I’m more along with Brad in hating such ads for being so terribly ironic. They talk about making the future of games but show images that epitomize the “just churn out more of what worked” attitude that EA seems to have. Sure, there are experimental projects, but you’re certainly not going to work on them! “Come churn out the (shinier!) future of games!”

As for Hitman, yeah, those ads have been terrible. Despite the obviously questionable taste they exhibit to begin with, the advertisers are failing to understand what makes the Hitman games compelling.

It’s not the dead person at the end of a mission, it’s getting away with the act — out-smarting or out-maneuvering your would-be adversaries. In many senses, it’s not much different from a level of Thief, save for the fact that you are necessarily killing someone at some point.

Ironically, one review of the game I’ve read actually credited the game with offering a somewhat fair sense of horror in the act that your mission revolves around. Reviewer bias, perhaps, but maybe not.