"Hitman 2" review: Travel bald head to new attractions

It's impossible to say that the killer series has lost its soul. The glacier engine has been repaired and upgraded for almost 20 years; In order to distinguish, the serial number of the work is counted by the players to 6 generations, but the circle back to 2 (the series currently really has a code name in the name, only "Killer 2: Silent Assassin", and this just launched, will be called by many players 7 generation "Killer 2"); The gameplay of the game has also been following the very "Benge" stealth assassination, 47 clothing changes are estimated to be able to open the runway show. Or the same studio, or the same flavor, the killer series from the inside to the outside, there has been no earth-shaking changes, and some are only facing a more mature design.

Six years ago, Hitman: Absolution, known to players as the fifth generation, opted for something a little different, a linear process. Sure enough, it has been criticized by many old fans. I don't know if I heard their voice, IOI did not use the pure linear design to the killer's latest work, but retraced the time to 47's young age, restarting the high degree of freedom assassination experience, and thus, the new "HITMAN" was born.

Strictly speaking, the aspects of HITMAN2 are not very different from the previous game, and if you happen to have the previous game, you can even launch the previous game's levels in this game and have a complete world tour. From the structure of the game file, it is basically to buy the game to send the starter, with a new chapter, and in the plot cohesion, the story of the second generation follows the end of the generation, the former players can play without obstacles, but for the new players who only bought this game, it is a little unfriendly.

More mature level design

At the time, the operation of the previous game released by chapter gave me a feeling of waiting for the TV series update, this game is called Killer 2 is not a problem, we regard it as the second season of HITMAN to see it, but this time more conscience, IOI released all six new chapters at once. Yes, it's still six levels this time, with an additional sniper level (the same sniper game that was pre-ordered). Our 47 will continue to travel around the world, fulfilling organisational mandates and addressing a wide range of objectives.

To achieve the perfect assassination without leaving a trace is the gameplay idea advocated by the game. Discovering clues in an open map, piecing together the various preconditions to complete a mission to find the target, and finally tracking and killing the target in a prearranged way or by chance, is the unique pleasure it can provide.

Hitman 2's chapter maps are larger and more complex than the previous game, and they all have a very high level of completion, and each chapter is enough to stand on its own and become a separate play system. Correspondingly, the hidden props and interactive elements of the scene have also become richer. As players, we are free to explore the map, there is no forced story to push you to do something, other than telling you who the target is, the rest is up to you. In the campaign mode, there are no specific requirements on the way to kill the target, as long as you can destroy him, whether you are wearing a doctor's costume, strangling him from behind as an acquaintance, or shooting his head from a distance, various behaviors are allowed. It can be seen that this game has the self-confidence in the content volume to let the player discover and collect useful props by himself, direct a shocking assassination, and then quietly escape.

Whether it's the target you're trying to kill, or the various NPCS in the map, they all follow their own rules of action, and there are many opportunities for the player to seize, sometimes until the next loop, sometimes completely missed. This dynamic setting of mechanics makes the gameplay experience less boring, and just by following the object, you can discover locations and items that you would not normally care about.

Each chapter has a large number of challenging items, and the motivation to find them is the desire to explore

And with plenty of challenging projects giving value to exploration, most of your actions won't be meaningless. To thoroughly understand the entire map in the chapter is not only to enjoy the joy of exploration, but also to play a great help in the execution of the task.

This map is not only expanded in the surface, but also in the vertical space. Various pipes, secret doors, and wall eaves provide excellent hiding and sneaking places. The surprise brought by the complex three-dimensional structure exploration is very sufficient, and what is hidden behind each door is always very curious, and understanding and making good use of these scene structures can achieve the effect of surprise, so that the assassination process is smoother and safer.

The art of assassination

Since the beginning, games have treated assassination as an art that can be constantly innovated. It may seem inhuman, but how to kill with skill and creativity has always been an advanced experience that the game is committed to creating, and as players, we can also find a trace of evil pleasure in innovative killing. Under the clever packaging of the game, the players' feelings of guilt and doubt are transformed into pure and refreshing.

The whole game, from the UI to the atmosphere, feels plain and cold. ICA, where 47 is located in the background of the story, is a neutral organization in the form of an employment company, with customers all over the black and white, giving money to do things, and taking the lives of others is only a necessary way to complete the contract. In this process, rarely see 47 and his partners emotional fluctuations, which makes people feel not like taking the lives of others, but simply completing the task, no pity, no hatred, some calm and decisive action, everything makes the game show a sense of professionalism and force is unusually high, perhaps, this is the real killer way.

