gkkiller on 18/6/2016 at 08:46
What do you mean by first episode? The first instalment of the series (Hitman: Codename 47)? Or the first episode of Hitman 2016?
If it's the former: only play C47 if you can deal with how dated the gameplay is. The fun thing about Hitman is you don't have to play the games in order. C47 tells you who 47 is and where he comes from, and after that they all have basically completely disconnected stories. And the story is one of the least interesting parts of Hitman, so you don't even have to pay attention to it.
If you mean the latter: Episode 1 contains prologue (tutorials) and the first location proper, and Episode 2 contains the second location. You can't get Episode 2 without Episode 1. And I'm not sure but I think you have to finish the first mission at least once to unlock the second.
Thirith on 18/6/2016 at 09:29
I think you might enjoy the tutorial missions, Yakoob, for how they create a self-contained small world with its own systems and rules. That's the case for all the missions/episodes, but I find the two tutorials a neat masterclass in how to design such a small world. There are some decisions that are odd, but I can absolutely recommend the starter pack - also because it's then all the more impressive to see how the second episode (Sapinza) builds on this.
Yakoob on 19/6/2016 at 04:27
@GK - yea I meant 2016 Episode 2.
@Tririth - hmm thanks for the info. I don't so much care for Hitman, mainly just wanted to mess around and explote the big open world they built in the 2nd 2016 episode. But you make it sound like it'd be a good "learning game design" thing to play :)
Sulphur on 19/6/2016 at 06:43
I enjoy reading people's thoughts about this, and the episodic format can certainly work with a series like Hitman. However, I'd still much rather play it when the entire set is done, and the final ratio of good:meh is a thing that's been worked out. Absolution was fun in stretches, but the biggest mistake they made was in trying to make it play out like a movie; I'm waiting to see if those missteps reoccur.
Thirith on 19/6/2016 at 08:02
I would be very surprised if they were to repeat the mistakes of Absolution, since there hasn't been a trace of this as yet, and they've very much been praised for going back to the virtues of the series. In fact, I think the episodic release might end up giving them more time to get things right, whereas with a traditional release there's more pressure to get a game out by.a specific date, which in turn prompts creative shortcuts.
Though none of that argues against you waiting until the whole thing is done, obviously.
gkkiller on 19/6/2016 at 13:08
So last night I was overcome by the sudden urge to play this and ... payment issues. Anyway, I'll get around to it. But first, anyone here try playing this on a GTX 960M? I've heard many things about the game's performance and optimisation, none of them too good, and I want to be sure it runs well.
Thirith on 1/7/2016 at 17:59
Just finished the Marrakesh mission. It's a good level, but it feels more constricted than Sapienza, which is undoubtedly the best of the bunch. Perhaps I simply didn't find that many different assassination opportunities (though I've deactivated the function that spells them out for me; it just indicates that I've come across an opportunity but lets me figure out the rest), but it felt like there were more generic options and fewer specific ones.
Still, dropping a moose statue on a dodgy Swede never gets old.
gkkiller on 2/7/2016 at 05:33
FINALLY got to pick this up. Let it download overnight and played a little bit of freeform training before stopping. Today I fully intend to get to Paris at least and pull off a few challenges too.
Sadly the game seems to be very weirdly optimised. I get 30-35 fps in crowded areas and then easily 60 fps in small rooms. Is it my CPU? I've an i7 6700 (on an Asus laptop) ... Or is it just that a 960M + not-so-hot optimisation = weird framerates?
Thirith on 2/7/2016 at 10:20
I hope you'll enjoy it! Unfortunately I can't say much about the optimisation; it runs well on my system without major fiddling, but desktop systems' performance always tend to be different from what you get on most laptops.
I'd suggest not to rush through the tutorial levels; especially the second one has lots of fun ways of offing the targets.
Thirith on 1/11/2016 at 11:27
In the meantime the entirety of Hitman S1 has come out. I stopped playing for a while after episode 3, but since I needed a break from the overwhelmingly gargantuan Witcher 3 I'm now playing the fourth episode set in Thailand. It's not as immediately striking as Sapienza or Marrakesh, but it still seems a cool environment for some silent assassination.
Has anyone been holding out for the game to be complete(ish - I hear the story's very much set up along the lines of a multi-season TV series) and is now playing it or planning to get it? IMO it's well worth playing, especially if you like missions that offer a lot of replay value because they can be approached in many different ways.
They should really release the two tutorial levels as demos, because they're a great introduction. I didn't get into any of the earlier games, but the tutorials convinced me that this is the Hitman I always imagined when reading a gushing article on Blood Money.
