With its winning mix of action, strategy and stealth, Hitman Contracts marks a successful third entry in the franchise, and has some neat new tricks up its sleeve. That said, the core of the game is still fundamentally the same as before. You take the role of a genetically modified hitman who from the off finds himself in deep trouble, holed up in a tight spot surrounded by people who want him dead. The reasons why become clear as you play your way through a series of flashbacks, some of which draw heavily from the previous games in the series. Fortunately, the similarities also stretch to the gameplay, which is by turns taut, tense and violent. The game gives you plenty of freedom in choosing how to tackle the various missions you're presented with, and particularly in the early stages it's tremendously good fun working out the best way to achieve an objective. There are a couple of drawbacks: the game is a little shorter than might be expected, and it is more of an evolution from previous adventures than a independent sequel. But these are minor niggles, especially when you consider that this is the best game to date in the Hitman franchise. It's going to be interesting to see how creators Io Interactive develop the series, but for now they've given us a healthy dose of what's gone before, and made it a little better. --Simon Brew
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