Hitman 2 Silent Assassin Impressions

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10-02-2002
CajunIsRagin

Hitman 2 Silent Assassin Impressions

Well I bought Hitman 2 Silent Assassin for X Box today and just want to give my impressions of the game if anyone else plans on buying it.

I have only played through the first mission but what I have seen so far is pretty awesom.

The actual game play is not to bad.It takes some getting use to but its about an half hour learning curve. Now on to the game. Lets take the first mission for example since that is the only one I have done. As the Hitman, you have the ability to assume the identity of your victims meaning you can kill them and than take there clothes and what ever there carrying..flowers, groceries,etc.
Also you have to be clever and find out a way to get passed the guards without your weapons. You also have the ability to sneak, crouch,lean left/right, Step out left/right, drop items,look through keyholes, open doors,reload,holster weapon,Move camera to look around,toggle 1st or 3rd person view.

Also during the mission the guards are smart and if you give them any reason to believe that your not the person your dressed up as, they will question you or maybe open fire. You have a threat meter which by the speed of your heart tells you how close you are to getting busted. The faster the heartbeats the more likely it is you will get caught. There is a lethal arsenal at your disposal like 9MM Pistol SD, Silverballer.45, Deagle .50., Fiberwire(Strangulation cord), Anaesthetic, Kitchen knife, Binoculars, lockpick, and many more...

Finally this game features in mission saves ( No more restart the whole mission when you die, however your are limited to how many times you can save during the mission. You also have a map, and you can check your mission objectives and briefing anytime during the mission. You can also setup your graphic options, sound options and control setup. You can only select Normal, professional and expert when you start a new game.No easy level on this game which is fine by me. Only 1 player.The sound and music is okay, nothing to brag about but I ain't complaining.

Overall I took a chance on this game and Im pretty impress so far.
I am enjoying it on the X box. This game is kinda like MGS in a way. Stealth and efficent killer. I would rank 8/10.

;)
10-03-2002
Heavens Gate

I also bought it yesterday, alond with Desert Storm and Ace Combat 4 for ps2. I think it's a really great game from what I played so far(only the first mission as well). I killed the maid and threw her body in the pool . This is as close to GTA as we'll get, and in my opinion, it's better anyways.
10-03-2002
skysaw

I got to play for about 60-90 min yesterday, and was having a little trouble understanding all the dynamics, but it does seem very deep. I'm liking it so far, and the graphics are pretty good.

My only beef was that disguises were seen through much too easily, I think. But I started to catch on that it had to do with proximity and duration of someone observing you, since I originally thought I should stand still and enemies look at me once they started talking to me... seems you should just keep shufflin' off :) I'll get to play a lot more tonight, and it should be a bit smoother, I hope.

I love the multiple solutions to each mission. Makes you want to replay them using different approaches.
10-04-2002
skysaw

More impressions after many hours...

AI is a bit funky in places. There are times when you SHOULD be able to do something, but very careful going takes four or five tries anyway. Mostly problems with people recognizing you.

There is a mission where outside in a public area, if you are dressed as a guard and actually dare to RUN for more than one second, all the other guards instantly start chasing and shooting you, even if they were a distance away. That's just kind of ridiculous! I mean, shouldn't they be thinking "What is he running towards? Did he see something suspicious? Let's go help him!" -- Not "He's in a hurry... let's kill him."

Another beef: Sometimes it's hard to know you can do something when the option text doesn't come up as easily as it should. I reloaded and retried a section of a mission about five times before I accidentally saw the text "Climb through window." I had tried to climb through that damn window several times already, but I wasn't standing at just the right spot.

I'm also not crazy about the map interface. Stopping to get the map and flipping through the levels is a bit cumbersome. It's also unrealistic to have every single person shown on the map, including movement in real time. Not saying I haven't used that extensively to help me, though ;)

Bugs I've seen:
1. The game is sometimes confused about what weapon to show you holding. Sometimes you have to holster your weapon, then pull it back out to have the graphics match what you are weilding.
2. You can own a submachine gun and a sniper rifle and use the rifle without problem, but if you then try to use the smg, it makes you drop the rifle. It also makes you drop the rifle if you try to use the piano wire.
3. The animation for strangling once goofed up for me. The body immediately slumped to the ground, and I was strangling air for three seconds. Kind of funny, actually.
4. I got stuck inside a limosine when trying to place a car bomb. I don't know how I suddenly appeared inside! The game kind of freaked out, and I had to reload from a save.

After all that, I'm still loving the game, however! I played for 8 straight hours last night, including one of the missions twice because it was so fun. The graphics are pretty damn good -- Eidos has come a long way since Tomb Raider. Not quite Tecmo quality, but who is?

I love dragging the bodies around, since they move and twist like rag dolls. You can drag them to a ledge, and an arm or leg will dangle off quite naturally.
10-04-2002
Woocifer

I'm diggin this game as well...but then again after the demo I knew it was properly done. I think a lot of companies should take note of this game.

It has a lot of qualities that we are all kinda salivating over from seeing Splinter Cell. The light actually shines through the windows and causes shadows and actually affects the light and colour of the characters. Looking through a keyhole to see whats around and I've heard its possible to even shoot people through the doors.

