The original Hitman is back on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in the Hitman: HD Trilogy, a threesome of classics that've been given a hi-def rubdown to make their murderous mayhem more alluring.
Since 2000, Agent 47 has been a walking, talking abattoir, bumping off people across the globe, from Paris and Moscow to the sleepy burbs of LA, invariably in the most gruelling ways imaginable - no city, street, alleyway or suburb (or children's party) has been safe from our burly 'baldster' as he's electrocuted, smothered, garroted, silverballed and dressed up as a clown, all in the name of extermination. He's like the Rentokil of bad guys but with better toys.
Noobs might look at the screenshots and think "Oooh, a third-person shooter! Treats!!!" but don't go thinking you can get all trigger happy in Hitman. While the latest instalment Hitman: Absolution has made some concessions to modern gamers who demand the option of a shooting spree if it all goes pear-shaped, the originals featured in this compilation - Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Hitman: Contracts and Hitman: Blood Money - will punish you for taking such a trigger-happy, ADD-driven approach.
If you stuff up and launch into an impromptu gunfight, expect a clunky shootout that will invariably end in your sudden and violent death. And it's precisely this that makes the originals so satisfying - because while getting it wrong means a reload (only a very limited number of save points are ever available), getting it right and, say, setting fire to a target via a BBQ 'malfunction' is one of gaming's most gratifying experiences.
This means each of the 40 levels and 75 assassination targets on offer require you to engage that most underused of gaming assets - you and your imagination - as you plan and execute your attack, and improvise on the spot if it all goes wrong (and, believe us, it will go wrong). This enthralling approach means the Hitman series remains one of the most engrossing, satisfying gaming experiences out there; the HD overhaul just the semtex icing on the poison-laced cake.