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Oct 19, 2018

Agent 47 can dress up as a sinister scarecrow in Hitman's free Hallowe'en DLC pack

Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

IO Interactive has announced that it's releasing a special Hallowe'en-themed DLC pack for Hitman on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 - and it's completely free.

Hitman's free Hallowe'en DLC offering should already be available to download on all platforms, and brings with it a selection of somewhat seasonal tricks and treats. The game's Colorado location is unlocked for everyone, for a limited time, and there are ten new Featured Contracts that IO calls "spooky, creepy or otherwise frightening."

Some, it says, are focussed on disguises (including the sinister scarecrow seen in the trailer below) while others "tell spooky stories through the briefing" and others "are plain mayhem".

Oct 17, 2018

Sean Bean will be killed off again, this time as Hitman 2's first elusive target

Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

Everyone knows Sean Bean dies in (almost) every film he's in. But now you'll get to kill him yourself - as the first Elusive Target in Hitman 2.

Better known as Boromir, Sharpe or poor old Ned Stark, Sean Bean will appear in Hitman 2 as a former MI5 agent - in a very knowing nod to his classic role as 006 in GoldenEye. "I even managed to make them think I'd been blown up," Trevelyn - sorry, Bean - says in the trailer below:

Elusive Targets are live missions within Hitman only available for a limited amount of time. You can only take on each mission once, ever. If you fail, that's it. No pressure.

Oct 12, 2018

Hands on with Ghost Mode, Hitman 2's new 1v1 online multiplayer

Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

Hitman 2 will release with a brand new 1v1 competitive online multiplayer mode called Ghost Mode.

This is the first time that stealthy slaphead Agent 47 has indulged in any kind of competitive multiplayer, although the recent Sniper Assassin mini-game did offer a taste to series fans.

Ghost Mode pits two players against each other in a race to be the first to take out five targets undetected. Whilst players are given the same targets and are able to see each other in-game, they actually exist in separate instances. This means their actions will not affect the other player's world.

Sep 25, 2018

Hitman 2's latest trailer sheds more light on Columbian jungle level

Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

Not so long ago, IO Interactive unveiled a new location for Hitman 2 in the form of the lush jungles of Colombia. Now, the developer has showcased the area, and the possibilities it affords for stealthy slaughter, in more detail.

According to previous chatter from IO, Hitman 2 will launch will six distinct locations, and the Colombian jungle level, which features the village of Santa Fortuna as its focal point, is only the second to be revealed so far. As you might imagine, it's in sharp contrast to the tires and tarmac of the Miami racing circuit debuted earlier this year - and its dense foliage and shadowy pathways offer an entirely different range of possibilities compared to Miami's urban sprawl.

Santa Fortuna, according to the trailer, is ruled by an "iron-fisted Delgado cartel", and you'll need to penetrate the area's tight security in order to confront the three cartel leaders convening within the village for presumably nefarious purposes. And you can do it while sporting one of the most fetching plastic ponchos ever to grace a video game.

Sep 25, 2018

Hitman 2's latest trailer sheds more light on Colombian jungle level

Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

Not so long ago, IO Interactive unveiled a new location for Hitman 2 in the form of the of the lush Colombian jungle. Now, the developer has showcased the area, and the possibilities it affords for stealthy slaughter, in more detail.

According to previous chatter from IO, Hitman 2 will launch will six distinct locations, and the South American rainforest, which features the village of Santa Fortuna as its focal point, is only the second to be revealed so far. As you might imagine, it's in sharp contrast to the tires and tarmac of the Miami racing circuit debuted earlier this year - and its dense foliage and shadowy pathways offer an entirely different range of possibilities compared to Miami's urban sprawl.

Sep 21, 2018

I miss getting stuck in Tomb Raider games

Tomb Raider II (1997)

Whenever I hear someone talking about the great old days of games, back when the designers would just chuck you right into the middle of it all ("Getting stuck on a puzzle?" I once heard Tim Schafer say, "We used to call that content"), I think of one game that did just this, and very literally. About a third of the way into Tomb Raider 2, Lara Croft goes for a short ride on a submarine. The ride is short because the submarine crashes or explodes or something wretched and annoying like that. Anyway, the cutscene ends ambiguously and then the next level begins and...well, total darkness. Or just about. You're floating at the bottom of the ocean surrounded by shadows and water and not much else. There is, initially at least, very little suggestion of where to go. My sense, upon first encountering this level, was that the game had broken itself in a very unusual way: it had broken itself in that the setting had survived but the game had somehow run out of narrative to fill it with. It was like the designers had downed tools and backed away.

I died and died and died at the bottom of the ocean. But then I started to experiment. Eventually I found a series of oil drums or whatnot on the seafloor - a guide of sorts. I followed the trail and - after dying and repeating a few more times - I was inside a sunken ship, enjoying a handy pocket of air. This sequence sounds awful, probably, but it was brilliant. Weirdly, it is probably my favourite moment of all Tomb Raider moments.

