IO: Past Hitman games sometimes "just failed"

IO Interactive sees the new engine powering Hitman: Absolution as a chance to live up to the franchise's potential in ares it has failed in the past.

"We have improved all the stuff that Hitman can do," gameplay director Christian Elverdam told Gamespot.

"We were a little bit sad about the fidgety moves you could do in the old game. I think a lot of people knew sometimes it just failed. So we really wanted to make all that stuff super tight."

Elverdam discussed the game's new Instinct system as empowering players to pursue alternate strategies rather than suffer a trial-and-error approach to passing obstacles.

Speaking to VG247 last week, game director Tore Blystad said the company wouldn't be "dictated" to by fans, but Elverdam insisted the team is listening - and likes what it hears.

"We have a very, very strong fanbase. They are following us very closely and they've been [doing] so for a long time," he said.

"Now that we are here at this stage we can really sense it. We get a lot of positive feedback that we hear back with this game, and we are super happy to be here with an engine that allowed us to build exactly what we wanted this time."

Hitman: Absolution is due on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 next year. See the full interview below.