History VideoGame / Hitman2SilentAssassin

Some years after the events of ''[[VideoGame/HitmanCodeName47 Codename 47]]'', the famed contract killer has given away his fortune and taken refuge in a monastery to atone for his life of crime. A changed man? Regrettably (for the mob), he is forced out of retirement by his Sicilian friend's mysterious kidnapping. The price tag for Father Vittorio's freedom is $500,000 -- Money that 47 no longer has. It appears that his large donation to the church has attracted the attention of the local mafia don who wants a piece for himself. This spurs 47 to reconnect with The Agency and ask them for help. Praise the Lord...and pass the ammunition.

** "Anathema": The primary challenge is just getting into the damn place. The staff all know each other. And 47 is lacking a sweet Don Corleone coiffure, so get in their faces for too long and your mob suit won't last. There are also plenty of rooms where even guards aren't allowed to go, only your targets.

** There is an easier way to circumvent both early challenges (namely: going around the outside of Giuliani's manor and climbing the ladder that leads right to his office balcony and taking out the guard pacing the locker room up the stairs first then taking the rifle in his outfit so the civilians don’t see anything out of the ordinary, but these missions seem tailored to get the player used to trial and error and looking for workarounds in levels.

* GreenHillZone: "Anathema". You might be lulled into thinking this is a big, pretty map to get used to the new controls and paradigms of ''Hitman 2''. By traversing ledges and the roof, 47 should get a scenic view in addition to having a reliable path throughout the level, although the people standing around the pool will still spot him. Italians who actually speak Italian, just wandering around doing their thing and getting very suspicious at the gigantic, bald foreigner who clearly doesn't belong there.

** "Anathema." After dying countless times, it's very satisfying to return with a rifle and drill the boss as soon as 47 spawns in. His corpse will be waiting for 47 in the flower bed. But this can only be done when the Don completes his golf swing and stands there admiring the shot. Otherwise he won't tumble off the railing, and 47 will have to break in.

** "Anathema". You might be lulled into thinking this is [[GreenHillZone a big, pretty map]] to get used to the new controls and paradigms of ''Silent Assassin''. The primary challenge is just getting into the damn place. The staff all know each other. And 47 is lacking a sweet Don Corleone coiffure, so get in their faces for too long and your mob suit won't last. There are also plenty of rooms where even guards aren't allowed to go, only your targets. (Once you get the crossbow from "Hidden Valley" you can break that level so badly, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvxY17FHJeg it is hilarious.]])

** Do NOT arm the mini-bomb before dropping it first, regardless of what the game says. JUST drop it.

** "St. Petersburg Stakeout". The biggest problem here is just getting the sniper rifle out of the metro. Getting to the escalator without the passengers alerting the guards is no mean feat. There isn't any reliable way to avoid setting them off. You ''could'' wait for them to get into a useful position, but you are on a timer here. The easiest thing to do is simply reload if they don't cooperate.

* KryptoniteFactor: The instructional manual makes clear that St. Petersberg is not the best terrain for a hitman. This isn't Hong Kong: The buildings are spaced far apart, the streets are wide, and there's very few places to hide.

* SchmuckBait:

** "St. Petersburg Stakeout": Fire on the General while the guy in brown (Sergei) is leaning behind him. The bullet will go right through the target and kill them both, costing you the mission.

** Using the rag on guards to obtain a costume. There's no way you'll get the mission done in 5 minutes without shooting everyone. It's easier for 47 to sneak past them. Or better yet, look for a spare set lying around.

** If you reach for the chloroform, EVERY stage has a ticking clock. It's not recommended using the rag on guards to obtain a costume. There's no way you'll get the mission done in 5 minutes without shooting everyone. It's easiest to sneak past them. Or better yet, look for a spare set lying around.

** "St. Petersburg Revisited": Our friend [[spoiler:Mr. 17]] will always snipe if you take the bait and [[spoiler:go up into the apartments. The target is just a cardboard standee, though, and 47 is armed with a dummy rifle.]] Did you think it would be that easy?]].

* "Hidden Valley": If 47 gets close enough and then runs away, the two ninjas who inspect the trucks will give chase and then break off their pursuit. The top ninja, the one closest to the Truck, will go back and finish his inspection. However, the bottom ninja hasn't gotten back to the rear of the truck yet. The ensuing confusion will cause him to freeze, thus stopping the inspection of the trucks. And, since the trucks no longer move, then there will be no more risks of pancaked ninjas. You know it's a well-built level when exploiting bugs is the only way to reliably beat it. (On rare occasions, the inspectors may freeze on their own. It happens frequently in the [=PS2=] version.)

