After some negotiations I decided to wear the pink flamingo costume and went through the Offlineyarr secret contract 2.0, poor gimped Agent 47 didn't make it easy but the mission was not a failure all things considered
The game is as expected nothing but a barcode-adorned clone of Hitman 2016 with a few cameras, mirrors and bushes added here and there, which means that the silly online-only progression is still present (no unlockables/sniper rifles unless you're connected to the agent's sphincteric dongle), most of the missing signature features are still on Diana's blacklist and basic tasks/controls are designed for a more diluted couch-friendly gameplay experience. On the bright side, it's now possible to choose the difficulty setting from the get-go, *it's something*.
The best (and only ) way to achieve some sense of reward and approach the game without feeling like a bald pear as always is to disable the abysmal X-ray instinct(tm) mode, the minimap, the various warnings/outlines and the spoiler-y Guidance (off by default on Master, though the Minimum setting on Professional is still acceptable), leaving only the enforcers and weapon hud enabled. These steps are mandatory in my opinion. Once all the visual derp is gone the game finally starts to shine, one can focus entirely on the (great) world design by studying the AI's routes, listening to dialogues and figuring sadistic things out by himself. Relying on the default map and intel-related infos makes everything just much more satisfying, although not being able to peek through keyholes really is a capital sin that deserves the walk of shame.
I found the maps better structured overall than S01's (especially the big trio Miami, Colombia and Mumbai - North Sea and its Dark Society deserves a mention too), with a lot of room for exploration, interesting scripts ready to be triggered, the typical dark humour and all the bizarre Benny-Hill-esque situations. There's a high replayability as per usual, even though five levels (since the first one is merely a tutorial) ain't a grand tour and the dull main story with fixed cutscenes feels like an afterthought.
Didn't encounter any problems with the technical/performance side this time around (at High details/1080p), it's a damn old engine but..it works for what it is, despite some vintage animations and moments where I desperately needed sunglasses. I'd give this iteration a ~7,5/10, not quite the Hitman that we deserve and (sadly) far from the excellence of the past, still, it's definitely better than having the Agent stuck inside Absolution's cinematic grave.
Spoiler:
Speaking of "dead" people, reminds you of something?
Hehe yep, there indeed is a lot of sandboxy entertainment to be had here, plus the levels are well designed which helps quite a bit. It's a shame that as per usual there are (highly unnecessary) design restrictions when it comes to the offline mode and the fact that important gameplay elements that were present 12 years ago are still missing (either because of laziness or simply because of the layer of streamlinization) is difficult to ignore. They're so close..and yet so far. Oh well, alas gaming these days is mostly made of compromises
Hehe yep, there indeed is a lot of sandboxy entertainment to be had here, plus the levels are well designed which helps quite a bit. It's a shame that as per usual there are (highly unnecessary) design restrictions when it comes to the offline mode and the fact that important gameplay elements that were present 12 years ago are still missing (either because of laziness or simply because of the layer of streamlinization) is difficult to ignore. They're so close..and yet so far. Oh well, alas gaming these days is mostly made of compromises
I watched all the missions of Blood Money on youtube before playing Hitman 2. I didn't want nostalgia to be a factor when I judge this game. There are definitely some features missing from Hitman 2 (AI picking up weapons to attack you, human shields, guns customization), but this goes both ways. It would be nice to have all of them now. But I'm not sure if all these features are that important. IOI is putting more effort into level design and with it, all the different ways to take out the targets. Even if this is as the expense of having more levels.
I think Blood Money is a more rounded up game and that's why is so beloved. It's lengthier by default. It has the better presentation, the better story and plenty of features that felt revolutionary at the time. Hitman 2 is a more focused experience, giving the players a platform to play assassin rather than the whole package. It's maybe less memorable, but I wouldn't count this against it. What I would count against it is the online bullshit and all the assisting features that are luring players into a lesser experience. Funny how IOI doesn't realize how damaging these two are for their games.
yeah I bought it as well and it freezes/crashes after a couple of minutes on my new PC (9900K+RTX2080Ti). Weird thing is that it does not crash at alll on my previous rig (4790K+TitanX Maxwell)...
