With what was arguably my favourite game of 2019 being the sleeper Hitman 2, I was insanely excited when the announcement of the HD collection of both Blood Money and Absolution was announced. Both games are milestones, for differing reasons, for the series, so to have a 4K edition provided was exciting to say the least.
This write up, won't touch too heavily on either of the games, as both are Hitman classics in their own rights. Whereas Blood Money is arguably the 'heavy hitter' of the two, a series instalment that stands out in the minds of many, due to the mix of incredible story and the point in the early Hitman series where the formula of gameplay was seen to peak, Absolution took a step away from the norm and introduced different aspects of gameplay to give both a refresh to life-long fans and open the door to brand new players to the series.
I'd argue that this collection of games is the best choice for a remaster on the current generations of consoles, as anyone who is new to the series or with only previous experience of the 'reboots' can easily enjoy both titles. But the main question when starting the package, is has it been done well?
The short answer is yes. This is very much a project that hasn't just been rushed out the door and touched up slightly. Pre receiving our review copy of the Enchanced Colletion, we re-visited both titles. The main improvement is definatley seen from Blood Money. The quality of image is sharp as a pin, thanks to the 4K improvements, the changes in lighting are jaw dropping and the game feels far more fluid, with quicker transitions, loading times and a general all-round smoothness thanks to the improved engine and hardware. Absolution is a similar story, but the improvements don't feel like as much as a leap.
The short and long of this however comes down to a simple question. Is this HD collection worth the price tag of £45? As it's only available via download as well, it puts a stop to GAME or others placing it down to £30 or so, or even being able to pick up a second hand copy. The answer, is sadly no. They're both great ports onto the latest generation, of two insanely fun games that are a joy to play, but when both the Crash/Spyro Trilogies, which were complete re-masters, launched at £30 a piece, it highlights the issue of over-costing here. If this drops down in a sale or over time, it's worth picking up, as a Hitman fan of old and new. Hitman HD Enhanced Collection scored a total of 8/10 for the actual title, but a 4/10 for pricing, bringing it completely down to a 6/10.