* AlwaysCheckBehindTheChair: The key to the Ferrari is on the Don's brother, Vito (the other fat guy in white). But there's no easy way to get it without making unnecessary kills and/or noise. It's possible to kill only one additional enemy (Vito) and not incur a penalty, but you may just consider it a sort of consolation prize if your mission turned into a bloodbath. Bizarrely, Vito lost his other set of keys in a tree(?) next to the roof access ladder.
* AirVentPassageway: The hospital where Deewana Ji is staying has huge air vents as big as the rooms themselves. You can them to determine which operating room the cult leader is in and/or snipe him.

** In the mountains, disguises aren't quite as useless as elsewhere; They keep the snipers off you. But if you get too close, guards will demand to see your ID. When a guard shouts for you to stop, he won't seem to notice if you don't, and will walk to where you were and check your ID, no matter how far away you are. He will then figure out you're a round eye, even if your round eyes are 50 feet away in heavy snow ''and'' around a corner.
** Kuala Lampur is a mission where you can be pinned down by Psychic Guards if you try to sedate anyone, including the [=SysAdmin=]. The guards will continuously jog rings around the office, thus preventing you from safely moving about. Therefore, if you wish to sedate rather than kill, then you need to complete your objectives on this floor and make your escape across the [=SkyBridge=] before the victim wakes up.

** Guards now look left to right, but they don't respond at all to physical contact. So long as the suspicion meter is low, and 47 is in sneak mode, you can literally have your head up their ass and they ''still'' won't spot you.
** Not all [=NPCs=] are created equal. So if you somehow manage to get inside the off-limits Kirov Park without sounding an alarm, the mob boss and his general will not react to your presence. Pull out a kitchen knife and stab them both as they're embracing. Mission done.
** Also, [=NPCs=] can get stuck in their walk cycle when descending stairs, giving you ample time to KO/wire 'em. Try it with the Geisha in Hayomoto's place.
** "Kirov Park Meeting": This is funny. Zupikov's chauffeur will ''[[WeHaveReserves run down any Russian soldiers who get in the way of his car]]'' if he is alerted by 47's presence.
** "Hidden Valley": Sometimes the trucks run over ninjas in the tunnel. No, really. Stop laughing! We're being serious here! You'll know it's happened if you get a message like, "guards are alerted" when they find a body and you haven't killed anyone. Oh, and those kills count against you. Fun, eh? What's interesting is that not all ninjas are affected by the trucks; the ones who carry katanas are immune to them. (Even these guys aren't immune to bugs, though: see YMMV.)
** They don't make ninjas like they used to. If you subdue a guard while he's scanning you, it's only counted as a "close call" rather than an alert. They're so stuck in this routine, you can even wait til they walk up to you, circle around 'em and drug 'em in the middle of the ID check.
** "Shogun Showdown": The shinobis will clamp down on security when Hayomoto dies, but so long as you're disguised and WALK (don't run) downstairs, they won't raise the alarm, or even prevent you from leaving in Hayomoto's chopper. In fact, if you sneak your way across the roof, they won't even pursue you downstairs.

** "The Motorcade Interception": This is the second mission where people can die from an accident you had no hand in. You have limited control over when the U.N. motorcade appears on the map; if you are a little slow on the draw, they may plow through a guard on the main road.

** The [=M195=] is considered one of the most powerful rifles in the world. It is important to note that the game considers this to be both a Sniper Rifle AND a Heavy Weapon due to its enormous power. It's actually an anti-vehicle rifle, capable of shooting through engine blocks to disable them. Imagine what this could do to a human head.
** The M-60 is [[MoreDakka a more dakkatastic take]] on this trope.

* BadassInANiceSuit: The well-dressed Spetnaz Agent in "Invitation to a Party" is gunning for the same suitcase as you. Instead of breaking into Embassy safes looking for it, you could just let the agent steal it, then nab him outside the parking garage. What's interesting is that if you get the suitcase before the agent does, then he will leave the Embassy and try to ambush you near the dock. It's always best to just get him out of the way and keep him from springing any surprises on you.

* BigBadDuumvirate: The MIB is Sergei's accomplice. His motives are a mystery; presumably this was a {{sequel hook}} which wasn't picked up on. Or maybe he's a reference to ''VideoGame/HalfLife''. We'll never know.

* BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord: Both the Don and Sergei refer to Father Vittorio in these terms.

* BoringYetPractical: The silenced Beretta. While it might not be a HandCannon like the Desert Eagle, the Revolver, or the Silverballers, nor have the uniqueness of the Silenced .22 or the .54 pistol, its fifteen round magazine, suppressor, and extremely common ammunition make it a very useful weapon. The best part? It's available right from the beginning of the game on normal difficulty, making even the regular Beretta redundant.

** 47 fesses up to his previous contract work, but Father Vittorio tells him that he still has a good heart. In the final mission, Sergei is holding the priest hostage inside of the confession booth. Grab a sniper rifle (once you've shot up the church, there's plenty lying around) and line up a shot on the heart picture in the confessional. Blast it, and Sergei will be temporarily blinded and flee the booth.
** While wandering 47's home between levels, you may notice a hidden door next to the side entrance. This also leads to Vittorio's room where he keeps his key. It disappears from the inventory, but keep it in mind for next time. Some of the church locks are too old to be picked, and the mobsters in "Redemption" have got the main entrance covered. If you reclaim the key, 47 can administer some ''Veritas Aequitas'' to Sergei & friends.
* CloningGambit: Feel free to [[spoiler:dress up in your brother's clothes]]. (After all, when 47 first picks up the headset, he pretends to be [[spoiler:Mr. 17.]]) It will work much better than your own suit, plus you can take his rifle. Just get to the exit before the mobsters catch wise. It's possible to hide his body in a specific part of the office so that the guards don't get suspicious at all.

** The security office computer and, later, Charlie Sidjan's computer. (You'd think you could disable them with that hefty ax, but apparently not.) Bizarrely justified, as there is no tower visible.
** The "AIRCON" room in "Graveyard Shift". Pull out your silenced pistol and shoot the IED display, right where it says, "temperature normal." When the admin comes running, sneak into the server room (he forgets to lock the door) and drug/wire him while he attempts to reboot the poor thing.
* ConcealingCanvas: The safe in Charlie's office. Don't forget to close up the safe and painting before you split with the cash.

* DieHardOnAnX: "Redemption at Gontranno". Okay, this is it. You've got 21 highly alert, heavily armed, strategically located enemies to deal with, and you start with little more than a piece of string. There's no ratings per se, but you can do this mission without ever being shot at, which is about as Bruce Willis as you can get. 47 can even use a Beretta 92FS in this level, which is the updated version of John [=McClane's=] signature Beretta 92F.

** "Anathema". You might be lulled into thinking this is [[GreenHillZone a big, pretty map]] to get used to the new controls and paradigms of ''Silent Assassin''. The primary challenge is just getting into the damn place. The staff all know each other. (And 47 is lacking a sweet Don Corleone coiffure, so get in their faces for too long and your mob suit won't last.) There are also plenty of rooms where even guards aren't allowed to go, only your targets. (Once you get the crossbow from "Hidden Valley" you can break that level so badly, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvxY17FHJeg it is hilarious.]])
** "St. Petersburg Stakeout". 47 opines that St. Petersburg isn't "an easy place for a comeback", and he's not kidding. The biggest problem here is just getting the sniper rifle out of the metro. Getting to the escalator without the passengers alerting the guards is no mean feat. There isn't any reliable way to avoid setting them off, but it works best if they spawn in the locker area with their backs turned. You ''could'' wait for them to get into a useful position, but you are on a timer here. The easiest thing to do is probably to just reload if they don't cooperate.

** Mohammad Amin supplying the rebels with a stolen warhead. Not only that, he's a cheapskate to boot.
** It's obvious that Von Kamprad is fleecing her own patients. She bogarts some flowers and candy from them in the opening cutscene.

** Notice how some guards ''don't even carry their guns visibly?'' That means you shouldn't either. (The Nuristan terrorists are less uptight about this.) And although some of the hospital guards are carrying guns, don't bother with it since it only serves to make the nurses edgier.
** The [=NPCs=] in this game hate running. Passionately. Maybe their parents all died in some sort of marathon accident, but they all get really agitated when you run. Now, maybe they do things differently in the Russian Army, but if they saw a fellow soldier running toward them, their first reaction would probably not be to '''[[JaywalkingWillRuinYourLife OPEN FIRE!]]'''
** Just like in [=H:C47=], the soldiers will get suspicious if you're carrying an odd weapon. The SVD looks enough like the AK that the Russians will be fooled if you stay about 20 feet away from them, as long as you have it holstered.

