How long to finish Contracts? (Gameplay Time)

[BridgeBoy]

I did a search and have not found a thread devoted to the length of gameplay in Contracts. I am only playing the demo at the moment. So, how much gameplay is there? How long does it take to complete? Anything else you can elaborate on will also be appreciated!!!

[Silent-Snake]

I spend about 15-30 min. on each mission.So..Umm...How many missions are their:confused:Count it yourself.

[BridgeBoy]

I don't have the game yet...but I heard there are 16 missions. So then, we are looking at a game that lasts only 4 to 8 hours!?!? Pretty short if your 15-30 mins per level is accurate for most people.

It sounds much shorter than Hitman 2.

[Quillan]

It has 12 missions. I finished it in 2 nights.

[Heero]

took me 6 days of on and off play... and thats with 50% SA ratings (i think)...

[BridgeBoy]

I don't know, but it sounds awfully short to pay a full $50. I think I will probably wait until this title hits the bargain bins. Twelve missions, to me, is just way too few for this type of game and still charge $50 at release. Unless some of those missions were really long, but from the sound of it they are all about the same typical length. Actually, from the sound of what you guys are saying, Contracts may have just broken a record for the least amount of gameplay for $50 in a game so far.

FarCry was only $40 at release and was a much longer game (I think 18 missions and they were much longer than a typical Hitman mission).

[Heero]

I think its based on the fact that everyone under the moon complained that Hitman 2 went on for 5 missions longer than it should have...

[BridgeBoy]

Originally posted by Heero
I think its based on the fact that everyone under the moon complained that Hitman went on for 5 missions longer than it should have...

??? I never heard about that controversy; are you talking about the original Hitman? Why woudl anyone complain about getting more gameplay from a game? Do you mean the story just didn't make sense after 5 missions from the end or something?

[Heero]

I meant Hitman 2... i tried to edit the post and the server went screwy...

And there is such thing as 'too long' a game... it happens loads...

developers add boring sections to their games to pad them out... the plot loses speed and intelligence, the players get bored and just finish the game for completeness...

Far Cry and Half-Life are good examples... brilliant games that could easily have done with 2 or 3 less levels towards the end...
Far Cry certainly didn't need that section where you are stuck on a cliff with a single gun and a forest full of Trigens, and dont get me started on the Xen levels in Half-Life...

Silent Assasin certainly didn't need those silly Yakuza levels... no credibility at all...

[Quillan]

My problem with the Japan levels in Hitman 2 wasn't the credibility or the length, it was the stupid bugs. The trucks would get stuck, and never move again; the ninjas were too stupid to get out of the way of the trucks, and got run over; and finally those dead run-down ninjas would trigger alerts that counted against you. All of that was on top of the snipers who could see through your disguise at 500 meters during a blizzard, or the ground guards who would notice something odd and run up to check you from 50 meters off.

And, I don't think a game can be too long. If there are boring, filler areas, then those areas need to be fleshed out to make them important. I think I spent close to 60 hours finishing Deus Ex the first time through. It still takes me over 20 hours of play to run through it. I look at it as probably the most value from a video game title in that genre.

[BridgeBoy]

Yeah, that's how I feel. Instead of Heero considering, for instance, that the level in FarCry where you are dropped with the single gun was unecessary; it could just be critisized for whatever it was about it you didn't like...instead of just saying it was better off left out of the game. Of course, those critisism's are subject to personal opinion, because although I did get frustrated a few times on that level in FarCry (because it was a hard level) I still liked it.

[Heero]

ok, fine, i see your point... maybe i'll rephrase it...

the levels are worthwhile, but given that bad decisions were taken when building them (for example, its NEVER a good decision to part the gamer from weapons he has just spent 10 hours collecting) it makes the levels less interesting... hence boring... games shouldn't be boring by design...

[DeathTail]

on the stats screen at the end i normally get around these times, all done with a SA rating.

Asylum Aftermath: 00:02:45
Meat Kings Party: 00:06:00
Bjarkhov Bomb: 00:19:30
Beldingford Manor: 00:09:00
Rendevous In Rotterdam: 00:04:45
Deadly Cargo: not sure
Traditions Of Trade: not sure
Slaying A Dragon: 00:03:30
Wang Fou Incident: not sure
Sea Food Massacre: 00:05:30
Lee Hong Assassination: 00:17:00
Hunter and Hunted: 00:05:30

[BridgeBoy]

Originally posted by DeathTail
on the stats screen at the end i normally get around these times, all done with a SA rating.

Asylum Aftermath: 00:02:45
Meat Kings Party: 00:06:00
Bjarkhov Bomb: 00:19:30
Beldingford Manor: 00:09:00
Rendevous In Rotterdam: 00:04:45
Deadly Cargo: not sure
Traditions Of Trade: not sure
Slaying A Dragon: 00:03:30
Wang Fou Incident: not sure
Sea Food Massacre: 00:05:30
Lee Hong Assassination: 00:17:00
Hunter and Hunted: 00:05:30

Wholly cow! With even assuming the levels you weren't sure of were the longest levels, you still beat the game ( With SA!!!) in less than 2-hours!!! That is just rediculously short. I'm glad I didn't buy this game. (Some coincidence that the third level was your longest and that is also the level they released as the demo)