The idea that games used to be better when they were harder and more obscure is one of the more annoying conversational gambits out there. The terms are vague - there are so many ways for a game to be hard, not all of them intentional or laudable - and I don't think I agree with the premise in the first place. But there is one series where I think it's absolutely true, for me at least. I really miss getting incredibly stuck in Tomb Raider.

Aug 29, 2018

The Chilli Immolation Challenge shows off Hitman 2's inventive kills in the best way possible

Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

Despite polarising its fanbase with a episodic release structure, Hitman 2016 was a huge favourite of mine. I loved the intricate detail of the environments and the freedom this gave you to experiment with your surroundings. That coupled with the unpredictable nature of the gameplay meant that pulling off elaborate hits was always heart-pounding stuff, especially when your well laid plans crumbled before your very eyes!

Most of all though I loved the elaborate challenges you could take on in order to dispatch your primary targets in weird and wonderful ways.

To that end, I decided to attempt something rather special during my hands-on time with Hitman 2 at this years Gamescom. The Chilli Immolation Challenge is a unique kill that (as far as I'm aware) has never before been captured on video and you can watch me attempt it in the player below.

Jun 7, 2018

IO Interactive unveils Hitman 2, out in November

Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

IO Interactive has formally unveiled Hitman 2, and it's heading to Xbox One, PS4, and PC on November 13th.

Hitman 2 is a a direct sequel to the developer's 2016 Hitman game, and its story picks up directly where its predecessor left off, closing in on the mysterious Shadow Client. IO notes that Hitman 2 will launch as a complete story, ditching the episodic structure seen in 2016, but will also offer "tonnes and tons of post-launch content" - including the likes of new Escalation Contracts and Elusive Targets.

As is now tradition, Agent 47's latest adventure will take him all across the world (from "sun-drenched streets to dark and dangerous rainforests", says IO), with the developer showcasing a brand-new location as part of its announcement video. Hitman 2 includes a contract set across glorious sun-bleached Miami, which unfurls on the final day of the Global Innovation Race, with thousand of fans gathered to enjoy the show.

Feb 5, 2018

Star Wars' Donnie Yen says Sleeping Dogs movie in production

Sleeping Dogs

Martial arts master and Star Wars Rogue One star Donnie Yen has confirmed a movie adaptation of Sleeping Dogs is in development.

Yen posted about the project yesterday on his various social media accounts.

"Sometimes great things take a bit of time," he wrote on his Instagram. "Sleeping Dog is motion, you guys ready for this? #donnieyen #action #sleepingdog #kickass #martialarts"

Apr 5, 2012

Just Cause dev: "better looking games won't save the game industry"

Just Cause 2

Amid claims the traditional console business is on its last legs and reports about the power of the next Xbox and PlayStation 4, the boss of Avalanche Studios, the developer of the Just Cause series, has warned better looking games on next generation consoles "won't save the game industry".

Christofer Sundberg told Eurogamer that it is essential the next consoles from Microsoft and Sony combine the strengths of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 with new business models so those who invest in making games see a suitable return.

Last month Ben Cousins, manager of Ngmoco Stockholm, predicted that in the next few years there will exist a free-to-play equivalent of single-player RPG Skyrim.

"I believe that single-player will be the next to be cracked in terms of freemium monetisation," he said. "And I'm talking about traditional, story-based, scripted, linear and non-linear single-player that we see on consoles.

"I am totally 100 per cent confident - I will bet large amounts of money - that we will have, in the next few years, a free-to-play equivalent of Skyrim. A game like Skyrim, where you accrue skills and equipment over time, that you can play for hundreds of hours, is actually one of the easiest games to develop for a free-to-play model. That would be a big hit."

Cousins said the future is freemium games where micro-transactions include gameplay features and functions that cause positive reactions. The average lifetime spend by a gamer here will be $60, predicted Cousins - the price of a new, boxed game. The difference is, however, that the audience for these games is potentially much larger than that for console games.

For Sundberg, who has teams working on next-generation games now for release in 2013 and 2014, Ngmoco's vision of the future is only "partly true".

"To sound exceptionally boring, I can't comment much on next-gen platforms," he said. "However, better looking games won't save the games industry - I can say that much.

"What companies such as Ngmoco have been talking about very actively in the press is partly true. Traditional business models are dead and if you want to survive as an independent studio you have to think outside the box."

Sundberg stopped short of agreeing with some commentators who have predicted the death of consoles. He imagines next-generation hardware fusing what hardcore console gamers expect with new ways for publishers to make money.

"I don't believe in the F2P model either and consoles are far from dead," he said. "How we combine the traditional consoles with new business models will be absolute key to success - not one way or the other.

"Since the recession of 2008/09 everybody has been looking for that Silver-bullet to save the games industry and jumps on every opportunity there is - developing a quirky PSN/XBLA game or building your own F2P game. That is suicide."

At GDC last month Unreal Engine maker Epic Games called on Microsoft and Sony to make the next Xbox and PlayStation 4 as powerful as "economically possible" to ensure both devices "remain relevant for another generation".

Reports have pegged the horsepower of the next Xbox at around six times the power of the Xbox 360. Others suggest visuals pumped out by high-end PCs using the DirectX 11 standard provide a glimpse at what will be possible.

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