Warp Zoned Presents
All Articles: Hitman
Hitman, Tom Clancy’s The Division, Kholat, more added to PlayStation Store
Assassins, terrorists, and a snowy void of death and despair highlight this week’s chipper PlayStation Store update.
Agent 47 goes back to work this week in IO Interactive’s brand new entry in the Hitman franchise. But the game, simply known as Hitman (PS4), will be delivered quite differently than your typical AAA title. Publisher Square Enix plans to release the game in chunks throughout the year and players will be able to kick back with the Intro Pack (a pair of missions, Contracts Mode, Escalation Mode, and other content) beginning March 11. New content for Hitman should arrive monthly.
Also available this week is Tom Clancy’s The Division (PS4), a multiplayer shooter in the Destiny vein that takes place in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on New York City. Players will search the city’s famous streets and avenues looking for the perpetrators of a smallpox outbreak, while also avoiding rioters and other players bent on causing havoc.
A trio of smaller titles that will surely appeal to players of all persuasions are also now available to download through the PlayStation Store. Kholat (PS4) is a first-person survival/exploration game where players will attempt to investigate the supernatural origins of the Dyatlov Pass Incident. PS4 owners are also be able to download Assault Android Cactus, a colorful twin-stick shooter starring an adorable squad of androids. Finally, Rise of the Kasai is a well-liked PS2 brawler that and the latest PS2-On-PS4 game from Sony.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. And a complete rundown of this week’s new game add-ons and discounts can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
New Releases: Tom Clancy’s The Division, Hitman, WWE 2K16 for PC
Just three new releases will be available on store shelves this week, and one of them is just a Season Pass to a year-long episodic adventure.
Leading off the week is Tom Clancy’s The Division, which will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Players will join up with the titular peacekeeping organization as they team up with other players from around the world to investigate a terrorist attack in New York City on Black Friday.
Also available this week is Hitman, IO Interactive’s latest entry in the long-running series. Agent 47 is back, but we won’t get to experience all of his new missions right away. Instead, IO and Square Enix will release the game episodically, but players can buy in to the whole series now for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Finally this week, 2K Games and the WWE will slam their way onto Steam with WWE 2K16‘s PC debut.
A Day-By-Day Guide to All of 2016’s New Video Games (January – March)
After years and years of publishers packing the September through November “Holiday” season with an unmanageable number of new AAA titles, we might get a much more balanced release calendar in 2016. But can you believe it all happened by accident?
Video game fans have always had to deal with delays, but publishers got even more use out of their erasers than normal in 2015. Aside from the one-two punch of Fallout 4‘s E3 2015 announcement, and its eventual release on November 10th, no game felt safe… and more than a few big titles got pushed into 2016. So now we get to ring in 2016 with a release calendar that just might offer up something exciting all year long.
Are you ready? Because here… we… go… (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Features, Mobile, PC, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Amplitude, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia, Bravely Second: End Layer, EA Sports UFC 2, EVE: Valkyrie, Far Cry: Primal, Final Fantasy Explorers, Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright/Conquest, Gone Home, Hitman, Hyrule Warriors, Killer Instinct, Lego Avengers, Life Is Strange, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Mega Man Legacy Collection, Mighty No. 9, Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, Pokken Tournament, Project X Zone 2, Rebel Galaxy, Resident Evil 0, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Rocket League, Street Fighter V, The Banner Saga, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, The Walking Dead: Michonne, The Witness, Tom Clancy's The Division, Umbrella Corps, XCOM 2
IO Interactive delays Hitman’s debut to March 2016
It looks like IO Interactive’s ambitious release plan for the next Hitman game, simply titled Hitman, has proven to be a bit too ambitious. The developer confirmed earlier this week (via the Hitman Development Blog) that the game will no longer be released this December as originally planned. Instead, Hitman will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One in March 2016.
IO Interactive is positioning Hitman as an episodic game… but with a twist. Instead of giving players the option purchase individual episodes at regular intervals, the developer wants to sell Hitman for full price upfront and release a number of free updates throughout the year. Part of the reason for the game’s delay is to ensure that more content is available at launch:
[W]e’re going for a new release model where we put out a good chunk of the game when it begins and then release the remaining locations over time. We want to make absolutely sure you all get the best possible experience when you join, so we’ve made the difficult decision to move the initial release date to March 2016. These few extra months will mean we can add more to the launch content of the game, more than we had originally planned, and then follow with a tighter frequency of updates, which ultimately will create a better game for everyone. And in the end, that’s what we’re all looking for.
To help fans visualize the scope of their latest project, IO Interactive also created an impressive infographic to better show off the size of Agent 47’s new playground. The gray layer in the infographic represents “Street of Hope,” the largest level in Hitman: Absolution. Meanwhile, the red layer directly underneath shows “Paris: The Showstopper”, a Hitman locale that’s roughly six times larger. This mission will also give players the option of 300 potential Targets (versus 50 in Absolution), and more than 25 unique areas to explore.
