Hitman 2: Golden Handshake

To paradise, 47.

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in! As part of their season pass promise, IOI created 2 brand new maps to push forward the Hitman storyline. Now that they are both out, and I have finished them both, I can confirm that their relevance to the overall story teeters on irrelevant, but there is one significant development so they are worth keeping an eye on for that reason. That and the fact that it is fun to see how IOI decided to make some more levels based on everything they had learned and the feedback they had received. We'll go through the first one today and see if there is anything more to learn about the art of game design. (Spoilers ahead.)

After we nabbed the Constant from The Ark Society, Diana managed to convince him to give up the names of the Partners that he works for, reasoning that he is practically already dead to them anyway given his compromised state. From this we learn that the Partners are made up of three families; The Ingrams, The Carlisles and The Stuyvesants. These three families have been pooling their resources together for generations in order to establish a foothold over the world. (I'd assume that this began around the time of world war 2; Patriots-style.) Now their clandestine influence rivals that of any official power in the globe and they think that gives them safety. They are wrong.

It all seems very open and shut, however, there is one significant complication, (And it just so happens to be exact same complication that showed up at the end of 'Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty') the Partners are dead. Or at least, their obituaries have already started appearing online. This means that they have already started covering their tracks, upon learning of the Constant's kidnapping, and the window to acquire them is steadily shrinking. Luckily, our new friend Aurthur Edwards (Which is the Constants real name, by-the-by. Not sure if I ever mentioned that) gives us the clue to 'follow the money', and that leads us to the Milton-Fitzpatrick bank in New York.

Lucas Grey, having previously worked as security for the bank, knows that the New York branch's current director: Athena Savalas, is a the last Providence operative at the bank. A bit of digging later, and Olivia manages to find out that the Partner's accounts are still active, giving the team a brief window to acquire them before the automatic system update in a couple of hours. This gives 47 his Bond-like task of infiltrating the bank, stealing the data related to the clients and killing Director Savalas in order to cover the server breach. Easy peasy.

For this level, IOI decided not to focus on the the iconic streets of New York (they are a bit played out, I guess.) but the iconic classical gothic architecture of it's oldest establishments. The Milton-Fitzpatrick bank is obviously meant to be a fixture on Wall Street, and as such that would place the building right smack in the middle of old Gotham, justifying the kind of high ceilings and colonnades that feature in such unforgettable locations as Grand Central Station. (That was the building that survived both an Alien war against the Avengers and Zod vs Superman; for reference.) IOI realize this concept into a frankly grand workspace that matches the 'larger-than-life' attitude of high falutin' banks and Savalas herself.

In this intimidating locale, 47 is faced with another new complication to the mission; an interchangeable objective! Whilst murdering Savalas is part of the regular MO of Hitman, and as such the highlight for the player; the real objective here is to secure the data, consequently IOI went out of the way to make this more interesting by giving the players two ways in which they can achieve this end. Obviously, one method involves breaking into the vault (The level is set in a bank. How could they resist?) and stealing a suitcase-sized chunk of the mainframe. (Which will get you shot at unless you figure out a discrete exit.) The second method opens up the level a bit and ups your targets to three.

You see, each of the head managers of the bank hold a backup data disk which contains a clone of the data in the vault. Athena has one; head of security, Mateo Perez has one; and so does the head of accounts, Fabian Mann. The data is partitioned, so players can avoid the vault but it will require them to secure all three of these disks for Olivia. (through whatever means you deem necessary.) I absolutely love this choose-your-objective approach, as it gives a little power to decide the mission in the hands of the player. A relatively small gesture like this goes a long way to making players feel more involved in the mission that they are playing. Plus, the idea of roping in two inconsequential NPCs to serve as 'side targets' is pretty cool in my opinion.

However, the main target is the big woman herself; Athena Savalas, and she sure is a piece of work in this level. You can get a good idea for the person she is by reading her bio, however, like all good Hitman targets, you can get a decent feel just way wondering around and eavesdropping on her subordinates. You might hear tales of her cut-throat ruthlessness or general fears surrounding her penchant for firing people. One of the opportunities even revolves around you stepping into the shoes (Or, more appropriately, the hand knit sweater) of one to-be-terminated employee and engaging in a one-on-one with the marble queen.

Once again, when IOI are given the space to develop on a character like this, they do a great job a relating them to their environment in an indistinguishable way. Although Athena only ever sticks to the top floor (unless you get a little creative) you can feel are presence all the way through the bank and it makes her feel essential to the location of the mission. Nothing is worse than a target who is so wishy-washy that you could transpose them practically anywhere with no difference, but Athena is a prime example of the exact inverse of that scenario. Applaud worthy execution, IOI.

That level of detail does expand to the opportunities too, however I do lament the fact that, likely due to there only being one target, this level boasts far fewer cooler opportunities than other Hitman maps. This does mean, on the flip side, that those Assassination set-ups can be a lot more elaborate as there is no need to fear ruining another target's pathing or routine. My favourite is the one in which you conspire to leak information about the recklessness of the administration to the free press. The result is a situation so dire, for a bank, that Savalas has no choice but to come downstairs and mingle with the 'lesser people'. (And it doesn't take much to make that her last mistake.)

I have heard some people complain that the bank was a bit too easy (likely another consequence of there being only one target.) and I do sort of agree. At times it can feel a bit simple to fool the heavy bank security and waltz through the vault door, especially when the guards don't seem to react to said-door being wide open. Lets put it this way, this bank is an absolute joke next to the 'Palisade bank' from 'Deus Ex: Mankind Divided', I wouldn't entrust this place to safe-guard my 'Doctor Who trading card' collection. But then again, I wouldn't entrust that to anyone. It's my one and only prized possession! (I'm joking. Probably.)

I think that 'Golden Handshake' made for a decent reason to return to Hitman, even if the relatively calm level does skewer the pacing of the main story. (It might make full playthroughs feel a bit weird in the future.) Myself and others did find ourselves wanting for something of a larger level for the next map, someplace in which we could get lost exploring and really immerse ourselves. As it just so happens that looked to be exactly what IOI was cooking up for their grand finale to the Hitman 2 season pass content. But we'll get to that next week.