Hitman 2 Review: 5 Ups & 5 Downs

3. The Huge, Gorgeous Sandbox Levels

Much like the 2016 game, the highlight of Hitman 2 is the gigantic, sprawling sandbox levels themselves.

Though the game's visuals don't mark a huge leap forward from its predecessor, the diversity of the locales on offer ensures the game constantly changes-up its aesthetic and also what's demanded of you.

An early mission set on a racecourse in Miami, for instance, requires the player to sift through crowds and the labyrinthine bowels of the stadium, while a remote Colombian village is rife with lush undergrowth to sneak through, and a quaint American suburb is layered thick with hysterical middle-class satire.

Apart from the fairly routine opening New Zealand mission, the levels make the most of their expansive size, giving the player a teeming mini-hub to explore at their leisure while seeking out the most efficient - or perhaps the most creative - way to take down a mark.

The game's strong art direction really shines through as Agent 47 hops between countries and finds himself faced with wholly distinct terrain. The fact you can spend literally hours and hours losing yourself in each single level is surely Hitman 2's most persuasive selling point.