Though cursed with rather annoying controls, Hitman 2 proudly stands tall with all excellent stealth/action games.
Agent 47 leaves his previous life of murdering for money and takes shelter in a Sicilian church in hopes of piecing his life back together and seeking forgiveness for what he'd done, attempting to live a new life of good will, only until a group of kidnappers arrive to the church and take Father Vittorio, 47's teacher and best friend, and leaving a ransom note.
This event leaves 47 with no choice but to pursue the kidnappers, but without any clue where they could've gone. With this in mind, his only hope is going through the agency once again. Digging out his guns, suit and laptop, he contacts the agency, only to learn that he must complete a chain of missions that clients have given before 47 can find Vittorio. Thus, a new chapter begins.
Good: New and improved gameplay * More levels than before * More possibllities for finishing missions * Great soundtrack * Decently large variety of arms * More freedom within stages * Stealth and action mixed and performed excellently * Ability to switch between third and first-person views to take advantage of any given situation
Bad: Annoying controls * Cover sometimes blown for no apparent reason * Camera can be a bother * Limited saves
Graphics: Of course, today, the graphics don't hold up to what we have now, but considering when this game came out, graphics were done very well. Most levels are large and leaves a lot to see, and they're really still pretty decent.
Sound/Music: Sound is actually one thing you want to avoid making in this game, being it focuses mainly around stealth. What sound there is, however, is well-performed and fits greatly with whatever it may be for. Voice acting isn't too bad, though some of the accents seem very fake in some situations. Music is actually one of the best parts of this game, as the soundtrack is mostly orchestral, as first seen in the title screen.
Difficulty: Offering a number of different difficulties, the overall offers a good challenge, though at times may seem more than expected, due to the limited number of saves one can perform during a mission. The higher the difficulty chosen, the less number of saves. That should've been reversed, as it would've probably have made more sense. Some annoying bugs can also affect the difficulty, such as, mentioned above, being detected on rare occasion for absolutely no reason at all when you shouldn't have been.
Gameplay: Similar to gameplay styles of Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid, action and stealth mixed together, mostly focusing on stealth, has always been a popular blend of genres which tend to make for very good, if not excellent, games in that pool. Hitman 2: Silent Assassin isn't an exception, it's one of the games that define stealth/action on the Playstation 2, and carries this out well. Players can carry out missions however they want most of the time, whether they try to be a professional and kill their primary target without many other, if any, causalities, or go in full force, armed and deadly. A couple of missions require stealth, In the end of it all, the gameplay is truly one of a kind.
Controls: One of the only prime annoyances would have to be the controls. It takes a little while to get used to them, some buttons which may usually perform other important actions, such as running, in other games has been completely changed in Hitman 2. To run, L2 must be held. To crouch, L1 must be tapped, and to crouch further to increase stealth, L1 must be held. Before you know it, you may be dropping your weapons when you don't even mean to. When a weapon is holstered, most of the time, the fire button quickly draws it, but not in Hitman 2. Players must push the holster button and wait for 47 to draw his weapon while under fire, and then can place their shot. It's a little more of a chore than it really should be.
Overall: A great introduction to the Hitman games on the PS2 and an early riser to the stealth/action genre on the platform, this one certainly deserves the name of a classic on it. For a cheap price, the Hitman Trilogy can be picked up which includes all three of the PS2 Hitman games, and this is well-worth the money.