Do you remember Hitman: Codename 47 released two years ago? Yeah this game wasn't bad so I'm glad that the original Hitman is back with the sequel. Once again you will assume the role of Agent 47, a skilled assassin who is rewarded for completing contract killings as cleanly as possible, without hurting innocent civilians or being caught.

The story of Hitman 2 begins in a Sicilian monastery. Surprisingly, retired Codename 47 is occupied killing weeds, not humans :) Yeah, the local priest employs him as a gardener. Things seem to be going well for him and life seems to be heading in the right direction until his friend, the lead priest of the monastery is captured and taken hostage. Codename 47 has no choice and calls in a favor from his former employers at the mysterious Agency and they are willing to help out... for something in return of course.

For those who didn't played the original Hitman, this game isn't only about straight shooting an innocent people :) Your goals will vary from sneaking into a sunny Sicilian villa to assassinate a local Mafia Capo (the first mission) to infiltrating a snowbound St Petersburg mansion and make the right choice out of five possible targets. I must say that the stealth element of the game is extremely well done. You can be stealthy in your approaches and can even knock out people in non-lethal moves and drag their bodies to a nice hidden place. You can even steal uniforms from your enemies once they have been killed, to accomplish your mission. Of course, if you want successfully finish the game you must meticulously plan out each mission before actually instigating the actual assassination. Needless to say that patience is an absolute must for this game.

Hitman 2: Silent Assassin features 20 unique and challenging missions, located in all corners of the world, Russia, Japan, Malaysia, Sicily, and India. They have kept almost all the weapons and gadgets from the first game, and added some specific pieces of equipment such as a .50 cal rifle and a crossbow, fireman's axe. You will also able to use non-lethal method for disabling civilians and enemies, by chloroform. Although you have plenty of weapons at your disposal, but the actual number of weapons you can carry at once will be limited by their weight. I very liked to use SPAS 12 shotgun, it's an ideal weapon to clear rooms. As its predecessor, Hitman 2 is a single player only game (though some co-operative version would be nice), fortunately AI is much better than in the first version. Enemies have a more realistic reaction if you're acting strangely. For instance, disguising yourself as one of the guards isn't totally full proof. When you run around like a brainsick or get too close to them, the AI will definitely get suspicious. You have to play the part to attract the least amount of attention to yourself.

Hitman 2 is much easier, and much faster than its predecessor (now I'm talking about the normal difficulty setting) - Codename 47 can sustain massive amounts of damage and you can even save your game during missions. If you liked the first Hitman you will definitely enjoy this one a lot more. Download playable demo (48MB) and visit the official homepage.


System requirements:
Minimum: Windows 98/ME/XP, CPU: PIII 450Mhz or equivalent, RAM: 128MB, Video: 16MB DirectX 8.1 Compatible video card, Sound: DirectX 8.1 Compatible sound card, CD: 16x CD ROM drive, Keyboard/Mouse, Hard drive: 800MB of free HD space

Recommended: CPU: PIII 1Ghz, RAM: 256MB, Video: 32MB DirectX 8.1 Compatible graphics card, Sound: EAX Advanced HD enabled sound card.