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Hitman 2’s Ghost mode feels unlike anything the series has ever done (PCGamesN)

For Hitman 2, Io Interactive is introducing a brand new 1v1 multiplayer mode called Ghost. Unlike the co-op Sniper Assassin, however, Ghost mode is a competitive game type that pits two deadly killers against each other in a race to reach five kills.

 

 

 

 

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8 minutes ago, ManUtdRedDevils said:

I didn’t know that all of Hitman 1 is in Hitman 2. Great deal if you never played it. 

You have to own Hitman Season 1 to unlock all the levels in Hitman 2 for free. If you don't have Hitman Season 1, you have the option to purchase those levels separately.

 

If you have a PC, you can get Hitman Season 1, Hollow Knight, and 7 Days to Die for $12 through Humble Bundle: https://www.humblebundle.com/monthly?hmb_source=humble_home&hmb_medium=product_tile&hmb_campaign=mosaic_section_1_layout_index_1_layout_type_twos_tile_index_1

 

It's a damn good deal.

 

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Rock, Paper, Shotgun - "Bestest Bests"

Hitman 2 is about possibilities; the maps, weapons, and disguises all make it sing. Patience is it’s own reward: if you study your foes, if you watch the movement of guards, the placement of certain elements, you’ll get back what you put in.  Aside from knocking the drab story on the head, it’s tough to know what more I could have wanted from Hitman 2. It’s here for you to mess with it, to try and push the AI routines and bring them to breaking point. It’s as gamey as they come, but it’s a developer having fun, and inviting you to join in.

 

PC Gamer - 84%

Essentially more of its predecessor but with a more consistent quality of levels. Which is fine: its predecessor was great.

 

PCGamesN - 80%

Hitman 2 is a confident, charismatic sequel that further cements the rebooted series as a high-water mark for sandbox design – and Io’s reputation as leaders in the stealth genre. While Hitman 2, inevitably, can’t quite match the first season’s return-to-form impact, the intricacy of its levels and systems remains as surprising as it was back in 2016. The improvements it makes to the formula are delightful, and if you can manage to resist the urge to whip through the campaign in one gulp, the journey will be even more special.

 

Eurogamer - Positive

Hitman 2 is not the landmark the last game was, and given that it almost didn't happen at all, with Io wresting back the rights from Square Enix at the eleventh hour, that's only to be expected. It doesn't take us anywhere drastically unfamiliar for Hitman - all the maps have precedents in older games, and for all the multitude of smaller tweaks, like NPCs spotting you in mirrors or picture-in-picture footage of people you've successfully distracted, the rhythms are exactly those of the 2016 outing. There's plenty to go back to in each map, however, from Trumpian politicians to that slowly unlocking repertoire of subtler or more grandiose strategies, and in Ghost, at least, the suggestion of a series turning a new leaf. I hope Io has the chance to follow through, because Hitman remains one of the smartest stealth experiences out there and truly a game for unequal times - a window upon society in which spoiled elites always get what's coming to them, by fair means or foul.

 

Wccftech - 80%

Hitman 2 is yet another well-executed entry in IO Interactive’s killer franchise. The game lacks some of the refinement expected of a world-class assassin, but the top-notch level design and some small, but key improvements to the series’ core mechanics more than make up for a few presentation and polish issues. Hitman 2 isn’t quite the shot to the heart it could have been, but it’s close enough to count.

 

Game Revolution - 80%

Hitman 2 was obviously meant to be attached to the previous Hitman game as both are nearly identical on the surface. The commitment to replayability, thorough assassinations, and large, packed environments are parallels that worked then and work now. And while it hasn’t completely fixed the occasionally unfair AI or lame story, Hitman 2 has a better wealth of levels that have been improved by small but effective additions like foliage and fewer cramped, guard-infested areas. Hitman 2 is another contract in the same mold as the last, but like that bomb I placed into one of the target’s prized cars, it still knows how to be surprising when it counts.

 

GamesBeat - 91%

Hitman’s design means that it is ripe for emergent moments. It gives you a bunch of systems and a bunch of items with specific looks and capabilities. And then IO gives you a goal about who to kill, and how you use your tools to accomplish that mission is up to you.  That’s the heart of Hitman: giving players the power to create their own stories. And that’s as big and powerful as ever in Hitman 2. So I don’t care if it’s not the newest thing in the world. It’s still one of the most solid and rewarding games you can get. And it’s an ideal antidote to games that are more obsessed with looking immersive than playing great.

 

GamesRadar+ - 70%

The quirks of what seem to be a last-minute rush out the door development strategy don’t detract from the fact that each Hitman 2 level is wonderfully crafted and full of potential for inventiveness…and silliness.

