The Hitman 3: The Very-Specific Hunt

Wait, it's all World of Assassination?

How much can one say about one of their favourite modern franchises ever. Do I rave and celebrate finally being able to see it mythical third entry like the rabid fanboy inside wants to, or do I mourn in the knowledge that this marks the very final entry in that beloved franchise. I know, I know: All good things must end else we end up getting another 'Assassin's Creed' or 'Fifa' (Yearly crap that either just manages to stay roughly interesting for a time or else sinks into uncreative mediocrity) but the romantic deep within me loathes the impermanence of it all. Let me remind you: 'Hitman: No Subtitle' came to me at a time when I was becoming disillusioned with gaming and began to fear I was losing interest in the whole pastime; until it reinvigorated me. (Kinda getting there again, by-the-by, could use another unexpected masterpiece, if any games companies are listening.) So it's with pride within a heavy heart that I talk to you, dear-readers, about; 'Hitman 3: No Subtitle'.

This isn't really the sort of game that I need to look up for a backstory, I know it all better than the rhythm of my own heart. IO Interactive (stylised as IOI) went back to the drawing board to reinvigorate the Hitman franchise after the luke-warm reception to 'Hitman: Absolution'. (Which was the first Hitman game that I owned, incidentally. Though I'd played 'Blood Money' beforehand.) What they settled on was an episodic Hitman game that toned down the length of the campaign considerably in order to hyperfocus their efforts into each level with the goal of creating max replay-ability. They literally wanted to create the dream stealth-game; 6 locations with practically infinite numbers of ways to infiltrate and achieve your objective. (Rather than the standard 3 which we commend some of the better made stealth titles for.) That game, Hitman, would end up being published under Square Enix; before IOI bought their autonomy and were allowed to keep the franchise, meaning that 'Hitman 2' could be published under themselves. Now with a dedicated fan base of die-hard stealth heads; they promise to wrap things up with a finale to make it all worth it. (And I, for one, can't wait)

From the trailer we can see that, surprise surprise, the story appears to be picking up directly after the events of Hitman 2. The ringleader of Providence, Arthur Edwards (Otherwise known as 'The Constant') has just escaped from our captivity and seems to be in the middle of monologue-ing about putting Team 47 on the back foot. The whole feel of the trailer does noticeable offset the style of the games up until now with armed men in the woods hunting, presumably for 47. Up until now we've had 47 being on his normal everyday beat, 47 hunting down Lucas Grey and then Providence, but now we have him in the crosshairs; and it'll be interesting to see how the hunter deals with being hunted. (Although, knowing 47, I imagine that it's just going to make his job a whole lot easier when his enemies start coming to him.)

Edwards might be a little premature with his victorious celebrations, however, as those who have been with the franchise since that initial reveal will note how every single teased face from that cinematic ended up translating into an actual target. (albiet, with a few tweaked personalities.) And who was the cap off for that trailer? Which face did we see searching through his briefcase only to discover that someone left an active bomb at the bottom? I don't think you're very long for this world, Mr Edwards! Whatsmore, it's a bit presumptive to claim that 47 is just the hunted now, for in order to sell his bluff 'The Constant' did have to give up the names of the Partners who he used to work alongside. (I mean, seeing as how the tried to screw him over I doubt he'll miss them but that's a thread he isn't going to enjoy getting pulled on.) So I guess, all in all, IOI are setting us up for a bout of 'The Deadliest Game' wherein both sides are hunting the other to see who gets to strike first. (How climatic!)

In terms of the world and gameplay there is very little to go on and that makes me anxious; I really want to know what Hitman 3 is going to bring to the formula! Hitman 2, of course, introduced the 'social stealth' mechanic which allowed 47 to hide in crowds and shrubbery; (Which called for a mild redesign of the first game's levels) so 3 has a precedent to top. For my case, I vaguely remember a feature from the original reveal gameplay, all those years ago, which showed 47 carrying a box of fruit with a gun hidden inside it, some way of sneaking forbidden items past guards whilst completing a disguise. Although, in fairness I don't really know how useful such a feature might be since it's already pretty easy to sneak contraband past checkpoints with the introduction of briefcases. (Also from Hitman 2) So what I'm saying is the sky is kinda the limit and I wanna see what IOI come up with.

On the topic of levels we haven't been left completely in the dark, however. Aside from a brief flash of locations which seemed to tease Tokyo for a brief second (somewhere I've been asking for since day one) there was actually a short trailer of the first new location; Dubai. This actually teases a concept that I've seen floating around forums every now and then; of an assassination that takes place in a skyscraper. The appeal of such a location comes not just from the views, which admittedly do look spectacular, but from the way it limits your options for exfiltration, unless 47 learns how to grow wings and fly. (Then again, remembering that Miami Easter Egg I guess he's already covered in that regard.) Visually the location looks stunning, slightly reminiscent of my initial reaction to the Himmapan Hotel, and I can't wait to see the ways in which IOI blow us away. (Like by letting us blow up the tower or something. I want that assassination opportunity, please!)

And so we come to the rub; this game is being billed as the dramatic conclusion to the 'World of Assassination Trilogy', and that has left more than a few folk scratching their heads and going "What? Since when was that established?". I mean sure, there was that original trailer which coined the term 'Enter a World of Assassination', but Hitman 2 boasted the tagline 'The World is your Weapon'; and at no point was a trilogy established aside from that seeming like the general trajectory that most narratives take due to the classic 'three-act structure'. Now in that light it does make sense, Hitman 1 followed 47's discovery of Providence, Hitman 2 followed 47 coming to blows with Providence so 3 should follow the wrap up, but there's a bit of sleight-of-hand going on in claiming about how 'pre-planned' this all was. Now we're being told we're at the end of the line and should have been expecting it the whole time, well I call foul! Major foul, IO!