It's not EXACTLY like Splinter Cell in theory, but the ideas behind it are espionage type game with tweaks in the environment that give the game charisma. And instead of being joe sneaky and doing covert type missions, you can be a mass murderer and just kill people.

BTW the second level where you do a La Femme Nikita type assassination where you dont know the person you have to shoot until like 5 seconds are left in the mission is awesome.

When you dress up like an enemy though you really have to take your time when walking around the other enemies. Don't stop near them, don't let them investigate you. Just keep walking! And if you need to run, make sure you are out of sight because yes, a little unrealistic(but hey you can take like 40 bullets before you die so unrealism is on your side too), they will think you're odd because you're running around....and have a barcode tatooed to your head hahaha

Anyone gone bird hunting in the courtyard? I love how if you shoot the birds they actually fall to the ground realistically...love the little touches...they make the game that much more entertaining.

I can say this is one of my favoured games on the Xbox right now. One of the top 5...its taken my interest away from Blinx actually, as reading the review has turned me off of buying that game. Ill have to rent it.
10-04-2002
fowlowl

Silent Assassin: Hitman 2 is great. It's gorgeous and addictive. I like how the gunplay has turned out and how perfect you have to be. Nothing can compare to firing off those hardballers except maybe the jackhammer in a slow mo dive in Max payne.

It's much funner than MGS2, where the guards are stupid f*cks. There nothing like seeing guards who are smart enough to check for guns before letting you in.

I think Hitman 2 is the first great game for xbox to kick off the great holiday-video gaming season. Hopefully Blinx and Timesplitters2 will follow strong.
10-06-2002
fowlowl

The more Hitman I play, the better it gets. It requires a little patience but repays you sevenfold with a smoothly executed hit. Everyone should give Hitman a chance.

When playing Hitman 2, interesting things happen left and right. I learned that the balcony is not a good place to hide bodies, duh. It's refreshingly and unrelentlessly difficult.
10-07-2002
ryan123

I rented this game a couple days ago. I agree it is a very good game. I like how there are many different ways you can complete a mission.
10-07-2002
Jack's Colon

I just beat it 20 minutes ago. Sweet game. Now I'm just trying to collect all the guns... does anyone know where the damn Silenced Ballers are?! It's driving me bonkers..... even the strategy guide3 won't tell me (unless I missed it)... let me know if you know!
10-07-2002
villalobos18

To get the surpessed ballers, I think you have to beat a mission and be ranked as a "Silent Assassian." The guns should be given to you as a bonus.
10-08-2002
BORNGD

i just got this game the other day, and personally, i am having a hard time with it...the first mission i kept getting spotted and so on...i dont know, anyone else find this game a little hard?
10-10-2002
ftyards

Quote:

Originally posted by skysaw
More impressions after many hours...

I'm also not crazy about the map interface. Stopping to get the map and flipping through the levels is a bit cumbersome. It's also unrealistic to have every single person shown on the map, including movement in real time. Not saying I haven't used that extensively to help me, though ;)

I just wanted to say normal mode is kind of like easy mode, once you play it on the highest level(pro) the map will only show the mark.
10-10-2002
Nerrad529

Very good news i was gonna buy dead to rights. But this game sounds alot better. So help me out with a decision. Hitman or Dead to Rights?????????????????
10-11-2002
Stride

Quote:

Originally posted by Nerrad529
Very good news i was gonna buy dead to rights. But this game sounds alot better. So help me out with a decision. Hitman or Dead to Rights?????????????????

If i were you i'd go get Hitman. Why? Because death to rights sucks and hitman rules!!!!!!!!!!
10-11-2002
Jack's Colon

I concur. Hitman 2 all the way. No option. If you get DTR instead, you will fall off the face of the Earth... (okay, maybe not, but get Hitman 2 anyway!)
10-11-2002
borka105

They are 2 very different games.

I own both and here is my take.

If you want a gun blazing, hard hitting, action every second get DTR.

If you want a stealth, puzzle like, game that is more about executing your objective then going around shooting get Hitman2.

I think they are both must owns because they are way too different to compare, and at the same time are awesome games.

If you could only get 1, DTR is the way to go without a question.

-Borka105
10-15-2002
Mecanik

Dont worry BORNGD. I had the same prob on the first level. Just need to tune my playing style. Had to slow down, not try and run everywhere, check the map and just be patient.
I do sometimes find my self turning back to gunning mode. Managed to get Psychotic on the first Japanese level. Just couldn't work it out so used the paper walls to my advantage. Stealth nearly nill, Violence nearly full! Most satisfying. Will try that one again though.
Keep at it, its well worth it. End up shooting more people than I needed to on teh first level as I did some silly things. But set me up to carry on.
Still haven't quite got the hang of the fibre wire. I sneak up and when I get near they look around at me!! Just cant get close enough to them. Any tips?
10-15-2002
Stride

Quote:

Originally posted by Mecanik

Still haven't quite got the hang of the fibre wire. I sneak up and when I get near they look around at me!! Just cant get close enough to them. Any tips?

Just tap the back left trigger once (you start walking like you have to take a crap) If you do that it's impossible for them to hear you :)