Hitman 2 under test
For the seventh time already, the Danish development studio IO Interactive lets us slip into the role of the contract killer Agent 47. We almost lost the newest part and the whole game series when Publisher Square Enix dropped out last year in the middle of the development of Hitman 2. But the rights remained with IOI and so the project was completed with the new partner Warner Brothers. In contrast to its predecessor, Hitman 2 doesn’t present itself in episodic form, but offers full scope right at release.
Agent 47
As usual, we take control of Agent 47. The bald hit man is best described as professional, unemotional, precise and mostly relatively taciturn. He’s a man of deeds, not of words. This Hitman could perhaps still be written on the flag that he does his jobs quite creatively – but I’ll get to that. Like its predecessor from 2016, IO Interactive tries to tell an interesting story. Without background knowledge to the predecessor one will feel quite quickly overtaxed, since the game could also give the title “Hitman Part 2″”. The story directly follows on from the events of the first part and for the first time also gives insights into the past of Agent 47. Although the narrative traditionally doesn’t have an important place, was constructed as a thrilling agent thriller, which has always aroused curiosity for more. Unfortunately, one is also left at the end with a cliffhanger and many open questions. If you missed the predecessor, you can easily catch it up via the main menu via the Lagacy-Pack with costs.
How-to Hitman
On arrival at the scene, the experienced Hitman player first goes on a tour of discovery. Mission areas can usually be explored freely, as long as guards don’t block your path. Important goals can thus be identified, paths can be imprinted by interesting characters and solutions can be weighed up. Among other things, it is advisable to take items such as screwdrivers and rat poison with you on occasion – you never know when you might need something like this. A trained contract killer will, of course, gain access to restricted areas with the appropriate cladding. There are lots of NPCs “to borrow” these. Whether you are a security guard, gardener, waiter or mascot, the world will react differently to you and open up new paths to your goal. Impatient Hitman novices are free to remove obstacles a little more radically, but as soon as more sophisticated actions become visible, it is advisable to pursue them. Contract killers are invisible, intelligent, quiet and prudent. They sneak, climb and deceive in order to fulfil the task as unnoticed as possible.
Story missions and challenges
When exploring the extensive areas, our Agent 47 often stumbles into conversations with talkative visitors. Tell these something appropriate to the mission goals story missions will be unlocked. If you follow them, you experience a more classical linear approach, which is rewarded each time with an ingenious sequence. Such missions are excellent entry aids, especially for the first time that an order is denied. Each goal has different solution possibilities, which all play very differently and thus also increase the replay value enormously. Each location also challenges you to individual challenges. For example, special weapons or disguises should be used to fulfil orders.
By completing story missions or challenges, equipment, outfits and the like can be unlocked. These can be used for the next order. If you complete a mission for the first time, several new starting points will be unlocked for the next attempt, depending on which areas you discovered the first time you played through.
Worldtour
The story leads through six very varied locations. An incredibly detailed environment paired with great level design makes every explorer’s heart beat faster. Hitman 2 features the most detailed maps I’ve ever seen in a game. At every corner there is something interesting to marvel at. Every building, object, flora and fauna is full of details. Even after playing through several times, new things can always be discovered. The same degree of devotion was also given to the character models. Optically detailed and highly individual, they inspire residents with looks, realistic daily routines and behaviour in various situations. Depending on the disguise, normal citizens and guards react completely differently. Distractions, strange behavior on my part, are followed by a corresponding reaction. Unpleasant encounters with guards can therefore be solved in a variety of ways; if, for example, one does not follow the request to leave the restricted area, the men also like to become a little coarser. If you surrender voluntarily, you can try to overwhelm the guard. The AI of the different character types, contributes an enormous part to the credibility of the world. Not only does it make sense to follow some NPCs longer, but it’s also a lot of fun to study their habits and use them for one’s own purposes when the time comes.
The six main missions differ greatly in design and approach, so that each mission has its own personal touch and atmosphere. The South American jungle has a tropical flair, while the American suburb of Vermont has a neighborly barbecue. This attention to detail not only makes an excellent visual impression, but can also usually be used practically. Garden hoses can be untwisted, mopeds can be manipulated or power boxes can be switched off to start diversion manoeuvres. Here merges great game design and grandiose level design to an outstanding experience. Rarely before has the desire to discover been stimulated in this quality by outstanding design and in the end even rewarded.
