How Will You Play Hitman 2?

[Saba]

OK, I guess I'll give in to the peer pressure here on the forums and post my own poll. Zaphod and ICEBreaker probably remember me posting this question way back in February, when all of us but Zaphod and his cat were looking forward to a March Hitman release. But now that Hitman is intended to be released in only two months, on September 3, I thought I'd repost it in a poll format, which is much simpler, of course:

"Hitman will allow you to play the game whichever way you want; run and gun, precision, no unnecessary kills, and so on. Which way will you guys play? As for me, I'm not sure yet, I think I'll try both and see what happens. Personally though, I think there's more satisfaction and fun in getting the job done stealthily--and skillfully--than shooting and killing anything that moves."

In short, how do you guys plan on playing Hitman 2, loud and dirty, or silent and stealthy?

[Zaphod]

Silent and stealthy.
Its my favorite kind of gaming.

[Xcom]

Both ways of course.

[Muzman]

heh. Thought this would be about third person v. first person views

My answer is; silent at first, then many excursions into bloody mayhem on replay

[Salem4]

Those who plan to play only loud and dirty (as I know many of my friends would) should choose another game. Max Payne, for example.

I myself are of course a fan of silent and stealthy actions and am not satisfied with a mission unless no one points me out as "suspect". I'm going to Copenhagen in Denmark next week, (The home city of IOI). Maybe I should knock on their door and tell them to hurry up? :D I can't wait until Hitman "hits" the shelves again.

[Saba]

That's what hitman is all about--silence and stealth. It can be very interesting and challenging to achieve your objectives with the minimum kills and disturbances. And now that we've got a save game option, I think we're less prone to wild killing sprees, born out of intense frustration of course.

Still, I am not ruling out the killing spree as one of my replay options, like Muzman. I like to see how many people I can kill with the Obayun knife/silenced beretta without being caught. The ultimate test of a Hitman's skills, with the goal being to wipe the whole map clean, undetected.

[Catman]

I'm afraid Thief has eaten my brain. I'll have to go with silent and stealthy.

[Saba]

This is a pretty one-sided poll. None of us here are willing to admit our primal, inherent desires to let it loose and go berserk on a wild, unbridled killing frenzy.

[ICEBreaker]

I don't think so. It is just that people who enjoy Hitman enough to come to this forum would naturally be stealth players. Unlike games like Deus Ex where there is an option to play both ways, Hitman is heavily biased on stealth and it is difficult (and a bit repetitive) to play it aggressively.

There are many players who enjoys going beserk and I think there is nothing wrong to admit this. However those players will now be boasting about their heavy kill counts in Planet Quake.

[sammiej]

i'd play both ways

but i would rather play loud and dirty:D

[corseque]

I was very disappointed that most of Hitman's missions degenerated in traditional firefights the only exceptions being Budapest and two Hong Kong missions. I'm pleased to know that this has been changed in Hitman 2 and every mission can be completed with stealth.

[Saba]

They will accomodate our occasional needs for a gunfight or shooting spree too.

Hitman 2 will be a very dynamic game.

[cjmoho]

well since hitman 2 is being held till october 11 or around there ive been thinkin' just about trying to play every mission without being alerted and without killing them also finding more than 1 way to do it .then of course i will give in to bloodlust and wipe areas clean be them friendly or foe muahuahahahahahaha!!!
:eek: :eek: :eek: :D :eek: :eek: :eek:

[Nuhauser]

The stealth element seems a little wonky in Hitman. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. If there are enough options to select the exact gear and plan that you want (and if the save is implemented, unlike the current demo), then stealth is the ideal approach. Having just completed the demo by killing everything in sight however, that's rather fun too =).

[Zaphod]

Just played the demo through successfully.

But I had to go Mass Murderer. I don't remember having this much problem with stealth in the first one. Maybe this one's just harder.

I have to say, some of the Cool of the first game is gone. The big-rounded-font drop-down menus, the + for a health bar, the ! alertness indicator - the design seems less John Woo and a liiiiiittle more Mario Brothers.

I mean, I'll take those lumps if it means better gameplay, and this demo certainly has some good stuff going on that Hitman1 didn't, but it just seems a little closer to Project IGI than Hitmans should be. I miss the green-on-black 70s-idea-of-what-computers-look-like font. I miss the barely-readable drop-downs.

And I can't get a perfect keymap yet.

But this demo gives me a lot of hope for the game. It's long, it's involved, it's not straightforward, and there are multiple ways of doing it.

Good stuff.

