Hitman 2 is the sequel to the 2016, episodic game, Hitman. Unlike that game, Hitman 2 is a full package, featuring six distinct, exotic locations to explore and many unique characters to assassinate. With new multiplayer elements such as Ghost mode and Sniper Assassin, this iteration of Hitman is one of the grandest and densest so far, with heaps of  replayability.
The six exotic locations include a racetrack in Miami, a jungle in Colombia, a beach house in New Zealand and much, much more. Each location offers different views, tones and environments, meaning that they all feel and look very different from one another. They’re large, open and dense too. There’s a good chance that you won’t see or spot every secret, nook or cranny in each of the levels after multiple playthroughs.
With tonnes of challenges, outfits and unlockables, the game encourages you to go back and try out these levels multiple times. There are also numerous different ways to eliminate your targets, some of which can be as simple as shooting them, others require a series of complete objectives resulting in stylish, unique assassinations.
With the new multiplayer modes providing alternative play styles, competitive assassinations and faster paced stealth and combat; and the upcoming elusive targets; you could in theory be playing this game for hundreds of hours.
Sadly, despite the amount of great gameplay provided, Hitman 2 doesn’t always feel like a full blown sequel. It shares the level design, mechanics, menus and presentation of its episodic predecessor. Even when downloading the game, it happens in chunks, suggesting it was initially supposed to be a part of, or a continuation of the previous game.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though. By going for a ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it’ approach, Hitman 2 is excellent on the gameplay front. The problem is that there aren’t any leaps and bounds in design. There isn’t any new, amazing feature that truly sets it apart from previous games in the franchise. And it shares some of the problems with the previous games, such as repetitive NPC’s, foreign characters speaking in perfect American accents and sometimes simplistic AI.
In addition to this. By using the same engine and resources from the previous game, Hitman 2 doesn’t always look like a 2018 game. The game does look good, but when compared to other graphical monsters such as God of War and Red Dead Redemption 2, it looks significantly inferior and it shows its age.
These can all be considered minor gripes though, because the foundations and the gameplay it’s built on are great. Where the real, big problem is, is in its story.
Hitman 2 continues from the events of the episodic Hitman. Agent 47 and his handler are trying to take down Providence and the Shadow Client. The dialogue and presentation is bad. Cutscenes are presented like still-image slide shows, making them seem unfinished. Dialogue is often cheesy and stilted and the side characters sometimes lack believable voice acting. The fact that the story isn’t interesting and it’s underdeveloped is also a problem.
Hitman 2 is a formidable continuation of 2016’s episodic Hitman. It employs the same gameplay, presentation and mechanics of that game, meaning it’s fun and packed full of content and replayability. It’s a bit disappointing though that this game feels more like a meaty expansion than a sequel and in some ways, including the story, it feels a tad unfinished and/or rushed. However, fans of the series will probably love it.
