Far Better Than The First
Pros:
Simpified controls, excellent graphics, superb gameplay.
Cons:
Required high-end machine to fully enjoy, lackluster plot.
The Bottom Line:
A solid addition to what I hope will become the Hitman Series. Solves almost all issues present in the first game.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I was somewhat skeptical of a new Hitman, mostly since the first game was ambitious, but flawed. With it's punishing difficulty level and often frustrating controls, Hitman: Codename 47 could have been a much better game than it turned out to be. Hitman 2 solves these problems, and in many ways reaches far beyond the original.
As to be expected, the graphics in this game are stunning. Unfortunately, you'll need to have a fairly high-end machine to truly enjoy them. I had purchased a ATI Radeon 9000 Pro 128 just before buying this game, and with my 512 RAM and 1gig Thunderbird, I was able to produce some excellent visuals. The shadowing is especially noteworthy.
The gameplay is perhaps the biggest improvement on the original. Gone are the overly complicated controls of the first, now 47 moves in all his motion-captured glory to an easier, more standard set of first person shooter keys. No one who has played any other shooter should have a problem adjusting to the controls. The game also features something called 'rag doll physics'. In most games, the death of an enemy is done with pre-animated death sequences, usually according to where the target is hit. Not so in Hitman 2. Rather than animated sequence, upon death the enemy model simply goes limp, allowing the force of the bullet to change its mode of fall and reacting with stunningly realistic clipping to various world objects. This can be amazing, such as when an enemy falls over a chair and rolls under a desk, or when a dead sniper slumps over a railing. However, it can also be ridiculous with the completely over exaggerated impact of some of 47s' guns, sending the enemy spiraling through the air with limbs flailing. Either way however, it is extremely cool.
The sound in the game is nothing spectacular, and the voice acting is decent. The gunfire sounds convincing enough, and there is plenty of sound diversity, different sounds for when 47 is walking on steel or snow, concrete or wood.
I found the plot to be uncompelling, but this did not deter me from my enjoyment, since all I had expected was a first class shooter and nothing more.
Final Consensus- Hitman 2 is worth the buy, and if you don't have it your missing out on some first class action.
