Review

Hitman Episode 3: Marrakesh

Welcome back to the dark world of our favorite bald hitman. Our travels have taken us far and wide. Which each mission being completely different from the last, the moment I get the notification of another episode, there is no hesitation to get right to work. Every time the email loads in, I feel as if it’s my handler (not Agent 47’s) who is sending missions; like I need to drop everything and leave on the next flight to take down a new target. My only concern being the level of difficulty associated with this task. Will this hit in Marrakesh be as challenging as the one in Sapienza?

This review is solely based on episode 3 of the current episodic Hitman title. So if you wish to hear more in depth about gameplay or how this installment fits into the series, you can use the link here to take you back to my review of episode 1.

I am asking the question rhetorically because IO Interactive is knocking this game out of the park. With every new contract, the episodic route makes more and more sense to me. This new mission takes place in Marrakesh, Morocco. Like in a previous episode, the player is given two high priority contracts, both of which are causing all sorts of trouble. Thanks to a former bank CEO, Claus Strandberg, the Moroccan government is dealing with a possible coup d’état. He was on trial for stealing billions in an investment fraud. After being freed by mercenaries, he was able to take refuge at the local Swedish consulate where he essentially taunts the people he stole from. His protector and leader of the mercenary group is one General Zaban. This power hunger militant uses the riots generated by Claus’ corruption, as an excuse to enact martial law; if the current government looks weak it’ll be easier to stage a coup.

The sheer size of the Moroccan map seems too big to put into one episode. With streets filled with people and vendors housing fully detailed shops to walk through, the place feels alive in all the right ways. While this is a good thing for immersion sake, it also creates in interesting problem for would-be agents. A lot of foot traffic and high levels of security makes the going tough, requiring you to use every bit of the game’s stealth mechanics to efficiently get the contracts completed without having hundreds of witnesses. Multiple disguise are necessary as some security guards won’t have the clearance needed to get into certain locations. Hiding bodies is a must – basically there isn’t much room for error here.

Completing the hits silently takes time and patience. That isn’t the only reason most will take their time playing though this episode though. Personally, it took me forever to get a disguise because I was too busy trying to listen to conversations in the streets for clues. You can hear people discussing their anger and depression for their savings being cleaned dry and having nothing to show for it. You begin to make the hit more personal when you truly feel the hurt of these fictional characters and I think that’s something that we don’t give IO enough credit for. There aren’t many games that pull you into the mind of character so deeply that you feel as they do; like it’s your job to remove these corrupted figures from this place.  I spent another set of hours playing this game trying to find the most professional way to take these characters down because I felt that their deaths were easily validated.

Once again, IO Interactive has created a compelling episode worth getting lost in. With every review, this installment is solidifying itself as the best in this franchises history. And with the way that this mission ended, you can tell that there something big is about to go down. So keep that fiber wire near you and a clean suit, some interesting twists are on the horizon!