Well, okay, you don't technically need to be a masochist, but a hardcore mode in Hitman Absolution, included specifically for veterans of the series, just may be a real blood-boiler. Producer Hakan Abrak told Eurogamer that the difficulty setting rewards methodical stealth play with Achievements and/or Trophies.

"We will get into more details at a later point, but obviously it's linked to the playing style," he said. "It's more pacify your enemies, be undetected, maybe solve the challenges in a smarter way. That will probably give you a stealth assassin achievement." It might also give you an ulcer, depending on how many times you're forced to restart each mission.

Abrak also hopes to silence critics who say Absolution ditches its stealth roots for the more action-packed gameplay we saw in the gameplay demo -- don't expect that, Abrak says. "Rest assured, the hardcore fans that like to have replayablity value in the game or want to have this stealth assassin -- you know, I'm the ultimate stealth assassin -- that playing style, those achievements, are very much in the game."

For more info on Hitman Absolution, be sure to check out our preview from back in June.