Io
Interactive’s infamous hired gun is recreated specifically for the PlayStation 2
computer entertainment system and Xbox game console
Los Angeles, CA, Electronic Entertainment Expo (May 21, 2002)
– Eidos Interactive, a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment
for the PC and console gaming systems, today announced that Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, the
follow-up to the worldwide best-seller Hitman: Codename 47, is currently in development
for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and the Xbox game console. Created by
Io Interactive, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin is currently slated to arrive on store
shelves in Fall 2002.
"The Hitman series is groundbreaking in the stealth shooter
genre," said Chip Blundell, Marketing Director of Eidos Interactive. "The nature
of the series lends itself perfectly to the gaming consoles. Hitman 2 places gamers in the
role of a hired gun codenamed Agent 47, and provides them with innovative and thrilling
missions that will put the Hitman series at the top of its genre."
Hitman 2’s storyline begins in a Sicilian monastery. Agent 47’s
attempts to distance himself from his violent past are detoured when he is discovered by
local criminal underworld and tricked into returning to his trade. Caught in the middle of
a ring of deception, Agent 47 soon discovers that he has been manipulated and the hunter
must now watch his back, as he has become the hunted.
"The Hitman 2 team is building on the original Hitman in order to develop
a stylish game built from the ground up for the advanced video game consoles," says
Janos Flosser, Managing Director of Io Interactive. "Hitman 2’s incredibly
intensive gameplay and in-depth character interaction makes for an incredible third person
based gaming experience."
Hitman 2 has an outstanding list of features, including: a choice
of 1st and 3rd person viewpoints; mid-mission save options; a
revised and enhanced inventory system allowing gamers to acquire and carry weapons and
equipment from mission to mission and ending pre-game "shopping"; a detailed
ranking system; multiple play styles allowing gamers to complete missions with the primary
target as the only casualty, or gamers may choose to "blast-your-way-through;"
and finally, Io Interactive has implemented an advanced level design and engine dynamics
system providing gamers with open levels and no set path to play.
Agent 47 is armed with a massive weapons arsenal such as knives, handguns,
sniper rifles, and various explosives. He is also given new non-lethal weapons and
pacifying gear including chloroform, poison darts and stun guns as well as laser-aiming
devices, night vision goggles, and lock picks. Gamers will acquire more hidden bonuses as
the game progresses.