But at the end it doesn't really matter, does it? Next January IOI are going to try their hand at hooking us for yet another 200 consecutive hours of playtime and we have no recourse except to lap it all up like the ravenous murder fans that we are. Or at least that I am, I shouldn't speak for everyone. (Not everyone has it in them to do a Master difficulty 'Silent Assassin Suit Only' run of Colorado, afterall.) Needless to say this is my personal must-have and the absolute highlight of the Playstation 5 showcase. Did it show off the power of the hardware, no, but then I don't really care about that anyway, I just want to see great gameplay regardless of the mechanics making it run. As long as no poxxy 'exclusivity' deal slips into the equation I'll be happy to support IOI once again as one of the few developers with talent, poise and a damn affable composure. Keep up the work, guys!

Hitman 2: The Last Resort

Time to fulfill our purpose.

Okay, this is the final Hitman blog, I swear. After this I will literally have no more content to cover as I'll have gone over every single released mission and analyzed every feasible part of this game. (Apart from the competitive online mode but I hardly feel that's worth mentioning.) This has been such a fun series to cover and I find myself feeling a little blue knowing that it'll soon be over. Luckily, I do have an idea of something to come, but I'll need to settle into my usual schedule first. (As well as cover some lingering research blogs that I've had on my slate for a while now.) But before any of that, let's travel to paradise to wrap up Hitman 2. (Spoilers, duh.)

After securing the money accounts of the Partners in New York, Olivia has managed to track some recent transactions made towards a place called Haven. Haven is a retreat in the Maldives that pretends to be a rehabilitation centre on it's public face whilst in reality it is a sophisticated identity reconstruction hub that caters to criminals of all kinds. Clearly this is the last bid from the Partners to disappear into the ether. Their last resort, if you will. (Oh, that's what the title of the mission is referring to. Clever...)

Olivia is unable to get into the Haven servers as the admins are proud practitioners of proper server safety procedures, (They reset the password every 10 hours. Take notes, Randy Pitchford.) so the reward for their diligence is getting designated as collateral targets for 47's crusade. (Oh. Bummer.) This means that 47 is tasked with finding and eliminating, Tyson Williams, CEO of Haven and Ex-PI; Ljudmila Vetrova, client handler and practising con artist; and Steven Bradley, who is a dick. And a hacker who helps to run the servers, I guess. This will pave the way for Olivia to prevent the Partners from vanishing themselves and track them down to their home addresses. (Let's hope they all stay put until Hitman 3, huh.)

Once again we find ourselves reaching our finale on the shores of an exclusive Island escape, however, the Haven resort could not be further away from Isle of Sgàil in literally every other way. The island is tropical and warm, with sandy beaches and reclining chairs as far as the eye can see. You'll also notice the impeccably serene weather accompanying a full midday sun as you arrive on the scene. This is the type of locale that people dream of living in, and 47 gets to drop of there for work, how lucky is he? The perfect serenity of the day practically begs to be broken with the devious machinations of a psychotic killer as we get one last chance to show off our assassination skills. (Watch out, paradise, here I come.)

The Last Resort is surprisingly vanilla as far as Hitman levels go. Despite the lore and setup mentioning something about accessing servers (and the map literally having a huge underground server complex) you are only personally required to kill your 3 targets and hoof it. It's as if IOI wanted this game to go out on a mission that is as straightforward and to-the-point as humanly possible. Although that does not mean that the level itself is a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination. The developers may have wanted to tickle our nostalgia bones with the set-up for this level, but they didn't want us to sleep walk through it. (Like we did with 'Golden Handshake'.)

From a layout perspective, The Last Resort manages to hit on the 3 different types of targets for a Hitman level. You have one who mingles with the guests and who can reached with little effort, but will require more effort to kill quietly. One target who languishes behind an army of soldiers and requires excessive amount of infiltration to reach. And one target who fliters between the two, letting the player decide how they want to approach them. Even without taking special opportunities into account, this diversity makes up for the fairly standard set-up and ensures that players have a chance to flex all their stealth muscles in this undertaking.

The targets themselves are decently realized too, with the player having the opportunity to learn a great deal about each if they so choose. Sometimes when IOI offers 3 targets you have that one character who gets left behind, but the only target who gets ignored in The Last Resort is Steven Bradley, but that's because he's so shallow that what you see is pretty much what you get. For the other two targets you get an interesting power struggle as Steven tries to enforce his dominance over the operation and Ljudmila attempts to manipulate every man that she can to get out. It's a curious dynamic that has no ultimately sympathetic figures nor any completely damnable ones. Vetrova is a pathological liar, but you can tell that she fears for her safety around her unhinged boss and Steven is a tyrant but he is clearly suffering from some terminal illness and it's causing him to lash out. (No, I still don't know what the illness is. The level just came out, cut me some slack!) I appreciate the way that IOI can make their targets relatable without making you feel too bad for killing them off. (Apart from Penelope Graves back in Colorado. I still don't sit right by that hit.) 

In terms of opportunities, IOI have once again done a great job in tying them together with the narrative of the characters. Much about the interplay dynamic between the runners of Haven can only be gleaned by becoming an active instrument in that relationship, and putting the players in that position is a great way of making them feel involved. Of course, there is much that can also be learnt just my eavesdropping, as it true with any good stealth game, along with some pretty weird flavour dialogue. (I hope to never hear the story about that woman and her cat ever again.) My favourite opportunity is defiantly the one in which you become Vetrova's thief-for-hire and help her further her plans to escape the island. Of course, that allows you to isolate her, however with a little more effort you can finish the other half of her plan and have her secretly meet up with Steven to finalize her escape. (Two for the price of one!)

