Another day, Another retrospective on a particular level in my a favourite Hitman game. I must say that I am particularly fond with this mission, specifically the ways in which IOI manages to subvert expectations of a Hitman experience. Although opinions on this level do differ wildly so I'd encourage you to keep that little grain of sodium chloride handy as we delve into our search for a ghost. But first, a disclaimer. This is a series in which I go through all the levels of 'Hitman 2: No Subtitle' and assess what works, what doesn't and learn something about game design along the way. (Oh, and there will be spoilers.)
Chasing Ghosts picks up after the dissolution of the Delgado Cartel. The militia have just published a video outing the existence of Providence (A video that we never get to see, for some reason.) and the ICA's hackers (Wow, those dudes must be working overtime at this point) have managed to trace the source of the video to corroborate with some of their previous leads. So far, the ICA have discovered that the Delgado Cartel were using their counterfeiting services to forge IDs for the militia, one of which grabbed the attention of the analysts as it belonged to Wazir Kale, a legendary pirate who is referred to as 'The Maelstrom'.
Kale and his team terrorized the seas for several years before one disastrous tanker operation, and now the ICA have reason to believe that the man was personally responsible for the murder of a Providence agent in Shanghai, alongside two of his former crewmates. One operative is the self-proclaimed Queen of the slums; Vanya Shah, and on the other is prolific Bollywood action film director and star; Dawood Rangan. Profilers have assessed that these three likely make up the eastern cell of the militia and, as such, all are based relatively close-by to one another in downtown Mumbai. Providence want these three eliminated post haste and as long as their money is good, the ICA will obey. There is one wrench in the plan, however; Wazir Kale himself is something of an urban legend in Mumbai and no one knows what he looks or sounds like (Or at least they didn't until he narrated a hostage tape.) That means that 47 must discover the identity of this target before he can end him. (I hope he's getting payed extra for this.)
This is one heck of a big undertaking for one assassin; three targets, two high profile ones and one veritable ghost. Such an heavy workload would require a heavy amount of play space to accommodate it, luckily, IOI's Mumbai doesn't skimp out in that regard. Much like Marrakesh, Mumbai is one the most sprawling, and initially confusing, maps in all of Hitman 2, with no shortage of crowds, market stalls and Tuk Tuks strewn about the place for atmosphere. Having had no personal experience with anywhere in India, I cannot speak for how accurate this overwhelming locale is, but I have enough faith in IOI to assume that significant research went in on their part to make the place looks authentic even if it isn't quite accurate.
As an unashamed fan of the grandiose, I respect IOI's ambitious attempt to capture three distinct styles of the Indian metropolis with the way the handled the level layout. Players will find themselves hunting Rangan inside of a work-in-progress skyscraper that doubles as a budget movie set; stalk into the market district and an old train yard, in search of Vanya Shah; and delve into the slums and sewers to track down the mysterious Maelstrom. All this diversity is achieved within one, sprawling, game space, and for my part I find that very impressive. However, just like with Marrakesh, due to the size of the level, plus the fact that most targets exclusively reside in guarded areas, there are small chunks of dead, or underutilized, space.
From a gameplay perspective, many criticize this level for being obtuse, which I would argue is fair. It is one thing to ask people to hunt three targets inside of a huge play space, but another thing entirely to hide one of those target's identities as well. Personally, I love the challenge this introduces as you can't just single in on the man and work your way towards him like you always do. This makes sense when you address the layout of the level too. Vanya is surrounded by her royal guard, requiring heavy amounts of stealth in order to reach, and Dawood works on a closed movie set, calling for a little bit of infiltration. Kale, on the otherhand, wanders the streets, confidant in the fact that no one knows his face. He rarely even needs a guard, preferring the relative safety of constantly being in the public. Funnily enough, the only way to isolate him is to pull strings to draw him into heavily guarded areas, throwing the usual Hitman formula on it's head.
Also, I've said it before but it must be reinforced that the characterization of the targets in Hitman 2 is spot on. Although one might think that it would be hard to establish distinction between three separate targets, Mumbai pulls it off with style. Whilst I usually prefer the manner in which we learn more about our targets through executing opportunities, this level instead has you learn about it's targets (Or rather, just corroborate the information that you have already learnt) through exploration and eavesdropping. You can read about how corrupt and sleazy Dawood is, or you can infiltrate his set and listen to how the lead actress is complaining about him writing in a kissing scene for himself, in the action movie he is directing, and staring in, loosely based on himself. (It's nothing but turtles all the way down!) Or alternatively, you can just peep upstairs and see the hostage that he has, tied up and dangerously close to a vat of cement.
This time the IOI team did put extra effort into ensuring that there are a lot of lore elements to be discovered in the incidental world, too. Much of Wazir Kale's past is a mystery to everyone, but you can still capture ample amounts of ambient chatter theorizing on legends about the man. Plus, those that are interested can go on a little scavenger hunt for a collection of voice recordings (That Kale himself recorded for some unknowable reason, before scattering them across Mumbai like he's freakin' Shenron) detailing his actual rise to power. I do like this different approach to handling world lore, but only as a method of changing things up, not as a permanent replacement to the more natural exploration that previous levels enjoyed. The whole 'collect-a-thon' style of dishing out side info reminds me too much of the Assassin's Creed Series. (Or any Ubisoft game in general, for that matter.)
It is in Mumbai's opportunities that IOI made some of their best strides in innovating their formula. You see, as these targets are all part of the same team (Despite how separate their individual lives are) many of the opportunities for this level include playing with their relationships in order to cause them to meet. There is even one opportunity in particular wherein 47 can, for the first time ever, assist someone else in performing the hits for him. (Way to outsource, 47.) I love it when IOI gives us the chance to take out two targets at once, and Mumbai is full of these opportunities in droves, and many more besides.
In conclusion, Mumbai is another strong, yet a little bit divisive, offering from Hitman 2. It changes up some of the formula from past levels whilst simultaneously crafting one of the biggest maps in the series. Unfortunately, that ambition does work against them in some minor regards just as it had done before. I did enjoy the level for all it offered, alongside the general feeling of 'Jet-setting' that Hitman 2 seemed to be nailing so far, although I did understand that desire that some held for some a less exotic locale. It seems that IOI understood that desire too with their next location, but we'll cover that next time.
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