This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
The baldy bitch-slapping bastard with big Ballers is back!.
A very cool opening FMV sequence in which, '47' is seen slumping to the ground and killed dead, but
by who...? And surely he can't be dead? Well, no, but I won't spoil it here - you'll see it soon
enough.
Most games released quench my thirst for an afternoon at most, so when I played
the second one in this series,
it felt like a really refreshing change to play one
that was the best thing I had played in months. My choice of 'best game' for 2002
was tied between it and the PS2 version of
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
It wasn't until just into 2004 before we saw the release of the Xbox version and
with there being several months to go until the next game in the series,
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Hitman: Contracts will easily
be spending a great deal of time inside my Xbox.
The basic premise is simple. You know what a hitman is and what he does. He
has missions to accomplish, the idea being that he does so without attracting
too much attention and if he does startle someone, then he'd best put them out
of his own misery and hide the body. Also, you can do what you want, when you
want, without the game being restrictive. Remember though, this is not a game where
blasting out in all directions will help.
First thing for you to do is visit the training area to sharpen up on your skills. Then, as the
first level begins, you're in a cold white room, where a scientist writhes about in agony -
because you've just shot him. He tries to explain something important, but... you break his neck.
I thought with the initial level name like "Asylum Aftermath", this was all going to get political but no.
You're in the Sanitarium and must escape. However, the place is full of SWAT guys and you can try
and shoot your way out, but fans of the previous games in the series will know that the most efficient
method is to dress up like one of the workers and sneak your way out - doesn't always work though.
And it clearly didn't work for many of your apparent colleagues as the first part of the level is
littered with bodies of bald men in black suits, rather like yourself. Just what the hell has been
going on - and can you be the first one to escape alive?
The graphics aren't massively different from before, but then they were perfectly fine to
begin with, save for the occasional jaggie as you walk about, which it would've been
nice to have seen erased so it loses slightly for that. Still, there are cool shadows as you
move about, plus lovely blood effects when you've murdered someone and they ooze out all over the
floor, to add to the gore and violence that's already aplenty. The info screens and onscreen
display icons have been moved around a bit but there's nothing there that's not tough to
get your head around.
Soundwise, this is also first-rate as the alerts sound out when you're spotting, the dialogue
from Russians talking to each other, plus the excellent gunfire - all in superb DD5.1 sound.
The only niggle is the control system which still takes some getting used to and
you can still press the wrong button as you try to get to grips with it. One
thing that's annoying this time round that I don't recall from the last game
was that if you press the right thumbstick down, it goes into first-person view
and when accidentally pressed it becomes very disconcerting indeed. This wasn't
in the previous game when I played it and I wish I could turn it off as third-person
suits this series best.
On the plus side, as well as shooting the baddies, stealing their clothes,
the game having quick loading times and the ability to interact with almost
everything, such as killing the lights.
For those new to the series, if you're not sure whether to buy this and can't get a demo
then Hitman 2 is already out on budget. Either way, there are three levels of
difficulty - 'normal' allows 7 saves per game, 'expert' allows two and 'professional'
gives no further chances - get it all right in one go or start all over again.
Of course, as you go up the difficulty range, it also gets more... er... difficult.
In this release, you can now change weapons from an inventory menu while the game is
paused, rather than having to do it during gameplay - when you'd previously always get killed!
There's also a sort-of 'hit-o-meter', well, morelike it's more painful to get shot in the
head than the arm, for example.
You can climb over walls and through windows, as well as jumping to another balcony, although
the latter takes rather too long and once you've started and realised you didn't mean to
go that way you can't back out of it.
I just wish I'd played more of the original
Hitman
game, but the lack of ability to save your position hindered it immensely and
I couldn't deal with it. I don't feel as scared this time round as I did with
its prequel because it's more like Hitman 2½ rather than a third game,
which might be why the number was left out of the title this time round.
GRAPHICS SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC PLAYABILITY ENJOYMENT
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.