[freakdog]

I'm going to play just like I did in the original . Stealth where possible , brute force where necessary . Subscribing to one sort of style or the other can get you killed in any game . In "Say hello to my little friend" , at the start of the mission you could just stand on the ridge and take out about 60% of the guys in the mission , then grab a uniform and waltz in guns ablaze if you like . I liked standing on the ridge and picking them off then walking in and trying to stealth it out . But , theres no way to say going completely one way or the other will save you . In the third mission (i think) you had the choice of freeing the guy from the basement and then poisoning the head guy . BUT , even trying stealth there you couldnt win because when you gave him his soup his bodyguard drank it , died , and then they went crazy on you . So , out came the guns ! Its all situational guy's . As true fans of the game you know that sometimes stealth must be sacrificed in order to save your hides . And sometimes running into that hotel with your AK47 wasn't the best idea , but it sure was fun .

"Frustration lead me to the AK . My clones lead me to the minigun. "

Freak

[Xcom]

Originally posted by Zaphod
Just played the demo through successfully.

But I had to go Mass Murderer. I don't remember having this much problem with stealth in the first one. Maybe this one's just harder.



So did I...at first. LOL. But I think I am getting there. Apparently, IO dudes played Thief and now you can shoot lamps and hide in the dark. (dynamic lighting rocks). Anyway, playing in EASY :o mode, I successfully finished as professional. (fyi: the highest is Silent Assassin) The MAP with GPS tracking is very handy (it's only showing enemies in easy mode). This also slightly reminds me of Commandos gamplay. Just observe the map, study their patrol routes.

I think that 2 civilians (groceries boy and postman) are only there to confuse you. Stealing their clothes got me nowhere and I was pretty quickly recognized.

[Saba]

Is it just my computer, or do your victims die in slow motion too?

By the way, the minimum processor reqs are 600 MHz.

[Saba]

Hitman 2 is just a different game... The main difference is the AI. Disguises won't help you anymore. It's all about stealth now. I managed to get a ranking of "Professional," and I think I now how to get "Silent Assassin," but I haven't tried it yet.

[Fetch]

I have a feeling that you might end up slightly disappointed ;)

Mission 2, for instance, has such a tight time limit that trying for surgically clean will blow your deadline. But then, your objective will change so you'll still get a chance to complete it.

Stealth is a lot more important than deception ( If you are in a guard disguise watch the alert monitor, and do NOT get too close to other guards or you will be made, and then you will be shot :) ) and sometimes its better to choose a quick and dirty solution than an ideal one. Thankfully, the penalties for civilian and non-target kills do not seem to exist in H2, so if you really think that killing Grandma is necessary, you can do so.

I personally try for a stealthy as possible, within reason. If I have to get past a guard, and I don't see a quick way to do so, *bam* he gets a silenced round in the head and I continue on. Like they say, the job comes first :)




Originally posted by Salem4
Those who plan to play only loud and dirty (as I know many of my friends would) should choose another game. Max Payne, for example.

I myself are of course a fan of silent and stealthy actions and am not satisfied with a mission unless no one points me out as "suspect". I'm going to Copenhagen in Denmark next week, (The home city of IOI). Maybe I should knock on their door and tell them to hurry up? :D I can't wait until Hitman "hits" the shelves again.

[Saba]

The first time around on every mission I will have to play that way, but I'm not going to move on to the next until I've mastered the mission with a Silent Assassin rating.

[Fetch]

I'd love to see a SA on mission 2. I'm fairly sure it is possible, but it'd be an interesting combination of running and sneaking :)

[Saba]

I managed professional in this one, and SA doesn't seem like anything difficult.

Hint: Use the sewers.

[Tiper]

stealth will do

[Saba]

Playing without stealth just kills the whole essence of the game. It's like overusing cheats. And you always feel guilty afterwards.

[xarax]

Some of the missions seem impossible to complete as "Stealth Assassin", like the Castle. Way too many ninjas hiding in the rafters, and changing clothes doesn't help at all.

[Fetch]

Originally posted by Saba
I managed professional in this one, and SA doesn't seem like anything difficult.

Hint: Use the sewers.

About the hint: "duh" :)

Now, How to get past the patrolling guards at the building opening you sniper from, and how to avoid the roving guard in the building after you take your shot ? ;)

BTW, I managed a "natural" SA on two missions thus far (and by that I mean, I did not try to find a non-obvious solution to get it, I just did what made sense at the time), Hospital Island and the mission before it. Silenced .45s and a sawed-off, woo! :)

[Clawedfish]

I like to try to play it stealthy but if I get busted, I'll atleast try to play it out.

[TheDarkStar]

I am in the last level now and I got on all levels the Silent Assassin rating and I only killed the target person and just the target. I have 0 Close Encounters and only 4 alerts so far, but they are not avoidable (like in "St. Petersburg"). Fortunately there is always a stealth way, which is great.

[Lake]

I am trying to complete each mission using stealth. After Hidden Valley/At the Gates, my patience level went down and my violence level went up.

[Saba]

Tragically, I've seen a recent surge in my violence levels too.