Absolution Trophies

Hitman: Absolution contains a total of 47 Trophies. Released in North America for Windows PC, the Xbox 360, and the PlayStation 3 on 20 November, 2012 and in Japan on 24 January 2013, Absolution is officially the 5th game in the Hitman Series.

The events of Absolution bring to a close the long-running Story line that began with the Hitman:Codename 47 building to the crescendo that culminates in the story of the voice on the computer coming full-circle on the outskirts of Chicago on a cold and raining night.

Based upon comments made by the development team at IO at last year's E3, the future for the Hitman series will be based upon a new Story line that embraces a number of clues that were salted through Absolution, and in particular the presence of a new and heretofore never revealed genetically enhanced clone in the form of the child who takes on the role, late in the game, of unremarked co-protagonist.

Game Play Trophy Strategies

Each section of the Story mode in the game can be replayed once they are completed, so there are no missable Trophies in the game as a result, since the player can return and replay any section in which there was a non-story-based Trophy that they failed to unlock seemingly at will.

Game play difficulty does have an impact on certain Trophies, which are difficulty based, and it is worth observing that if the player chooses to complete the online and multi-player and/or Contracts Mode of the game prior to starting the Story mode, it is possible to unlock Trophies that were intended to be associated with and unlocked during the story-mode play-through due to the fact that Contracts can (often are) be set up to include areas and complex Challenges that are actually part of the single-player story mode. That being the case, you should not be surprised to find yourself unlocking seemingly unrelated Trophies in the process of playing through the Contracts Mode of the game.

Regular Trophies

The Regular Trophies are divided between Story-based Trophies that will automatically unlock when you complete that segment of the story, optional activities, and online Contract Mode actions. For the most part these can be neatly divided into the inevitable, and the sort you actually will need to work at in order to unlock. Bearing in mind that there is no uniform system for saving statistical actions in this game, as a general rule the player should assume that they will need to complete their current mission in order to lock in credit for unrelated and statistical actions such as X number of kill types and so on, though there is some Evidence to suggest that some of those statistical actions are locked in as complete before the end of a mission, so in theory will count whether you complete the mission or not. We just do not know for sure which ones apply in that manner.

In addition to statistical actions that count cumulatively towards unlocking some of the Trophies in the game, the player also Unlocks resources in the game by obtaining them during Story missions - for instance disguises and Weapons, kill styles and the like, all of those apply.

Top of Your Game (Platinum)

Unlock Requirements: Collect (unlock) all of the other Trophies

Hints & Tips: This will unlock after you have completed unlocking all of the other Trophies in the game.

A Taste for the Game (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You completed 10 Challenges

Hints & Tips: Challenges in Absolution are specific actions that the player performs during missions; for example certain methods for killing, locating items and collectibles, intel, Weapons, and etc. that, for the most part, the player will accomplish without even needing to think about. This Trophy should be unlocked during the normal course of play and requires no special actions on the part of the player.

Absolution (Gold)

Unlock Requirements: You completed Hitman: Absolution as a professional

Hints & Tips: The game contains five difficulty levels: Easy / Normal / Hard / Expert / Purist. To unlock this Trophy the player must play through the game with the difficulty set to Hard, Expert, or Purist, and not change the difficulty setting at any point in the play-through. Veteran players of the Hitman Series may find that setting the difficulty at "Hard" and leaving it there is the best approach for unlocking this Trophy. Gamers who are new to the series may find that playing through the game once, fully, on a lower setting will help them immensely in completing the game at the higher settings and unlocking this Trophy.

Blood Money (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You completed the Contract Basics Tutorial

Hints & Tips: This Trophy Unlocks as soon as the player fully completes the Contracts Tutorial Lessons - a series of example missions/contracts that each player should want to complete anyway in order to become familiar with Contracts and the oddities of its play.

Competitive Spirit (Silver)

Unlock Requirements: You created a contract competition

Hints & Tips: This Trophy is unlocked for creating a custom Contract that can then be shared either with friends or via the online side of the game, with the world. The Contract that the player creates can be as simple or as complicated as they desire.