 

GamingBolt - 90%

All of these things make for one of the best Hitman games released. But the core appeal is the same it’s always been – excellent levels and great mechanics that, when combined, make for an intensely replayable, personal game. Hitman 2 isn’t for everyone – it’s violent and requires real attention on the part of the player to be good at. You have to learn the levels, explore, and learn what does – and doesn’t – work. When to hide a body. When to change a disguise. What events happen where and when. And how to chain it together into a beautiful, quiet symphony of perfect execution. Or you can just walk in and hope for the best. It really is your choice; you’re free to play it however you want. It’s that freedom, the freedom to uncoil that spring, to release that violence when and how you want, that makes Hitman what it is. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

Xbox Achievements - 85%

Hitman 2 is a solid follow-up to our 2016 Game of Year, delivering five huge killer sandboxes to explore to your heart’s content. Yes, the maps might not be as unique as iterations gone-by and there is seemingly fewer than normal, but boy, are they great maps. Factor in Contracts mode and the excellent Ghost Mode, and Hitman 2 is very much worth your time. Where else can you dress up as a mascot or get involved in a poisonous drinking game to take down a target? Answer: no-bloody-where!

 

USgamer - 90%

Hitman 2 may just be more Hitman, but it's somehow even better than before. The levels are all fantastic, the assassinations possible are all clever (and silly), the satirical writing is at its best. The assassination sandbox has never been more satisfying, and its slight technical hiccups and lackluster multiplayer do little to hold back the baldest assassin of them all. Even in your sixth or so time prancing through a map, you're bound to discover a new opportunity, or a new potentially-weaponized surprise, around the corner.

 

GameSpot - 80%

The addition of other minor mechanical changes--like concussive weapons, a picture-in-picture enemy activity alert, and visible security camera sightlines--help to improve Hitman 2 overall as a dense and accessible stealth assassination game. But the new locations are the real stars, impressive and inventive sandboxes ripe for picking apart with exciting experiments. Hitman is about experiencing the anticipation of seeing whether a plan will work when you try it for the first time. It's about feeling the tension of briskly walking away from a bad situation, hoping you can lose the suspicious guards. It's the satisfaction of knowing the machinations of a level so well that when a target moves into a particular place at a particular time, you have the perfect way to intervene. Hitman 2 is a familiar experience, but in the Hitman world, familiarity is an incredible strength.

 

We Got This Covered - 90%

Hitman 2 doesn’t break the same ground as the 2016 reboot, but it really doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel at this point. IO Interactive’s formula functions just fine, and the quality of life changes, new features and weaponry, and the ability to play the older scenarios with all of Hitman 2’s goodies only reinforce this incredibly solid foundation. It’s unfortunate, then, that the follow-up occasionally struggles to keep up with itself in terms of performance, especially on a console that’s designed with power in mind. These framerate drops are unsightly blemishes on an otherwise solid package, though I doubt they will be enough to prevent Hitman aficionados from delving deeper into Agent 47’s world (and his story) once again. And even if you’re among the many who blunder their way through the professional killer’s many outings, there’s still plenty of fun to be had as you try your hand at becoming the world’s most efficient killing machine. Naturally, if you have to beat some poor schmuck down with a wet fish to complete the assignment, then so be it. Who needs fiber wire, anyway?

 

EGM - 80%

Hitman 2 may seem like more of a second season than a full sequel, but there’s still nothing like a Hitman game. It might not represent a massive leap forward for the series, and it might be missing some of the bells and whistles that the last game had, but it should still satiate fans of Agent 47, thanks to its more satisfying stealth and its complex, lively mission areas

 

Slant Magazine - 90%

To some degree, the difficulty of encouraging improvisation and emergent play is a problem of the entire genre, and perhaps it’s a little unfair to expect Hitman 2 to solve such a far-reaching issue forever. But the fact that this issue stands out, and that it even seems like something IO Interactive could potentially address, is a testament to how far the Hitman series has come since its rough beginnings. Hitman 2 reasserts Agent 47’s spot at the apex of the stealth genre. Even if the lavish detail, excellent writing, and world of possibility within vivid levels mostly just refine what came before, that’s because IO Interactive have all but perfected what they set out to achieve in Hitman: Codename 47 nearly 20 years ago.

 

IGN - 77%

Hitman 2 doesn’t add much of note to the structure of its predecessor and thus feels more like Hitman 1.5 than a full-blown sequel. But that’s not a bad thing. By offering more of the deepest, fullest stealth sandboxes in gaming in one single package rather than six episodic ones, it earns its keep. The inclusion of Hitman (2016) is a bonus for those that didn’t catch the reboot initially. Here’s hoping they put more effort into the plot next time.

