Hitman: HD Enhanced Collection Coming January 11 (Blood Money+Absolution, 4K/60FPS, improved lighting, more)

[Loadout]

IOI released an FAQ detailing some of the technical changes. They also commented on the lack of PC version.

https://www.ioi.dk/hitman-hd-faq/

Controls: What has changed?

• To ensure a more fluid experience, we have updated the controls to fit current gen consoles with smoother analog stick handling and better response.
• The button mapping has been updated to match current gen controllers and maintain peak performance.

What has been done to enhance the tech specs?
4K visuals at 60 frames per second:

• Depending on your console and on your TV different approaches are taken. If you have a 4K TV and a XBOX ONE X or PS4 PRO we upscale the picture to 4K and then draw a crisp 4K GUI on top.
• If you have a 1080p TV we will render in higher than 1080p resolution internally and then downscale to 1080p to increase quality and reduce jaggies. On XBOX ONE though we're rendering in 1080p/60 FPS.

Increased texture resolution:

• Textures are usually authored in higher resolutions and then downscaled to fit in memory.
• With more memory available on the newer consoles this downscale is not necessary anymore and the textures can be enjoyed in their authored resolutions.

Upgraded texture formats:

• The new consoles have support for newer and improved texture formats.
• We use these where applicable for better-looking textures with fewer artifacts.

Super-sampling & upscale support settings:

• Xbox One 1920 x 1080
• PS4 Base 2304 x 1296 (44% more than 1080p)
• PS4 Pro 2560 x 1440 (+177%)
• Xbox One X 3200 x 1800 (+277%)

Heightened shadow map and mirror resolutions:

• We have increased the resolution of shadow maps to get better and crisper looking shadows.
• Likewise, for mirrors – reflections are sharper than ever.

Improved lighting:

• Lighting calculations have been re-engineered. Back when the original launched it was a popular optimization technique to bake some lighting calculations into textures to save work on the GPU.
• These days it is more effective to just do the calculations and it also avoids the banding artifacts caused by using a texture. Together with higher resolution and higher precision internal render buffers it gives you a better quality image – especially noticeable with specular highlights which are much smoother now.

Contracts Mode: Where is it? Why is it gone?
Ever since the change to remove contracts mode from Absolution was forced upon us due to GDPR rules and the fact that we do not have ownership of the Absolution Contracts Mode servers, we've been looking into ways to restore it. We will continue to investigate other possibilities, but we can't promise anything specific at this point in time.

Why no PC version?
The key focus with this collection was to bring these classic games into the modern age to be playable on current gen consoles (PS4 / PS4 Pro and Xbox One / Xbox One X).

Since PCs have been able to keep up with modern technical demands, we wanted to give our console players the opportunity to enjoy these games in high definition quality.

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They also shared some screenshots at the link.

 

[Patitoloco]

This must be one of the first games I've seen where the base PS4 runs higher than 1080p natively (although downscaled)

 

[Winter-John]

As much as I like Hitman I'm amazed they're trying to charge $60 for this. I could see the value if the "collection" had all the games but I'd pay $20 at most for this.

 

[TheDutchSlayer]

shame for the no pc version, if you play bood money on a highend pc now it does not look great these new things would very much still improve a lot of the BM pc version.

 

[Shozuki]

I mean I could be wrong, but didn't Hitman 2 sell terribly? Is this a good idea for I-O really...?

 

[Basarili]

Hitman 2 after finishing it showed to me that it was originally planned to be in Hitman 1.

Even if Hitman 2 sold bad they can't have lost money on it as everything was already done if you ask me.

It's nice to see a FAQ, but nothing on the price.

 

[badboy78660]

Echoing the sentiment that they're charging too much for this collection. With GCU long having had expired for me :( ...I gotta be more selective with the games I scoop up. Blows because I quite enjoyed Absolution.

 

[Loadout]

Hitman 2 after finishing it showed to me that it was originally planned to be in Hitman 1.

Even if Hitman 2 sold bad they can't have lost money on it as everything was already done if you ask me.

It's nice to see a FAQ, but nothing on the price.

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The game is already out on the Australian PS Store for $95 AUD which is about $65 USD, so yeah.

 

[Dick Justice]

They can really just fuck off with that PC excuse. The older games don't have proper controller support, and they've never updated them to include it. Not to mention the other visual improvements which I assume are completely new.

 

[Sinder]

That PC excuse makes no sense. These versions seem to be objectively better than the current PC versions.