Contender (Silver)

Unlock Requirements: You participated in a contract competition

Hints & Tips: Contract Competitions are semi-official contests that are created after the player completes a Contract (whether a player-created Contract or a Contract from the official game server created by IO Contracts) and then issues a Challenge to the people on their Friend List to play the same Contract, with the intent being to better their score or time, or both.

Damage Control (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You contained a situation gone bad

Hints & Tips: This Trophy is unlocked after the player's notoriety is Elevated to the point that they are being attacked by both enemy and police NPCs and the player must then kill all of the enemies in the area. Once they have done so, and the game records the absence of potential enemies, the game will lower the notoriety level, at which point this Trophy will unlock.

First Contract (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You completed the Creating Contracts Tutorial

Hints & Tips: This Trophy is unlocked following the completion of the "Creating Contracts" Tutorial during which the player is instructed on how to create their own custom Contract which they can then save and share with friends or the Absolution Contracts Community itself.

Grand Master (Gold)

Unlock Requirements: You completed 100 Challenges

Hints & Tips: Challenges in Absolution are specific actions that the player performs during missions; for example certain methods for killing, locating items and collectibles, intel, Weapons, and etc. that, for the most part, the player will accomplish without even needing to think about. This Trophy should be unlocked during the normal course of play and requires no special actions on the part of the player.

Inconspicuous (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You remained undetected throughout a checkpoint

Hints & Tips: This Trophy is unlocked after the player completes checkpoint during a Story mission, provided that they progressed from the start of the checkpoint period to the end of the checkpoint period without being detected by enemy or public safety officials, and without their notoriety level rising.

Information is Power (Silver)

Unlock Requirements: You collected all Evidence

Hints & Tips: In the world of Absolution, Evidence takes the form of books, tapes, memory cards, or other information that typically can be used as proof of wrongdoing in a court of law. This Trophy is unlocked by the player collecting ALL of the available Evidence throughout the entire Story Mode (Campaign) of the game.

It's All in the Wrist (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You successfully performed a lethal throw

Hints & Tips: This Trophy is for executing a perfect throw-kill using either an intentionally made for throwing weapon or an improvised throwing weapon. This Trophy can be unlocked either during the Story mode (Campaign) or during a Contract Mission.

Jack of All Trades (Silver)

Unlock Requirements: You collected all 20 Play Styles

Hints & Tips: This Trophy is unlocked for successfully collecting all twenty "Play Styles" in the game. Play Styles are essentially alternate methods for completing missions. In previous games these were represented by the titles that the player obtained during the summary at the end of each mission, during which they earned titles like "Silent Assassin" or "Armed Thug" with the title being directly related to the method -- or the Play Style -- that the player used to complete the mission.

In Hitman: Absolution there are a total of twenty Play Styles that can be unlocked:

(01) Bank Robber Play Style: This Play Style is represented by using at least three (3) non-enemy NPCs as Human Shields during mission play; however to unlock this Play Style the player must use the three Human Shields without actually killing the NPCs that are chosen to be used as the Human Shields!

Bank Robber Play Style Special Notes: If the Human Shield NPC is killed by an enemy or public safety officer while you are using them as a Human Shield you will fail the requirement not to kill them, even though you did not personally kill them. The point to that requirement is that they must survive the event alive. The best method for accomplishing that goal is to quickly take them as a Human Shield using the Action Button (A) when they are near you, and then quickly executing a non-lethal takedown on them (hitting 'X'), which will cause them to be rendered unconscious and drop to the floor where there is less a chance of them being killed in the process of the enemy/police attacking you. You will invariably end up taking damage from this gesture however, so you should not try to do it if you are already at death's door, just saying...

(02) Bartender Play Style: Obtain a total of five (5) kills using Bottles.

Bartender Play Style Special Notes: This Play Style is easiest to unlock during a mission in a bar, or a mission in a bar in which you have started a barroom brawl. Once the Barney is going good, simply pick up bottle after bottle and make the kills with them and you will easily unlock this one.

(03) Berserker Play Style: Complete five (5) kills with a Fire Ax.