Of course, as this is the third secret recluse for the elite that has featured in these Hitman games, IOI had to do some things to differentiate it. My personal favourite addition is the dynamic environment changes that reflect your progress across the targets. As the level takes place in the Maldives, tropical storms are no freak occurrence, however, you'll find that one will start brewing as you begin taking out targets all the way up until you leave. It's a really cool little thematic device that really shows the kind of cool ideas that IOI could work on for Hitman 3. Another cool little Easter egg, although this one is not so much a new idea, is the return of one of my favourite side-characters; Jason Portman, who I'm sure, at this point, is some kind of loose parody of Jack Dorsey. (Still trying to figure out the specifics there.) It is a little unfair that the man needs to be knocked out for an opportunity again, but at least this time he gets to keep his clothes. (We'll see how lucky he'll be in his inevitable return in the final 'Hitman: no Subtitle') Also, I love the fact that IOI went so far as to have the game's subtitles accentuate the word 'THAT' whenever Diana introduces a target. (Someone's been consuming memes from the Hitman Reddit...)

I will say, however, that the map itself does leave something to be desired. Not in the traditional way that Hitman maps may be disappointing, either, but in a manner that is partially subjective, the visual layout. For me, I find that the setup of Haven is needlessly cluttered and all over the place, requiring a lot of running around to get to key places. I don't mind this kind of busy work in a visually diverse location like Marrakesh or Mumbai, but when your running amidst a bar area and around pools, it can start to grate. Also, I wonder as to the utility of many of these inbetween areas. The main assassination uses them as little more than a meeting spot for 47 and Ljudmila, but they don't appear to have enough space/versatility to them to support any player made contracts or escalations. (I suppose we'll find out whether or not I'm proven wrong on that issue in the near future.)

The Last Resort makes for a fitting conclusion to Hitman 2, bringing everything back to a simple hit and ending the story on a satisfying cliffhanger. Storywise, there were no significant developments, (apart from the escape of the Constant after this mission.)  but I feel it's fine for IOI to just set the stage for their conclusion. I'm sure it's readily apparent, but I absolutely love Hitman and the team that diligently work on it. In today's gaming landscape, with all their greedy monetisation tactics and selfish recurrency hooks, it's refreshing to have a developer dedicated to honing their craft and working to make a game as good as it can be. As I discussed earlier, I do have an idea of what I should cover next; or more specifically, what series I should cover next, but that concept needs a little more time in the oven before it's ready. You want a clue? Let's just say there might me some odd-shaped sandwiches involved and leave it at that...

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.

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?)

Hitman 2: Sniper Assassin- The Pen and the Sword

I don't help people. I kill them.

If there is one location that I feel is criminally underexplored in the new Hitman games, it's Asia. (Which is weird considering that the key finale of the first game is set in Hokkaido.)  But I wanted to get a chance to feel and experience the metropolis of Tokyo or the rural straits in China. Instead, IOI saw fit to dump us all in a shipping port for our trip to Singapore in 'Hitman 2: Sniper Assassin- The Pen and the Sword'. This was also the first map that IOI released after the main game as downloadble content, so expectation were high as to what we could expect.

Once again picking up on a completely separate story from the main game, 'The Pen and Sword' follows 47 conducting a mission that is very different to his usual MO; he is tasked with conducting a rescue op. Han Ldong, former Khandanyang national poet, had recently suffered from a bad case of kidnapping, along with his wife, from their nice suburban home. (Which is in no way a slightly redecorated house from Whittleton Creek.) The perpetrators are Re Thak, Lhom Kwai and Jin Noo, all members of a military outfit known as the Heavenly Guard. They have kidnapped the former national icon for the crime of defecting to America during a UN meeting and intend to drag him back to Khandanyang in order to suffer a public execution, which will conveniently coincide with the birthday celebration's of the country's dictator; Sun Po. ("Ah you guys, you got me exactly what I wanted!")

Due to, what I can only assume are, substantial travel sanctions, Han Ldong and his wife have been smuggled from America to Singapore in a shipping container where they await transfer to a ship bound for their homeland. (Wait, you can get to Khandanyang from Singapore? Guess that means this fictional country isn't an allegory for 'North Korea' in the slightest. You got us beat there, IOI.) The Heavenly guard are keeping close watch over their birthday gift, and will not hesitate to murder him if they feel in danger, so 47 has to be either discreet or quick-on-the-pull as he shoots them down and rescues the artist. Just like he was paid to do by... the United Nations? Diana never mentions the client and it has me wondering, once again, both how the contract/client relationship works and how well-know the ICA is. I mean, would the US military contact the ICA to pull of this rescue once they realized that it would be on international waters? Or did Han Ldong take out a preemptive contract to save his own life on the assumption that his past would catch up to him? In either case, who's paying? Ah, in the end who cares; 47 is just happy for the excuse to dust off his old Druzhina 34 and get to work.


As serendipity would have it, it will take exactly 15 minutes for Han Ldong's ride to turn up, (What a coincidence) which means that 47 has ample time to systematically wipe out Hantu Port in the name of democratic freedom. And players may want to spend a good portion of those 15 minutes admiring the impressive view that IOI has crafted for this particular 'looking glass' level. This time the action takes place at the early hours of the morning, but everything is still very visible due to the busy lights of an active port alongside the shimmering gold of waking dawn. For a map that takes place entirely in a heavily industrial area, IOI went out of their way to make the whole place still looks picturesque. (Although in an entirely different way to Himmelstein.)

This time around, IOI changed up the mission to ensure that there was someone to protect, and this changes the dynamic of how you would handle the level, significantly. (Or rather, how you would play through with a specific playstyle.) Whilst in 'The Last Yardbird' you could feasible go loud straight away and pick of anyone who tried to escape, here you have to constantly worry about your ability to take out those around Ldong at a moment's notice. (I love typing that name.) I've always appreciated IOI's ability to change up things in small, yet significant, ways and find that this is another decent example of that.

