Hitman 3 is basically one long Monty Python sketch

In the elevator pitch to the Hitman series, the sound has been far more grimy than the actual games. You’re a stone-cold killer who must use stealth to poison, stab, or shoot a wide variety of well-protected targets. It sounds just like your typical action game.

The Hitman games actually have more similarities with Monty Python and James Bond in real life. You can also find it here. Hitman 3 is the trilogy’s “Dead Parrot” sketch.

Sketch comedy is best when it mixes the unpredicted with the completely unexpected. In the case of the “Dead Parrot” sketch, a man walks into a pet store and demands a refund. The man discovers that the Norwegian Blue Parrot he bought was already deceased. It is the inevitable result of buying dead pets. Then the unexpected: The owner of the store attempts to convince the man that, in fact, the parrot is resting (later claiming that it must be “pining for the fjords” of Norway).

Image: James Bareham/Polygon

Now let’s look at a typical mission in Hitman 3. You are looking for a businessman who lives high in Dubai’s skyscrapers. You have several options for completing this task. Perhaps you pretend to be a member his staff in order to sneak up on him and drink his poison. You might just be able to find the right perch for you to shoot your target. These are both satisfying results, but they also lack creativity.

Thankfully, Hitman 3You may also be surprised at the unexpected options available. He can also loosen his balcony railing so that, when he leans onto it, he plummets 2,500ft to the ground. It’s a bit silly, but it is possible to do better.

My favorite is: He loves to throw golf balls out of his balcony so why not swap one for an explosion-producing golf ball that happens to be readily available? You also know that he only plays golf when he’s stressed out. Why not just sneak in his apartment, turn all the radios on and let him go for a game of golf. Now we’re talking.

Hitman 3You will find yourself constantly mixing predictable assassin-y material with genuine nonsense. Most of the levels feel like they could be pulled from the most dead-serious action thrillers — super secret underground labs and jammed dance clubs, to name a couple — but the events that transpire within these locales are anything but serious. One point you can sit next to your target and fry his brain with his experimental brain machine. This is done by encouraging his assistants be more aggressive in the testing. You can also dress as a DJ to put on a laser light show and take down the goons in your dance club. In a fancy Argentine vineyard you can squish a target using a large grape press. Hitman 3It’s all about combining the unexpected with the extraordinary, which results in great comedy.

And that’s just in Hitman 3’s campaign. You will be able to see the benefits of the bonus modes such as the Escalations. In one, you’re forced to demonstrate your assassin skills while wearing a solid gold suit and Halloween mask. To add to the fun, you’ve got unlockable loadout items like explosive rubber duckies to enhance your flair for the dramatic. It’s in these missions that things become truly absurd, with any pretense of realism thrown out the window.

There’s nothing wrong with a game taking itself seriously. But when it comes to action games, it’s the default — the expected. Just from a simple mission briefing, you can pretty much guess what’s in store for you. Hitman Games, Hitman 3Particularly, they defy expectations with humorous results. What would have been a sad tale about a bald murderer is now a story of a shopkeeper trying to convince a man the parrot he purchased is actually sleeping.