Berserker Play Style Special Notes: A Berserker is an ancient Scandinavian Warrior who is frenzied in battle and thought to be invulnerable. In the terms of this game however, Berserker is defined as one whose actions are recklessly defiant – which is to say the player picks up the Fire Ax and starts killing with no concern for their own safety or the damage that they might take, and so makes no defensive moves at all.

(04) Brutus Play Style: Complete five (5) Stealth Kills using Knives.

Brutus Play Style Special Notes: The name from this is taken from the death scene in the play Julius Caesar – and basically all that it requires you to do is obtain five Stealth Kills while using any object that the game considers to be a knife. Note the Stealth requirement here; you cannot be discovered in the act of killing either by a witness OR the target!

(05) Champion Play Style: Complete five (5) hand-to-hand combat kills.

Champion Play Style Special Notes: If the description above implies to you that a weapon can be used, then you got it wrong. This Play Style is unlocked by completing hand-based combat kills. While your opponent can be armed, you must have nothing but your bare hands selected, and you must complete each of the kills using just your bare hands. The most effective strategy for unlocking this Play Style is to start out in a crowd and then quickly kill five people as fast as you can with your bare hands.

(06) Dynamite Harry Play Style: Obtain five (5) kills with Remote Explosives.

Dynamite Harry Play Style Special Notes: Remote Explosives in Absolution consist of an explosive device and a remote detonator (a radio controlled remote) that can be placed and then detonated from a distance. They only appear in specific levels, and are encountered nine times throughout the game. This is a pretty easy Play Style to unlock - simply place a device in a crowd, move to a safe distance, and trigger it.

(07) Dynasty Warrior Play Style: Obtain a total of nine (9) kills with a Katana (Asian Sword).

Dynasty Warrior Play Style Special Notes: This is pretty much exactly what it sounds like - the player takes a Katana Sword and simply kills nine people with it, thus unlocking the Play Style.

(08) Glass Cannon Play Style: Complete a total of three (3) Shotgun Kills while taking NO damage yourself.

Glass Cannon Play Style Special Notes: This Play Style is easily unlocked in crowd situations or when you are facing a group of enemies who are tightly situated thanks to the wide spread pattern and general lethality for the Shotgun at close range – meaning that if you have say a group of six or eight enemy in a tight area and you discharge a single Shotgun shell of 00 Buckshot, the chances are very good that you will kill at least three of the enemy in a single shot before you take any damage yourself. The operative point here is that you need to kill a minimum of three enemy with the Shotgun (not necessarily with a single shot) without taking damage yourself in the process. Once you kill the third enemy you can take damage and it will not invalidate this Play Style.

(09) Gunslinger Play Style: Obtain a total of fifteen (15) kills with Revolver.

Gunslinger Play Style Special Notes: This is a Play Style you will very likely need to actively work towards unlocking due to the fact that the type of sidearm that is used for it – a Revolver – is not all that common and not one that Agent 47 normally uses. To be clear, in Hitman: Absolution there are a variety of named and regular Revolvers including: The Absolver, Aries Charging Ram, Mustang Snub, Skurky's Mustang Snub, Pink Aries Charging Ram, and a Z & M Model 60.

The real-world equivalents for the Revolvers listed above translates to:

• The Absolver = Taurus Raging Bull .44 Magnum.

• Aries Charging Ram = Taurus Raging Bull .44 Magnum.

• Mustang Snub = Colt Detective's Special .38 Special Caliber.

• Skurky's Mustang Snub = Colt Detective's Special .38 Special Caliber.

• Pink Aries Charging Ram = Taurus Raging Bull .44 Magnum.

• Z & M Model 60 = Smith & Wesson Model 60 .38 Special Caliber.

(10) Jinx Play Style: Complete two (2) kills using accidents as the kill method.

Jinx Play Style Special Notes: There are several missions in which the goal is to kill the target(s) via what appears to be accidental death(s) so those are good ones to try for this Play Style on, since you already have the one credited if you are following the mission goals. All that you need to do is set up a second accidental kill to complete the requirements for this Play Style. It is not clear if you can obtain this by killing multiple targets with the same accident.

(11) Maestro Play Style: Complete a total of five (5) Headshot Kills – in a row – with a Sniper Rifle.

