New Hitman: Absolution details break cover
A couple of days ago, Square Enix announced Hitman: Absolution via a teaser trailer, and are now promising that it will be an emotional, story-driven game. In order to help achieve this, IO Interactive has recruited a wealth of Hollywood talent for the project.
Hollywood Reporter has revealed that among the actors is Keith Carradine (Cowboys and Aliens), who will play the new villain, Blake Dexter. Marsha Thomason (White Collar) will take on the role of Diana Burnwood, who is Agent 47’s handler and closest acquaintance.
“We had actors like Marsha and Keith come in and do full-body acting with facial and voice being captured simultaneously in scenes,” said Tore Blystad, game director at IO Interactive.
The fifth instalment in the Hitman franchise will take Agent 47 on a personal journey, as he takes on his most dangerous contract to date while finding himself betrayed by those he trusts and in the center of a dark conspiracy. In order to bring this story to life, the actors will provide both performance capture and voice over work, conducted in Giant Studios, which James Cameron used for the hit movie Avatar.
“The character I play in Hitman: Absolution is as multidimensional as any well-imagined character should be,” said Carradine. “The vividness of the world entered by the gamer hinges on detail. To fully engage the attention of the player requires nothing less than the most completely realized universe of geography and personality.
The game is currently set for a 2012 release, with a second Hitman film scheduled to be released alongside the game. The movie will have a separate story from the game, but retain its look and feel.
“We’ve designed a more stylized, more serious, and darker game this time around in both the story line and the visuals,” Blystad said. “The hope is that the movie will be going in a similar direction, and then when they both come out they will speak the same language. They won’t follow the old Hitman games, but rather go with this newer direction.”
With all this talk of taking a Hollywood approach, let’s hope Square Enix is still sticking to the stealthy nature of the franchise and not embracing Hollywood’s love of over-the-top, in-your-face action.
