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Hitman GO makes the platform jump to PC, PS4, and PS Vita

The mobile version of the stealth action game is now coming bak to roots, albeit with its new look aand feel.

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The $7.99 "Hitman GO: Definitive Edition" contains 91 turn-based puzzles.
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Stealth action game franchise Hitman enjoyed a successful Android and iOS debut in 2014 with custom-built title Hitman GO, and it now joins a number of other board-game inspired experiences on PC and console with a February 23 release across PlayStation 4, PS Vita, and Windows PC.

Hitman GO is one of a number of recent releases that, without being direct conversions of board games, make use of very similar foundations. The tell-tale layout of a play area, the reproduction of tactility, the retention of dice, cards, and counters to indicate movement and progression are all hallmarks of a video game with overtly traditional roots. Hitman GO, for its part, acknowledged these factors with a skeuomorphic design reminiscent of vintage game compendiums, packaging, and architectural scale models. Detailed art and kinetic sound effects contrasted with a more minimalistic approach to animation and movement, as players sneak around luxury locations, closing in on a well-guarded target.

Armello, a 2015 release that launched not only on Android and iOS but also PC and the PS4, took a similar idea even further. Set in a fantasy land populated by animal serfs and kings, a lush landscape complimented rather than obscured its board game foundations, as players trotted around each kingdom, picking cards and throwing dice as they went. Card Hunter, first available as a browser game before a mid-2015 release as a Mac and Windows standalone, committed even further to the board game aesthetic. As its title indicates, the collection and dispersion of cards was central to the dungeon-crawling adventure but, in mimicry of a Dungeons & Dragons tabletop setup, each level is shown as an isometric, tiled board, its characters closely modelled on the plastic-and-card counters that role playing gamers would easily recognise.

For a different approach, see Nintendo's Mario Party series, which reached its tenth edition in 2015 with a Wii U release. Its Party Mode has up to four players -- each a franchise Mario character -- travelling around a board together, venturing into a panoply of mini-games that prefer frantic, button-pummeling action to dice, cards, and static counters.

And speaking of action, Hitman GO, a well-received success on Android and iOS, is the first of Square Enix's console and PC franchises to have been transformed into something a little more sedate, but not the last.
Lara Croft GO, based on the Tomb Raider franchise, picked up the baton in August 2015, and the award-winning mobile download may yet see an even wider release should Hitman GO be welcomed on console and PC as it was on more portable formats.

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