Hitman 2: Sniper Assassin review

One announcement at this year’s E3 expo that generated a ton of excitement concerned the imminent arrival of Hitman 2.

The full length trailer that greeted fans and the game demo both made a significant splash at the expo, but the great reception was tinted with just a hint of disappointment. The reason? The game will only see release later this year on November 13^th. That’s quite a long way away from now.

To keep fans’ fervour high, though, developer IO Interactive has offered a pre-sale bonus in the form of Hitman 2: Sniper Assassin. Players who pre-order the game on PC, Xbox One and PS4 digitally, will receive a rather compelling mini-game for free, that’s likely to keep them satiated for at least the rest of the month.

Sniper Assassin isn’t one of the full blown levels that Hitman games are known for, in which Agent 47, the series’ stoic, barcoded assassin explores different environments and takes down his victims either directly or through rigging nasty accidents. Rather, as is hinted in its name, Sniper Assassin sees 47 positioned on a hill above a lavish mansion in Austria with a long-range rifle, tasked with killing three former professional thieves.

The catch? A wedding is in progress at the mansion and if any of the guests or security spot a corpse, they’ll raise the alarm, and the targets will flee the scene. Unless 47 manages to bag all of them, the contract is null and void. So the player basically has to take out three targets and their security detail while in full of a crowded gathering in broad daylight without tipping anyone off.

If this sounds impossible, well, that’s what makes the Hitman franchise such a treat for those who are prepared to put the work in. Like the base games, Sniper Assassin asks for some imagination from players to compliment their shooting skills.

This guard may look like a sitting duck, but out in the open, he’s bound to be seen if he’s shot

Right from the start, players will notice parts of the mansion’s grounds that can be incredibly useful to them. Potting a character that’s standing next to a pond can conceal the body, as can shooting someone who is leaning over a balcony. Players are also encouraged to get creative with their kills; why risk a headshot on a moving target when you can hit the cable holding up a chandelier and drop it on their heads?

The game awards points for speed, maintaining kill streaks and using items around the mansion grounds to finish the mission. It also boast a series of challenges that unlock useful assets such as extended magazines and faster reload times. The challenges themselves are quite varied and seem geared to encouraging players to play through Sniper Assassin again and again. Some of them can’t be completed in the same session – causing an explosion that kills several guards, for example, essentially means players won’t be able to silently kill and hide all the bodies in the map.

Once done, players can check their progress on the leaderboards, and it’s likely they’ll want to give Sniper Challenge another go. In a way it’s a bit like a puzzle, in which timing, creativity, patience and a little bit of luck can give you the edge. It’s some of the most fun you can have down the barrel of a gun.