Hiitman 2: Sniper Assassin- Crime and Punishment

Personne n'échappe à mon regard!

Finally we reach the final 'Hitman: Sniper Assassin' map that has been released thus far. I do expect that we shall see more when the finale to the new Hitman series, Hitman 3, (Presumably without a subtitle) releases, but until then all us fans have are the two maps I've already mentioned and the one we're talking about today; Siberia. So, allow me to walk you through the culmination of IOI's talents in the 'sniper game' field as we examine 'Crime and Punishment'. Obviously, this is another map that is sorely lacking in connective tissue with the main story, (Unless you prefer it that way) so don't expect to hear about anything about 'Providence'.

For this mission, 47 once places himself at a position to incidentally save the world. (or at least help prevent a war.) You see, his target is one Roman Khabko, currently inmate at a secluded gulag in the Siberian tundra. Khabko has been an inmate for over a decade, however his wealth and mob ties have had him serve as the prison's second in command next to the warden. Under his rule, inmates are beaten and killed daily as he exercises his power in the most violent ways. Things have gotten so bad that the UN have started to take note, (Them again?) and plan to take a deep look into the going on at this facility.


Luckily for the warden, Vitaly Reznikov, (The man who would be on the hook if this got to the UN) Roman has decided to take this time to bribe the warden a substantial fee to facilitate his escape. With this money Vitaly can disappear himself once he helps Roman escape. The client (Who's identity is a mystery this time) fears for significant political ramifications if Khabko manages to hoof it scot-free and so has hired the ICA to ensure that the operation never happens. Oh, and Reznikov is on the line too for being corrupt scum. The client also wants to ensure that the murders look like everyday president accidents and as such they have advised that a riot should be triggered to hide your tracks. (Not sure when the ICA started taking advise from their clients but there we go.)

The privately owned Perm-14 gulag is not a pretty locale by any stretch of the imagination. It looks to be as cold and harsh as the tundra's around it, which I suppose is fitting given the context of a place like this. It also resembles something more of a prison camp than my traditional image of a gulag. (but that might just be because I still remember that bad-ass Modern Warfare 2 level.) 47 sits on an outcrop at the twilight hours of the day, ready to take out this mobster before his evacuation plans are executed. (which, coincidentally, will take around 15 minutes.)

On my last Hitman blog I mentioned how I thought that IOI could really take advantage of the 'Looking glass' design of these levels and use it to create a dynamic evolution to the level; and I mentioned that because it is exactly what IOI seemed to be aiming for when they made this level. The spreading of the riot, as stipulated by the mission objectives, allows you to change the pacing of the level as all the security guard's attentions are drawn away from their posts. You can even go so far as to progressively spread the riots all over the prison piece-by-piece, by disabling the lock down doors with your bullets. Time things right and you can even have the rioters kill your targets for you. (How's that for covering your tracks?)

IOI also threw a clever wrench in the works when it came to dealing with the guards too. Once again you are contracted to wipe out the security force surrounding your targets, however, this time the target has stipulated that you should only focus on a particular type of guard. Reznikov has employed a personal death squad to carry out his will in the prison, and they all wear a distinctive red balaclava to distinguish themselves; these are the guards that are one 47's to-kill list. However, if you draw attention to yourself, regular guards are still present and will shoot you just the same. This means that the player has put extra effort in cleaning up guards to ensure that you wait until they isolate themselves. (Or forcibly isolate them.) This little added detail helps to elevate the 'kill all the guards' objective from a confusing addendum into a thoughtful task that is actually a bit challenging.

This also marks the first time where I've really felt that the targets themselves have travelled about the map with some sense of purpose. True, for Himmelstein they were all wedding guests and so had an excuse to aimlessly mingle, and on Hantu port they were trying to get a ship ready; but I rarely felt those motivations in their pathing. In the main game, targets go about their daily business and conduct tasks that they need to do, this allows the player to learn more about them by following them and eavesdropping. Of course, in a sniping environment this isn't really feasible, however that doesn't mean that the characters themselves can't operate with something resembling intent. (Especially considering the map is on a timer.)

In 'Crime and Punsihment', both Khabko and Reznikov move around the map with the drive to get thing done, and it makes it more enjoyable to play the sniper scope voyeur. Reznikov has some preparations to set up and will meet with people in order to make sure everything is in order, whilst Khabko seems to be making the most of his last day in the gulag by tying up all of his loss ends. Once everything has been squared away, the two meet up and go for the extraction. This slight change to the targets is all it takes to make them feel more alive and 3-dimensional, and I hope IOI lean more towards this approach with in Hitman 3.

I will say that I did find some of the actual sniping opportunities to be lacking, however, when it came to environment interactablity. On Hantu Port there was so much to mess around with that I thought this would be the direction that IOI were going with these maps. (I direction that I whole heartedly support.) Unfortunately, aside from opening the doors to cause some riots and a small window in which you can poison Khabko's food will a well placed shot, most of the choices seem fairly uninspired. perhaps that gripe in particular is not just for this map but for 'Hitman: Sniper Assassin' in general. I didn't feel that any map really held so ingenious manner of taking out the target that would be fitting considering 47's MO. Usually, the only alternative to shooting someone outright is to shoot something else and watching it drop on them. True, 'Crime and Punsihment' added the Riot opportunity, but it doesn't feel like enough to justify a full level. I just feel like more thought could have gone into these levels in some areas.

Despite my bemoaning, I have found myself enjoying 'Hitman: Sniper Assassin' considerably. Perhaps I only say that because I feel the hunger of something different to the rest of the Hitman experience, but I'd like to think it speaks to their quality to. However, for the reasons I have bought up, I do not believe that these sections are quite the shinning testament to IOI's creativity that they could be. I know that I wasn't the only Hitman fan who enjoyed these maps but was really waiting for the additional two maps that IOI promised. Those maps will be exactly what i cover next as I cap off my extensive Hitman 2 coverage. (I guess this counts as a review now, huh?)