@Kothre wrote:
If there's any aspect of the game that IOI have nailed in this newest iteration of the franchise, it is the disguise system. I feel I owe it to them to applaud them for how good it is. In fact, I must admit that it is likely the best out of any Hitman game to date, and I'll tell you why.
Hitman 2, Contracts, and Blood Money were essentially a rush for the highest tier disguise. Any lower tier disguise was only good for getting into an area to obtain a higher one, with few exceptions (e.g., injecting Agent Smith with fake death serum as an orderly in Flatline).
That brings us to Absolution, which tried to mix it up a bit. I applaud them for trying something new, but Absolution had its own flaws with the disguise system, namely that everybody recognized you while in a matching disguise. This essentially turned the game into Peek-a-Boo, where you had to constantly take cover to avoid being seen for too long. If I remember correctly, the time people would take to recognize you shortened as you increased the difficulty, which only exacerbated this problem. Disguises weren't of much use, and the game played more similarly to Splinter Cell than Hitman.
Now that brings us to Hitman 2016...speaking of which, would it have killed IO to put a subtitle just so people could refer to it shorthand? Reboots with no subtitle are so hard to refer to without confusion. But I digress. What we have now is a brilliant combination of these two systems. Now only certain people recognize you while in a matching disguise, making disguise more useful again without making the best disguise in a given level 'overpowered' so to speak. The game feels more organic for this as others recognizing you would likely would happen in real life, and it gives lower tier disguises a purpose beyond getting a better disguise. On top of this, lower tier disguises in Showstopper (that is to say, anything but the bodyguard suit) can get past certain stairwells the bodyguard can't. They can also activate certain map interactions that the bodyguard can't in ways that make total sense. The tech crew disguise can activate the wire in the puddle, drop amplifiers, drop lights, and "fix" other appliances. Waiters can turn on stoves and poison beverages, etc. Previous games didn't have nearly the level of complexity and opportunities for each disguise, and I feel it needed to be said.
Good job, IO! Opinions? I'd certainly like to hear input if anyone thinks the disguise system could be further improved.
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