HITMAN: Absolution
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Hitman: Absolution is a stealth video game developed by IO Interactive and published by Square Enix.[1] It is the fifth installment in the Hitman series, and runs on IO Interactive's proprietary Glacier 2 game engine. Before release, the developers stated that Absolution would be easier to play and more accessible, while still retaining hardcore aspects of the franchise.[2] The game was released on 20 November 2012 (which is in the 47th week of the year in reference to the protagonist, Agent 47) for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.[3] On 15 May 2014 Hitman: Absolution — Elite Edition was released for OS X by Feral Interactive;[4] it contained all previously released downloadable content, including Hitman: Sniper Challenge, a "making of" documentary, and a 72-page artbook.[4]
Set after the events of Hitman: Blood Money and Hitman: Damnation, the game begins with Agent 47 detailing his relationship with his handler Diana Burnwood whom he had trusted until she, without explanation, betrayed the International Contract Agency (ICA) by sabotaging their funding and database, using the subsequent confusion to vanish. After the ICA is reformed, 47 is tasked by his new handler, Benjamin Travis, a high level official within the ICA, to kill Diana for her betrayal and retrieve an important Agency asset; a teenaged girl named Victoria from her mansion in Chicago, Illinois. 47 sneaks into her mansion and shoots Diana. Rather than finishing her off, 47 comforts his dying friend and asks her why she betrayed the ICA. Diana discovered Victoria was genetically-engineered to become an assassin for the ICA. Not wishing to see Victoria suffer the same fate as 47, she betrayed the ICA and escaped with her. As Diana's final request, 47 agrees to protect Victoria, for which Travis brands him a traitor. |