Hitman 2 delivers a great stelth action experience while overcoming most of its predecessors mistakes. Best in series.
That seems like a simple description above, but it is because Hitman 2: Silent Assassin is a game that is difficult to describe. Hitman 2: Silent Assassin continues the exploits of Agent 47 from the first game. We find our hair challenged assassin working at a monastery, trying to amend for his killing ways. But in the blink of an eye you world is turned upside down as the monestary is ambushed and the priest that has befriended you is kidnapped. To seek him out, you turn to the only people you know that can find him – The Agency. They are willing to help, but at the cost of getting you back in the field as a Silent Assassin.
The game plays out its semi-linked story over 20 missions. I say semi-linked, because after awhile, the game does not seem connected to the main story that you start out with. At the end, it seems like a rushed way to conclude the story. The story is good, but it just feels like you could of left the priest backdrop out of it and it would not of made a single bit of difference.
Missions are a lot of fun and that comes from two gameplay mechanics. The first is the way that the game allows for you to complete missions in so many ways. A good example is a mission where you have to infiltrate a building to get to a hacker. You could just go in guns blazing. Or you could sabotage the alarm system to get to the secured elevator. Maybe silence a guard and use his uniform as a disguise to get past security. Or my way, setting off the fire alarm and stealing a fireman’s uniform to get past security. The way you complete the mission leads into the second mechanic and that is your mission rating. The more you can stay out of site and without disturbing people, the better your rating. The best rating that you are shooting for is Silent Assassin. This means no kills but the main target and not putting anyone on alert. It is a tough assignment for sure.
Graphics in the game are top notch and work quite nicely. The character models look nice and the physics in the game are phenomenal. When you walk through a curtain or a window blind, it moves with such a realistic feel. Same goes for bodies when they fall. The only really bad thing with the graphics is that in today’s world, they are a bit too angled and untextured. But taking the age of the game into consideration, the graphics are good. Also the backgrouds and levels themselves look great. You really get a feel for the locations that you are in and that they could be based on real places.
Sound is another thing that is really good in this game. The weapons all sound nice and like a real world weapon. Background music is by Jesper Kyd and has a good sound to it. It does not get in the way of the game play at any time and actually compliments it quite nicely. I did feel that character voices outside of Agent 47 were a bit bland and sounded like they were phoned in. No one seemed to care about the characters they were playing. It does not take away from the game, but it made it a bit less enjoyable.
Mission AI is amazing and this in itself is quite nice. People will hear bodies hit the ground if you kill them by shooting or wire roping them. If guards find a body, they go on high alert. They will patrol and try to find the intruder. They duck and use cover. Problem is that this behavior is triggered by sight. If they don’t spot you, you can take people out at ease. I found this out with the modified sniper rifle you get towards the end of the game. You can start taking people out at ease with that thing because they never see you coming. Civilians will also get suspicious of your movements and notify authorities when they feel it warrants it.
The missions themselves range from easy to stupendeously difficult. You will find some missions will require you to do them over and over. Sometimes this will lead to frustration. I know there were a couple of times that I was ready to throw in the towel. But remember to study and use your map. If you do that, and take the time to think about it, you will find a way to beat every mission. It just takes some thought and determination.
As a whole, the game succeeds in making you feel like you are a hitman. And you learn quickly that silence is the best mode of operation. You can crash the doors in a blaze of glory and bullets, but you will most likely end up dead with a restart. And the use of limited saves will make you think twice about lighting it up. That’s right, you can actually save in mission in this Hitman game. That was one of the biggest flaws in my opinion with the last game and it has been corrected in a good way. Instead of letting you save after every movement as some are prone to do, they give you a certain amount of saves depending on your difficulty level. You can get extra saves on a mission by performing certain deeds. One mission lets you gain an extra save by saving a hostage. Just another improved tool to make the Hitman 2, a more enjoyable experience.
Overall, the game is a must have for any person that is a fan of stealth action or looking for a game that makes you think before you act. It will frustrate you at times, but overall, it is a well designed sequel that improves on the original and adds some new flavor to the formula as well.