Hitman 2: Silent Assassin Hands-On

Two words.

Baldie's back.

Honey I'm h-o-o-o-me!

The ol' sniper, never fails...

And this time, he's badder and bolder than ever! Or is he? I mean, yeah No. 47 is deadly all right, but it seems the events in the original game have changed his perspective on life. He has found God and refuge at this tranquil and secluded monastery in Sicily. I kid you not! He takes care of the garden, for crying out loud! Nevertheless, have no fear, dear readers. Hell hath no fury like an ex-hitman scorned - Ol' Agent 47 still has a few tricks up his sleeve, or rather a Desert Eagle or two hidden in the gardening shed.

Hitman 2's storyline begins in a Sicilian monastery. His attempt to distance himself from his violent past is detoured as he is discovered by a Russian crime lord and tricked into returning to his trade. Caught in the middle of a ring of deception, Agent 47 soon discovers that he was manipulated into the crosshairs of a highly trained ex-Spetsnaz assassin. Therefore, it is back to his old day job of icing targets in his slick black (polyester?) suit. But this time around, things are a little bit different. Yes, No. 47 can still be a mass murderer, but only if you're not intelligent enough to fulfill your contracts in stealthier and more subtle ways. The game now highly emphasizes a new ranking system; multiple play styles allowing missions to be accomplished with the primary target as the only casualty or "blast-your-way-through," and variations in-between. This adds a whole new dimension to the gameplay, and a relative sense of non-linearity. In addition, the game starts to feel more like action-oriented Commandos than a bona-fide shoot 'em up title. And if you ask me, this is a good thing.

The gameplay has become far more interesting, as the player is offered several different ways of finishing a mission. The AI has been enhanced over the original, which pretty-much reflects the overall changes in the game's design. The baddies are smart and they are environmentally aware. For instance, in one mission you're required to disguise yourself as a chauffeur and plant a car bomb in order to blow up a couple of ex-KGB big shots. It goes without saying that you should hide your weapons, but there's more to it than that! Don't go near the bodyguards as they might recognize your face, or simply find you suspicious. Also, don't run while you're close to the bodyguards; they'll immediately think you're up to no good and start shooting at you.

In other words, Hitman 2 encourages players to think of the best ways to accomplish a mission, and not to just try to blast their way out of a tight spot. Sure, you can occasionally pull this off, but you'll need a lot of luck, not to mention skill. Even though No. 47 is genetically enhanced, he is no Superman, so you had better stay out of sight unless you can handle those pistols like Arnie on a steroid trip.

This is not to say that Hitman will run around with a pointy stick and some mangos, because he has plenty of kick-ass guns at his disposal. No. 47 is armed with a massive arsenal of weaponry such as knives, handguns, sniper rifles, various explosives, and grenades. He is also given new non-lethal weapons and pacifying gear including chloroform, poison darts and stun guns as well as laser-aiming devices, night vision goggles, lock picks, and remote cameras. This stealthier portion of the arsenal only goes to prove that a) you're not encouraged to 'mass murder' your way to the target, and b) you'll really learn to appreciate 'silent kills' because they become much more useful (and rewarding) as you get to the harder missions.

This is usually a bad tactic.

Lawd, have mercy on the number 47.

However, even as the game's difficulty increases, the players will be relieved to know that there are now two save games available per mission on the 'normal' level. Now, I don't need to tell you how much you'll appreciate these save games in some of the bigger missions. In my opinion, this is a good move by Io Interactive. This adds a bit more dynamics to the gameplay and it certainly saves (get it, 'saves' [Don't quit your day job, 2Lions - Six]) the player from frustration of having to go through the entire mission all over again. This kind of save game system has already been successfully implemented in Soldier of Fortune 2, and I personally find it a great compromise between having an unlimited number of saves and having no saves at all during a mission.

I would say that gameplay-wise, Io has put a lot more thought into this project. Obviously, they've had enough time to work out the basic gameplay concepts and that shows. Hitman 2 is a more elaborate and ultimately more fun game than its predecessor. What 's more, Io has taken care of the irksome controls from the original and the wacky camera work. The game mechanics are now as they're supposed to be, and these rather annoying drawbacks from the original will no longer hinder the gameplay experience.

Furthermore, the designers have worked real hard on improving the old Hitman 3D code. Although Hitman 2 still uses the old engine, the engine has undergone an extensive amount of work, and it more than compensates for this fact. The environments look richer and more detailed. There is now a choice of first and third person viewpoints; the animation of the main character is MUCH better (more natural), and some of the in-engine cut-scenes look simply breathtaking. However, the most important improvement over the original is the inclusion of beautiful and huge outdoor levels. This visual addition not only 'improves the flavor' of the eye-candy, it adds a bit of variety to the gameplay as well. The frame rates are very solid, even at higher resolutions, and playing the game with full-scene anti-aliasing and antistrophic filtering (though much more demanding on your PC) will really bring out the best in the Hitman 2 graphics. Although I've played Build 224 (which is obviously not the final code), the game ran surprisingly smooth and without noticable hiccups. Naturally, this gives great hope that once the title is out, it will actually be very polished and easy to get into.

Finally, I should say a thing or two about the musical score and sound effects. The in-game sounds are really a mixed bag of blessings. The soundtrack is excellent - it masterfully accompanies the different game settings, from St. Petersburg to Sicily, and so on. However, the voice over's leave something to be desired, as they sound a bit too... um, inexpressive.

However, let us not nit-pick, people! My overall impression is that Hitman 2 is everything that the original should've been. The gameplay is more intelligent, and consequently more intense; the environments look better, and the controls and the camera have been polished so that they don't take away from the gamplay dynamics. I'll be honest with ya; I wasn't the biggest fan of the original game, mainly because of the said drawbacks. In Hitman 2, we have quite a different story. So far, I have played through a good portion of the game, and at this point, I am very pleased with what I saw.