IO Interactive will announce more details about how the size of Hitman’s world will affect Agent 47 next week. The team also plans to reveal more details about the game’s episodic release schedule at the same time.
Square Enix confirms the next Hitman will be an episodic game
Not much was said about the latest Hitman game at Sony’s E3 Press Conference last night. We got our first look at a teaser trailer and the promise that a beta would be available exclusively for PS4 owners, but other than that, the announcement was as mysterious as Agent 47 himself. This morning, Sqaure Enix cleared up a few things by announcing quite a few more details about the next Hitman game.
Most importantly, Square Enix has confirmed that Hitman will be an episodic game with the first episode scheduled for release on December 8. Unlike traditional episodic games, Square Enix and developer IO Interactive are asking gamers to purchase the entire season up front for $60. After that, they’ll receive free access to every additional episode/add-on, which will be released throughout 2016.
But aside from a new distribution model, players should already be familiar with the concept behind the sixth Hitman game:
Hitman will see players perform contract hits on powerful, high-profile targets in exotic locations around the world, from the highly fashionable Paris and sunny coast of Italy to the dust and hustle of the markets in Marrakesh in this creative stealth action game.
Gameplay focuses on taking out targets in huge and intricate sandbox levels with complete freedom of approach. Where to go, when to strike and who to kill – it is all up to you.
“This is new ground for Hitman, coming out digital first enables us to do something new, bold and exciting,” said Hannes Seifert, Studio Head at IO Interactive. “We are building a live, expanding and evolving world of assassination where we continuously develop the game, listening closely to the players as we release new locations, missions and hits as soon as they are ready… where $60 and not a dollar more gets you full access to the experience.”
While the beta will be exclusive to the PS4, Hitman will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on December 8.
Sony @ E3 2015: The new Hitman game will be known simply as Hitman
The next game announced at Sony’s Press Conference was a brand-new game in the Hitman franchise from IO Interactive!
Simply titled Hitman, not much was shown other than a CGI trailer (embedded above), but the game was said to feature a “live, ever-expanding world.” This could potentially mean a more MMORPG-like experience or possibly an episodic one.
A PS4 beta will be available to those who pre-order the title, which is enough to get this gamer hyped! Hitman will be available on the PS4 only through the PlayStation Store, with a release date scheduled for December 8. The game will also be released for PC and “other consoles,” but PS4 players will have access to six exclusive contracts.
More information on Hitman will likely emerge during tomorrow’s Square Enix Press Conference.
Hitman 6 won’t be at E3 2014… so have some concept art instead
IO Interactive updated their blog to let their fans know that they would not be bringing the latest in the Hitman franchise to E3:
First up, we’ve seen a lot of people talking about what we might be bringing to E3 this year. We know the worst thing is to hope for something that doesn’t turn up; so we wanted to let you know that our next Hitman is going to be under wraps for a bit longer. We’re focusing all of our time and efforts into creating the best possible Hitman game. That’s our number one priority and we don’t want to divert valuable resources to show something before it’s ready.
To make up for it, though, they’ve shared some absolutely gorgeous concept art, which you can see above (and can see in full resolution after the jump). In the meantime, those of you who need your Hitman fix can pick up Hitman Go, which you can play, well, on the go. (more…)
IO Interactive shares a few details about Hitman 6
A week after Square Enix dropped the cancellation hammer on Square Enix Montreal’s Hitman spinoff, IO Interactive has posted an open letter to the official Hitman website detailing their work on the currently-in-development Hitman 6.
The IO Interactive team is going big with Hitman 6, promising “an extreme level of detail” and “the largest levels ever built for a Hitman game.” They’re also bringing the series back to its roots, stating that the Agent 47 of Hitman 6 will be in the prime of his career, “stalking his prey across the world,” with the help of his handler, Diana Burnwood:
The game concentrates on the core Hitman fantasy of using a wide range of tools to take out a diverse group of targets across expansive, exotic locations around the world. We are building this game on the backbone of the Glacier 2 engine, using the best parts and what we have learnt through Hitman: Absolution and drawing inspiration from past titles like Contracts and Blood Money to fulfil the core Hitman fantasy. That means we’re packing in an extreme level of detail on the largest levels we have ever built for a Hitman game. We’ve adopted an open, non-linear level design approach to the game, ensuring the game will play out across huge, checkpoint-free, sandbox levels. Our aim is to create living, breathing and believable levels which will allow gamers to play around with the AI to create those unique moments every fan of the Hitman franchise loves.
In addition to the single-player campaign, the HORSE-like Contracts Mode will return, allowing players to once again compose the perfect hit and challenge others to match it. IO also confirmed that 47’s “magic pockets” will not make a return appearance.
Hitman 6 is in development for next-generation consoles and the PC. IO Interactive has promised that we’ll learn more about the game throughout 2014, but a release has yet to be announced.