Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

Richard likes his assassinations served with a nice Chianti, we're told.

The most grievous error though is the save game system. The save slot requires an offensive 59 memory blocks, which is one 4Megabit card. For many players that is going to mean purchasing a new memory card along with the game. The reason for this is the horrendous interface they've put in for loading each level, the problem being that there isn't one. As you play through you can save the game at any point in a level, the number of times you do this is limited by a finite number of saves available that is increased as you progress. It operates much like a very slow 'quick save' on a PC. That's all very nice but with the memory requirements it's unlikely you'll have more than one or two save games at any time and the system is not really suited to a console. The game is crying out for a Goldeneye style level screen, whereby you could easily and quickly go back to missions you'd completed. This would have presumably also vastly reduced the memory requirements, for those machines that don't have hard drives. Admittedly you can go back and revisit a level but the process requires loading in a game, quitting back to the home menu, starting a new game and then selecting the level from a list. It is clunky at best. The reason I've made such a fuss over the save system, and why I think it's particularly poor, is because part of the fun comes from finding out new ways solve the levels of the game.

As I alluded to in the introduction, the game has a very open nature in how you can approach each level. There will generally be one proper method designed into the missions, such as a deliveryman you can impersonate to gain entry. The guns blazing approach is often far easier though, perhaps too easy. You'll often resort to this cruder method more often than you like as sneaking takes a lot of patience. Walking everywhere so as not to break your cover can be a little tedious but much worse if you are in 'sneak' mode; you may as well put the kettle on. Despite this the reason the game works so well though is the mix and match of these two extremes. You can start by sneaking quietly into the inner sanctum only to have your cover blown leaving you with a fast, running gun battle. There is something satisfyingly perverse about stealing an enemy uniform and marching right up to the target to deal your first killer shot, then blasting your way through surprised guards to the exit. If you want to take the stealth approach you are kept informed of your status as it relates to the guards with short messages displayed at the bottom of the screen. So if you haven't hidden a body properly you'll be told when it's found and also if guards are now looking for a 'suspicious waiter'. If you do have to make a fight of it the enemy AI is pretty competent and varied, some guards might stay in cover, others might not yet be alarmed, while some will head towards you in a gang. The huge range of options for you to explore is really good fun and you'll be tempted to try different things all the time.

A huge variety of weapons for dealing with all these possibilities is available from your trusty shed, from anaesthetics, pistols, rifles and shotguns. Each of these is accompanied with different animations for reloading and appropriate sound effects. The bodies in the game have rag-doll physics, so when shot, people tend to fly backwards rather melodramatically and flop to the ground. This is also neat when you have to drag a body, as the limbs will bend to the scenery as you move. The cut scenes used in the game are all done with the in game engine, so the fact that the graphics are quite pleasing is important. This does come at the cost of the frame rate however and during busier times you'll notice some slow down. The soundtrack on the other hand is consistently impressive thanks to a brilliant orchestral soundtrack that adds a huge amount of atmosphere to the game. It's so nice to play a Nintendo game without having to suffer a beeping midi tune for once.

Hitman 2 has some flaws but it is an excellent game with innovative level design and some slick production values. The caveat being the Nintendo version is not the best incarnation of it. While I don't believe that PC and console games can't coexist, attention needs to be paid to the relative strengths and weaknesses of the platform. However given the graveyard that is the GameCube's release schedule and the limited number of action games out for it, Nintendo fans are sure to enjoy this atypical title.

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By Richard Clifford