Wait for it
If you set yourself the goal of fulfilling all orders as elegantly and unnoticed as possible, you need a lot of patience above all. This is especially true if you want to complete the mission on your own with a more creative solution of your own. If you want to let off steam a bit and simply try out all the possibilities, you have to be prepared to often fail. The game saves automatically from time to time, but it is always advisable to manually create a memory point to be on the safe side. Every now and then I had to play longer, partly difficult passages several times, because I had forgotten to save. Unfortunately creating a backup can take some time . Even on the PlayStation 4 Pro version I tested, I found the process annoying.
Except for that, the game runs technically clean and inspires even with an abundance of characters on the screen, with stable frame rate and high detail richness. The lighting and text quality also significantly enhance the overall graphic package. If you additionally add the already mentioned artificial intelligence and character variety, you get a technically very impressive world that is convincing as far as possible. Minor bugs came to my attention during the test, but were never so debilitating that I couldn’t complete a level. Also loading times before and after missions, as well as loading as mentioned with the memory state, clearly wear out the patience thread.
Presentation
Mission briefings were cineastically staged and reminded me of agent thrillers like Mission Impossible. They tune in to the scenery, give a rough overview of the conditions to be expected and have a certain coolness factor. The cutscenes, on the other hand, hardly deserve their name. Only slightly animated stills with voice-overs tell the story. Here one has remained far below the possibilities. I don’t understand why IO Interactive decided for this kind of presentation, but in the end it might have been due to the turbulent development including a change of publisher. Very unfortunate, as this gives the overall impression of the story presentation a good damper. In contrast to the rest of the presentation, the intermediate sequences seem to be out of place.
Game modes
Aside from the main story, Hitman 2 offers a whole range of other game modes. “Sniper Assassin can be played alone or in online co-op. The aim is to switch off different destinations as quickly as possible on the additional map, which is located in the “Austrian sky stone”. Mostly limited by a countdown, you can let off steam with a sniper rifle to distract guards and wait for the perfect moment to strike. For fans of cooperative games quite a nice pastime. For long-term motivation, however, even more variety must be provided.
Creatively, the community can also let off steam in “Mission Mode”, where missions can be created and shared with other players. Special challenges, such as targets may only be killed with a special weapon, are at your disposal. Creative players have already delivered some obscure results through the mode, which are quite challenging and also offer variety. A map editor included in the full scope is missing however.
In “Ghost Mode”, which was still in a beta phase at the time of testing, you are allowed to compete against another player and thus offer the only competitive mode. It is important to switch off destinations that appear one after the other on the map as soon as possible. The player with the higher number of eliminations wins in the end. Although the players see each other, both run in their own instance, so you can’t influence the opponent’s outcome. Unfortunately, most of my games have resulted in players sprinting from goal to goal without regard to losses in order to score as many points as possible. It didn’t have much in common with the Hitman playing style anymore. Here still must be improved clearly.
The “elusive targets” are also celebrating a comeback. This mode is aimed primarily at experienced players, as not only the difficulty level is particularly high, but also the general conditions. During the mission neither saving nor restarting is allowed. Each action has a permanent effect on the outcome of the mission. In case of death, the order ends. That of all things a virtual image of Sean Bean was chosen as the first target made me smile, as the actor is now known among other things for giving her the spoon in most of his roles.
FAZIT
Despite the turbulent development IO Interactive delivers with Hitman 2 a full-fledged and high-quality game. Above all the great and varied level design could completely inspire me. The different approaches, paired with fascinating story missions and challenges, increase the replay value significantly. The main story leaves many questions unanswered, but maintains a consistently high level. Only the cutscenes cloud the overall picture of the otherwise excellent presentation. Variety is also provided outside the story by some new and familiar game modes. The small technical defects hardly disturbed my adventure with Agent 47, so that I can give every fan of the genre an unrestricted recommendation to buy.
What is Hitman 2? An action game in which the player slips into the role of an assassin in order to fulfill his orders as creatively as possible
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tested: PlayStation 4 Pro
Developer / Publisher: IO Interactive/ Warner Brothers
Release: 13 November 2018
Link: Official Website
