3.5/5 ★ – FireFoxie's review of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin.

Platforms played on: PC It's a good thing that Hitman: Codename 47 was made in the year 2000, and that it got a sequel at all with it being so awful. Thankfully those were the days when games were cheaper to develop, and it was easier to get a second chance to improve on a game's flaws through a sequel. This game is a good example of a studio doing just that and Edios did a pretty nice job fixing some of the issues from the first game in Hitman 2: Silent Assassin. One of the biggest improvements was the plot, which to be fair the bar was set pretty low in the original game, but as I was watching the opening cutscene I could tell Edios was at least trying to tell an interesting story. Right away, I felt that 47 had more of a personality and character than the original game especially since the writer/s gave him a personal motive in the narrative. He didn't feel as bland and generic as before because they gave 47 a lot more to say with better written dialogue and David Bateson's voice acting had significantly improved between the two games. It was also nice that Diana Burnwood was an actual character this time around rather than just a wall of text like in the first game. Even though the conversations weren't that compelling it was nice hear 47 and Diana speak to one another. The dialogue also painted a picture of the agency that 47 worked for and added some small world building for the game in that regard. Diana's voice acting also helped with the mission briefing which made the targets in the game feel a little more vital. Even though the targets or the main villain weren't written with any great depth and were somewhat dull, I still feel like they were at least tied into the story somehow. The controls in this game were 50/50 because parts of them felt smooth and other parts felt like they could use a little more polish. Outside of crouching which felt sluggish, moving 47 around the map was fine and I didn't run into any real problems. Interactions like opening doors or taking someone's clothes is a different story because like in the first game I struggled with it in this game too. It was weird having to hold down a button while picking between looking through a keyhole or opening a door. Honestly, I just wish certain interactions were assigned to different buttons because it would have been a lot more fluid. The actual shooting wasn't that bad because you could choose between first or third person. When I was playing, I found that first person view always seemed to have more accurate aim than third, unless you are using a sniper rifle, than it was a complete nightmare. I don't know if it was this way on the console port too or just on PC, but for some reason whenever I zoomed in to take out my targets the crosshair would fly all over the place! I tried changing the mouse sensitivity, that didn't work. I tried using a controller, that didn't work. Finally, I changed to different a rooftop, aimed, and got lucky. Fortunately, there is only one mission which you are required to use a sniper rifle. Other times you can use cheats, walk up to your target and assassinate them. Speaking for myself only, I found the combat to be just as bad as the first game if not worse. The enemies are even more hyper aware than they are in the original game, and I wish I could say I was joking, but sadly I'm not. At least in Codename 47 you could put on a disguise, walk past most enemies without raising alarms. In this game, if you try to blend in by switching into different clothes and you walk even somewhat close to the guard than they automatically know you're an imposter and will try to kill you. Honestly, after failing a handful of times on the first level I said, "Fuck it" and just used cheats which I'm glad I did because it made the game a lot of fun. Granted it did take away the stealth element and challenge of the game, but I don't care. Good news though for anyone that wants to do it legit unlike me, Hitman 2 lets you save now. Well, depending on the difficulty. Normal is seven saves, expert is three and pro is zero unless you manage to get a bonus save. If you manage get the silent assassin rank after finishing a mission, then you can unlock some nice weapons to use in other missions, so the game offers some replayabilty. The thing I hope that would have improved would have been the art style in this game. I know this is a game that came in 2002, but it looks pretty bad. I usually have this weird penchant for outdate graphics like in Thief: Gold or Resident Evil 2 because for some reason I find it both nostalgic and charming especially if I think the game still fun to play. Sadly, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin lacks that charm I like when it comes to outdated graphics in my retro games. The reason is because of the ugly character models and bland empty levels. Outside of a handful of the levels, I didn't really bother to explore most of the rooms or areas because I knew there was nothing worthwhile to find and most of the rooms or environments just looked the same. Overall: Hitman 2: Silent Assassin isn't a masterpiece of storytelling or gameplay, but it is a big improvement from its abysmal predecessor. Even though I lacked the patience for the awful combat and finished the game via cheats, it was still really fun. Not only that, by playing through this game, I was able to see where a lot of the elements and mechanics that made the Hitman series such a success started from and helped create one of my favorite trilogies. It was a nice little bit of history that I was glad to play. Pros: + decent story + some nice songs in the soundtrack + cheats + unlockable weapons that add replayabilty + most of the controls are improved from the first game + you can save during missions Cons: -ugly art style -aiming with the sniper is extremely difficult on PC -enemies find you too easily in disguise