 

[Fastidioso]

Why some developers don't give a fuck about CBR on Pro? I'd like to see more 1800cbr than 1440p. It's quite phenomenal on the last TR.

 

[Soj]

Just saw this is $90 on the Australian PSN store. WTF?

 

[newmoneytrash]

Just saw this is $90 on the Australian PSN store. WTF?

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Yeah it's ridiculous

I was going to get this for a better Blood Money, but I really can't justify this price

 

[KillLaCam]

I understand why they didn't make a PC version but we need modern controls too

 

[SirFritz]

Lol 95 AUD when both on sale on steam is probably 20 tops.

 

[Aftermath]

So if you are disappointed with the ridiculous price, can I suggest buying the new Hitman 2 (2018) if you don't own it, it's the best since Blood Money, and always on sale recently, cheaper than this and it's a newer game

 

[Kerotan]

I felt that Absolution was too on rails for a Hitman game, but I still had fun with it at the time.

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So if it was the same formula but the areas you went through had more depth? So say you get to the town in the desert and it's like one of the areas from the new hitman?

I have to say I liked absolution. It was what I thought Eight Days would be with more stealth.

 

[Lynchian Anomaly]

This is up on UK PSN for £49.99. IO/WB are delusional if they think this is a reasonable price.

 

[nded]

Oh, no improved Blood Money for PC? Lame.

 

[JediTimeBoy]

This is up on UK PSN for £49.99. IO/WB are delusional if they think this is a reasonable price.

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Probably down to £19.99 by Easter, I'll wait until then.

 

[RedSwirl]

IOI released an FAQ detailing some of the technical changes. They also commented on the lack of PC version.

https://www.ioi.dk/hitman-hd-faq/



They also shared some screenshots at the link.

Click to shrink...

Is that the same resolution and enhancements to both games? I imagine Blood Money is at lot less technically demanding than Absolution. Absolution was a late-gen 360 game, Blood Money was a cross-gen PS2/360 game.

And I could understand if they don't have the development pipeline right now to do PC AND console enhancements and they're focusing on console because at least PC users can still play the original versions, but any other reason would leave me confused. I could perhaps expect that Absolution remastered is just the PC version (like in the case of BioShock Infinite), and I'd be surprised if PC Absolution didn't already have controller support, but Blood Money seems to be clearly getting enhanced beyond the existing PC version, which was pre-XInput.

 

[Fiery Phoenix]

Absolution still holds up great on PC. It's Blood Money that really has me interested.

 

[USF]

$60 on US XBL

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/hitman-hd-enhanced-collection/btvz6x9x9qn3

 

[leng jai]

Should have just released Blood Money on its own for $20.

 

[vestan]

The collection's been out for a while now but no one's uploading any gameplay. Found this Blood Money playthrough though.



It looks alright but I would have really preferred if IO just sold BM separately for like £15. Blood Money is one of my favourite games of all time but even I know this is a massive scam. No way in hell am I spending £50 for this and Absolution. Massive rip-off. Bullshit it ain't on PC too.

Also the person playing says the controls are exactly the same as the PS3 HD collection. What exactly did IO mean by improved controls?

 

[PaulLFC]

£49.99... definitely waiting for a price cut on this.

Not sure what the thought process was that led to that price. It's far too high IMO.

 

[xrnzaaas]

Yeah the price of this collection will definitely drop fast, feels like they want to get some extra money from the biggest fans first. I want to support the studio, but I'll wait unitl it's around 30€.

 

[Ahti]

Thought I´d buy this day one...then I saw the price...

 

[PaulLFC]

So if you are disappointed with the ridiculous price, can I suggest buying the new Hitman 2 (2018) if you don't own it, it's the best since Blood Money, and always on sale recently, cheaper than this and it's a newer game

Click to shrink...

I'll be buying it as soon as it goes on 50% sale on XB1 (it's 50% off on PS4 right now, but not Xbox for some reason). Bought the first game's GOTY a week or so ago in preparation.

 

[Deleted member 38397]

I was watching someone playing PC Blood Money on Twitch last night. Does that game only support 4:3 aspect ratio?

It really needed a makeover to make it widescreen, implement controller support and re-do the GUI because the text looked teeny.

 

[vestan]

I was watching someone playing PC Blood Money on Twitch last night. Does that game only support 4:3 aspect ratio?

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No? It has native widescreen support.

Hell, there's even an ultrawide hack to get it running at 21:9 with HUD elements where they should be. I can understand text size being an issue though.

 

[FakePlasticTree]

Absolution wanted to be an action with emphasis on storytelling, and it was terrible on all fronts.

