Hitman 2

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JaySevenZero
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Hitman 2

Post by JaySevenZero »

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions of Hitman 2 for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder that where the feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but keeping it brief is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mostly reading out essays. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.
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MarkHoog
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Re: 451 - HITMAN 2 (recording 9th Jan)

Post by MarkHoog »

I enjoyed Hitman 2 a lot, but I have to say I missed the episodic nature of its predecessor. Playing the first game in chunks gave me an incentive to replay episodes over and over again, trying all kinds of methods and completing every challenge until the next level was released. This time around, once I had completed a level I was too curious to advance the slidesh... I mean, story and see what the next level had to offer. (It's not you, IO, it's me.)

The levels themselves are once again intricate and full of little surprises, though I wasn't as taken with them as before. The Formula 1 level is amazing in its design, but after that it's a bit 'hit' and miss. The Colombia and Mumbay levels even feel a bit dull and dated compared to the weirder, more glamourous locales of the previous game, although the suburb level is a nice callback to an earlier Blood Money mission. Finally, the Ark Society is an equally dark and silly level that shows the 007 franchise is in safe hands with IO. The Eyes Wide Shut franchise as well, for that matter..
(btw: I have bought the other two missions, but have yet to play them).

In short, Hitman 2 is just more of the same, but served as a complete game I felt less compelled to try as many different approaches as I did the first game. You'll probably discuss the (financial) reasons for newly independent IO to release this as an entire game, but I would've fully embraced another episodic go-around.
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Jon Cheetham
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Re: 451 - HITMAN 2 (recording 9th Jan)

Post by Jon Cheetham »

Although IOI abandoned the episodic release approach, I can see why they thought it would work well. I can sit with any one of these maps for an entire weekend's worth of gaming exploring every corner and trying to trigger every quirky mishap that can befall my hapless targets. They are perfectly formed miniature open worlds that feel at once like tableau paintings where you want to scrutinise every little detail, and marvels of clockwork.

I remember being impressed by the idea of scheduled NPCs in Oblivion after Morrowind's all-night potion sellers - in a mission like The Finish Line your encounters with targets can shake out differently depending on when you get to them, meaning that on repeated playthroughs you'll have in the back of your mind where your target is when and how to take advantage of their movements. The simulation is nothing short of fantastic.

I actually bought Hitman 2 first and then played through the first game's campaign as DLC before getting to the sequel's content, but Hitman 2 features some of my favourite maps across the two. There's Miami's dense bustle, Santa Fortuna's adventuresome sprawl and the quite stunning rendering of an island resort in the Maldives which has been bringing some welcome sun and sea into the flat during lockdown and social distancing. It also has one of the most atmospheric and tense tutorial levels I've played in some time with the slightly more narrative Nightcall. Each and every one of these environments has great memories, like shimmying up a partially built skyscraper in the Mumbai sun for a suit-only run. Release any one of these missions on their own, and it would be a game worth buying.

I could go on, and on and on. Like the first game, Hitman 2 is a masterpiece of design. Bring on Hitman III.
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Jushida
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Re: 451 - HITMAN 2 (recording 9th Jan)

Post by Jushida »

There are seldom few things more satisfying in this current socioeconomic climate than killing repulsive billionaires in increasingly creative ways, which Hitman 2 delivers with aplomb. The targets roam the maps, deadpan serious and assured of their importance, unaware that 47 stalks them ready to turn them into a walking punchline. Being able to cater my runs around the excesses of the characters personalities was extremely satisfying. Sierra Knox is a daredevil adrenaline junkie racing for her Father's approval, a loose bolt seems a fitting end. Dawood Rangan wants to be a star, a well placed fan will catapult him into the Mumbai sky. Each hand crafted opportunity, joyous in its own way, and built on a foundation of character development often occluded behind the outstanding level design.

The purity of focus here feels almost Nintendo like. An odd comparison yes, but the playful toybox like nature of each level reminds me of Captain Toads Treasure Tracker, though I'd imagine with a much higher body count, unless the Captain is hiding some truly dark secrets.

I feel a misstep in Hitman 2 is the requirement to complete optional objectives on each run, bogging down seamless runs with what turns into busywork. This in particular impacts Whittleton Creek, an otherwise stellar level.

But this is a very small gripe, and I'm incredibly excited to return to that gorgeous travelogue menu in Hitman 3, rife with possibilities.
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Cardb0ardC0wb0y
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Re: 451 - HITMAN 2 (recording 9th Jan)

Post by Cardb0ardC0wb0y »

Probably posting too late to make it in to the podcast, but never mind, I just wanted to comment anyway :-)

I absolutely adore Hitman 2. I was a late Xbox One purchaser so didn't get to play Hitman 2016 until a couple of years later, but I was able to Day 1 Hitman 2.

I'd actually bought Red Dead 2 the week before and startef playing that, but when Hitman 2 released I put it on right away and basically didn't play anything else for a literal year.

The sheer amount of content was unbelievable. The number of levels was similar to the first game, but the extra challenges in each level such as carrying out hits in certain ways or carrying out random objectives made me keep coming back for more (even if most of the rewards are fairly pointless, like shotguns or machine guns no self-respecting hitman would use in the actual game itself).

On top of that, the escalations were great fun and in some cases truly challenging, and it was great to see the elusive targets return - being able to kill Sean Bean as "The Undying" was a particular highlight.

Level design is yet again phenomenal, using both large crowds or isolated areas to mix things up and make you really think about your assassination methods. My personal favourites are the ones set at the racetrack where you can sabotage the car, blow it clean up or even snipe the driver if you have a quick trigger finger, and the "Another Life" level, set in a quiet suburb with lots of dark secrets to be discovered, and actually really reminds me of the "A New Life" level in Hitman: Blood Money which was of the best levels in that game (which I'm fairly sure is no coincidence!)

Overall I didn't find the gameplay markedly different from the first game, although I found the new ability to hide in long grass or undergrowth came in surprisingly helpful on more than a few occasions!

Another treat was the "Legacy" ability to go back and replay levels from Hitman 2016 with new Hitman 2 features. It was annoying having to do all the challenges over again but it did make me appreciate just how good the level design was even in thr first game, and the new features added even more assassination methods and fun to an already impressive game.

I'll admit, I still haven't actually 100%'d Hitman 2, but after an actual year of it I thought I'd actually go back and play more Red Dead 2 since I'd only played a few hours of it before Hitman 2 dropped. I'm nearly at the end of that game, and hope to have it finished before Hitman 3 gets delivered at the end of the month and takes up another year of my life before I can find out what happens to Arthur Morgan & co., but that's another story... 😁
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