Hey everybody, my name is Dave Jackson, and this is Tales from the Briefcase, a video games podcast where I will bring in guests to talk about games we play. My guest today is a friend of the show and homing briefcase enthusiast, Scott Danielson Today’s game is Hitman 2, an immersive stealth game developed by IO Interactive and published by Warner Brothers Interactive in 2018. Elevator pitch for Hitman 2: “You liked the first one, right? Here’s more!” But before we get into that, Scott, other than Hitman 2, what have you been playing lately? Ok, let’s get into Hitman 2. This game does have a story, and unlike Hitman 1, there are some things that I would consider to be kinda cool reveals, so we will discuss the spoilery parts of the story briefly after the spoiler wall, but the big spoiler section will be discussing our experiences with the levels themselves, as they’re the stars of the show once again. Our histories with the game- I played this one first, before Hitman 1, so this was my introduction to the trilogy. As I said in the Hitman 1 episode, I think these games require a specific rhythm and play style, and it’s so unique to this franchise that I got really really frustrated with Hawke’s Bay. Miami was a lot more smooth, and then everything clicked into place. I played each level twice, once in the Hitman 2 engine and then again leading up to this recording in the Hitman 3 engine. Play time- about 10-12 hours for one playthrough, 2 playthroughs Basics of how the game works, key mechanics, what makes this game stand out? Hitman 2 plays basically the same as the other Hitman games in the world of assassination trilogy, especially now that we are playing these games in the Hitman 3 engine. Not going to go too far into mechanics, they were all discussed in the Hitman 1 episode before, so go listen to that one, episode 3, if you want the lowdown on how Hitman plays. But just to recap, a quick list of the things that make the world of assassination trilogy games so unique: Agent 47, one of my favorite playable characters Immersive stealth Hiding in plain sight via disguises Using objects and level design to manipulate NPCs in predictable ways (bank level wet floor signs) this rewards creativity Mission stories Typical level flow Start in 47’s default outfit Overhear a mission story Find a new disguise to help you access a new area Distract/incapacitate npcs, hide bodies, swap disguises Try to figure out how to get an opportunity to strike at the target Repeat for other targets Escape Story Second in Hitman trilogy, a bit more direct story this time Story is most directly told during cutscenes that play before and after each level. Great art direction in these cutscenes. 47 is on the hunt for someone named “the shadow client”, and his agency, the ICA, makes an uneasy truce in order to find this “shadow client” And then the hunt commences for “the Constant” (lol the meaningless proper nouns here, the secret society/hitman tropes) The constant knows the identities of the Providence board members, the people who are really pulling the strings. Learn some of 47’s backstory in this game, some of which is expanded on in Hitman 3 Levels- any differences to speak of in the level design? Hawke’s Bay, NZ (house on the beach) Miami (racetrack and expo center) Santa Fortuna, Colombia (compound) Mumbai (streets, movie set) Whittleton Creek, VT (suburban neighborhood) Isle of Sgail (Castle in the middle of the sea) New York (bank) Maldives (resort) Extra game modes: Sniper, ghost mode, elusive targets, special assignments Final thoughts, Do we recommend? At what price point? As I said in the Hitman 1 episode (episode 3), these games are basically one big game broken into 3 parts, so if you like one, I find it really hard to believe you would dislike any of the others. Hitman 2 is my favorite overall. Hitman 1 has some real standout levels like Paris and Sapienza, but I think the overall quality of Hitman 2 is higher, with real standouts like Miami, Isle of Sgail and New York. If you want to jump into Hitman 2, you won’t be missing any crucial story. If you like immersive sims and/or stealth games, I think Hitman 2 is top tier in both categories. It just takes a few attempts to train your brain to think Hitman. These are classics. Housekeeping - Thank you for listening! If you want to support the show, please subscribe on your platform of choice, leave us a rating and review if your platform allows it, and spread the good word! I also do a podcast called A Top 3 Podcast where each week we pick a topic, pick our top 3s in that topic, and discuss. It’s a good time, so check that out if you want to hear us talk about other subjects. Scott was on an episode talking about our top 3 video games of the past decade. SPOILER WALL Story 47 was raised in like an orphanage? Like the queen’s gambit but for assassins The Shadow Client, Lucas Grey, was in there with 47, but where 47 has no real emotions, Grey is angry 47 killed Diana’s parents At the end of Maldives level the Constant escapes Hawke’s Bay, NZ (house on the beach) First run- was still getting the hang of how the game worked so I didn’t get do any mission stories, just killed the target. Very difficult tutorial style mission since this was my first try. Second- Tried to set up a kill where I poison the air in the panic room and then set off an alarm, but the target just went to sleep. I killed the boyfriend in the bathroom and tried to set up a breadcrumb trail leading her to the body, which would send her into the panic room, but she wouldn’t wake up. Sooooooo shuriken to the face! Miami (racetrack and expo