Plus, IOI made some changes to the pathing of their targets to ensure that you spend a lot less time waiting for people to get to where you need them to be. Yes, there are still some opportunities that require patience, (Such is the unfortunate consequence of time-based mission design.) but with the spacing of the characters and the increased number of 'body hiding' spots, you can always keep yourself entertained by going after someone else to kill time.

For this particular level, IOI introduced the ability for players to use their sniper fire to pull-off very 'puzzle-based', and wholly unrealistic, actions. One of my favourites is the ability to operate buttons in the environment by shooting them. (Because I'm sure that a 308. calibre bullet fired from a high powered sniper is the ideal way to operate precision tools.) Using this method, you can operate the falling arm of a boom gate, position (and drop) a huge crane carrying a shipping container, and, my favourite, open up a loading bay door and then proceed to shoot some poor soul into it before it closes.

Hantu port is, in general, a far more interactable environment then Himmelstein, with many more opportunities to completely alter a target's path if you want to get them in the ideal position. (More akin to how things work in the main game.) Plus, it seems that IOI wanted to provide a far more 'fun' things to play around with, such as the slew of shipping containers that you can open by shooting their padlock. Most open up new locations to hide bodies and one hides a pretty cool, if loud to operate, surprise inside.

For me, Hantu Port is what I envision why I think of the Hitman experience translated into a sniper-centric game world. IOI seemed to have improved a lot in transferring the lessons and tricks that the learned from working on the main game into the world of Sniper Assassin, and it made for a more enjoyable level. All we could ask for from these kinds of levels now, would be for them to have a more dynamic level design that really takes advantage of the 'hands-off' level layout. We'll see how that turns out when we go to Siberia for the last Sniper Assassin map. 

Hitman 2: Sniper Assassin- The Last Yardbird

No women,no kids, right?

There are many different facets to the Hitman fantasy. For some people, the fantasy is fulfilled when we are given the chance to stealthy ghost around our targets and take them out without anyone knowing that we were even there. Some enjoy the run-and-gun angle, walking into a situation wherein you appear to be helplessly outnumbered and then proceeding to gun down everyone in your way. (The 'unstoppable force' approach). Some people, however, don't even want to get close to their target at all. They would prefer to take them out from a mountain top several hundred feet away. It is for the latter group that IOI designed their Sniper Assassin mode.

That isn't to say that one couldn't try their hand at sniping the targets from the main game, indeed, sniping is my favourite way to take down Strandberg from the Marrakesh level. However, many levels are not optimized for this approach. (Try lugging a high powered sniper around the tight halls of the Hokkaido facility and you will see what I mean.) IOI did try their hand at a sniper level in one of their extra levels that I mentioned earlier, but it was to unspectacular results. That mission, 'The Vector', only served to highlight how a sniper themed map was untenable due to the confines of the mechanics in the core experience. That was likely the reason why they decided to go a different way when they released 'Hitman 2: No Subtitle'.

When it launched, 'Hitman 2: No Subtitle' came with a dedicated mode that was designed from the ground up to feature fun and responsive sniper controls. This mode, called  'Sniper Assassin', boasted it's own dedicated in-built sniper interface, new bullet travel time, weapon sway, ammo types and collision system. All of these worked together in order to help create the ideal 'sniper fantasy' in the Hitman world. For the first time ever, every single type of Hitman fan could come away with something to be excited about.

IOI weren't approaching this mode with inexperienced trepidation either. In the lead up to' Hitman: Absolution', IOI (back when they were still under Square Enix) released a special preview of the game's engine in 2012 with an non-canonical side game called 'Hitman: Sniper challenge'. Here IOI did pretty much what they did with the 'Sniper Assassin mode'. They added new systems that benefited the sniping gameplay and retooled their map design efforts around creating a 'looking glass' world instead of a 3D interactable one. (This was when we started to see IOI's obsession with sticking rubber ducks all around their maps in weird places.) It seems that IOI were proud with the game too, seeing as how in 'Hitman: No Subtitle's Sapineza level, you can see that, side-character, Rocco is playing it on his desktop. (Oh, IOI and their Easter eggs...)

That wouldn't even be the last dedicated sniper game to feature the Hitman name, however, the 2015 mobile game 'Hitman: Sniper' was actually developed by Square Enix Montreal. In this game, players would find themselves given the same area level-after-level with new targets being added each time. Eventually, it became less of a puzzle and more a memory game, as you had to start remembering how to pull off specific kills and what time certain targets made themselves visible. There was also a zombie themed mode set in 'death valley' (funny), but the less said about that, the better.

What I'm trying to get across is, IOI had a couple of examples to examine when they sat down to work on 'Hitman 2: Sniper Assassin', and I think they really did learn from those previous games. Anyone can see the way that the level design leans of off what they established in 'Hitman: Sniper Challenge' but the weirdly specific challenges almost feel like they owe their existence more to the mobile entry in some instances. Whatever the inspiration, IOI pulled out all their stops to ensure that Sniper Assassin proved to be the premier Hitman sniper experience.

'Hitman 2: No Subtitle' launched with a single sniper mode map already in the game. Separate from the story of the main game (mostly) and presented in it's own menu (After a redesign) was the map: 'The Last Yardbird' set in Austria at an opulent mansion called 'Himmelstein'. For this map, IOI choose to make this gorgeous secluded mountain-top villa the star. 47 got to bask in the glow of the afternoon sun in his perch on an opposite mountain side whilst he looked over the exciting festivities for a beautiful wedding. (The kind that Instagram influences would kill to attend.)

