Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, a cutsie kidde title perfect for the average 9 year old? I highly doubt it.. In Hitman 2 you assume the role of an assassin named 47 who was engineered to be the ?gPerfect Killer?h. The original, Hitman: Codename 47, released on the PC 2 years ago, had some problems. Thought of as being one of the most violent games ever released, it was near impossible to complete because of the poor controls. Io Interactive corrected the problems and then some in Hitman 2, and in doing so, made one of the better games to come out this year. Three levels of difficulty and 20 different missions equate to an hours and hours of pure hitman fun. This is not one of those games you can blow right through with 20 different missions, it?fs sure to keep you busy for awhile. There are three levels of difficulty normal, expert and a professional so you should be able to find a skill setting that matches you abilities. Missions take place all over the world. You will find yourself in Sicily, St. Petersburg Russia, Japan, India and Malaysia to name a few.

So the story goes our bald headed executioner (47) has given up his life of assassination and decides to turn to his religious faith. The game starts off with him passing his time as a gardener picking tomatoes. He lives in Sicily with his mentor the local padre. 47 begs for the fathers help to slowly wash away the guilt of a shady past. Life is peaceful until a local Sicilian Mafia boss sees an opportunity to extort money from the one time assassin. He kidnaps the padre and asks for a ransom of money. 47, with his current lack of funds is forced to ?gdig up the past?h and once again don the black suit and break out his ballers (his 2 signature guns). He contacts his former employer ?gthe agency?h for help on the mission. But after finishing his mutual assignment for the agency the padre is nowhere to be found which leads to 47 doing more than his share (20 to be exact) of dangerous missions for the agency in order for them to continue to track down the whereabouts of the father. The story is vividly orchestrated using the games 3D engine. Not much happens involving the basic setup for the game besides the perhaps predictable outcome?

With 20 missions and all kinds of different surroundings your once again on a mission to make your way into guarded areas hopefully without being spotted. If you are spotted all hell breaks loose as you are attacked from all direction by your foes, but have no fear it?fs just as batting your way in as it is sneaking in.

This is a FPS that?fs fun and funny its challenging yet entertaining can?ft say that about to many FPS. I like that you can switch to a 3rd person mode as well as the typical 1st person we see in so many FPS. It really comes in handy giving you an extra view of surrounding enemies. It has a great replay value I just could not wait to see what the next mission would bring and this really kept me motivated to keep blasting my way to the end.

The graphics in this game are solid smooth and realistic. From the accurate path blood takes takes as you blow your targets head off to the realism in the levels I was quite impressed. The colors are very vivid and bright. The cut scenes where amazing. And it takes a lot to amaze me. The detail in the characters faces was striking although the bodies are pretty much the same as the original. Still this game has far exceeded my expectation in the graphics are stunning.

The sound is also right on target, I don?ft think they could have delivered a better sounding game. The effects are crisp and really add to the game play. I think more games should focus on sound as much as the artists did on Hitman2. You really need a minimum of a 4 speaker setup to really appreciate how accurate the 3D position sound is. However you won?ft be disappointed if you only have two speakers it still rocks.

In Closing Hitman2 delivers great graphics and sound and is loads of fun to play. There really are no compromises it?fs a killer game that?fs sure to keep you glued in front of your monitor for hours. It?fs well worth every penny and if you enjoyed the original this puts it to shame.