One of the games industry's great mysteries of modern times concerns why Io Interactive was allowed (or forced) to abandon the awesome Hitman franchise in favour of the frankly dire Kane & Lynch games. Thankfully, sanity has finally prevailed, and Agent 47 is set to return for his first outing since 2006, in Hitman: Absolution. And how we've missed the old baldy with a barcode tattooed on the back of his head. As ever, you'll be able to engage in some tasty stealth-em-upping - aided by a new Instinct mechanic, which allows Agent 47 to cash in the cumulative effect of all those and head-shots and do things like see the path patrolling enemies will take. And in something of a departure, less hardcore players will be able to take a more run-and-gun approach, though we probably won't dirty our hands with that. Typically, the story begins with Agent 47 icing his beloved handler Diana Burnwood, possibly his closest and indeed only friend, before descending into an orgy of paranoia. Welcome back, old friend.
We haven't had a Ghost Recon game since 2007's GRAW 2, so Future Soldier is eagerly anticipated. And having got our hands on it, we reckon it will do the business. As ever, it's a third/first-person shooter set in the near future - with weapons technology to match - with you cast as the leader of a Ghost team of four super-soldiers. The storyline will ping around between Norway, the Middle East and Asia, and you'll be able to avail yourself of some deliciously futuristic military toys, such as optical camouflage and even a sniper rifle with heat-seeking bullets. The whole confection, as ever, will be topped off by stunning graphics, and there's no doubt that it's one of 2012's most wanted PC games.