Although you are never explicitly told to visit Himmlestein in the main game (Which is a shame considering how lovely the place is.) the lore surrounding the mission does have a surprising link to the tutorial mission of the original 'Hitman: No Subtitle'. You see, the tutorial had you reenacting the murder of Kalvin Ritter, an international spy known as 'the Sparrow', in order to prove to the ICA that you were skilled enough to join their number. As it turns out, he was only a member in a whole crew of avian themed thieves called 'The Yardbirds'. A group that are now in the crosshairs of the greatest assassin on the planet.

Prepare for a classic tale of betrayal and revenge as we delve into why 47 is out to kill today. You see, the Yardbirds were a well known heisting group back in the day that pulled off a string of high profile robberies wherever there were riches to be made. Their most daring heist, however, would prove to be their last. They hit the Shamal Casino (Yes, the same one from 'Hitman: Blood Money') only to find out that the money they took was the property of a violent criminal group who would stop at nothing to get their revenge. The Yardbirds decided to bury the money and promise that the last surviving member would inherit the millions. However, soon one of their number, Ritter, would be discovered dead on his private Yatch, and the rest of the members saw it as a sign they should seek retirement.

Since that fateful day, they have never all gathered in the same place. Except for today. For the first time their names and likenesses have been provided to the ICA as part of a contract; we have Dorian Lang (The Red Robin), Guillaume Maison (The Kingfisher), and Doris Lee (The Goldfinch). All of them have gathered for the first time in decades to celebrate the marriage of Dorian's daughter 'Elizabeth'. (Always liked that name.) Unfortunately, the best day of her life is soon to become her worst as her father and his friends (and entire security force, weirdly) have been sentenced to death by the former founder of the Yardbirds; Aleksander Kovac. (Maybe he's upset about not being invited to the wedding.) So It's up to the ICA to secure his greedy bid to claim the lost millions by murdering his former friends for him.

Off the bat, this level is different to any of the other Hitman level as it comes with a time limit. 47 only has roughly 15 minutes to kill all of his targets before one of them leaves, automatically invalidating the contract. (Talk about a fly-by visit.) Also, if the player manages to alert the party but fails to kill the targets, they can actually evacuate the area, instantly failing the mission. With all this in mind, careful Assassins will need to ensure that they are very subtle in the act of taking out and hiding the targets and their guards.

To this end, 47 has a few specialized tools at his disposal. And by tools, I most certainly mean super-special bullets. There is the piercing bullet that is capable of penetrating walls (perfect when combined with 47's sixth sense to see his targets through walls.) and the shockwave bullet, which is capable of causing area-of-effect damage. However, 47's normal bullets are just perhaps the most versatile. Somehow, whenever 47 fires his standard ammunition, the point of contact is always just subtle enough to draw attention instead of cause alarm. (Unless you shoot somebody. They'll definitely notice that.) This means that you can draw people's attention to get them in the line of fire for the perfect shot. (Now that's the work of a master assassin.)

The way that IOI designed their map for Sniper Assassin levels is more akin to a puzzle then even the main game, surprisingly. Sure, you can bluntly just headshot your targets in quick succession and then pick off all the guards as they try to flee, but the level is fundamentally designed to have you study the path of your targets and figure out timing and opportunity. Himmelstein is packed with skylights to shoot rooftop guards down, balcony's that lead down the steep edge of a cliff, and even some water features that are good at hiding bodies. (Apparently no one ever looks in the rivers.)

The targets themselves are kind enough to stay away from the crowds for most of the level, but they do have a tendency to stick annoyingly close to their personal detail. In Himmlestein this proved to be a bit of a problem as some people, like Doris, have very scant windows of opportunity, meaning that the perfect assassin would have to sit around doing nothing until she got into place for the perfect shot. I realize that this is part of the allure of the sniper, hiding in wait until the perfect moment, but it just feels so inactive compared to the rest of Hitman that I usually find myself becoming antsy and triggerhappy in no time flat.

I think that my concerns are the same that a majority of the community had when they got around to playing Sniper Assassin. This kind of content has it's fans, obviously, but it can a hard-sell for players who have there head in the main gameplay loop. I've seen many Reddit posts of people who seem to question the implementation of these maps and some of the core design choices. The biggest head scratcher for me and others, has been the fact that you are explicitly told to kill all of the guards. I realize that IOI felt the need to make the levels more involved, otherwise they could be completed in 10 seconds if you didn't care about being quiet, but the choice to mandate the slaughter of all guards seems so antithetical to Hitman law that it cannot help but alienate some fans.

Usually, the player is heavily reprimanded for killing non-targets, as collateral damage is costly to fix. In previous games that would mean a deduction for your pay check, whilst in the new Hitman games it is a severe point penalty and an automatic disqualification for the possibility getting 5 stars in that run. (Hitman doesn't run on Assassin's Creed logic of "You can't kill civilians. But innocent guards doing their jobs? Yeah, kill them all day!") To throw that balance on it's head, and even to go far as to have point multipliers for the way you kill the guards, it almost makes you feel like your playing an entirely different game.

Once you clear that mental hurdle, however, Himmlestein is a particularly fun change of pace from the rest of the Hitman experience. Give it a chance and I think you'll be amazed by the amount of secrets and hidden effects that IOI managed to hide around this map, all despite the fact that you are operating from a fixed perspective. It's like a traditional brain teaser, everything you need to achieve your goal is there in front of you and all you need to do is actually see it.

I would wrap this up, however, I could never forgive myself If I didn't mention that fact that 'Sniper Assissian' also marks the first time in Hitman history that 2 players are capable of playing together. That's right, you can cooperatively take down the Yardbirds with someone else or compete for the highest score, whichever appeals to you more. Should you pick this mode you won't be forced to play as identical 47 clones either, (I'm so glad that we're past that point in gaming.) instead you get to play as one of two new ICA agents; Stone and Knight. These two will exchange in some incredibly dry banter as you snipe your way through the level. (such to the point that I'm starting to feel that 47's clinical apathy is catching.) I would provide a picture but I have no friends to play with, so have this video of me destroying Doris instead.

