I don't know if this was the first to fall into the trap... I would say that Commandos 2 did, as well. Sequels to difficult originals, made easier. The difference being that last-mentioned added new, truly worthwhile stuff, and is still fun as well as challenging. This comes up short in all three of those categories. Ah, this does introduce some things... it's just that more often than not, they're useless, at times even in the way. The pistol-whipping is the main example of the latter. The hiding in the back of trucks is fine, but it barely occurs in this at all(and yes, I do know and remember about the jump that is in the one before this... meanwhile, are any people going to claim that camping in a car surpasses the coolness of that?). And will someone please teach 47 how to lay down? No, that isn't in the others, either, but I never missed it as much as I did in this. They did put in crouching. Not all the fresh material is bad. There's greater detail on certain things. Moving on... granted, this can be entertaining. It just doesn't really have you going back that much. And the tension is considerably less... if you mess up, you can almost invariably just shoot everything(it's not punished, merely noted, and there's little to gain other than pride, from playing it all straight). No, I'm not denying that such can be enjoyable... elsewhere. Should stealth titles really have to include that? That's not "opening the product up to a wider audience", it's settling. You want versatility in one of these? Look at the amount of ways that you can take out your target(which, mind you, I don't believe has really grown between "Codename" and this one), or the different ways to successfully complete your tasks. The briefings' insistence on the importance of sneaking stands in stark, and unintentionally funny, contrast. A couple of traditions from the first are continued, but they worked and seemed better, there(how many times did this feel the need to string several missions together, so you can't pick equipment but once before them? And then the inconsistency with the disguises...), and that's not even getting into what is done to the returning characters here. The training is fairly pointless, and it won't particularly help(the map will, though) unless you already "get" it, in which case all it is is "this is how you move"(and while I get what it's there for, could they not have come up with something else, other than that weird scarecrow?). This is more buggy, and among the glitches are ones that really bother. Frustration is rather likely, and while the predecessor to this also could instill that, it at least was addictive and less compromising. The people who complained that it was too hard, and you had to use 3rd person view(is the alternative, the 1st, useful at any point in this? Even a single one?)... are you sure it wasn't just the wrong type of game for you? Not trying to kick anyone out of the club, but the simple fact remains that no product is for everyone, and I'd really prefer that that which is the way it should be remains so, instead of being messed with to make it mainstream. The interface and weapon selecting control is severely worsened here, costing you seconds that, guess what, quite possibly are invaluable. Slowing you down, at times forcing you to break to a halt. Why was it changed, anyway? If it ain't broke... this is sillier. Cheap "laughs" are found herein. The "jokes"... eh. The plot comes off as something thrown together to get this made. Did they have to go... where they did? Make it... *shudder* "personal"? No, they did not. They did better with Contracts and Blood Money. After the intriguing, dark story of the previous one that had sci-fi elements, we get this popcorn flick crap. To aid you in keeping a low profile, a suspicion meter is brought on. It is one of the things that stay with the series. It is not the only of those that were, thank goodness, improved. It's nice enough to have... it's just tough to work with. Takes too little for it to respond, and a lot for it to go back down. OK, I'm done tearing this apart. There are positives to this. This has a rating system that tells you how well you did, and the exact stats of aspects that determine if you get Silent Assassin, and/or how close you were to it... that being the highest that you can get, requiring that you weren't found out, taking planning, and a near-perfect or flawless execution. The saves, limited in number(albeit extra ones can be earned, occasionally), were a good idea. The stylizing remains, if it fails a couple of times, here. The graphics are excellent, through and through. The animations have gotten smoother. The cut-scenes, apparently, and possibly, all in-engine this time around, are usually well-done. The lighting is fantastic, just about entirely without exception, and this lets you impact it. With appropriate application of bullets, you can render rooms in the shroud of darkness, and that can take a considerable chunk of the risk out of your job. The level design does feature some interesting work, if the total number can deceive... this can take a few hours to beat. They span one or more real-life locations, and multiple countries and environments. This takes one approach to anesthetic, BM takes another one. Which is better comes down to preference. The guns are yet again pretty sweet, and from here on out, you get to keep them once you've brought them with you at the end of your objectives, as opposed to buying what you use. The sound is solid. The music, still by Jesper Kyd, is marvelous(if not necessarily the best of the franchise). I recommend this to any fan, and those this appeals to. 7/10
Review of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
