It seems your brother was into a lot more than just smuggling guns for you.”

Prologue for the uninitiated: The character of 47 was first introduced in the promising, yet under performing debut Hitman: Codename 47 (PC) in November of 2000. It told the tale of a contract killer of mysterious origins caught in the midst of an illegal genetic research ring. By the end of the first game the player discovers that 47 is in fact a clone, indeed he is one of many. It also revealed that our protagonist was met with the shocking realization and his targets were the co-conspirators of the mastermind behind the cloning: Doctor Otto Wolfgang Ort-Meyer. The doctor had hired the renegade clone-turned-hired gun (whom the doctor had staged the escape for himself, a few years earlier) as a pawn in his machinations and had intended to 'retire' our 'outdated' killer after he got what he wanted; a legion of superior clones. Unfortunately, the assassin with a sense of justice did not look upon the actions of his creator kindly and took it upon himself to shut Ort-Meyer and his nefarious genetic research down. Permanently.

Two years later, we find 47, who has grown weary of convoluted conspiracies and bloodthirsty employers, living out a peaceful retirement as a gardener on the grounds of a Sicilian monastery. However, his life of serenity and soul searching is cut short when a local mob boss kidnaps his mentor and confidant, Father Vittorio in a contrived effort to force 47 out of retirement. His past fortune donated to the church, 47 finds himself with a $500 000 ransom that he can’t possibly afford. Thus the Hitman returns to his old ways, hoping to make a killing in order to recover his missing friend…

And this is essentially where the game kicks off. In Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, the engaging story will send you on 20 missions around the world, visiting such locales as Sicily, Malaysia, Japan and Russia. You will be creeping through the shadows to carry out tense hits and if you feel compelled, engaging in furious and bloody gun battles with a stunning variety of real world firearms and melee weapons, each with their own unique characteristics. Just about anything 47 can get his hands on; he can kill you with, be it a golf club, poison, a crossbow or the M60 machine gun that Rambo uses. It’s all the same to him. 

The initial kidnapping scene doubles as a training ground for the players, guiding them through the controls and functions of 47, such as lock picking and sneaking. The controls themselves will take little time for the average gamer to become accustomed to, so failing to complete your tasks should never be the result of awkward button configurations. The option of inverted pitch is also supported for those of you who are inclined to reverse the Y axis (which includes yours truly). Though the gameplay mechanics and actual animations can seem slightly robotic, I never found it to interfere with my enjoyment of the game.

One of the first things anyone will notice in any game is its visual presentation. While by today’s standards Hitman is greatly surpassed by the likes of multiplayer spectacles such as Half-Life 2 and Doom 3, Danish based developers IO Interactive’s attention to detail breathes life into the game world, from fluttering birds and rays of light to the insane amount of detail on the weapons (trust me, I used the binoculars to study them) as well as the accurate architecture, attire, and ethnicity of the locales that he is visiting. To some degree, even choice of firearms is accounted for. Indeed, the attention to the aesthetic detail is reminiscent of one of my favourite Gamecube titles; Eternal Darkness. Also noteworthy are the rag doll physics of the game. While they are definitely not perfect, they add an additional level of realism (as opposed to cheap preset death animations) and certainly alert you to the power of your sidearm as it drives bullets into bodies and hurls them across the room, their limbs flailing about lifelessly (and occasionally, hilariously) and blood splattering behind them on the wall. Such is the raw and violent splendor of Hitman. This game is truly not for the faint of heart.

As far as presentation goes, what certainly deserves special credit and recognition is the sound. Composer Jesper Kyd’s orchestrations, performed by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and Choir is a simply stellar achievement in sound design for a game, from the chilling main theme to the various other melody’s, all rooted in the sounds and sonic flavours that are traditional of whatever country our star assassin happens to be in at the time. The music is a character in and of itself and the feel of the game would not be the same were it not for it’s continuous presence and atmospherics. Also worthy of praise is the impressive voice acting; the other characters will converse in their native tongues, depending on where you are in the world and Diana’s business like narrative in the mission briefing sets the tone for every new job. David Bateson’s voice is a perfect fit for 47, a character that I will remember as one of my favourite videogame creations of all time. Finally, a satisfying range of effects, such as ambience and gunfire, rounds out the sound department.

The true beauty of the game is that the assignments are fairly open-ended in that they can be carried out in a multitude of ways. Some of the levels can be completed by storming the premises and gunning down everyone in sight, though it should be noted that you would basically be ignoring the true concept of the game (plus this approach is totally impossible on a quite a few of the stages). Crafty gamers can study the area map before hand, take note of points of interest, plan infiltration and escape routes and study guard patrols. One of the key mechanics of the game is the ability to disrobe unconscious or deceased characters and disguise yourself with their clothing. However any suspicious behavior on your part will raise the enemy’s awareness of you. It could be anything; equipping an inappropriate weapon, wearing the wrong uniform at the wrong location, running around, attacking people and obviously not dragging the bodies to safe locations. Some missions you’ll enjoy figuring out, where as others, like the Japan missions, are a sadistic lesson in frustration that feel like filler levels for a game that doesn’t need them. The game also debriefs you after each mission, giving you statistics on how stealthy or aggressive you were, how many shots you fired and people you killed, as well as giving you a ranking, the most prestigious being the titular Silent Assassin. The rankings, as well as collecting all of the weapons to fill up all of the spots on 47’s garden shed, make for great replay value. 

Getting the most out of Hitman 2 requires plenty of patience and focus, but to be bestowed the honour of Silent Assassin and occasionally awarded a secret weapon often makes your efforts worthwhile, though the challenge offered to accomplish such a feat was reward enough for me. The feeling of satisfaction garnered from completing my mission and knowing that no one even knew I was there is one of the true highlights of my gaming career. 

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