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Adopting an episodic release format has worked wonders for the Hitman franchise. Where past instalments had me stumbling from one scenario to the next, never fully taking in the levels, the time gap between missions and wealth of added content forced me to explore locations over and over. Taking time to survey your surroundings and the movements of your target before carrying out a deadly string of actions has always been at the core of Hitman, but this episodic game really brought that to the fore.

If you pick up the full first season of Hitman today - or wait until it comes out on disc early next year - there's nothing stopping you from blitzing your way through all six episodes without looking back. However, to become a silent assassin, you'll need to go back and hone your skills. While a bit of marksman training will serve you well on occasion, the mark of a true top tier assassin comes down to patience above all. There's an awful lot of standing around in Hitman doing nothing, just watching and waiting for the perfect opportunity to line up while avoiding the gaze of certain NPCs.

Luckily, Agent 47's Instinct Mode is the perfect crutch, showing outlines of targets, patrols, items, and other points of interest. Still, even with all this information, you're often left powerless unless you manage to sneak up on your victim alone as they stare in the opposite direction. In truth, this has always been the case with Hitman and there's no getting around it. You can either wait for the perfect two-second window or flounder miserably just moments before you inevitably get lit up by armed guards. Although there's the option to fight back, the gunplay in Hitman has always been an afterthought. Honestly, if you're reaching for anything that can fire a bullet, expect nothing more than a one star rating if you manage to get away.

Only the hardcore purists would disagree though there are modes and settings available that already cater to them. Instinct mode and other pointers can be switched off to bump up the difficulty, while those wanting a real challenge can also hunt down the limited time Elusive Targets with no saves and only one attempt.

It's easy to get hung up over Hitman's trial and error approach, but it is a big caveat and one that will turn off players who want to explore this richly-layered game without the constant frustration. In truth, each of the reboot's six main missions follow the same base template. Whether you're in Paris or Hokkaido, you're primary objective is to kill the targets and escape with bonus points awarded for discretion, speed, and style.

The tenuous thread used to tie these levels together? Not so much. Narrative has never really been a strong point for the series and here it's no different. Between missions, players are treated to a series of gorgeous cutscenes, each one attempting to illustrate some kind of backstory. Although it's great to see Io at least try to create some kind of intrigue, there isn't really any payoff or closure at the end of this season.

1. It's drop dead gorgeous.
2. Loads of freedom to experiment and explore.
3. Plenty of replay value.
4. Suits the episodic format well.

1. There'll be periods of constant trial and error.
2. Long saving/load times.

Following a short hiatus, we'll no doubt see a second season of missions crop up, and this excites me. Hitman may have its shortcomings, but with a few smart revisions this could easily become one of the best game series to appear on current consoles.