IOI's Sniper Assassin mode is an interesting beast that changes up the gameplay significantly whilst still managing to stay within the confines of the Hitman mythos. (for the most part.) I'll admit, however, that Himmlestein was not my favourite level. It felt too spare and hands-off for me. I mean, I have no qualms with waiting for an opportunity, but I prefer to be the one dropping the chandelier than be the one waiting for it to fall. (To make a reference to the old British comedy 'Only Fools and Horses') Luckily, I would get a map that was much more my speed next time around, but we'll cover that tomorrow.

Hitman 2: The Ark Society

Still think this is maintenance?

Alas here we are, at the end of our road. For a while now I have been maintaining my very first series of interconnected blogs wherein I covered all the individual levels from 'Hitman 1 & 2: No Subtitle' and celebrate what I love about each and every one. Ultimately, this has been an exercise in gleaning a little bit of knowledge about game design from the masterful folks over at IOI, and to that end I feel quite successful. Looking back, I feel there are places where I could have been a little more critical, but I think I covered most of what mattered when it came to these game's levels. Now, however, we are at the end of the line. So let's jump right into it.

From the information gleaned around Whittleton Creek, 47 was able to learn that Janus and the Constant were due to meet face-to-face for some event known as The Ark Society. Diana recognizes the name as referring to a cabal of super-rich elitist doomsday preppers but doesn't know of the location herself. Luckily, Lucas Grey's personal hacker Olivia is around to direct the team to bug Janus' coffin. Whilst Providence bring Janus' body to the meeting, thinking him to be the inside man working against the foundation, (like Diana told them) 47 and Lucas Grey track the body all the way to... an undisclosed island somewhere in the pacific? (Lame!) However there is a complication.

Seeing as how Providence now believe that the former Constant, Janus, was working against them all along, the Partners suspect that anyone close to Janus could be a potential risk. And who could have possibly been closer to Janus than the man he hired as his replacement, the current Constant? As a precaution, the Partners pressure the Constant into injecting himself with a poison nanochip that can be set off at any moment. This is discovered by the team just before they arrive on the Isle of Sgàil, where the Ark Society is being held. Their man on the inside (Wait, they have a man on the inside? Then why the heck did we have to go through the last mission if you had someone close to the Constant the entire time?) informs them that there are two killswitches for the Constant's bomb, and unbeknownst to him, they have been granted to the possession of two young Providence agents at The Ark Society. The newly appointed chairwomen; Sophia and Zoe Washington.



At this point the parameters of the mission shift. (and it's not just because IOI couldn't envision a Hitman level without the objective to kill someone.) Grabbing the Constant is no longer their primary concern knowing that he can killed remotely, now they had to prioritize taking down the Washington twins too. Lucky, these twins just happen to be terrible people. Raised to be irreverent socialites, Zoe and Sophia have dedicated much of their lives to being thrill seeking treasure hunters who traipse around the world with their band of trigger-happy mercenaries in search of riches (Which they already posses by-the-by) whilst caring little for the cultural/human cost of their thoughtless blundering. As Diana says "Collateral damage they may be, but safe to say, they have it coming."

Once again, IOI have tasked themselves with creating a level that is laser focused to conjuring the air of finale about, in it's every bone; and to that end the Isle of Sgàil is very successful. Borrowing from Situs Inversus' Hokkaido, The Ark Society takes place at the dead of night on an island amidst turbulent seas. You can practically feel the chill of the air as your speedboat jets in under the light of the moon. The most significant difference between Hokkaido and Sgàil, that I notice, is the different thematic approach from a technological standpoint. Hokkaido's map was a state-of-the-art medical facility built in the isolated mountains tops whilst Sgàil is an old Scottish sea-fort that has been renovated into the most exclusive masquerade ball on the planet. IOI went from high tech to low tech with this level.

IOI clearly took some inspiration from other properties when it came to designing this level, most prominently being 'Eyes wide shut' (although, don't expect an orgy.) Every guest and member to The Ark Society is required to wear a mask and suit concealing their identity and preventing rumors from starting (Although they'll apparently make an exception for 47 if he happens to rock up dressed as a flamingo.) There is also an incredibly well hidden Tomb Raider Easter egg that, if I was to go into it here, would turn this entire blog into a walkthrough.

Traversing the map is particularly fun for this level, as it is designed to be very methodical and straightforward from the ground up. (Although there are shortcuts, obviously.) As a guest, you are permitted to walk around the keep of the castle (Which is now a lighted drinks area) as well as the ceremonial burning money pit in the courtyard. (These are very pretentious rich people.) However, Zoe and Sophia spend their time amidst the higher tier levels of the Ark Society, so players are encouraged to work their way up the promotional ladder the old fashioned way, by knocking out your superiors and stealing their clothes. (That's how promotions work, right? I've never got one.) Logically, this will mean that players will progress through the level in a quite linear manner, very different to other Hitman levels and a welcome change of pace for folk like me. (Plus, you can go your own way too if that's your thing.)

I will admit, however, that the targets themselves are rather weak this time around. That isn't to say that Zoe and Sophia don't demonstrate their given personalities throughout the level, because they do, but rather that their personalities are confusing similar. Neither target feels sufficiently distinct from one another as they are both self important socialites who seek psychological dominion over their peers. It is actually uncanny how similar these twins are. I suppose one difference that could be spoken about is the fact that Zoe appears to be more involved in the running of the Ark Society whilst Sophia seems bored by the whole affair and would prefer to be out relic hunting again, but I'm grasping at straws here, on a personal-level they are identical.