Maestro Play Style Special Notes: To accomplish unlocking this Play Style you must complete all five of the Sniper Rifle Headhots in a row, which means for the five kills they can only be by headshot. If you do three headshots and then a body shot kill that resets the counter, so don't do that.

(12) Needle Pumper Play Style: To unlock this Play Style the player must obtain a total of five (5) Stealth Kills using a Syringe.

Needle Pumper Play Style Special Notes: In theory for this Play Style the player can actually be spotted by enemy in between kills and evade and then hide from them to reset the notoriety and, as long as they are not spotted DURING the process of making a Needle Kill using the Syringe (hence the Stealth Kill requirement) they can still unlock this style. That is significant mostly due to the fact that the missions during which a Needle is present and thus the missions during which the player is likely to make a play to unlock this Play Style (The Rosewood Mission is a likely candidate) tend to have a lot of potential witnesses in them.

(13) Piano Man Play Style: Complete five (5) Stealth Kills using Agent 47's Signature Garrote.

Piano Man Play Style Special Notes: The garrote has been used for centuries by professional assassins as the weapon of choice for silent assassination, and in particular is widely considered to have been the signature weapon of the infamous “Thuggee Cult” of India (from whence the term “Thug” originates), a group whose modus operandi was to use their garrote to execute travelers in order to rob them.

(14) Pitcher Play Style: Complete five (5) kills using thrown objects while remaining undetected.

Pitcher Play Style Special Notes: The operative requirement for this Play Style is that you must actually obtain lethal results for each throw, meaning that when you hit the target with the thrown object it kills them. You can use a variety of objects to complete the requirements including an Agency Tanto Knife, Ax, Battle Ax, Cleaver, Filet Knife, Fire Ax, Folding Knife, Katana, Knife, Morning Star, Scissors, Screwdriver, Syringe, and a Tomahawk are just some examples. There are also improvised Weapons you can throw – just use your imagination and, as long as the throwing of the object results in the death of the target, you are golden!

(15) Reaper Man Play Style: Using the “Point Shooting” System, kill eight (8) enemies.

Reaper Man Play Style Special Notes: Although the description for this Play Style specifically states to kill eight enemies, it turns out that civilian (meaning non-enemy) targets count as well; that being the case you simply need to kill a total of eight targets using the Point Shooting System, which is a Bullet-Time Marking System that uses the Instinct Meter. So basically you should pick a weapon that you know will result in one-shot-one-kill such as a Shotgun at close range or a .44 Magnum (or any firearm if you are doing headshots) then trigger the Point Shooting System, select your targets, and then trigger the firing sequence. Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy!

(16) Sandman Play Style: Subdue a total of three (3) people.

Sandman Play Style Special Notes: You should automatically unlock this Play Style through regular game play since there are more than three instances where mission objectives require you to Subdue a target.

(17) Spook Play Style: Complete three (3) kills using a silenced weapon while remaining undetected.

Spook Play Style Special Notes: To successfully unlock this Play Style all of the kills must be completed as Stealth Kills (meaning you cannot be detected by either the target or anyone else during the execution of the kills).

(18) Tank Play Style: Receive physical damage at least twenty (20) times.

Tank Play Style Special Notes: Unlocking this Play Style should come naturally with game play since you are not required to take all 20 damage events sequentially.

(19) Undertaker Play Style: Hide a total of five (5) bodies during your play through.

Undertaker Play Style Special Notes: Obviously this is not a sequential action set. All that you need to do in order to unlock this Play Style is to remember to hide a total of five (or more) bodies as you play through the Story mode (Campaign).

(20) Viking Play Style: Complete five (5) blunt weapon / blunt object kills.

Viking Play Style Special Notes: Blunt objects that can be used for this include a Bottle, Brick, Coffee Mug, Golf Club, Sledge Hammer, and a Wrench as well as pretty much any other blunt object that you can think of that the game allows you to pick up and use as a weapon! Seriously, use your imagination but if you want this quickly, just pick up a blunt object and go to work in a crowd and you should very quickly unlock this Play Style!