** "Showgun Showdown:" Generally, you can get away with annoying a few shinobis (causing the suspicion meter to go berserk). The problem is, the more times you make the SAME guards suspicious, the more likely they are to open fire. This is the whole key to the Castle mission. Many players have trouble when trying to get out, but what they don't realize is it's because of things they did going ''in''.
** "The Motorcade Interception": The game designers wanted you to use the engine-busting capabilities of the [=MI95=] to halt the front jeep and then snipe the Khan. But this will cause the UN Soldiers to shoot at you and raise alerts which can make things more difficult. However, the developers also gave you the option to shoot the Khan from behind. The easiest way by leaps and bounds is to kill a guard at the start to get a disguise, then get the shot off as the limo is about to exit the level. A painfully narrow window, but the shot will be much easier than usual (you'll smack yourself at how easy it is). On top of that, you are considerably closer. Oddly, reaching this location doesn't trigger the immediate limo arrival like the other spots do.

* HitboxDissonance: This also points out another problem with the game engine: Improper collision detection. If 47 is hit by a truck then he will die which, of course, makes sense. But, as it turns out, the actual contact point extends about two feet from the front of the truck instead of the vehicle itself. And this contact point is lethal even if it is standing still!

* KryptoniteFactor: The instructional manual makes clear that St. Petersberg is not the best terrain for a hitman. This isn't Hong Kong: The buildings are spaced far apart, the streets are wide, and there's very few places to hide. You'll notice a big difference when you get to the middle east.

* MustHaveCaffeine: In "Graveyard Shift", head into the break room. Shoot out the coffee-cam, and then wait. The sysadmin will come to check it out, allowing you to bag him in the manner of your choosing.

* ObviousBeta: While ''Silent Assassin'' was a very innovative game, it wasn't very polished.

** There is some inconsistency regarding who counts as a target and who counts as an enemy. For instance, the "Redemption at Gontranno" game save that is created at the end of the game will overwrite all of your stats and reduce your overall rank (e.g. "Silent Assassin" gets knocked down to "Specialist"), because Sergei is an ''unnecessary'' kill. That's right. The two dozen mobsters you used to water the garden (with blood)? All "targets". Sergei, the vicious crime kingpin who's been hounding you for 20 levels? A helpless civilian. The mind reels.

* PolarOppositeTwins: Charlie behaves very differently from his nerdy brother: He's quite the playboy and has his own penthouse suite full of bikini babes. (Where ''are'' they keeping those revolvers?) The ''other'' Sidjan is holed up in the sub-basement of the same building. It is assumed that he is the real "brains" behind the missile key software, judging by the state of his office as compared to his brother's YOLO lifestyle.

* PunchPackingPistol: The SD Ballers present a problem with this game's ragdoll physics: Plug an enemy with them and they'll fly so far that people on the street may see the corpse and come running. Hence The Agency's recommendation to use the 9mm. (For a laugh, trying shooting the Straw Hat assassin next to his window. He does this beautiful swan dive out the window and into the plaza.)

* {{Qurac}}: "Nuristan", which in no way resembles the real-life province. Fortunately the guards here are pretty laid back, especially if you're an unarmed civilian.

** The infernal Purple Turban Man. The PTM is pretty damn weird and appears as a civilian on the map, but is secretly packing an [=MP5=]. He poses little danger to 47, but if he tails you back to Agent Smith's hideout, PTM will put a bullet in him. It is quite annoying to try to deal with all these Assassins then suddenly have this idiot sidle up behind you and pooch the whole mission. The best outcome is to be lucky and avoid him. Failing that, lead him to an alcove where nobody will ever find him and unsheathe your knife.
** "Terminal Hospitality": Head to the basement and you will see a bunch of cultists protecting the four Surgery Rooms. The Cult Leader is in one of them. Unless you're dressed as a doctor, you cannot just waltz into each room to find him. You will spook the nurses and other personnel and this will lead to alerts. You're supposed to use the ventilation system to peek into the surgery rooms and find the one with the two cult members, which contains your target. As with the jade figurine in [=H:C47=], the cult leader always starts in one place (the northwest room), and moves about only if you restart the level.
** "St. Petersburg Revisited": Our friend [[spoiler:Mr. 17]] loads in two places: one on the west side of the Pushkin building, and one over the front entrance. He will always be facing west if you take the bait and go up into the apartments. The thing to remember is that he keeps moving around.

