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  1. #1

    Is Hitman 2 the game 2018 forgot?

    I remember when Hitman 2016 came out. It was a divided response between 'This is the best entry in the series since silent assassin' and 'theres too much bullshit around it'. Long story short it was another western game Square Enix expected extremely unrealistic numbers for while apparently ordering it be a games as a service episodic release which made it very hard to know when to market it, initial release at one episode or when its all complete and you can sell it all months later. Throw in Denuvo that made pcs run like shit when playing the game and always online and a visually impressive and mechanically excellent stealth-puzzle game got totally forgotten.

    Personally i treated it as a shame and ignored it till IO went independent and the game was then sold as a single package without the denuvo and all of a sudden it was a sleeper darling that everyone i know into stealth games was playing. IO was free to make Hitman 2 what they wanted under their own terms and everyone was excited.

    Then it turned out it was episodic, always online stuff. Again. This time IO made it look like their new publisher Warner Bros. were behind it but folks were in full on 'fool me twice, shame on me' and some footage of a magic corner curving flying briefcase didn't help. So here we are 2 years later and you have videos like this from noted stealth evangelists:



    Now Hitman 2 -which if you own the first lets you import all the first games maps but remastered and is apparently excellent- is selling like shit and you can find it on places like Amazon below £30 when PSN is still charging £55-90 for it like it came out last week.

    So did anyone buy it? or is this the bomb that kills IO? the best game nobody ever bought?
    Last edited by dope_danny; 2018-12-27 at 09:42 PM.

  2. #2
    The Insane Aeula's Avatar
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    Gonna be honest, I forgot about it. I actually forgot to finish the first one. Doing the missions perfectly practically takes all day, so I kept delaying it until I had time, then I just forgot about it altogether.

    Maybe I'll pick it up again this week since I've got nothing else to do. If I enjoy it then I'll get 2.

  3. #3
    They had the genius idea of launching a more niche product in the middle of main stream AAA fuck fest aka the holiday season.

    Games always die when you do that.

    Unless you have a massive IP or are a sports game, don't launch in the most crowded release window of the year.

    A lot of the JP developers are woke to this as you see big releases in Jan-Aug from them more often these days. Western companies are dumb and don't understand it yet.

  4. #4
    Bought Hitman 2 and Hitman, enjoyed it and still play it once in a while, do some challenges, kill new elusive targets.

  5. #5
    The Unstoppable Force Super Kami Dende's Avatar
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    I didnt even know it had come out yet

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Aeula View Post
    Doing the missions perfectly practically takes all day.
    you would be surprised


  7. #7
    The Insane Aeula's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dope_danny View Post
    you would be surprised

    Impressive, but to be fair that's the tutorial and it's kinda hard to know to do that on your first run. Still though, damn.

  8. #8
    Well since i'm a sucker for stealth games i picked it up and its an interesting experience. For owning the first game i downloaded the entirety of the first game and its so weird to replay games from the same gen two years ago but in the new engine with far better lighting and an increased if slight movement speed on everything makes it look and feel different. Because of that inclusion it actually doesn't give the tutorial for 2 and drops you right in as you drop on a windswept beach sneaking up on a condo as the moonshines high but a thunder storm is coming in the from the mountains. It really shows off the improved engine and a choice to make maps thus far seem far less static. Like yes it still has the sandbox fun with npcs on a routine but midway through the entire dynamic can shit and change.

    Haven't tried the new multiplayer mode yet but if you didn't get the 2016 game but like stealth i totally recommend this with the cheap dlc price that adds in all the remastered 2016 content even if you didnt own it.

  9. #9
    Elemental Lord Tekkommo's Avatar
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    Wouldn't say so, it's a niche game.

    Graphics are pretty, but it's not a £45 game. I'll buy it on sale, I don't see any reason why it deserves any plaudits, besides being a short fun game that feels rushed (not my words, just from what I've been told it felt rushed).

  10. #10
    Scarab Lord Skizzit's Avatar
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    The problem I have with it is similar to the problem I have with Just Cause 4, it feels way more like an expansion pack than a sequel. No one wants to pay $60 for an expansion pack.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by dragothica View Post
    It's a great game, the level design is incredible, take Miami level for example. I think the game wasn't that successful as the levels were released as a new game and not as an expansion pack or a DLC for the first one. It was also released in the very crowded fall period of 2018. But really the episodic release schedule of Hitman (1) was a great idea and I just wish they would have followed through by just adding new levels into it as DLC.

    The game is pretty much Online only anyway so it's weird that the episodic release schedule didn't work out.
    I kind of wonder if the only reason its not an expansion pack was their new publisher wanting to sell it as a retail priced release, some issue with the original game still being under Square Enix's name or the fact very few things get called expansion packs anymore when honestly this is the most expansion pack feeling thing i've played since Shivering isles. Tons of new content with new maps and missions and side objectives while also bringing along and improving the originals. Just playing Sapienza, which was already to many the best level in the series, and you can see how its been rebalanced around new mechanics rather than just being a port. Yet weirdly the bringing forward of the 'legacy' stuff from 2016 is teated like this expansion instead.

    Also staying near 60 in digital stores while being at 30 on places like amazon is probably doing digital sales no favours and an overwhelming amount of 2016 players bought digital.

  12. #12
    Thread Necro i know but i just got a survey from IO sent to Hitman 2 players that was interesting to put it mildly. Most of the questions were not related to Hitman 2 and more how you enjoyed its gameplay and how much you like open games like Monster Hunter World and Breath of the Wild.

    So maybe Hitman 3 or a new IP from the company is taking this stellar gameplay into a more open world route, which stuff like Sapienza was pretty close to already.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by dope_danny View Post
    Thread Necro i know but i just got a survey from IO sent to Hitman 2 players that was interesting to put it mildly. Most of the questions were not related to Hitman 2 and more how you enjoyed its gameplay and how much you like open games like Monster Hunter World and Breath of the Wild.

    So maybe Hitman 3 or a new IP from the company is taking this stellar gameplay into a more open world route, which stuff like Sapienza was pretty close to already.
    Open World and MHW are things that don't belong in the same sentence. At best you can describe the game as open levels. In fact I'm not so sure it's that different from the Hitman model tbh which also has large, open levels.

  14. #14
    Was the release date November 13, 2018? Because if it is, I have this game on Steam, but I got it for free on Nov 14th. I forget if it was from Humble Bundle or something else. I think you had to install it and it was your's? I can't remember. Never played it, nor any of the games in the franchise. Maybe one of these days I will give a try. So yeah, I have no opinion other than it looks interesting?

  15. #15
    Herald of the Titans czarek's Avatar
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    I forgor about hitman games since 2002 xD

  16. #16
    played it but don't think i finished it.

  17. #17
    Don't know but this is the greatest movie teaser ever made.


  18. #18
    Legendary! SinR's Avatar
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    the hell?

    bots are randomly bumping threads now??
    We're all newbs, some are just more newbier than others.

    Just a burned out hardcore raider turned casual.
    I'm tired. So very tired. Can I just lay my head on your lap and fall asleep?
    #TeamFuckEverything

  19. #19
    Legendary! Pony Soldier's Avatar
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    I don't buy episodic games so I never cared for it.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Geminiwolf View Post
    I don't buy episodic games so I never cared for it.
    They broke away from the episodic stuff. 2 is now just a one off purchase with the option to import all of 1's content in but remastered for 2's gameplay and mechanics.

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