Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

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Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

Developer(s)	IO Interactive
Publisher(s)	Eidos Interactive
Engine	Glacier engine
Release date(s)	October 1, 2002 October 4, 2002 June 11, 2003
Genre(s)	Stealth
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Mature (17+) PEGI: 16+
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube
Media	CD-ROM, DVD, Nintendo GameCube Game Disc Steam

Hitman 2: Silent Assassin is a stealth-based, first/third-person shooter, developed by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive. It was the second installment of the Hitman video game series, followed by Hitman: Contracts in 2004, and Hitman: Blood Money in 2006. The game was released first on October 1, 2002 in North America.

1 New features
2 Synopsis
3 Missions
4 Controversy
5 References
6 External links

[edit] New features

Silent Assassin addressed many of the criticisms concerning the gameplay of the original game: The control scheme has been streamlined to better mirror that of a standard shooter; an optional first-person perspective was added; and a visual meter was added to give the player the ability to gauge enemies' suspicion level for stealth purposes. While the "suspicion meter" generally reacts appropriately (such as when the player enters a restricted area or draws a weapon in public), there were some sensitivity issues, possibly bug-related, which causes enemies to react adversely to the player for seemingly innocuous actions, such as running indoors or close proximity. This feature was improved upon in the subsequent games of the series.

Also introduced in the game was the concept of a post-mission ranking system, in which the player is given a status based on how they completed the mission, rated along a stealthy-aggressive axis, between "Mass Murderer", a non-stealthy player who kills everyone, and "Silent Assassin", a stealthy player who manages to complete the level without being noticed and only killing the intended target. The game rewards the player for critical thinking and problem solving, encouraging the player not to treat the game as a simple shooter; achieving Silent Assassin status rewards the player with bonus weapons (silenced Silverballers and a concealable sawn-off shotgun after the first two times; an M4 carbine for completing all the Russian missions with the ranking).

Graphically, Silent Assassin can use either the Direct3D or OpenGL rendering engines.

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Like all other games in the series, the player plays Agent 47 (more commonly referred to as just "47"). The game begins after the events of Hitman: Codename 47, as 47 seeks refuge in a monastery in Sicily. Attempting to put his murderous past behind him, he begins a new life as a simple church gardener, under the mentorship of Father Vittorio. However, Vittorio is soon kidnapped by the Mafia.

Desperate to find his friend, 47 contacts the International Contract Agency (ICA), the agency which used to employ him, asking for assistance. Using spy satellites, Vittorio is tracked to the fortified mansion of Mafia Don Giuseppe Giulliani. 47 infiltrates the mansion in an attempt to rescue Vittorio and assassinates Giulliani in the process. However, 47 finds that Vittorio has been abducted, and his only clue is that the kidnappers are "four bearded Russian looking types in uniform". In return for their help, the Agency requests that 47 return to work for them; 47 agrees, and uses the money from the jobs to bankroll his search for Vittorio.

As in the previous game, the hits form an overall pattern, as a single influential client sends 47 across the world on the trail of components for a Nuclear Weapons System. The locations visited include Punjab, Japan, Nuristan, Petronas Towers, Sicily and St. Petersburg.

[edit] Missions

Anathema (Sicily)

The search for Father Vittorio leads 47 to the Villa Burgesse, Mafia Don Guiseppe Guilliani's fortified manor. Even though Guilliani is assassinated by 47, Vittorio has already been abducted by Russians.

St. Petersburg Stakeout (St. Petersburg)

In return for the information leading to Guilliani, 47 agrees to once again do jobs for the ICA's clients. 47 must kill an ex-KGB general who was lured into a meeting just to facilitate this assassination.

The player can assassinate targets in numerous ways. Here, car bombs are used to eliminate the targets.

Kirov Park Meeting (St. Petersburg)

After the killing of the first general, the other generals present at the meeting are scared and begin to conduct an investigation; as such, the client wants them killed. As General Makarov and local crime lord Igor Kubasko meet at Kirov Park to discuss protection, 47 is tasked to eliminate them both.

Tubeway Torpedo (St. Petersburg)

The third ex-KGB general is General Mikhail Bardachenko, who is found in Military Headquarters, off Nevsky Prospekt, interrogating a prisoner for information about the assassinations. 47 must infiltrate the building, kill Bardachenko, rescue the prisoner (who turns out to be Agent Smith, a CIA agent met in Codename: 47), and escape through the sewers.