* RemixedLevel: At first glance, "St. Petersburg Revisited" is a turkey shoot. The Russian Generals are all gone, so the Red Army isn't patrolling the metro or the streets anymore. That all changes when it turns out that [[spoiler:the target has flown the coop, leaving behind 15 or so mobsters with Deagles, along with a very trigger-happy Hitman.]] And the sniper rifle [[spoiler:is loaded with blanks]] this time around.

* SceneryPorn: The backgrounds in [=C47=] are nothing to write home about, due to the draw distance fog and the stupid cut-away sky in Hong Kong. (That game owed a lot to the musical score.) This one pays more attention to the background, particularly the eye-popping scenery around the Don's villa and the wide-open streets of Russia. Creator/DavidBateson always gushes about the St. Petersberg missions for some reason.

** "St. Petersburg Stakeout": When aiming at the General, be sure not to fire on him while the guy in brown (Sergei) is leaning behind him. The bullet will go right through the target and kill them both, costing you the mission.
** In "St. Petersburg Revisited", Sergei is standing in the same spot as before in a now-empty room. [[spoiler:He's just a cardboard standee, though, and 47 is armed with a dummy rifle.]] Did you think it would be that easy?
** "Kirov Park Meeting": The church is a wash if you want a good rating. Once you've pulled the trigger, the soldiers will be all over you. And with nowhere to run but a spiral staircase leading down... it's ugly. Be smart and scurry up the radio tower on the far end of the map.
** "Tubeway Torpedo": There's a tasty two-way mirror in the bunker where you can observe Agent Smith getting the shit kicked out of him by Fearless Leader. If you shoot the General through the glass, it makes a satisfying CRASH, but it will alert absolutely everyone on that floor. There's a cleaner way (and it's just as easy) involving a cell phone and pager that Diana gave you.

** In "The Death of Hannelore", 47 can adopt a disguise of a "Lord Sinclair" to get close to his target (a female doctor). If she asks 47 for the name of "his" wife, though, he won't know what to say before eventually randomly coming up with "Uh...[[CoverIdentityAnomaly Elsie?]]", which is way off the mark.

** The quick and dirty way to end the first St. Petersburg mission is to ignore the rifle completely. If you fire off a few pistol rounds from the sniper's nest, one is bound to hit the General (he's the one sitting closest to the window). 47 can also sneak into the Pushkin Building proper and pop him from the far side of the conference room.
** UH OH, THE TRUCK HAVE STARTED TO MOVE! If you get close enough and then run away, the two ninjas who inspect the trucks will give chase and then break off their pursuit. The top ninja, the one closest to the Truck, will go back and finish his inspection. However, the bottom ninja hasn't gotten back to the rear of the truck yet to finish his work. The ensuing confusion will cause him to freeze, thus stopping the inspection of the trucks. And, since the trucks no longer move, then there will be no more risks of pancaked ninjas for the duration the rest of the mission. You know it's a well-built level when exploiting bugs is the only way to reliably beat it. On rare occasions, the checkpoint inspectors may freeze on their own. (It happens frequently in the [=PS2=] version.)
** In "Murder at the Bazaar", at the beginning of the level it's possible to run right up to the Colonel and shoot him in the face with a silenced pistol before he can walk into view of any guards. This ''considerably'' shortens the level since you don't have to deal with him the normal way and can even use his uniform to sneak into the other target's house.
** Instead of shooting the Khan, try whacking at his car window with a fire axe. Tricky, but it can be done.
** "St. Petersburg Revisited": If you sedate [[spoiler:Mr. 17]] rather than kill him, he will be frozen in place (because you disarmed him). This can lead to some slapstick comedy; see "Skippable Boss" below.
** There is a well-known glitch in this game which allows you to attack Sergei with a garrote through a wall. (See "Skippable Boss") If done right, then the cutscene before the boss fight will show a shotgun floating in mid-air, and during the battle you'll fight the boss' flying corpse. [!] Also, if you strangle him again once the boss battle starts, Sergei will be lying on the ground in a HUUUUUGE puddle of blood. The Dev team took it for granted that players will shoot him with an [=M60=] or another really heavy gun.

