First of all, the casual mode. It's called "Instinct" and can be turned off on higher difficulties.
Advantages the "Instinct" mode will bring:
- X-Ray vision
- Orange glow highlights position and routes of nearby NPC's
- Highlights usable objects, special actions
- Enhances certain abilities (for example makes it harder for enemies to see through disguises)
- (the german authors speculating) maybe bullettime during shootouts
Using Instinct costs energy that can be replenished by performing "Hitman" actions like stealth killing foes.
Details on game mechanics:
- 47 is more agile and easier to control, for example he can grab on ledges and balance around edges
- Cover system integrated, human shields
- Hiding in dark corners
- Still possible to kill target only, optimally by accident
- Film-noir flair
- Dynamic music
- Using the environmental objects to dispatch enemies; examples: strangulation with electrical cords, the good old chandelier, a Bong (!)
- Glacier-2 engine again using a crowd system with dozens, if not hundreds of people on screen
- Detailed graphics, fantastic lighting, fluid indoor/outdoor transitions
Then they describe a mission and possible ways to solve it. They note that it felt old-school but rather linear, this might be because it was the presentation level. (I guess its the tutorial level, like the funfair in Hitman 4)
The Situation:
Agent 47 is an unarmed fugitive, chased by the police. He takes refuge in an abandoned library that is soon surrounded and stormed by armed forces.
Now they list three possible ways of solving the mission:
A) 47 takes the cable of a desk lamp and chokes one of the officers to death. He takes his gun, sneaks up to another officer and takes him as human shield. He then proceeds to the roof emergency exit. As soon as the armed forces open fire, 47 takes cover behind book shelves. After eliminating everyone from behind the cover, the escape route has been cleared.
B ) 47 takes the cable of a desk lamp and chokes one of the officers to death. He takes his clothing and carefully gets past the armed forces through the emergency exit on the roof.
C) 47 sneaks past the guards using all kinds of environmental cover and climbing around. He then manipulates a fuse box, disabling the electricity. In the dark he manages to sneak out over the roof undetected.
Those three possibilities culminate in a Helicopter chase sequence that is described as follows:
A linear roof chase sequence, the helicopter opens fire on 47.
They mention that such linear sequences "quicken the pace" from time to time, I don't know what to make of that.
- 47 then takes cover in an apartment building and uses his disguising skills to get to the finish.
