Heart-pounding stealth tactics and frenzied, white-knuckle firefights

User Rating: 9.5 | Hitman 2: Silent Assassin PS2
By dan6433 | Review Date:
Is there anything more rewarding than outwitting an enemy, sneaking up behind him, strangling him with fiber-wire, and taking his clothes to use as a disguise before dragging his body somewhere no one will find it? How about dispatching ninjas with a sub-machine gun, disguising yourself as a firefighter and killing your mark with an fire axe, or taking out two enemies from atop a radio tower with one well placed shot from a sniper rifle and then escaping into the sewers undetected?

Hitman 2 is a true stealth action classic, in the vein of splinter cell and metal gear solid. You play a calm, collected Agent 47, once again killing for the agency, but this time to find his only friend, a priest.

As you complete missions for the agency, hoping that the agency will be able to help you find the padre, you travel to some of the most diverse, expansive, and graphically astounding levels yet to be seen in gaming in 2002. Even over six years later, Hitman 2 still holds its own in terms of gameplay and innovation against some of today's titles.

You'll have trouble putting the controller down as you battle a mafioso in italy, ak-47 toting russians in the subway stations, sewers, and streets of st. petersburg, ninjas and yakuza in a beautiful snow-laden japan, security personnel in a modern metropolis of malaysia, and sinister extremists in the bazaars and villages of the middle east.

The game stresses taught cloak and dagger situations, and being discovered by one enemy can mean alerting every enemy on the map. But never fear. Even if you find yourself failing a mission a few times, every mission is viable on any difficult. The gameplay forces you to look for new angles of attack, with different ways of completing each of your goals and varying points of entry into an enemy stronghold.

Along with the great gameplay, the weapon choice is impeccable. From his famous fiber-wire and dual wield ballers, to sub-machine guns, sniper rifles, devastating shotguns, and melee weapons like katanas and kitchen knives, even poison and sedatives, you can customize your arsenal for each foray for optimum mission accomplishment.

The game also grades your performance of each mission with titles like "psychopath" and "assassin" and assesses your stealth and accuracy, as well as tallying kills and shots in the head, limbs, and body.

Shot for shot, this uniquely innovative game is an outstanding and addictive experience that is a must-have in any action fan's video game library.

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