** In "St. Petersburg Revisited", don't kill [[spoiler:Mr. 17]]--just sedate him instead. The guards only move into position when he dies. So the idea is to drag poor [[spoiler:17]] all the way to the metro and kill him there. This will take awhile, but it will improve your score. At some point you will let go of him as you drag him along. This means that he is about to wake up. Bring out the rag and sedate him again when he gets up. Embarrassing.
** It's possible to kill [[spoiler:Mr. 17]] by throwing him in the path of -- what else? -- a runaway vehicle. (In order for this trick to work he needs to be struck by the city bus; it won't work with a car.) Unfortunately, it is not as simple as that: He must be struck while he is awake. If you leave [[spoiler:17]] unconscious in the path of a vehicle it will simply clip through him, and if he awakens in time, he ''[[ArtificialBrilliance will]]'' run out of the way of an oncoming car. You have to time it in such a way so he awakens just before the bus hits him.
** "Redemption at Gontranno": It's best to leave one of his bodyguards alive before trying this out. Sneak up to the confessional room door and either wire, knife, or sedate Sergei through it. However, you won't actually kill him; he'll just fall to the floor. This also makes him drop the [=SP12=]. Kill the last bodyguard, then shoot the heart to initiate the showdown. Sergei will be alive, but he'll be sliding along the floor on his backside. You cando whatever you want to him.
* SmarterThanYouLook: The song which plays as you enter Charlie's apartment is the Allegretto from Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca. It's coming from a pianist in the living room, who just so happens to be one of Charlie's bimbos.

It's worth mentioning a few other toys that were deployed in ''SA'' before they became permanent fixtures: little things like lobbing a distraction (Diana's pager, or honking a car horn), clinging to balconies, crawling through vents, ducking a surveillance camera, or leaving behind a remote-controlled mini-bomb. Also, rival hitmen who aren't mentioned in the briefings will suddenly appear to harass you, which should be familiar to fans of ''[[VideoGame/HitmanBloodMoney Blood Money]]''. "The Jacuzzi Job" even introduced the notion of making kills look like a "robbery" or "accident".

* BoringYetPractical: The silenced Beretta. While it might not be a HandCannon like the Desert Eagle, the Revolver, or the Silverballers, nor have the uniqueness of the Silenced .22 or the .54 pistol, its fifteen round magazine, suppressor, and extremely common ammunition make it a very useful weapon. The best part? It's available right from the beginning of the game on normal difficulty, making even the regular Beretta pretty much redundant.

* PolarOppositeTwins:
** Charlie behaves very differently from his nerdy brother: He's quite the playboy and has his own penthouse suite full of bikini babes. (Where ''are'' they keeping those revolvers?) The ''other'' Sidjan is holed up in the sub-basement of the same building. It is assumed that he is the real "brains" behind the missile key software, judging by the state of his office as compared to his brother's YOLO lifestyle.
** In a surveillance tape, after [[spoiler:Mr. 17]] garottes the Russian guard, he [[VictoryPose does a flashy nunchuck move]] with his fiber wire. Plainly, his personality is quite different from his brother's.
*** This is actually probably just him signaling the chopper to take off by whirling his hand in a circle above his head, as rendered with janky 2002 models and animation.

** "Kirov Park Meeting": The church is pretty much a wash if you want a good rating. Once you've pulled the trigger, the soldiers will be all over you. And with nowhere to run but a spiral staircase leading down... it's ugly. Be smart and scurry up the radio tower on the far end of the map.

** "Redemption at Gontranno": It's best to leave one of his bodyguards alive before trying this out. Sneak up to the confessional room door and either wire, knife, or sedate Sergei through it. However, you won't actually kill him; he'll just fall to the floor. This also makes him drop the [=SP12=]. Kill the last bodyguard, then shoot the heart to initiate the showdown. Sergei will be alive, but he'll be sliding along the floor on his backside [!]. You can pretty much do whatever you want to him.

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* DifficultySpike: "The Motorcade Interception". This mission is a pain in the ass. There are a lot of guards about and you have to use a noisy weapon in order to get the job done. But the guards aren't the real problem. It is the randomly wandering civilians who can cause the most headaches. One interesting thing about the [=MI95=]: It is so unique to this region that it will ''attract'' people to it. This is bad news if you do not want to be seen with it, since you can't just drop it and wait for the [=NPCs=] to stroll by before picking it up again. If only you could sneak into the palace and wire the Khan while he is taking a piss or something.