I will commend IOI for bringing a slew of great assassination opportunities for these two anyway. I guess it makes sense, seeing that this level was the grand finale, but the amount of effort thrown into the opportunities still impress me. One of my favourites was the "...Now you don't" one in which you exploit the grandiose pageantry of the Ark Society to teach Zoe a lesson about fire safety. A lot of her assassination revolve around drawing her in with the busywork that maintaining the society demands before killing her off in a big way. Sophia, on the otherhand, has a few more personal assassination opportunities that require isolating her before pulling off something imaginative. (I won't hint at anything in particular, I'll just mention that the penthouse floor has a functional iron maiden in it.)

From a storytelling standpoint, IOI exceed once again as every room seems to be designed to teach us something about the Ark Society. Even going in, you'll likely be unsure as to what a cabal of super-rich influential doomsday preppers would look or function like, but as soon as you enter the Hyperborea room and see their plans to colonize Titan in the event of an emergency, things start to click together in your head. They're just like normal preppers, only richer. Zoe and Sophia's stories are linked so closely with the Ark Society that it is hard to separate the two. IOI made them both into relic hunters and the Society just happens to hold the largest collection of original relics in the world, (Something about a cultural preserving movement.) which is just one of the clever ways that the creators tied these two together.

The Ark Society is also just a really fun level to mess around in. (It takes place in a giant sea-bound castle, of course it is!) You'll find broadswords and battleaxes to have some fun with, as well as working cannons (that all seemed to be ponited in directions that they really shouldn't be aiming in.) and even a full suit of armour (Which, as you can imagine, makes 47 look pretty darn suspicious, should he choose to wear it.) My favourite part, however, is using these incredibly rare relics (Relics that can be compromised if they are so much as touched without gloved hands, according to a couple of workers.) and immediately smashing them over the heads of rich dicks. There is this Khaṭvāṅga that makes for a decent blunt instrument and an ancient Aztec necklace ("It belonged to Montezuma himself!") that doubles as a very effective garrote wire. My favourite tool to play with in this level, however, are the 5, incredibly delicate, Fabergé eggs in the level. (Or 'Filigree' eggs as IOI decided to name them.) There is something incredibly cathartic about picking up a $2 million piece of jewellery and smashing it over someone's head for no reason whatsoever. (Never let me near real-life relics.)

The Isle of Sgàil is both a fun and very climatic level. It may not lay on the difficulty like Hokkaido did, (Unless you've resolved to do it Silent Assassin, Suit only on Master difficulty. In which case; good luck.) but it provides the atmosphere and setting that subconsciously informs you of the high stakes of this finale. I also appreciate the *optional* final objective to threaten the Constant with a killswitch and walk him out of the castle to your escape boat. (It has to be optional or SA/SO runs would actually be impossible.) It's always fun to have a curve ball objective thrown into a Hitman level, and being forced to keep someone alive is about as curvy of a throw as you can get in these games.

So there we have it, every single level in the base game of Hitman 1 and 2, analyzed and discussed ad nauseam. All the other levels from 'Hitman : No Subtitle' were just reimaginings of those levels usually at a different time of day with a new target thrown in. However... Hitman 2 introduced a whole new kind of level with their 'sniper assassin' maps that might be fun to talk about, and they also introduced two new maps which, not only explore brand new locations, but actually continue the main story a little bit further. That's right, we ain't done yet. Next week we'll look at a different type of Hitman map as we brush up on 47's sniper skills.

Hitman 2: Another Life

Like I said, it's a longshot.


Once more into the fray with my blog series about delving into the level design of 'Hitman 2: No subtitle'. This next level is an interesting one, as it is the only level in Hitman 2 that I harbour genuine distaste for and, unlike with Colorado, I'm unsure as to why. Perhaps things will start to elucidate once I dive into it with my analytical lens on. Before I get started I have a disclaimer of sorts to say, as usual. Firstly, Spoilers ahead so bare that in mind. Secondly, I would like to preface this blog with an observation I've made of the entire mission roster.

I'm starting to realize, from doing this blog series, that there is a pattern in the way that IOI creates their content. It started as a passive, "Oh look, this one is similar to that one." but now that I think about it, every single map in Hitman 2 plays upon the same ideas that they bought up in 'Hitman : No Subtitle'. Paris and Miami are both highly publicized event maps. Sapienza and Santa Fortuna both feature sleepy towns that are seem to represent their respective countries. Marrakesh and Mumbai are both busy metropolitan environments. And as for Bangkok and Hokkaido... well, you'll see. It's as if IOI are specifically making their levels to cater to each and every type of fan in their respective wheelhouse. (Hence why the, not so popular, Colorado level just got remade into that short introductory mission in Hawke's Bay.)

Now that's out of the way, on to the revelations; and, oh boy, are there some big one's today. (Prepare for a metric butt-ton of story) After Colorado, all the back in Season 1, there was a brief cutscene in which it was revealed that the Shadow Client (Now known to be Lucas Grey) knew 47 on a personal level. It didn't take much deduction to figure out that the reason why was because they were both subjects on the Ort-Meyer productline. (This are all lore tidbits that date back to 'Hitman: Codename 47', I'll probably write a blog about it sometime down the line.) Fast forward to today, and 47 tracks Grey to the facility in which they were both raised. He is about to execute the Shadow Client when Lucas shows him the matching scars on their hand, plus the pair of child's handprints that had been left on the wall in their old bedroom. Despite having undergone extensive treatment in order to make him forget, 47 manages to break through his mental block and recall the name of his old friend; Not Lucas Grey, but Subject 6. (Seems someone got ripped off by the 'mind wipe' company.)