center) First run Robert Knox- first mission story I figured out- sabotaged the car on exhibit to explode when he checked on it Second run- posed as the military money man (their words) and went to the demonstration of the military android. You can scan a picture to set its targeting and one of my stream viewers suggested maybe there’s a pamphlet or magazine cover in the lobby with his face, and there was. So the robot targeted him and the guards were like “hmm weird accident” even though I scanned it in plain sight. Sierra Knox- after the race she goes into like an after party area and I just shot her when she was alone Second Run- posed as a pit crew member and sabotaged a wheel when she came in for a pit stop (47 is obviously capable of being on a race car pit crew), her car exploded Santa Fortuna, Colombia (compound) First run Jorge Franco- followed the story mission where he needs circuit boards that were lost in the jungle. Killed him when he was inspecting the machine. Andrea Martinez- Gave her the love letter from one of the other targets’ brothers, she went out onto a balcony overlooking a river, I pushed her in the river Rico Delgado- don’t remember Second run (Fish only, smelly assassin) Jorge Franco- Overheard someone talking about how he is obsessed with picking these poison plants from a cliffside. Found a key to his botany lab, spent like an hour looking for the lab, found a place where I could sabotage a plant sample, which caused him to go back up to the cliff looking for more plants, FISH SMACK Andrea Martinez- Same as the first run, gave her the love letter, but this time when she went out to the balcony, FISH SMACK Rico Delgado- Tattooist story. Let the tattooing go on for a few seconds before 47 jams the tattoo gun INTO HIS EAR Mumbai (streets, movie set) First run Vanya- you can follow her for a tour of sorts, I can’t remember why, but eventually she goes up onto a bridge to speak to a group of workers below, and you can push her off. Dawood- after taking part in the photo shoot (47 kills it), Dawood wants to talk to you on the top floor and you can push him off the building. Wazir- Just patrols around the streets, couldn’t find a good mission story, so I just shot him from a rooftop. Second run Vanya- did the trailor side story and choked her out with the measuring tape while taking measurements. Her servant saw me do it so she got a fish to the head Dawood- Kashmirian side story-basically another assassin is in town, has a sniper rifle set on Dawood. You go into the building and pose as a painter. Paint this amazing portrait, as he’s posing in front of another painting of himself that says “I’m rich”. 47 flawlessly paints this portrait. Asks dawood to hold his breath, BANG, “thank you”. Paints crosshairs over him and leaves Wazir- barber story. Giving a shave, like that short story or that GoT scene Whittleton Creek, VT (suburban neighborhood) First run Janus- killed him with an explosive planted in the backyard used to get rid of moles Nolan- used the fumigator’s poison to knock everyone out and silently take out Nolan Second Run Janus- couldn’t really get a new mission story to fire, and accidentally compromised the Janus security outfit. So I went to old reliable- a thrown screwdriver from a rooftop. And booked it to an exit Nolan- real estate tour. 47 is really funny during the tour, he’s explaining each room from the perspective of an assassin. “This room has hardwood floors, makes for easy cleanup.” “This is the kitchen, the most dangerous room in the house” Isle of Sgail (Castle in the middle of the sea) First run Zoe- did the mission story where she gets in the burning effigy, then locked her inside Sophia- Dressed up as Blake Nathaniel (nice Nathan Drake parody), stole the necklace, then killed her when she was alone. Second run Zoe- dress up as Janus and kill her as she’s talking shit Sophia- dress up as fellow council member jebediah Block (crazy disguise, skeleton key), veto her climate change proposal, she gets mad and stands in front of Iron Maiden, slam that shit closed New York (bank)- kill Athena Sevales, and either infiltrate the vault and steal data or get 3 data backups from Athena and 2 other high ranking officials in the bank First run Did the mission story where you can get a private meeting with athena and kick her out of the window inside the giant clock. Very badass. Incredible level!!! Did the vault heist but don’t remember how Second run Did the mission story with the investigative journalist, but not sure what effect it had. So I just infiltrated her office, turned off the wifi, which made her call for IT. Took the IT disguise and rearranged her schedule (theme in hitman, rich people have no fucking idea what their schedules are) and killed her when she went into a private room. Didn’t do the vault heist, got the 3 backups from the people around the level. Last dude was just chilling on the stairs just out of view. Maldives (resort) First run Steven Bradley- got him with the homing briefcase while on the jet ski Tyson Williams- hid in a closet when he came in to sit in his jacuzzi and drowned him Ljudmila- posed as a masseuse and killed her ESCAPE BY PUTTING ON SCUBA GEAR AND SWIMMING AWAY! FROM AN ISLAND! Second run Steven Bradley- was trying to set up a kill with a grill and propane tank, but that didn’t work, so I just posed as a waiter, mixed up a drink with style and poisoned it. Plugging the crab hole (gross phrasing) Tyson Williams- give the USB to him and he makes you his private bodyguard, alone in a soundproof room with him Ljudmila- same as previous Escape by riding Steven’s jetski away