* SequelDifficultySpike:
** Disguises are a smaller factor than in the first game. Private security disguises are pretty useless, since they don't hold up to scrutiny. (A suit of clothes alone isn't going to fool the Mafia into thinking you're cousin Luigi.) Hope you like sneaking. And waiting. Weirdly (since 47 is clearly Caucasian), the ninja and Afgani outfits work fine, which is good because the missions are borderline impossible without them. But you need to follow the usual rules for blending in.
** Guards/kitchen staff have no random patterns and, in general, ambushing them in the open isn't a difficult thing to do. The main wild cards are those damn civilians, especially with their random movements and speed. And they move much faster than the guards which adds to their annoyance factor.
** In H:C47 the guards were pretty laid back. You could run all around them without them getting suspicious as long as you were dressed for that area. In SA you have to be careful when running around guards, as they can be pretty twitchy at times. Guards here move VERRRY slowly in such large orbits that predicting them is often quite hard. They also look around quite a bit while they patrol (unlike most stealth games, enemy cone of vision is tied to where they're actually looking rather than just how their body is facing. The looking left and right animation of their heads while walking actually means something in this game).
** Sneaking up on people: This also plays a smaller role than in the original, which is good, because it's bloody hard now. People will get a little suspicious if you walk up on them from behind, and sneaking is very slow. Which means you can generally only sneak up on enemies deliberately placed for that purpose. The unarmed and innocent are much easier: They will flee from you, so you can just run up from behind and grab 'em.

* BittersweetEnding: At the end of ''Silent Assassin'', we witness 47 leaving behind a peaceful religious sanctuary in Sicily to return to his life of crime; more human, but still forlorn, unsure of whom to trust and whom not to.

* BittersweetEnding: At the end of ''Silent Assassin'', we witness 47 leaving a religious sanctuary in Sicily; more human, but still forlorn, unsure of whom to trust and whom not to.

* LogicalWeakness: The instructional manual makes clear that St. Petersberg is not the best terrain for a hitman. This isn't Hong Kong: The buildings are spaced far apart, the streets are wide, and there's very few places to hide. You'll notice a big difference when you get to the middle east.

* PacifistRun: It's possible to finish the game without killing anyone other than your intended targets, which is reflected in your overall game stats. This is somewhat complicated by the fact that [[spoiler:Mr. 17]] in the second-to-last level counts as a kill, even though killing him is required to finish the mission. However, this can be cheesed out by using anesthetic to knock him out, then dragging him into traffic to be run over by a bus, which requires insanely specific timing (he has to be in the regaining consciousness animation for the collision to damage him) but doesn't count as a kill by you. This can only be done revisiting the mission in NewGamePlus, since when you first play the mission you're unable to bring in any items.

** Notice how some guards ''don't even carry their guns visibly?'' That means you shouldn't either. (The Nuristan terrorists are less uptight about this.)
*** Although some of the hospital guards are carrying guns, don't bother with it since it only serves to make the nurses edgier.

*** The infernal Purple Turban Man. The PTM is pretty damn weird and appears as a civilian on the map, but is secretly packing an [=MP5=]. He poses little danger to 47, but if he tails you back to Agent Smith's hideout, PTM will put a bullet in him. It is quite annoying to try to deal with all these Assassins then suddenly have this idiot sidle up behind you and pooch the whole mission. The best outcome is to be lucky and avoid him. Failing that, lead him to an alcove where nobody will ever find him and unsheathe your knife.

** UH OH, THE TRUCK HAVE STARTED TO MOVE! If you get close enough and then run away, the two ninjas who inspect the trucks will give chase and then break off their pursuit. The top ninja, the one closest to the Truck, will go back and finish his inspection. However, the bottom ninja hasn't gotten back to the rear of the truck yet to finish his work. The ensuing confusion will cause him to freeze, thus stopping the inspection of the trucks. And, since the trucks no longer move, then there will be no more risks of pancaked ninjas for the duration the rest of the mission. You know it's a well-built level when exploiting bugs is the only way to reliably beat it.
*** On rare occasions, the checkpoint inspectors may freeze on their own (it happens frequently in the [=PS2=] version).

*** It's possible to kill [[spoiler:Mr. 17]] by throwing him in the path of -- what else? -- a runaway vehicle. (In order for this trick to work he needs to be struck by the city bus; it won't work with a car.) Unfortunately, it is not as simple as that: He must be struck while he is awake. If you leave [[spoiler:17]] unconscious in the path of a vehicle it will simply clip through him, and if he awakens in time, he ''[[ArtificialBrilliance will]]'' run out of the way of an oncoming car. You have to time it in such a way so he awakens just before the bus hits him.

*** ID Checks. The very moment the words "Stop it!" appears on the bottom of the screen, start running. Do not stop running until the ninja is just a speck on the horizon.