One of the Guys (Silver)

Unlock Requirements: You blended in and fooled someone

Hints & Tips: The Trophy can be unlocked in a variety of ways, as its objective is to simply blend into the surroundings: In Chinatown this can be accomplished by picking up a menu from a counter at which point you instantly blend in... An alternative is to put on a Disguise and then do something that the person who belongs in those clothes would do and you instantly blend in.

One With the Shadows (Silver)

Unlock Requirements: You escaped the attention of an enemy

Hints & Tips: This should come as a matter of regular play as there will be many instances in which you make a mistake and cause your notoriety to flag (meaning get noticed) and then hide to remove the notoriety and thus unlock this.

Partners in Crime (Silver)

Unlock Requirements: You played a contract made by a friend

Hints & Tips: Just like this sounds, all that is required is for you to play a Contract that was created by anyone who is on your Friend List.

Reach for the Stars (Silver)

Unlock Requirements: You completed 50 Challenges

Hints & Tips: Challenges in Absolution are specific actions that the player performs during missions; for example certain methods for killing, locating items and collectibles, intel, Weapons, and etc. that, for the most part, the player will accomplish without even needing to think about. This Trophy should be unlocked during the normal course of play and requires no special actions on the part of the player.

Rocksteady (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You executed a point shooting with at least 3 kills

Hints & Tips: The Point Shooting System utilizes the Instinct Mode Meter, so the more you have in that equates to more time in Point Shooting Mode which means the more targets you can designate and, assuming that you are either targeting their head, are very close to them, or are using a weapon (such as the Shotgun) that guarantees a one-shot-one-kill effect, you should easily unlock this as a matter of regular play.

The Russian Hare (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You performed 47 headshots using a sniper rifle

Hints & Tips: This can be easily unlocked by solo-boosting if you just want to get it out of the way since headshots with Sniper Rifles are one of the stat actions that we know get recorded separate from the mission environment. That being the case you can simply use the Sniper Rifle you find in a mission to do nothing but headshots and then reload the checkpoint and rinse-and-repeat until you unlock this.

Sandman (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You subdued a person

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play as there are numerous missions in which doing this is part of the objectives.

Self-improvement (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You bought an upgrade for a weapon

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play since you are going to want to upgrade your Weapons and Kit as soon as you can afford to regardless of any other consideration in the game.

Set for Life (Silver)

Unlock Requirements: You earned 1 million Contracts dollars

Hints & Tips: This will unlock naturally as you play through the Contracts that are available on that side of the game, as you cannot help but eventually earning that much and more. If you are in a hurry for this, hold off on upgrading Weapons until it pops.

Silent Assassin (Silver)

Unlock Requirements: You achieved Silent Assassin

Hints & Tips: This will come naturally with game play as you work towards fulfilling the objectives for each mission, among which is completing a mission in full stealth mode (and thus earning the Silent Assassin Rating).

Thumbs Up (Silver)

Unlock Requirements: You liked a contract

Hints & Tips: You can unlock this by approving (liking) a Contract that was created by one of your friends.

True Potential (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You unlocked a technique

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

Under Wraps (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You hid a body

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

Whoops (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You made a kill look like an accident

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

Secret Trophies

The following Trophies are concealed from access in the game and may constitute potential spoiler information. You have been so advised!

A Heavy Blow (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You assassinated the facility leaders

Hints & Tips: This is unlocked by performing the obvious task in its description as part of your normal game play.

A Personal Contract (Silver)

Unlock Requirements: You eliminated Travis and fulfilled Diana's contract

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

All Bark and no Bite (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You assassinated Wade

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

The Bartender Always Knows (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You questioned the bartender

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

Catch a Ride (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You boarded the train and escaped the Chicago PD

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

Chamber of Secrets (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You located the hotel room number 899

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

Destroying Something Beautiful (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You assassinated Dexter's assistant, Layla

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

Faith Can Move Mountains (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You have defeated Sanchez with your bare hands

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

The Final Countdown (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You assassinated Blake Dexter

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

Forepost (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You assassinated Wade's men in Chinatown

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

Heavy Burden (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You infiltrated the mansion and assassinated Diana Burnwood

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

Hour of Reckoning (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You caught up with Skurky

