SDCC 2014: Square-Enix Jazzes Up Mobile With ‘Hitman: Sniper’

All of us at Geekscape are having an incredible time at 2014’s San Diego Comic-Con, and we really can’t wait to show you all that we’ve been up to, and share all of the news that’s been coming out of the busiest place (currently) in the United States.

All of our schedules are jam-packed, but I’m currently waiting on lunch at the Gaslamp District’s wonderful Whiskey Girl, and wanted to take a few minutes to share some thoughts on a game that I just played, and instantly fell in love with: Hitman: Sniper.

The game describes itself as “a brand new competitive sniper game with numerous levels full of creative opportunities to manipulate guards, the environment, and targets to complete the hit.” Just as with the phenomenal Hitman: Go (which I also just played for the first time and will be sinking countless hours into as soon as I get back from SDCC), Square-Enix Montreal has designed Sniper from the ground-up with touch in mind instead of trying to cram a console classic into a convoluted, virtual joystick and faux-button clad mess. 

The game is meant to be extremely accessible, and is even playable one-handed. The Square-Enix employee demoing the game to us even asked us not to hold the iPad like a console controller, as those conventions were never meant for mobile and rarely (if ever) work. To play, you simply drag a finger around the screen to pan your rifle, pinch to zoom in and out, just like you would in the iPad’s native Photos app, and a quick tap of the screen will fire your round. You’ll see a few buttons around the edge of the device, including reload, a few weapon mods and power-ups, as well as a ‘Hold-Breath’ button which will slow down time to ensure the most accurate shot possible.

While your vantage point is far, far away from the action, the maps are designed with many different kill options for nearly each enemy. Sure, you could just shoot the dude, but wouldn’t you prefer to get him away from everyone else and take him out silently? Or get two enemies lined up so you can take them out with a single bullet? Or shoot out the glass your enemy is leaning on and have him land on another baddie below? The variance here is absolutely astounding, and was far beyond what I expected when picking up the tablet and firing my first shot.

While mainly single-player, Hitman: Sniper also features some addictive competitive aspects. Every thing that you do, and every shot that you take, earns you points and multipliers that attribute to your final score. Instead of simply showing you a leader board of the very best players, you’ll also see a board of the people surrounding you. This means that you’ll always know just how many points you’ll need to climb up the next rung of the ladder, but it’s up to you to figure out the best way to do it.

Overall, I was very impressed with the demo. The game will launch as a free-to-play (but not content-locked) title on iOS and Android devices this holiday season. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as we learn more about Hitman: Sniper, but in the meantime, be sure to check out Hitman: Go, as it definitely ranks as one of the most impressive mobile games I’ve seen in some time.