* Real-time mapping which allows you to track [=NPCs=]

*** They don't make ninjas like they used to. If you subdue a guard while he's scanning you, it's only counted as a "close call" rather than an alert. They're so stuck in this routine, you can even wait til they walk up to you, circle around 'em and drug 'em in the middle of the ID check.

* DifficultySpike: "The Motorcade Interception". This mission is a pain in the ass. There are a lot of guards about and you have to use a noisy weapon in order to get the job done. But the guards aren't the real problem. It is the randomly wandering civilians who can cause the most headaches. One interesting thing about the [=MI95=]: It is so unique to this region that it will '''ATTRACT''' people to it. This is bad news if you do not want to be seen with it, since you can't just drop it and wait for the [=NPCs=] to stroll by before picking it up again. If only you could sneak into the palace and wire the Khan while he is taking a piss or something.

* TheAllSeeingAI: The Psychic Guard phenomena. There are instances where you will sedate a guard for his outfit instead of killing him for it. When that guard wakes up, you will get a warning about everyone "LOOKING FOR A SUSPICIOUS GUARD." On some missions, 47 will be ''instantly'' attacked regardless of how hidden you are, even if you are wearing a completely different outfit. Either the guards have some sort of invisible 'field' around them, or the entire floor goes on 'lockdown', or some combination of both. If you are close enough to the warning zone when the message is issued, then you will be immediately shot. Furthermore, you will only be attacked at the time the warning comes up; not before and, most importantly, not after. So, what you need to do when sedating a guard is get as far away from his body as possible and wait for him to wake up. Then wait for the warning to come up and disappear before going about your business.

* AlwaysCheckBehindTheChair: The key to the Ferrari is on the Don's brother, Vito (the other fat guy in white). But there's no easy way to get it without making unnecessary kills and/or noise. It's possible to kill only one additional enemy (Vito) and not incur a penalty, but you may just consider it a sort of consolation prize if your mission turned into a bloodbath. Bizarrely, Vito lost his other set of keys in a tree [!] next to the roof access ladder.

* TheAllSeeingAI: The Psychic Guard phenomena. There are instances where you will sedate a guard for his outfit instead of killing him for it. When that guard wakes up, you will get a warning about everyone "[[AC:looking for a suspicious guard]]". On some missions, 47 will be ''instantly'' attacked regardless of how hidden you are, even if you are wearing a completely different outfit. Either the guards have some sort of invisible 'field' around them, or the entire floor goes on 'lockdown', or some combination of both. If you are close enough to the warning zone when the message is issued, then you will be immediately shot. Furthermore, you will only be attacked at the time the warning comes up; not before and, most importantly, not after. So, what you need to do when sedating a guard is get as far away from his body as possible and wait for him to wake up. Then wait for the warning to come up and disappear before going about your business.

The gameplay was very ambitious for the time -- not to mention [[ObviousBeta riddled with bugs]]. Regardless, it was met with positive reviews, and is considered by many to be the first '[[GrowingTheBeard true]]' ''Hitman''. It plays much more stealthily than the original and introduces elements that would become iconic to the franchise (Hitman unveiling his signature pistols, for one). Other new stuff:

** Sneaking up on people: This also plays a smaller role than in the original, which is good, because it's bloody hard now. People will get a little suspicious if you walk up on them from behind, and sneaking is very slow. Which means you can generally only sneak up on enemies deliberately placed for that purpose. The unarmed and innocent are much easier: They will flee from you, so you can just run up behind them and grab 'em.

** Sneaking up on people: This is also a smaller part of the game than the original, which is good, because it's bloody hard now. People will get a little suspicious if you walk up on them from behind, and sneaking is very slow. Which means you can generally only sneak up on enemies deliberately placed for that purpose. The unarmed and innocent are much easier: They will flee from you, so you can just run up behind them and grab 'em.

** Gen. Makarov is meeting with an old mob contact, Igor, to buy protection and information. Both must be taken down once they emerge out in the open at Kirov Park.

** For no adequately explained reason, the Target on the Castle mission counts as an enemy for the purposes of the mission rating.

** Charlie behaves very differently from his nerdy brother: he's quite the playboy and has his own penthouse suite full of bikini babes. (Where ''are'' they keeping those revolvers?) The ''other'' Sidjan is holed up in the sub-basement of the same building. It is assumed that he is the real "brains" behind the missile key software, judging by the state of his office as compared to his brother's YOLO lifestyle.