Different from the immediate action design on the surface, the Killer 2 is quite like a strategy game inside, although 47 is superb, the feel of the game is still slightly sluggish, and there is no deliberate effort to show 47's strength. Trying to avoid detection? Then obediently hide well, the game can Tuk Tuk Tuk, but the positive hard just pass the difficulty is high, no less than the perfect assassination, and finally can not get much high evaluation. The game encourages a minimum of interference, leaving the least trace of evidence to kill the enemy, and to achieve this level, careful thinking, spotting opportunities, and decisive action are necessary. In this process, the player's eyes, hands and brain are fully mobilized, and each prop, cover, and camouflage may become a magic weapon to hide their whereabouts. A perfect assassination ends up being the result of a series of well-aligned behavioral strategies that connect to create the "perfect alibi."

In terms of mechanics, Slayer 2 is like a "role playing" game. The player-controlled 47 is always keen to change into a new outfit and play various characters, and the rational use of camouflage is another great fun of the game. The player can rely on the right camouflage, blend into different environments, and even talk face-to-face with the inaccessible target of the assassination, when the target does not know that he is dying, but can only wait for death in ignorance. This is often the case with a game's chance system, which leads the player to an interesting story.

The only difference is that the title of "opportunity" in the previous game has been changed to "mission story", but the essence of the prompt has not changed, and players can still discover and follow an interesting small plot to complete a unique skill kill.

For example, in one scene, I manipulated 47 to play a painter to sneak into the target's side, and used the opportunity to draw for him, let him stand in a vantage point, which can trigger the advance story found earlier by exploring the map. In this way, the player does not even have to do it himself, as long as he stands there and paints, he can borrow the hand of others to kill the target cleanly at a distance, and then leave without being suspected by anyone in the process. Although the existence of mission story will make the game flow seem a little linear, but this is also to satisfy those players who like to have a clear goal hint, after all, can be free and linear, can be more people's appetite, it is not a bad thing.

Kill with a knife

This game inherited the previous set of Internet play, the design of the Internet to have a complete experience is sometimes annoying, but fortunately, the exclusive play of the Internet has been retained, so that the advantages and disadvantages are not uneven.

The existence of the contract system gives online players more creative space, players can freely design an assassination contract, who to kill, where to kill, with what to kill, wear what to kill, from where to escape... A complete set of processes from start to finish can be used by players to optimize the arrangement and combination of existing resources to create a unique assassination contract.

Through the Internet, these contracts are shared with all online players, so that everyone can enjoy the various levels with the malicious intent of the designers. Even if the quality is uneven, but the victory is the quantity, the creativity.

The Exclusive Target is also one of the ways that the game needs to stay online to provide gameplay, with the player having a limited time to kill the wandering target with a new behavioral logic. The first exclusive goal of the second generation is to be played by the famous "bento emperor" - Sean Bean, as for how to make his bento receive creative, receive a sense of art, is something we need to think about. Uncle Bin will officially log in to the game on the 20th, waiting for everyone to hunt.

It's lunch time again. Can't smile

Ghost Mode (Ghost Mode) is a new addition to the online gameplay, basically in the form of 1V1, in the existing map and other players to compete against the speed of the assassination target, but the two players can not directly affect each other, only in the distribution of props on some intersection, this is some regret, this mode is still under testing, New content will be added later.

Plus points for gameplay, minus points for story

The official gave the story of the game a definition - "spy thriller plot", but in the play process, the thriller mood did not emerge much, but hiding in the dark waiting for the excitement of more, can not say it is bad, but according to the current level of production of the same level of the game, the main story of the reboot of the killer series is not outstanding, only rely on the CG between the chapters, Unable to support a detailed understanding of the overall story, more plot fun, or to be discovered during the game. As mentioned earlier, there is more information in the side quest story system than in the main CG.

What's more, the full dynamic CG to the killer 2 here only static CG plus the subtle dynamic effect of the corners and corners, the performance is obviously not as good as the previous work. I don't know if it's intentional, or if it's not enough money to cut corners, but under the same series, the new is not as good as the old, and we can only think of the worst.

Conclusion

It can be seen that the killer series is gradually moving towards a new road of integrating the campaign and online gameplay, on the one hand, its own quality is good, and the replayable value is high, on the other hand, several new gameplay carried by the online mode also make the life cycle of the game not too short, which is a good thing for the continuation of the series and for fans. As the second work after the restart, Killer 2 is steady and steady, without deliberately making some changes for innovation, just adding richer content on the mature framework system, in the final analysis, the front is still longer. But the six tourist attractions are still not enough to play, and when the number of one-time episodes can be increased, the satisfaction of the game will be stronger.