Hitman 2 - Season Pass
#39
PC - Steam
Beaten October 14th
Nearing the end of the year, I return to one of the first games from this year (that actually released in 2018) to go through all of the DLC content now that it is released. I'm usually not one for going through DLC piecemeal, it usually feels like a waste of time/money to do things one at a time rather than in a nice chunk. For Hitman 2, I purchased the season pass shortly after beating the main game on a decent sale, and I've now come back to finish it all as IO Interactive announces they're finished with the major updates.
The DLC is composed of two proper maps and some sniper challenges (I did not bother with the latter), a bank heist mission and a tropical island adventure! An adventure about murder. Oddly enough this second mission has a few interesting angles I will get to shortly.. I also did two Elusive Targets that popped up while going through these levels, and those are neat. It took me forever to find the first target, and then ended up electrocuting myself before taking her out, locking me from the misssion... oops. The second went better, dropped an explosive ducky next to her and booked it out of there!
The bank level is a bit small, definitely larger than Hawke's Bay but not really full-level sized I thought. It looks excellent and there's plenty of challenge in figuring out how to get from area to area within and I liked the mission stories as well. There is a great 'kill' to push the main target out of a window that is prominent in the main floor (but the game really should have put more attention on beforehand, I did not notice it at all until my second run!) that deeply amused me. Also the secondary objective is to collect three data pads from three targets, which is interesting and all, but makes the actual vault section unnecessary and its like... why WOULDN'T you want your players to get into a cool bank vault?!
The second level is a beautiful multi-island beach resort, that certainly looks great. It actually looked a little too good as I got some chug from my laptop in trying to run it which was odd. There are three targets, and the twist here is that they don't actually seem like terrible people... they run a business that helps people shed all of their previous internet/tabloid history and assume new identities, but we never see them help heinous people like dictators, axe murderers, etc. however they ARE guarding info on the Secret Society we're chasing so we have to take them down. Seems a tad extreme but story isn't what we're here for okay?! There is also a cool mechanic where after 2 are down, a tropical storm rolls into the level and changes a bit of the dynamic. Mostly its just a lighting change as far as I can tell, and the rolling thunder makes noise a bit less noticeable to guards. Sadly no rain or lightning! This one was a great level to go through and had lots of inventive ways to take out the targets, and the stories seemed interesting as well. I'm a tad bit invested to see where the story is going for the sequel??
For the money, I'm not 110% sure these two maps were worth it, but it was still an interesting clockwork sandbox experience that I deeply enjoy about the rebooted Hitman franchise. The unlockables and twisting turns you're able to take with each level is fun, and the game's sense of humor and visual gags remains on point. Bring on Hitman 3!
#39
PC - Steam
Beaten October 14th
Nearing the end of the year, I return to one of the first games from this year (that actually released in 2018) to go through all of the DLC content now that it is released. I'm usually not one for going through DLC piecemeal, it usually feels like a waste of time/money to do things one at a time rather than in a nice chunk. For Hitman 2, I purchased the season pass shortly after beating the main game on a decent sale, and I've now come back to finish it all as IO Interactive announces they're finished with the major updates.
The DLC is composed of two proper maps and some sniper challenges (I did not bother with the latter), a bank heist mission and a tropical island adventure! An adventure about murder. Oddly enough this second mission has a few interesting angles I will get to shortly.. I also did two Elusive Targets that popped up while going through these levels, and those are neat. It took me forever to find the first target, and then ended up electrocuting myself before taking her out, locking me from the misssion... oops. The second went better, dropped an explosive ducky next to her and booked it out of there!
The bank level is a bit small, definitely larger than Hawke's Bay but not really full-level sized I thought. It looks excellent and there's plenty of challenge in figuring out how to get from area to area within and I liked the mission stories as well. There is a great 'kill' to push the main target out of a window that is prominent in the main floor (but the game really should have put more attention on beforehand, I did not notice it at all until my second run!) that deeply amused me. Also the secondary objective is to collect three data pads from three targets, which is interesting and all, but makes the actual vault section unnecessary and its like... why WOULDN'T you want your players to get into a cool bank vault?!
The second level is a beautiful multi-island beach resort, that certainly looks great. It actually looked a little too good as I got some chug from my laptop in trying to run it which was odd. There are three targets, and the twist here is that they don't actually seem like terrible people... they run a business that helps people shed all of their previous internet/tabloid history and assume new identities, but we never see them help heinous people like dictators, axe murderers, etc. however they ARE guarding info on the Secret Society we're chasing so we have to take them down. Seems a tad extreme but story isn't what we're here for okay?! There is also a cool mechanic where after 2 are down, a tropical storm rolls into the level and changes a bit of the dynamic. Mostly its just a lighting change as far as I can tell, and the rolling thunder makes noise a bit less noticeable to guards. Sadly no rain or lightning! This one was a great level to go through and had lots of inventive ways to take out the targets, and the stories seemed interesting as well. I'm a tad bit invested to see where the story is going for the sequel??
For the money, I'm not 110% sure these two maps were worth it, but it was still an interesting clockwork sandbox experience that I deeply enjoy about the rebooted Hitman franchise. The unlockables and twisting turns you're able to take with each level is fun, and the game's sense of humor and visual gags remains on point. Bring on Hitman 3!