Hitman 2

Review - Nick delivers the verdict on this massively popular stealth shooter.

It's one of life's universally acknowledged truths - Hitmen are cool. Swanning about in swanky suits spouting philosophy and generally being kick ass is definitely the way to go. Being primarily a crowd pleasing medium, it comes as no surprise to note the growing number of assassin-based games in the market today. The original Hitman: Codename 47 was one of the first to jump on this particular morally ambivalent bandwagon, and despite being pretty flawed in certain ways, did provide a lot of enjoyment. With Hitman 2, IO Interactive have sought to repair the game's faults, and bring indiscriminate killing to a wider audience - laudable, in my opinion.

Hitman 2 sees the player take control of the same mysterious character from the first game - the enigmatic 47, a genetically engineered killer with the dubious moral honour code that hitmen everywhere seem to share. At the beginning of the proceedings 47 is retired, but dusts off his dual pistols when his priest buddy is kidnapped to force 47 to work for the mafia. Naturally, 47 takes this rather badly, and instead of complying with the mob's demands he opts for a more confrontational approach. And so begins his quest for retribution.

The game's basic style remains fairly similar to the original, and involves skulking around a variety of complexes avoiding detection and doing what it takes to make your hit. The featured locales are much more ambitious this time round, however, and thankfully IO have seen fit to remove the ill-advised jungle levels which so ruined the atmosphere in the first game. Indeed, superior level design is one of the greatest improvements Hitman 2 has to offer.

Levels are large, but also include a commendable amount of detail - it pays to sit back and explore quietly a little, since your reward will usually be a different way of approaching your mark. The variety of levels is also laudable, and critically the vast majority are of a high standard. Featured locations include a snow-bound St Petersberg, a Sicilian monastery and the Petronas towers in Kuala Lumpur. Levels vary in style from indoor labyrinthe affairs to more open and spacious environments - notable for an impressive draw distance. Graphically things are nice, although a little bit static. It would have been nice to have a greater sense of immersion, but as it stands most of the environments offer only shallow attempts at creating a believable environment. Hitman 2 also takes no advantage of the graphical niceties for which the Xbox is renowned. Where are the water reflections? I guess I'm just impatient for the developers to really get to grips with the console.