 

AngryCentaurGaming - "Buy"


VideoGamer - 80%

It’s not much of a departure from its predecessor, but to call it Hitman 1.5 would be ludicrously reductive. After all, Ghost Mode is a revelation and Sniper Assassin adds another wrinkle that can be played either solo or co-op. All those factors that ushered the series into the new age are just as sweet here: ridiculous assassinations, disguises that make you smirk, and settings you’ll want to swallow whole. Hitman 2 hitmans so damn hard. And it’s really good at it.

 

CGMagzine - 90%

At times, Hitman 2 feels like an explicit thank-you letter to the people who loved the last game. Everything that works about its predecessor is back in the best way possible, even if the whole package feels just a smidge cheaper than you’d expect. If this game is a definitive blueprint for what IO wants to do with the series’ newfound independence, I think Hitman fans—myself included—have a lot to look forward to.

 

TrustedReviews - 90%

Hitman 2 is an iterative rework of the formula set up by 2016’s bold Hitman reboot. It’s the best Hitman game so far, and I’d absolutely recommend it wholeheartedly. It’s just a bit of a shame that they didn’t take some more chances, in favour of offering up a slice of the same excellent stealth gameplay.

 

Hardcore Gamer - 80%

Hitman 2 is the proper evolution to the Hitman formula. It may not be a monumental step forward for the franchise, but the number of features and adjustments that are made only help create a more gratifying and highly-captivating experience. It helps that while the plot is just there to be a bridge between scenarios, IO Interactive links everything together with intelligently-designed contextual storytelling which is found throughout each area. Unfortunately, there’s only five missions, not counting the five to ten-minute long prologue that acts as a tutorial. At least these missions are bigger than ever before, some even taking over an hour to complete, all of which include an impressive amount of ways to take down your targets. There aren’t any missions that could dethrone the top 3 of Hitman Season 1, but instead what we get is a solid assortment that will leave you wanting more. We may not get as many highs, but at least we get fewer lows. It’s also a shame that this is still bogged down with online connectivity requirements, something that’s to the game’s detriment. Even with its share of issues, Hitman 2 hits it mark, creating an addictive, overly-ambitious sequel.

 

Attack of the Fanboy - 90%

The momentum that Hitman had coming out of their Complete First Season release continues with Hitman 2.  IO has seemingly listened to fans and given them exactly what they wanted with a ton of new gadgets and items to use.  The new levels themselves are massive and will take hours of trial and error to work through the numerous difficulties and mastery challenges.  Hitman 2 is the series at its very best — players can play with a razor sharp edge and cut surgically through a level or take a blunt approach and make hilariously bad decisions and deal with the brutal outcome.

 

Shacknews - 90%

Modern-era action gamers have been conditioned to expect large-scale firefights, flashy explosions, and immediate gratification in general, and that's just not what IO Interactive's latest release is about. Through all of the complex machinations and staggering amount of opportunities within its levels, Hitman 2 manages to be a game with one surprisingly simple demand: think things through. As it is in life, perception and consideration go a very long way here, and players who are willing to put in the proper amount of time and effort will see just how perplexing, engaging, and rewarding stealth action games can be. Hitman 2 will undoubtedly serve to define the stealth genre for years to come, and I can't wait to see where IO Interactive takes the series next.

 

Destructoid - 80%

Hitman 2 is a colossal collection of puzzles begging to be solved through multiple playthroughs. It's meticulous in its scoring system, objectives, and unlocks. Even though this would have worked perfectly as a "season two" for the original Hitman, the need for a new package is perfectly understandable given their situation. I don't even need the Sean Bean and company timed challenges or the promising now-in-beta Ghost Mode (an asymmetrical gametype where you try to kill more targets than an opponent that exists in an alternate reality): just keep giving me more maps and I'll keep playing.

 

Kotaku - Positive

Hitman 2 takes what its predecessor did best and improves on it visually and mechanically. It’s a cerebral game, a sandbox that can be bloodless or chaotic depending on who’s pulling 47’s strings. From its plot to its locations, Hitman 2 is an investigation of both 47’s uniqueness and the way in which he’s just another face in the crowd. Playing with this conflict is what makes Hitman games so fun, and Hitman 2 gives you more space, tools, and rewards to explore this to its fullest. Character and plot pale in comparison to what it lets you do, and Hitman 2 offers a fascinating buffet of accidents to choose from.

 

GameCrate - 87.5%

Hitman 2 is the perfect game for fans of the franchise that are looking for an excuse to dive back in. It doesn’t do much to improve on the original formula, but the original formula is still fun and exciting enough to carry the game when combined with IO Interactives attention to detail, level design, and NPC AI. The whole game feels like you’re wandering around living, breathing environments that are built to challenge your skills and creativity as an assassin, but that manages to do so in a way that feels fun and addicting even after multiple runs through the same level.

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