HITMAN: ABSOLUTION follows Agent 47, a cold-blooded assassin who must first kill Diana Burnwood, his former employer and friend. But the tale is largely about a major conspiracy -- that you find yourself in the middle of -- and you must uncover throughout various missions. As with the past four games in the series, you're a contract killer who receives targets to hit throughout the course of the single-player game. You can approach the level in various ways -- through stealth or guns a blazin' to get the jobs done (and then hide the bodies). Much of the game is played from a third-person view as you take out targets with guns, explosives or your bare hands, but there are some first-person sequences, too. The game introduces an asynchronous Contracts mode, where gamers can choose level, targets, and weapons in the solo campaign and then challenge online friends to complete the contract with specific rules.