Not only did I get some great hands on time with the game but also spoke with Executive Producer Markus Friedl
About the game.
Everyone’s favorite assassin Agent 47 is back at it again with io interactive and WB
Games upcoming release of Hitman 2. At E3 I was lucky enough to be given
the opportunity to play through part of just one of the numerous missions that will be
available when the game releases on November 13th, 2018. Since I hadn’t played a
Hitman game in awhile I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it and see for myself how
revolutionary the game had become. I wouldn’t be disappointed…
My first experience as Agent 47 in Hitman 2 took me to Miami Florida. My mission was
to eliminate a father and daughter race team duo, who coincidentally were also arms
dealers who provided specialized weapons that took the lives of innocents in a
far-off country. Since this was just a demo of the actual mission my focus for this
was the elimination of my first target, the daughter. She was a two-time championship
race car driver, who was competing in what would be her final race if I completed my
mission successfully.
I began the mission simply enough by knocking out a guard to gain access to his
uniform and keycard. This is only one “role” that I’d play and as I progressed
further I also would try my hand as a bartender, so I could slip rat poison into a
pit crewmember’s drink to gain access to her car. You can’t simply walk around
without drawing attention unless you look the part, so gaining access to my targets
car would require a fitting disguise. Occasionally someone would recognize that
I was not who I was pretending to be, and I’d have to lose them in a busy crowd before
they could blow my cover. As I walked through the crowd, numerous conversations
would be going on, some that would even provide hints on how I could further my
objective. Ultimately my mission ended as I slipped an explosive charge on the back
of my unsuspecting victims car during her final(in more ways than one) pitstop, and
then detonated it as she was completing her last lap.
The thing that makes this Hitman even more diverse then previous titles is the
methods you can take to complete your objectives. I sat down with
Executive Producer of Hitman 2 from io interactive who explained to me that while
your objective is given to you, how you get there is up to you. There are many
different choices that you can make along the way, and each one determines the next
steps you can take. Hitman 2 is a true sandbox game, that allows you to take the
path you wish to successfully complete your mission. In the mission I played, that
was simply one method of taking out my target. There were options to gain access to a
sniper rifle, and take her out in less grandiose fashion, or dress up in a mascot
uniform. The idea is to provide you with practically limitless options for a player
to play the way he/she feels best suites their style of play.
I also spoke to Markus Friedl about the various locations that we could expect to see
in Hitman 2. All he could say was that there were six exotic sandbox locations where
numerous missions could be performed. Miami was the obvious one, as it was part
of the demo and has been seen in the trailer as well, but he stated that Hitman
is about traveling around the world, completing missions in exotic and
interesting locales. I’m absolutely looking forward to what other places we’ll get to
visit upon its release.
The demo played incredibly crisp, and for a demo I couldn’t believe all the
possibilities open to me from the beginning. The incredible thought that has gone
into making this as realistic an experience as possible is mind boggling. I
certainly can’t wait to get my hands on the final product when it releases.