In the next scene we see that 47 has managed to drag Diana all the way down to Romania in order to meet Lucas Grey. (That must have been a tense private jet trip.) There Lucas and his hacker, Olivia explain the the inhumane experimentation that made him and 47, was headed up Providence, and that those two had consequently made a vow to dismantle Providence when they had the chance. Diana whips that dead horse about the ICA being 'neutral', (Despite the fact that the ICA have been accepting Providence contracts for the past half a year) and 47 has to shut her down with his tacit approval to the operation. Afterall, he already promised to do this long ago, and 47 never misses a target.

Lucas explains that Providence is organized through the efforts of a group known as the Partners, but their identity is a secret to everybody but one man, Diana's one Providence contact; The Constant. In order to reach him, however, they must go through the first man to hold that title, a retired Russian spy master known as; Janus. (He named himself after the Two-faced roman god? Well, he doesn't sound insufferable and pretentious at all.) After some research, which I can only assume consisted entirely of a google search, the team discovers that he has been stationed in the little all-American town of Whittleton Creek, wherein he enjoys the protection for an army of live-in guards. This leaves 47 with 3 objectives, yet again; He must kill Janus, Nolan Cassidy (Janus' head of security), and uncover information that would lead to tracking down the constant.

With all the world-travelling that Hitman games do, there are still some themes that IOI return to every now and then, themes that sometimes become beloved. Whittleton Creek is a map that is designed from it's very bones to hearken to the themes of Suburbia that fans have loved ever since Blood Money. Heck, they even reference it in the name. 'Hitman: Blood Money's suburbia level was entitled: 'A New Life', whilst IOI called this level: 'Another life'. They very much wanted to wear their influence right on their sleeve with this particular mission.

When you think about the connotation of an idea like this, you can understand why both the fans and IOI wanted to revisit it. The idea of a perfect, white-picket fence, American dream-esque image that is torn apart by the presence of one deadly assassin is intoxicating. It's the same idea that bought us one of the most effective scenes from Terminator, (Which, now that I think about it, was removed from the theatrical cut for some inane reason.) and the 'Tranquility lane' section of Fallout 3. We just can't resist the idea of taking something seemingly perfect and ruining it with wanton and excessive violence or cruelty. It is akin to the 'call of the abyss'; it is something that we shouldn't want to do, but we do anyway. Perhaps it is our way of projecting flaws into the flawless and proving that perfection doesn't truly exist, so that we can feel better about the inadequacies of our own life. There is a reason why the call it 'The American dream'.

That being said, this is a very pretty and expansive map. The design philosophy behind a suburban playspace is the possibility to be able to explore several lived-in home spaces and see into the lives of the residents. This was the same philosophy behind the Himmapan Hotel in Bangkok, but I always thought that IOI had failed to bring the idea to fruition in that level, whereas here I feel it is fully realized. If you can bring yourself to leave the gorgeous orange hue of the Autumn street, you can find snippets of other people's lives in the attics and garages that you visit, like shades of entirely unrelated lore. You may find something as inconsequential as a rockband set in someone's garage, and something as disturbing as a serial killer's toolkit in an old woman's basement. All of that is simply waiting for the player to explore.

Exploration certainly is the name of the game here, as both Janus and Nolan Cassidy are situated on opposite sides of a decently sized map. I think that this is where my gripes with this level begin, as between the targets is an inordinate amount of dead space. I do understand what IOI was going with here, especially with the 'intel gathering' objective that they introduced specifically for this level. IOI wanted to encourage players to explore and naturally pick up on the clues they needed to discover the location of the Constant. However, this does make the level seem sparse and lacking in purpose most of the time. A lot of these locations don't even have NPC's hanging around them, meaning that the level is lacking in potential for interesting escalations and/or user generated content.

Despite my issues, I will admit that the leaning towards exploration has definitely benefited the storytelling of the level. As 'Another Life' is lucky enough to only feature two targets, IOI had more time to design level-based Intel for you to discover more about your targets dynamically. Or should I say; Target, as IOI seemed to know where they wanted to invest the lionshare of their, and the player's, attention. Nolan Cassidy is a mostly storyless character with his only claim to fame being the fact that he used to be chief of security of 2005's Vice President, Daniel Morris; Who, incidentally, 47 kills in 'Hitman: Blood Money' (Yay, another past game reference!)

Seeing as how 'Another Life's preamble is designed to point out how significant of an influence that Janus had on 47's early life, it makes sense that IOI wanted to waste no opportunity for the player to learn more about the man, although these opportunities can be fleeting and hard to connect. I'm sure many player's who forced their way into the bedroom in the 'house for sale' never found out why there were signs of a murder scene having happened in there. I suppose that knowledge is the reward for the attentive. A few of the opportunities open up details about Janus too, one in particular has the player work in order to set off Janus' nostalgia bone, forcing him to ramble on about the 'good old days' from the cold war.

The opportunities have their own unique charm to them as well. Many of them aren't as flamboyant as you would find from some other Hitman levels (Like the one where you fed a druglord to his pet hippo) but they are no less explosive. (Sometimes literally.) My personal shout out goes to the opportunity wherein you gas Nolan Cassidy's base of operations with insecticide and then... well, do whatever you want to with his unconscious body. Again, it's not flashy, but it is open ended enough to allow for some creative murder opportunities.

'Another life' is a perfectly decent Hitman level, but one I find myself revisiting it very rarely. I feel that the map lacks a life outside of it's main targets and the catering towards the 'investigation' elements of the mission is the culprit. I won't pretend that the balance between making an engaging level and a flexible one is an easy one to strike, but I've seen IOI do it before and I know that they could have done it again. Sadly, they didn't here, and it really does ruin, what would otherwise be, a fantastic level. But, not to worry, as next time we will be diving into the exciting finale for 'Hitman 2: No Subtitle' in 'The Ark Society'. See you then.