Hitman was a hit cause it brought about a new meaning to gaming by intruducing 47 to the world.Its excellent levels,good storyline and irritating toughness makes it as crazily as possible-A WINNER.Then Eidos brings the sequel.HITMAN 2 and i got to be honest wih anyone who reads this review.This game is worth playing.There are a few control issues and it does get a bit tedious as you advance thru the missions,but you'll be so addicted to the game that to get a silent assasin rank you have to replay every level again devising 2 or 3 stratigies using elements in the game itself.That makes HITMAN 2 another winner.There are huge levels located in excotic places.Every level is different.Even the 3 st petersburg missions have different atmospheres.There are decent no of guns and snipers and an excellent storyline.

MY FINAL COMMENT
Play this game even if you are new to the hitman series.IT WILL get boring after you FINISH the game 4 times

This game is one of the most intense and suspenseful gaming experiences I've ever had. You are a hitman for hire trotting around the world and taking care of business. There are 20 missions, tons of weapons, great music, and again, some VERY intense gameplay.

Gameplay: I can't say it enough--suspense and intensity! The game is designed to be played in whatever way you choose. You can go in with guns blazing (which works much of the time, depending on the difficulty setting) or you can lurk in the shadows, behind corners, and within a variety of disguises. The game encourages you to use stealth and rewards you for being strategic and limiting "collateral" damage. Most missions will allow you to take out your target without harming anyone else. However, there are a few missions in which you'll have to send more than one person to the morgue. Much of the gameplay boils down to surveillance, getting disguises, staying away from guards (and most civilians), dragging and hiding bodies, finding and disposing of your target(s), and escaping. The real fun comes with choosing a strategy for the job and all of the tension created when you're sneaking around and trying to avoid being discovered. The only quirks I experienced with gameplay was the oversensitivity of the guards on a few occasions. Otherwise, this is a very entertaining game. It lasted me about 40 hours on expert (medium) difficulty.

Visual: Very well-done. The weapons look and act realistic, and the settings (St. Petersburg, Malaysia, Nuristan, India, Japan, and Sicily) are all attractive and convincing, with weather effects, region-appropriate language, and great architecture. The graphics are not state-of-the-art, but they are still quite good and create immersive atmospheres.

Sounds: The soundtrack by Jesper Kyd is probably the best I have heard in a game. It is orchestral, but fits the atmosphere of the game very appropriately. It also adds tension at the right times and does give you the sense that you are doing your deeds in faraway places and different cultures. The voice-acting is good, and people talk in the appropriate languages. All weapons sound as they should. Even the sound of the footsteps of your assassin are determined by whatever terrain he is walking/running on.

Replay value: I definitely intend to play this one again, since there is more than one way to complete the missions. Also, the more strategic and secretive you are, the higher your rating and rewards.

All together, Hitman 2 is an excellent game for anyone who likes stealth missions and intense gameplay.

I agree with what PC-Gamer said about the game (series). It's a couple of steps short of being a great game. I think the fundamental idea behind the game is good. However, it needs alot of work.

First off the enemy AI is out to lunch. Enemies will flip out on you at times when it feels you're doing everything right (prompting the often used WTF phrase for the game), and are happy-go-lucky at times when your clearly up to no good. Many times you can upset the enemy by doing something wrong or being in the wrong place only to rectify the situation completely by a change of clothes which many times is done in a dead end room or hallway. If the AI was any good enemies should get at least a little suspicious of a 6foot5 bald dude (oh yeah...UPC tatoo) now wearing a change of clothing coming out of the same place/area the enemies just chased your character (Agent 47) into. But no, everthing is kosher with them. To make matters worse sometimes enemies catch you in the act of changing into the clothes of a victem you just killed only for them to stand there and go "hmmm...is this right?". Sometimes you can actually get away with even that just by walking out of the area. One level in particular had problems with AI. Basically the idea was that you needed to come up with a Pizza delivery boy disquise and had to take out a Pizza boy for it. I found the best place to do that was in the bathroom while the delivery boy was taking a whizz. Nobody else was in the bathroom at the time so no one would immediately see a crime and then report it. Killing him was no problem. Changing into his clothes was no problem. But, the second you go to drag his body to a more secluded location everybody goes nuts. From the map system you can see how all security make an immediate beeline from across the building to the bathroom you are in to take you out. After trying this a couple of times I opted not to drag his body anywhere; taking a risk that someone would walk in on it. No one ever did. I find that with both the first and second Hitman I have to "work around" the AI like that. I hope they totally changed the AI on Contracts.

Although the map system has been greatly improved and simplified over the first Hitman I personally think that having a "satellite" dynamic feedback on every individual on every floor (inside and outside) is stupid. It really makes the new feature of looking through keyholes in doors(for enemies)laughable. I hope they have removed this in "Contracts".

Another thing I dislike is the report card you get at the end of every level. You get ranked on how aggressive you were in the past level (the more aggresive the poorer the score) and how stealthy you were (the higher the better). Although I don't mind being ranked on my performance in the game, this system allows players to finish levels with horrific scores. In another words they can go through the level shooting at almost everything in sight. Personally I think that defeats the purpose of the series. If you want a shooting fest you shouldn't expect it here. I would prefer if it was more like the original (I said more like it, not just like it, because that system was not without faults either). If you can't finish the level like something resembling a "Silent Assassin" you shouldn't get past it. You should get shot to pieces in a real hurry. Unfortunatly this is not the case. You just get a bad report card and move on.

I like the addition of the tool shed; a place you collect all of the various weapons available throughout the game. Unfortunatly many of the weapons are unholsterable and have to be carried out in plain sight of everyone else in order to be collected. If you are seen with it causing an alert (very likely) your score goes down. Also such weapons have to be carried out of the level one at a time. So you have to gamble with which weapon you leave a level with, hoping ones you have discarded will be available later in the game for you to collect. For example the first level allows you to collect a Golf Club and a sniper rifle. But you can only take one out. I have yet to see another occurrance of either weapon later in the game.

I also liked the use of more appropriate costums in this release. Gone are the days of a 6foot5 caucasion chineese waiter (in China) delivering poisened food to unsuspecting targets.

Eventhough I liked the levels of the first Hitman better (I thought more time was spent on them, ie plant leaves moving out of your way as you pass by) I also liked some of them here. St.Petersberg, for example, was done pretty well.

Overall I have to say I liked the original (despite the extra lives system) better then the second. I hope that Contracts is considerably revamped over Hitman 2. This game is not bad, but it could of been better.

I just installed Hitman 2 and have to say it is possibly the worst game I have ever played. The developers need to go back to school on this one, the controls are terrible! Playing this game is so frustrating, camera angles are terrible, movement also sucks. Worst of all, selecting weapons and "using" items just plain DOESN'T WORK!!! If you enjoy watching your character get shot dozens of times while you try to figure out why the game won't select you weapon, then I guess this is the game for you. Give this one a pass it just sucks bad - only positive thing is I got it free with my sound card, I'm giving this one away - actually that would be cruel, better off making this CD a drink coaster.

I have never played the first hitman but i bought this game on advice from a friend. This game is on of the best games that I have played. the missions might be short and the death secenes might be overdone. For example if you shoot someone in the foot with the M95 (a 50 cal. gun) he will die. I do know that and fifty cal gun is powerful but i thought that it would just blow off his foot. Also if you run it is a death sentence. But over all the game is great. It is a game in which you need to plan approach carefully. Or you can go in with your ballers and slaughter everyone in the level. But if you are going for a silent assissan rating you need to be careful. The game is awsome and the replay value is high it is worth the money.