Bit better than bumping up a old topic but Blood Money and Absolution are getting a updated re-release although they are not doing a update for the PC platform.
Quote:
Today we’re happy and excited to announce Hitman HD Enhanced Collection, a compilation of two classic Hitman titles remastered in 4K resolution: Hitman: Blood Moneyand Hitman: Absolution. It will be available digitally January 11, 2019, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Both games can be played in 4K resolution and 60 fps, including many other improvements that bring these two classic titles into 2019 with the attention and love that they deserve.
“We’re very happy with this collection and how we were able to update and remaster two of our classic Hitman titles for modern consoles,” said Hakan Abrak, CEO, IO Interactive. “Hitman: Blood Money and Hitman: Absolution have helped us on our journey to where we are today, and we’re looking forward to players enjoying them in 4K and 60 fps.”
Hitman HD Enhanced Collection will feature:
4K visuals at 60 frames per second
Increased texture resolution
Upgraded texture formats
Super-sampling
Upscale support
Heightened shadow map and mirror resolutions
Improved lighting
Updated controls for a more fluid experience
EDIT: PC versions of these aren't exactly terrible but from what I'm reading the servers are offline so any online stuff is non-functional.
EDIT: Hmm wonder if it's WB using the franchise a bit and getting more out of it or if this is more on IO.
EDIT: No it seems to be entirely on IO Interactive and WB is likely uninvolved.
Yeah not a fan of that decision, it's nice to see the older games updated and polished though and for the PC version I suppose the main thing compared to the last-gen console ports would be the texture improvements and also the possibility of online mode working again for those who use it.
Texture formats is a nice one too, BC7 compression perhaps instead of DXT5 and thus less artifacts and a decrease in noticeable compression issues or noise.
Unsure how the control differences will handle, improved gamepad support would likely be welcome though and then it's things like 60 FPS at 4k but it does clearly note upscaling support so probably going via that at least for Absolution.
For Hitman S2 itself it seems well received and popular but has a smaller fan base so sales aren't the best. I picked it up earlier though I am waiting on the rest of the content before going into the game which should also see additional patches released.
EDIT: Well that and the game itself is also a bit more niche than the average "AAA" first or third person action game.
Absolute worst Hitman game and best one sold in one single package is a curious bold move
I wouldn't have minded a Blood Money with more bells and whistles, though thankfully with downsampling, various AA methods and ps2wide's widescreen patch our version still holds up nicely.
Almost all of those features of the remastered editions are useless/unneeded for the PC versions of the games I think. For example, doesn't Blood Money support huge resolutions (maybe with a tweak)? And doesn't it run at 60fps?
Question: I bought the GoTY of the first one during a recent sale and was wondering should I pickup the 2nd one before I start playing the game at all? Doesn’t it allow you to play the original with all the new gadgets and mechanics or did I read that wrong? Also, does it require you to have both games installed? Thanks!
couleur wrote:
Everything I don't understand is a mental disorder.
couleur wrote:
If the illegals are drowning its their fault for attempting to cross the river in the first place. Especially the children. /s
russ80 wrote:
Who cares about gameplay. It's one of the few next-gen looking titles out there so BRING IT ON.
You can play Hitman's episodes through Hitman 2, this way you take advantage of the updated engine. You only need to have Hitman 2, the episodes of season 1 are installed as DLCs.
The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don’t always spoil the good things and make them unimportant.
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) way to achieve some sense of reward and approach the game without feeling like a bald pear as always is to disable the abysmal X-ray instinct(tm) mode, the minimap, the various warnings/outlines and the spoiler-y Guidance (off by default on Master, though the Minimum setting on Professional is still acceptable), leaving only the enforcers and weapon hud enabled. These steps are mandatory in my opinion. Once all the visual derp is gone the game finally starts to shine, one can focus entirely on the (great) world design by studying the AI's routes, listening to dialogues and figuring sadistic things out by himself. Relying on the default map and intel-related infos makes everything just much more satisfying, although not being able to peek through keyholes really is a capital sin that deserves the walk of shame. 
