

I am happy to say that hitmanthis second-to-last episode is indeed an improvement on previous entries. Rather than there being a whole lot of innocent bystanders around, this time out Agent 47 finds himself on a militia compound with a whole lot of nefarious activities taking place and where just about everyone is armed. The result is a lot more sneaking, potentially a lot more killing, and the added chance for a lot more mayhem.

All of this makes the level a somewhat more enjoyable than previous ones as well. There is an added sense of enjoyment to a level where you’re avoiding bad people spotting you rather than just sidestepping a whole lot of party guests/average folks.

There is also more of an overarching story this time as 47 is getting closer to the truth about what’s taking place, but that story only really unfolds just prior to the end of the mission. It is also not something which the player can influence in any way. Occurring as it does at the end of the episode, it only further enhances the feel that the player is in charge of nothing… except killing/maiming/subduing enemies.

Better though it may be, there are still perplexing elements that take place in the mission. The best example of this is the game’s scoring system – “eliminate” those armed enemies mentioned above and you lose points when your score is calculated at the end of the mission. These guys may not be the primary targets (this time there are four), but they’re still bad guys and you’re still a good guy. It is a stealth-based title, not a killing-free one, and eliminating baddies shouldn’t lose points, even if the baddies aren’t the primary targets.

Beyond that, Colorado does nothing to alleviate the overall feel that there was really no need to go the episodic release route for the game. Hitman is a title which still benefits from intense gameplay to maintain swiftness/accuracy with the control scheme and keep the player in the appropriate frame of mind.

The final Hitman episode is due at the end of the month and Colorado certainly indicates indeed going to tie together many of the plot’s loose ends. Whether they add more loose ends of course remains to be seen.

Hitman is rated M (Mature) by the ESRB for Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language, and Suggestive Themes. This game can also be found on: Xbox One and Windows PC.


About Josh Lasser

Josh has deftly segued from a life of being pre-med to film school to television production to writing about the media in general. And by 'deftly' he means with agonizing second thoughts and the formation of an ulcer.

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