In 2018 there are very few titles capable of offering a challenge worthy of the name: if before video games had a decidedly higher level of difficulty, now many titles - you can see this in the sequels of historical sagas - mostly offer gaming experiences, often centered around innovative mechanics or an interesting storyline. If we remove the souls-like, the task of finding games capable of keeping us glued for hours and hours repeating the same action to overcome a challenge is really difficult. This is due to the fact that many players, at the first difficulty, escape from the game by venturing into the offers of competing software houses. IO Interactive, a company that this time (after Square Enix's tumultuous choices) has entrusted itself to Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, has always entrusted to its pivotal title Hitman a scalable soul suitable for all audiences. Let's find out together.
Don't call it stealth
A stealth game, by definition, is a title that requires a silent and hidden approach: it is Metal Gear Solid, it is Dishonored and it is also Thief. In short, there are no choices: the armed assault is prohibitive to carry out, while silence is the most powerful weapon in the game. Hitman 2, like its predecessor and those released earlier, has a strong stealth component, but is basically a murder simulator: few titles like this have been able to offer so many choices to kill their targets, from the simple bullet in the head to the poisoning of food, through the interaction with the environment in the fall of heavy objects on the targets. Hitman 2 it is not stealth, but it prefers this approach: if you want, you can pass every single mission to strafe your enemies, using the revised aiming system that makes great strides from the previous episodic title.
Of course play Hitman 2 in this way it is like wanting to win a bicycle race with a motorcycle: it will be easier - save the need to escape dozens of guards - and it will take away the flavor of the challenge. Despite this, the ability to manage the difficulty (even playing with a single save per mission) manages to make the game scalable for every type of player. This property makes the title suitable for all types of players, allowing them to choose their own path in pursuing their goal.
Where we meet
Using the working formula of the previous chapter, Hitman 2 will continue the story where it stopped in the episodic iteration seen two years ago, improving every single problem but the developers of IO Interactive they hadn't solved it. The winning team rule does not change honors the title, thus offering an almost DLCistic experience, were it not for the resolution of the numerous problems that plagued the saga. For example, the briefcase returns, a trusted companion capable of hiding many weapons, and new functions, such as hiding in tall grass or among people, adding realism to a title that focuses on doing things right.
The game maps will be very large, and will allow - as you level up - to choose from time to time where to start, with which dress and which weapons: this makes the game very long-lived, giving virtually infinite replayability to the title. The Legacy Pack also adds the maps of the previous chapter to the game, allowing you to play them with the revisited gameplay system of this iteration, making the experience much better. In short, with an eye to the fans and one to the new potential interested parties, IO Interactive has created a chapter that demonstrates how errors can be solved, and how experience can fill the gaps that resulted in the first episode in small things capable of breaking the atmosphere.
Calmly
Hitman 2 it's a game meticulous, which requires hours of planning and is certainly not suitable for those who prefer to complete missions in the shortest possible time: choosing the right weapon, the right entrance and the effective method will also make the preparation a direct advance of the murder itself, giving vent to the imagination of the players. If you lack the spirit of initiative, the mission stories will be for you, giving you some rather brief indications, but capable of showing you a possible way to follow.
Planning superficially, each mission will take you no more than 2 hours: in this way, the 5 maps (excluding the first one which serves as a tutorial) will keep you glued to the game for no more than 10 hours. However, if you put in the replayability, the possibility of discovering unique points in the maps, the events that IO Interactive generates monthly and the achievable objectives, we do not deny that the game could monopolize your time in front of the console / PC. Online contracts are back, created by users, which can be played by other players by going online.
Technology
Technically Hitman 2 it is identical to the previous chapter: except for some minor refinements, frame rates and textures are of the same previous level, no more and no less. The settings certainly have a greater depth, but the classic known bugs of the game also afflict this chapter, ranging from deceased dancers to environment problems. The cutscenes this time have been completely distorted, taking advantage of the static cartoons as in the introductions of the previous game.
Like the graphics, the audio is also similar to the previous title: this is why we can define it extremely suitable for the game, capable of immersing you in living and multifaceted environments. Each dialogue is well structured, each sound faithfully reproduced, to the point of transporting you on those missions made of anxiety and adrenaline.
The technical work behind theIA is not the best: between movement patterns and questionable choices, enemies will sometimes do inexplicable things, facilitating or making your adventure extremely difficult.
