Just when he thought he was out, they pulled him back in. Hitman 2:
Silent Assassin is about some guy who, for some reason, kills a bunch
of people. I'm pretty sure that there was a story somewhere in the
game, but that's not important. Agent 47 is
actually working for the man he's out to stop. Roll in a thunderous
cacophony of drums. Script, pitch, and go.
Within the grand
story, each mission is comprised of its own story. Each of which is
more interesting than what's happening around it. Missions bring you to
from Italy, Russia, Malaysia, and other locations. Levels are sometimes
indoors, sometimes outdoors, and sometimes a combination of the two.
The locations do provide a good variety of scenery.
Serving as a
backdrop to this a sweeping, beautiful score. It gives a feeling of
great impact and meaning to the actions your carrying out.
It's
game play is where Hitman 2 really excels. Each mission provides you
with one, maybe two targets, and possible an additional objective. You
have to sneak in, kill a man, maybe take something, and then make your
way to the exit. Working your way out can often be as difficult as
working your way in. You're given seven saves to do this with. At first
this feels limiting, but all seven are rarely needed to complete a
mission.
This is all meant to be done in a stealth manner. Each
level provides you with some special equipment to accomplish your goal.
Other than that, Agent 47 in on his own. He is left to fend for himself
and find an appropriate disguise and determine the method of execution.
This does not limit him to stealth as the be all, end all option. Many
missions can be accomplished by killing the everything in sight.
Pre-mission orders like, 'avoid security' can be translated to 'find
the security room with the soldiers watching the cameras and kill them
all.' Then, no one can set off the alarm. Right? Right.
In
between each mission, Agent 47 returns to his sanctuary at a decrepit
church in Italy. There, he keeps a shack full of weapons. Any weapon
the good agent completes a mission with is brought back with him. At
his sanctuary, he can fiddle around with them, test them out, shoot a
scarecrow. You know, hobby stuff. This provides a really nice feeling
of a persistent world between missions. The game would have felt really
lacking without it.
Stealth mechanics occasionally felt broken.
Sometimes guards could be shot, but would not bleed. Some enemy types
seemed to have a super human ability for detection. In some levels, the
Japanese levels in particular, camouflage flat out didn't work.
I
admire that the game can be accomplished with violence as well as
stealth. What is impressive about this is the balance with which its
done. Stealth is an easier way to accomplish each mission, but it
requires planning and patience. Violence does not require these, but it
does pit Agent 47 against stiff odds. Guards cannot be killed violently
without leaving a trace, and before much time Agent 47 is fighting
everyone in the level. There is one advantage to this. Exiting a level
is much, much easier when the only thing between Agent 47 and the exit
is a pile of bodies to step over.
For the most part, Hitman 2
looks smooth in action. The walk animation can look awkward at times,
especially the cross leg walk from side to side.
Overall, Hitman
2 is good and bad. The story is jibberish, but the game play is fun.
Stealth and violence share a common ground where both groups of people
can have fun. Some people will find Hitman 2 intensely interesting,
other will struggle to complete it. Different Strokes for different
folks.
