Developer: IO Interactive
Publisher: Square Enix
Platforms: PS4, XBOX ONE, PC
Tested On: PS4
Hitman: Episode 2 – Review
On its release, we reviewed the first episode to the newest addition in the Hitman series. Episode 1 was a great start, but some aspects were lacking. Episode 2 has taken notice and provided us with a larger and more intricate gaming experience that ran more smoothly.
Story
While we visited France in Hitman’s first episode, this episode had us visit Italy. Similar in tone, Sapienza: The World of Tomorrow is set around another mansion, but this episode also features a beautiful sunny beach side town that is almost completely open for exploration. This means that the story to The World of Tomorrow feels less restricted and linear, and that the game allows for more immersion and playtime. The setting is relatively big compared to the one in Paris during the first episode. Short cutscenes display this episode’s narrative; as the protagonist Agent 47’s main job is to destroy a dangerous virus and to eliminate this episode’s targets (of which there are two, providing us with a total of three mission objectives). There are clues scattered around the town, which further encourages exploration, and the game does a great job convincing players of its stealthy and badass atmosphere.
Graphics
Similar to the last episode, the graphics in this one are sharp and aesthetically pleasing. Set in Italy, the outdoor scenes feature bright and warm colours in sharp contrast with some of the cooler, more modern, tones the game sometimes features. The environments are stunning, the picturesque images showcasing the southern warmth Italy has to offer do wonders for immersion, similar to the mountainous landscapes in the first episode. Especially worth mentioning are the saturation levels and colour palettes of the environments featured in The World of Tomorrow, they really portray the sunny atmosphere of the game very well. The facial animations of characters are very impressive and really help the immersion factor. Additionally, loading times have been adjusted, so while the previous episode featured some rather lengthy loading screens, this instalment doesn’t suffer as severely from the same issue, which is great.
Sound
While the graphics are wonderful and made us feel as if we genuinely were in Italy, the voice acting sadly doesn’t always do the same. The ever present thick American accents feel really out of place in the midst of sunny Italy, and truly take away from the global approach this Hitman series was trying to go for. Other than that, the audio aspects are definitely more than decent and the present sound effects are believable, similar to the way they were in Hitman’s first episode.
Gameplay
Again, similar to the first episode, the 3rd person action slash stealth game requires a great deal of planning and being careful in order to reach your goals. This episode features three main objectives: destroying a virus that is a potential danger to mankind, and eliminating two different targets.
Your job as an infiltrator can be difficult, but luckily the game does sometimes help you along by placing an obvious clue in plain sight. While the enemy AI isn’t always the brightest (some guards can apparently see through walls, but to be fair they may have very cool bionic upgrades we don’t know about), overall you have to plan your moves very well in order not to be caught. Gathering important information, deciding how to eliminate your targets, and how to get to them through the use of disguises (e.g. as a waiter or gardener)), if you enjoy this strategic approach, chances are you’ll enjoy Sapienza: The World of Tomorrow.
This episode also provides gamers with a lot of challenges, proving there’s more than one way to reach your goals. Going through missions unnoticed, using clever disguises as camouflage, using specific guns or different (sometimes obscure) methods (e.g. electrocution or through the use of a garden shredder) to eliminate targets, … There are plenty of challenges that introduce a sense of variety to the game, and it’s obvious that the Hitman series is growing. Additionally, the game wants you to play levels multiple times in order to get all the different challenges (such as different elimination processes, or different starting locations).
We’re still not too sure about the episodic release plan of the game though, it feels difficult to get truly lost in the Hitman universe when it’s only accessible through short bursts with long intervals. We guess only time will tell if this release plan will be successful in the end!
Conclusion
All in all, The World of Tomorrow is a much needed improvement and sets the bar much higher for the rest of the game. We felt as if we were on holiday (minus the killing) thanks to this add on and that was really pleasant. This is the perfect example of a developer listening to the players and we truly hope that this habit extends into the next release.
Hitman: Episode 2 - Review,
No Comments