Hitman 2 is the next step in the popular assassin series. We got our hands on a Pre-alpha beta and I can already tell that they’ve made a couple of interesting features that will definitely be liked by the Hitman community around the world. Let’s jump in!
The developers of Hitman 2 made it very clear that they wanted to evolve their franchise and improve it step by step. A couple of things the developers wanted to make sure of, was the fact that they want a game that’s evolving each year, a game that’s ever expanding with new locations and features, just to keep the players interested. The replayability of the Hitman missions will also be one of their main priorities during the development of the Hitman series. With their focus on Hitman 2, they introduced their vision “World of Assassination” to us. With Hitman 2, a new era of Hitman games will be upon us.
Hitman 2’s launch is just around the corner and the developers said they’re going for a full game’s launch instead of a periodic system. This is great to enjoy the full content from day one but I have to admit that I liked the previous “periodic” system as well. With this “periodic system”, it allows the developer to react to the community’s wishes and fulfill them as good as they can. Just like the previous game, the developers listened to the feedback of the community and they made sure that their customers were pleased. If anyone played it, they’ll agree. But I can imagine it must have been difficult for those “Hitman die-hard fans” that didn’t get to play the full content from day one and had to wait. It’s a system people will like or not.
“It’s a system people will like or not.”
Coming before Hitman 2 is the “Legacy pack” that’ll be free to download for the current owners of the previous Hitman. The six maps will be remastered and will also have the new features that’ll be coming with Hitman 2: picture-in-picture system, new progression system, instinct system, new items for Agent 47 to use and much more.
My take on Hitman 2
So I had the opportunity to play the game at Gamescom. It was the pre-alpha build of the Miami mission and from the moment you booted up the game, you could tell there were some decent changes that will definitely be a great addition to the game. We had around 30 minutes of playtime and we had some guys from the developers standing by to help us if we didn’t know how to progress during the mission. This helped us to view a lot of the new features with minimal loss of playtime. Since the Hitman series is a game that’s all about exploration and finding opportunities to assassinate your targets, they’ve set up a couple of “interesting opportunities” that we could track. This made the game, of course, a lot easier, since opportunities only happen when you’re scouting the area for information. This “opportunity” system is the backbone of the whole franchise, so they made sure this tracking system for opportunities won’t be available in the full version of the game which makes sense but for time’s sake, it was a great way to maximize our playtime of the game.
So one of the features that’ll help Hitman in the long haul, is the upgraded system of Hitman’s presentation. The game looks better than ever due to the upgraded foliage, higher-fidelity crowds, the better use of ambient sound and of course the reflections of the in-game mirrors. The upgraded foliage is all about realism and of course “hiding bodies”. The foliage helps Agent 47 to hide or even hide bodies. If you don’t want to be a sloppy assassin, hide the damage you’ve done! This is a pro tip! Enemies will easily notice that something’s wrong, they will come to where you are when you’re doing something bad. They’re not there just for fun, so this system helps the player tremendously.
Agent 47 can also use a suitcase for different reasons… The main reason is, of course, to hide your weapons in plain sight but it can also be used for “distraction” or “knocking out foes”. The in-game mirrors are also a great addition to the game because it makes the game a lot more challenging. Before the upgrade, players could sneak up on people in front of a mirror and they wouldn’t notice. Now the NPC’s will be aware of your image in the mirror, so they’ll notice you if you’re coming at them with a weapon. The legacy pack also contains a new instinct system that lets agent 47 see the sight or the grid matrix from cameras. Seeing the sight goes hand in hand with the picture-in-picture system. Once a camera noticed you or it has captured you on tape, you’ll get the picture-in-picture to see what the camera sees or has seen. You’ll also receive a notification of the image. Seeing the security grid can help you find the camera’s in your environment.
The developers ended their presentation with a tease. We only saw a jungle and the sound was on. It ended with Hitman 2 and I can tell you right now, I don’t have the slightest idea what the tease was all about. We’ll have to wait and see! Check our website for more information in the future. Hitman 2 will be released on the 13th of November. Set the date and enjoy the legacy pack in the near future.
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