Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

Hitman 2: Silent Assassin is a 2002 stealth video game developed by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. It is the second installment in the Hitman video game series and the sequel to Hitman: Codename 47.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Great graphics for its time.
 * 2) Good voice acting.
 * 3) Great soundtrack.
 * 4) Unlike its predecessor, you now have more than one approach to killing a target, which became a staple of the franchise.
 * 5) *For example, in the very first level, you can disguise yourself as a florist (but you'll be frisked), a delivery man (can hide your handguns in a crate), or as a guard (giving you access everywhere, weapons and all) to infiltrate the restricted area, or if you look around enough you can find a sniper and snipe the target from afar.
 * 6) There is an anesthetic that can be used to knock-out enemies, but keep in mind it has limited use.
 * 7) Decent story about 47 hunting for the people who kidnapped his friend.
 * 8) Lots of weapons at your disposal ranging from silent pistols to a crossbow. Fortunately, you don't have to worry about money this time since the currency mechanic has been removed allowing you to have whatever gun you want and already have ammo.
 * 9) *Even better, if you bring weapons from a level to the exit, you add that weapon to your arsenal.
 * 10) There is now a suspicion meter so you can know how close you are to being detected.
 * 11) A new rating system. Depending on how stealthy, or aggressive the player carries out the mission, a rating will be given. The highest being Silent Assassin, which is acquired through flawless stealth and with little to no aggression. There are rewards for getting Silent Assassin as well.
 * 12) *You get the Ballers with silencers for achieving Silent Assassin on any mission.
 * 13) *You get a Sawn-off Shotgun for achieving the rank on any two missions.
 * 14) * Finally, you get a M4 Carbine for achieving it on the level Shogun Showdown, or on all four St. Petersburg missions in a row.
 * 15) The ragdoll physics can be really amusing since you can send flying if done right.
 * 16) Decent gunplay.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) When enemies wake up after being knocked out and go to other enemies explaining their situation, enemies will almost always run straight to you even if you're wearing an entire different disguise and if you're on the other side of the map.
 * 2) Some assassinations levels only have one way of accomplishing them, but gladly there are only a few on them.
 * 3) The concept of self-discovery in the plot is seemingly forgotten after the prologue.
 * 4) The suspicion meter is a little wonky since sometimes you'll get detected for no reason and you can't run past NPCs while in disguise.
 * 5) Crouch-walking is really slow.
 * 6) The levels in the snowy mountains of Japan (excluding Shogun Showdown) are poorly designed and make it practically impossible to get Silent Assassin due to the large numbers of snipers and the fact that enemies check your ID when in disguise, realizing you're an intruder. Many have called these the worst missions in the franchise.
 * 7) *Apparently, IO Interactive believed this as well. Players reported that if you manage to get the Silent Assassin rank on the level At The Gates on the Xbox 360 version, your Xbox Live account will most likely be audited for suspected cheating.
 * 8) The game's release sparked controversy due to a level featuring the killing of Sikhs within a depiction of their most holy site, the Harmandir Sahib, where hundreds of Sikhs were massacred in 1984. An altered version of the game was eventually released on all the platforms with the related material removed from the game.

Game Tips

 * 1) Let the animation for the anesthetic play out. If you act too fast and finish it earlier, you'll cancel the animation and potentially blow your cover.
 * 2) Never run when close to enemies in a disguise. Unless if you have the opportunity to do so, you risk once again blowing your cover.