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

Jailbird (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You infiltrated the courthouse and accessed the jail

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

The Killing Fields (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You eliminated the Saints

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

Kingslayer (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You fulfilled Birdie's contract and eliminated The King of Chinatown

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

Like Stealing Candy From a Baby (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You circumvented Lenny's crew and secured Lenny

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

Not Worth It (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You left Lenny in the desert

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

Signature Weapons (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You re-gained your signature Silverballers

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

Step Into the Light (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You found your way through the mines

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

True Form (Bronze)

Unlock Requirements: You visited Tommy the Tailor and acquired a new suit and gloves

Hints & Tips: This will unlock during the normal course of play naturally, and is not an Trophy that you need to actively work towards.

Trophies General Hints and Tips

If you are having trouble unlocking specific Trophies bear in mind that unless the Trophy specifically requires you to complete it at a specified difficulty level, it is almost always preferable to switch to a lower difficulty or even the lowest difficulty before you make a new attempt at unlocking that Trophy.

Difficulty levels in the game do more than alter the AI intelligence and increase (or reduce) the Challenge by adding (or subtracting) enemies, they also effect how much damage you can take, how much damage you inflict with your attacks, and how much damage an enemy will require to be incapacitated and then killed.

When you are working your way through the Story missions in Campaign mode you may want to focus solely upon the various objectives for your first play-through rather than trying to do everything at once. Most players consider it smart to play through the mission for the story, with the focus upon the critical mission requirements, meaning stealthy play and hitting each objective, and then once they have done so and unlocked that story mission in their play-through, they then replay the mission with the objective being to pick up all of the available Weapons, collect all of the available disguises, and work on acquiring all of the Play Styles for that mission.

The Trophies in Absolution are very simple and uncomplicated, and there is really no reason why, with just a little bit of extra effort, the average played cannot unlock all of them. Note that where it is desirable or necessary, any hints and tips that will help with unlocking specific Trophies are included under the Hints & Tips line for that Trophy.

Special recognition should be extended to the following people for their assistance in devising alternate strategies for unlocking the Trophies in Hitman: Absolution. They are Peter (Swash01), Geofry (GSGlenn), Yvonne (YvonneBF), Autumn (AutumnBF), and Edward (RUPufnstuf). Their assistance in the process was more than simply helpful, it was illustrative of the reality that as gamers we tend to lean towards tunnel vision when it comes to making mistakes.

Game Play Acclimation and Trophies Difficulty

A good example of Trophy difficulty in the game with respect to rapidly unlocking each of the different types can be found in the experience that was had in the process of playing the game in order to write this guide -- an approach that due to the timing and early access to the game found us playing through the Contracts and online modes before we ever touched the Story mode, and in the process, without ever having booted the Campaign mode of the game, we unlocked the following Trophies that are ordinarily only unlocked in the story mode:

• Damage Control 11/15/12

• Inconspicuous 11/16/12

• It's All in the Wrist 11/16/12

• One of the Guys 11/15/12

• Sandman 11/15/12

• Step Into the Light 11/16/12

• Under Wraps 11/15/12

• Whoops 11/15/12

These were unlocked in addition to the seven Trophies that are associated with and exclusive to the Contracts mode:

• Blood Money 11/15/12

• First Contract 11/15/12

• Competitive Spirit 11/15/12

• Partners in Crime 11/15/12

• Contender 11/15/12

• Thumbs Up 11/15/12

• Set for Life 1/3/13

The end result of which is that we were able to unlock 15 Trophies prior to ever accessing the Story mode (Campaign) for the game! That is pretty amazing if you think about it and not the way that the developers probably intended the process to work...

Note the dates on which the above Trophies were unlocked; we include the dates in order to offer as complete an illustration as we can on just how fluid game play is with respect to the Contracts Mode and how quickly the player will both master and unlock the various aspects inherent to it. While the controller scheme in Absolution (and to a limited degree in Sniper Challenge) is the same as that of the previous games, the acclimation period for most gamers is remarkably brief, the result being that regardless of which game play mode the player chooses to begin with, re-familiarization with the game and its controls should be a trivial matter at worse.