 

[NightShift]

Wow. $91 AUD. Come on IO, I want to support you but not like this.

 

[Deleted member 38397]

No? It has native widescreen support.

Hell, there's even an ultrawide hack to get it running at 21:9 with HUD elements where they should be. I can understand text size being an issue though.

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Well it wouldn't be the first time I've seen a streamer running a game at some weird settings. It boggles my mind that they have the tech know how to stream the game but don't understand the graphics settings and play at 640x480. 😂

 

[USF]

Absolution looks good

 

[vestan]

Absolution looks good

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Seeing that WB logo at the start of Blood Money

...Yikes

 

[disgraciau]

60 bucks for only 2 old remastered games? Are they insane?

 

[Loadout]

Game is still not up on US PS Store. Come on.

 

[etta]

$80 CAD, are they fucking high?
It's not even a remaster, and it includes that stain of Absolution on the franchise, so it's basically just Blood Money for $80.
After how poor Hitman 2 did, this shit will tank faster than Fallout 76.

 

[JigglesBunny]

$60 for Blood Money in 4K, I'm crazy enough to do that.

 

[Deleted member 37151]

I will probably get a warning for this but ... this is exactly the kind of thing that should be on Switch

 

[Basarili]

60 bucks for only 2 old remastered games? Are they insane?

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We will never know the truth behind the pricing, maybe their research team really thought people would buy it. Like Apple charging almost 2000 for their phones.

So if you are disappointed with the ridiculous price, can I suggest buying the new Hitman 2 (2018) if you don't own it, it's the best since Blood Money, and always on sale recently, cheaper than this and it's a newer game

Click to shrink...

But they wouldn't know what happened previously in Hitman 1.

That PC excuse makes no sense. These versions seem to be objectively better than the current PC versions.

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You sure about that? Wouldn't this look better on the best PC setups then the new remastered versions?

The game is already out on the Australian PS Store for $95 AUD which is about $65 USD, so yeah.

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They're hurting our emotions with this price. It doesn't justify it no matter what people will say, but I already see that Resetera members are in the same boat as me.

 

[Loadout]

I will probably get a warning for this but ... this is exactly the kind of thing that should be on Switch

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Yeah, I was wondering as well. If there's any console audience that will eat up late ports/remasters for full price, it's the Nintendo Switch userbase.

 

[YuSuzzune]

SE has nothing to do with Io anymore. They're independent now and own Hitman, they probably are in need of cash.

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I don't know why people justify each thing IO does with the "they are independent now, they probably need cash".
This applies to every single indie studio, even the ones which release like one game every few years (in example Jonathan Blow released two titles so far).
But still IO managed to charge additional 21€ for the GOTY upgrade in Hitman 1, Hitman 2 comes with a 40€ expansion pass, now this re-release is priced 60€ while it would be honest just charging 40€ max, 20€ for each title.

I also don't understand the statement regarging a PC version. Absolution used to run like total crap on PC, I ended up playing it on PS3 after my Day 1 PC purchase because of the awful performance, but their statement is totally different, implying the PC version of Absolution is good, which is simply false.

EDIT: Also I don't really understand if IO is independent or related to WarnerBros, considering WB is involved with Hitman 2 and this re-release too, since their logo is here.

 

[KORNdog]

£49.99... definitely waiting for a price cut on this.

Not sure what the thought process was that led to that price. It's far too high IMO.

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Tell me about it. Taking cues from nintendo it seems :/

i'd have understood if this was like some sort of full blown remake ala crash/spyro. complete shift over to the new engine. but a basic up-res isn't worth 50 notes.

 

[Atolm]

Jesus at the price. I was ready to drop 20$ for BM, not more.

 

[KainXVIII]

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Ha-ha, Blood Money still using Vert- widescreen solution instead of Hor+ for proper field of view (like with fan fix on PC)

 

[Mórríoghain]

Hitman 2 is 300 liras and this one is 260. Haha, see you in three months when it's 50 liras.

 

[Quacktion]

Welp, time to replay Blood Money for the enth time! Hope they'l consider a Switch port in the future too.

 

[Booker Do It]

Just downloaded and started playing Blood Money. Holy shit this is one lazy 'remaster'.
I thought from the press blurb that they were updating the controls. It still controls like shit.
What I was expecting was the game to control like the recent Hitman games, and they haven't changed it at all.
I feel like I've been cheated out of £45, very disappointed. Save your money and wait for a sale, or alternatively just buy the original Xbox 360 versions and play them via BC because you won't be missing much by purchasing this version.