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[merylsilverburg]

I played a demo of the first game when it was about to be released, but I didn't like the controls much, so I never bothered with it again. But, there seems to be a lot of games now, so I'm just curious whether I should give the series another chance since it seems popular enough.

How is the story? Are the controls easy to get used to? How is the difficulty? Any other information would be helpful as well.

Thanks in advance.

[Beretta55]

The first game in the series was critically slammed saying it had a good idea but the game play couldn't match it, which made it not so much fun to play. Hitman 2 came out and made the series a success and thus got a lot of fans and has been extremely popular since Hitman 2. I played Hitman 2 years ago when it released on PS2 and wasn't too my liking, I hated it for some odd reason. I then later rented it on Xbox to give it another try but forgot to play it. Then I bought it on GC about three months ago and fell in love with the game, it took me at least two years to finally get into it.

But that was mostly due to me not accepting its brand of stealth elements. The stealth in this game is more on the realistic side, you can't just kill a guy outside a building and hide it next to a car and not expect anybody to go on the other side of the car, the AI in this game aren't a bunch of knuckle heads. They also don't forget things if you tip them off, they may get a bit suspicious but if they are tipped off, everyone is alerted and it stays that way till you die, restart the level or save point or finish your mission in the violent "shoot everyone in the face" you see approach. But the smart AI is good but the bad side is they do not give you any real places to hide people, you have to be annoyingly anal about how you hide people, hiding them behind a tree or out of the way building doesn't work. Since guards seem to have god like abilities where they can be omni-present and find that dead guy or what have you, you really have to be inventive and careful how you hide. You can also get frisked for weapons when you enter places, you can keep ANY weapon as long as it is not a concealed weapon you will understandably be found out every time. You can also take disguises but looks really, really awkward. Some tall pale bald guy walking around in a mail mans uniform is really, really odd at best.

But I may of said quite a bit of bad but the stealth game play still feels more rewarding. You have to be smarter, you don't get second chances if you fudge up like in MGS or Splinter Cell then run off to hide, you have to give it your best effort, it's all or nothing here. It feels really cool in this game to do the stealth approach and then escape casually like you just went for a Sunday evening stroll it gives you a good sense of accomplishment and badassery.
Taking out your targets always has different paths and different ways to get them and also different ways to take them out. You can choose to just shoot the target right in the face if you want but you will most likely get found out unless your really careful. You can find a nice position and snipe him or catch him unaware and use the piano wire for a nice silent kill. The stealth game play takes quite abit to get to use too, especially if you've come from playing MGS and Splinter Cell (like I did.) but completing a mission without getting caught, taking out the target and leaving while nobody suspects anything is a really great feeling if you pull it off. The controls for all the versions I played were nice and smooth, third person or first person, both should fit your liking but I prefer third person so I can get more out of my surroundings. I never once had a problem with the controls on all three versions so I think they'll be fine for you.

The difficulty can get into the levels of hair pulling. Like I mentioned earlier sometimes the guards can be have an omni-presence and find out stuff without being there which is really, really frustrating. But the majority of the time that happens if you don't hide the bodies well enough or you act too weird while in disguise. It's difficult but not so much where you'll never complete it you can always find another route to choose, maybe try another way to do a certain thing to see how it goes. It's all about your decision and how you wish to try it out, you are suggested of paths you could do but they do not hold your hand through it. You have to use your best judgment and something you think you could pull off without getting caught. Of course if silent isn't your way you can just go in and kill everyone, but that's not as fun IMO.

The story is different from Hitman 2 and contracts. In Hitman 2 Agent 47 works out of an Italian church and has found god (something you don't see from many main characters, I thought the change in that was refreshing personally.) and trying to repent for his sins from his previous life style of contract killing. But the priest residing in the church is captured and it leads to a long twist and turn path of old enemies and things from the past 47 wished he would of left buried. I thought the story was really well done, they make mentions to the first one but you will still be able to get everything, I did and I never played the first hitman. Hitman: Contracts kind's of act as a "flash back" at the start of the game of older missions since at the start of the game 47 runs into a seedy apartment building with a gunshot wound and faints. It then recalls older missions some from the first Hitman and all of them have a different style like how 47 remembers them in his unconscious dream recall of the events. I haven't beaten the game so there is not much else I can tell you except it's started out really interesting.

I think that about covers it, I haven't played a Hitman title in a few months so some of the things about it might elude me. But you should enjoy the two games if you give them a chance, I'm glad I finally gave Hitman 2 a third chance and really ended up loving the game to where I can't wait to pick up Hitman: Blood Money this May.

So I do hope you enjoy Hitman 2 and Contracts Meryl, their really fun games. Both should be really cheap too, I got Hitman 2 for about fifth-teen dollars and Contract is just as cheap, new even if you search enough. Also the music is amazing in these games the composer Jesper Kyd really composes some great stuff. I rarely listen to videogame soundtracks that much but I listen to a lot of his stuff, just thought I’d throw that out there.

[merylsilverburg]

Whoa, hehe, the game sounds pretty tough...and I thought we all played games to relieve stress not relive it.

Thanks for the helpful info, Beretta. The game does sound rather challenging which would be pretty fun and would make the player feel really accomplished, like you said. I may give it a try again...I don't quite remember what else it was that I didn't like about the first demo...perhaps it was the controls and the difficulty? I think maybe one of the guards or something found me out rather quickly and I was just like "Whaa-? Ah man, forget this." I'll give it another chance though...the locations and the idea of assassination really appeals to me, so I hope I'll like it this time around. Thanks again.

[Berserker]

I really enjoyed Hitman:contracts, nice story, cool missions and challenging gameplay. Allthough if you take the all guns blazing approach and ignore the stealth element it really is too easy. But like Beretta said completing it stealthy and stylish is really rewarding, so you'll have too play it like that(and if your stuck and the guards are driving you crazy, you'll always have another option).

[Redpyramidhead]

I used to own Hitman 2 before it got stolen Anyway, you can read a review on it right here on PS2F. The controls are a bit non-conventional and sluggish, but overall its the strategy, strong concentration on stealth, and nonlinear gameplay in which there are multiple ways of carrying out your task of assasinating each hit. The graphics are beautiful, the presentation is like a co-ert spy operation movie, and the music is composed by the london symphony orchestra I belive, etc... ITS A GREAT GAME! I can actually picture you playing it, Meryl. Oh yeahd and its extremely cheap now


_RED_ stuff

[MakgSnake]

One flipping tough game. Very hard in my opinion, but a friend of mine finished it in a days time. So anything is possible, it all depends if you have a life or not. Hahaha....am not being mean to my friend, but he just gets into every game he plays and finishes it in just a day or two. Oh well.

HITMAN: BLOOD MONEY is an amazing game, with excellent sound and music and intriging storyline. One should def try it atleast. Its a tough game, but then that kinda adds up to the replay value, because for most people it wont end in a weeks time.

AGENT 47. TOO COOL. Excellent character.

[Infernal Mass]

I agree the games are tough, yet those are some of the most rewarding experiances overall. The Hitman series falls into this category, except for one exception. The game is tough on it's own when trying to achieve a Silent Assasin rank, yet when you throw in the "bug factor" some areas are near impossible to achieve an SA rank. The game really shines when gaining an SA rank the subtle execution of each contract is what Hitman is all about.

Jesper Kyd's soundtracks feel so natural to the game, almost like how Silent Hill's soundtracks feel to that series. I-O interactive easily one of the best development crews in the industry.