Invitation to a Party (St. Petersburg)

The final general is General Vladamir Zhupicov, who has defected from Russia and is hiding in the German embassy, seeking asylum. 47 is sent into a party at the embassy, with orders to kill Zhupicov, as well as recover a briefcase containing a missile guidance system in Zhupicov's possession. To complicate matters, a Spetsnaz agent, who was sent to recover the briefcase for the Russians, is also at the party.

Tracking Hayamoto (Japan)

In order to find Masahiro Hayamoto, head of a notorious Yakuza crime syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi, 47 must kill his son, Hayamoto Jr., plant a tracking device on his body, and follow the signal.

Certain targets can be killed by poisoning their food.

Hidden Valley / At the Gates / Shogun Showdown (Japan)

These three missions involve getting to Hayamoto and killing him. 47 must sneak past Hayamoto's guards, disable the power grid, and gain access into his castle. Once inside, he must find and retrieve another guidance system, kill Hayamoto, and escape. Optionally, he can also rescue Lei Ling, who appeared in the first game.

Basement Killing (Malaysia)

ICA's client next sends 47 to Malaysia, in order to recover missile defense Software, being sold by Charlie Sidjan. 47 is tasked to sneak into Sidjan's offices in the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, kill him, and disable the security system on the elevators.

The Graveyard Shift (Malaysia)

By disabling the security on the elevators, 47 can access the server rooms, plant a hacking device so that the software can be acquired by the client, and escape via the Skybridge to the adjacent tower.

The Jacuzzi Job (Malaysia)

It turns out that 47's earlier target was not in fact Charlie Sidjan, but his identical twin. 47's assignment is to sneak into Charlie's penthouse apartment, kill him, and steal some valuable items to make it look like a burglary gone wrong.

Murder at the Bazaar (Nuristan)

47 is sent to Afghanistan in order to track down some "cargo" (in fact, missile warheads). His first mission there is to acquire a map from Lieutenant Ahmed Zahir and a key from Colonel Mohammad Amin, killing both men in the process.

The Motorcade Interception (Nuristan)

The person who hid the cargo, Khan Abdul Bismillah Malik, is being escorted by United Nations (UN) guards who are to inspect (and, ultimately purchase) the cargo. 47 must kill Malik while sparing any UN personnel.

Tunnel Rat (Nuristan)

With the location of the cargo in hand, 47 must infiltrate an underground military base, track down and eliminate Lieutenant Yussef Hussein, and escape with the cargo to ground level for pickup via a Russian helicopter.

Temple City Ambush (India)

The aforementioned cargo has been stolen from the Russians by a mysterious cult, and 47 is sent to India to retrieve it again. He must rendezvous with Agent Smith, who advises 47 of two assassins sent by the cult leader. 47 must find and kill the assassins, and bring Smith photographs of their bodies, in return for information about the entrance to the cult headquarters.

The Death of Hannelore (India)

Before dealing with the cult, 47 is advised to discretely kill Dr. Hannelore Von Kamprad (notable for being the first female target in the Hitman series), an associate of the cult leader, and hide her body in a supply closet.

Terminal Hospitality (India)

The cult leader, Deewanna Ji, is anesthetized for heart surgery to install a pacemaker on an island hospital that doubles as a gurdwara. 47 must find and kill Ji, and escape from the island.

St. Petersburg Revisited (St. Petersburg)

It is finally revealed that the ICA's client has been Sergei Zavarotko, leader of the Russian mafia, who has used 47 to assassinate all the people who knew about the missile system, which he wants for himself. 47 returns to St. Petersburg to kill Sergei, but finds his agency-supplied sniper rifle filled with blanks and crude cardboard cut-out of Sergei instead of the real person. In addition 47 himself is hunted by another clone, "Agent 17". 47 must kill 17, and escape to the Metro.

Redemption at Gontranno (Sicily)

Sergei returns to the Gontranno Sanctuary with the captive Father Vittorio, where he was abducted from in the first place. Unlike previous missions where stealth was key, 47 must kill all of Sergei's guards, and then kill Sergei himself, to save Vittorio.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Controversy

The game's release sparked controversy due to a level featuring the killing of Sikhs within a depiction of their most holy site, the Harimandir Sahib. Eidos claimed that the enemies in the level were not Sikh, but simply guards, and that the "temple" was in fact a hospital. However, this is contradicted by a depiction in the game itself, which refers to the site as a gurdwara, or Sikh temple. An altered version of Silent Assassin was eventually released on the GameCube and Windows platforms with the offending material removed from the game.