Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
PlayStation 2 £39.99 Xbox £44.99 PC £29.99 Eidos ****
Busty archaeologists are fine but anyone who prefers their gaming heroes a little more masculine should look at Hitman. A cross between Grant Mitchell and James Bond, the follicularly challenged agent is back in a sequel that dramatically improves upon the original.
There is still the same mix of assassinations and espionage, but on PS2 you can now save mid-mission, which makes the action more accessible to newcomers. Starting off in a Sicilian monastery, the game takes you to Russia and beyond, and variety isn't a problem.
The main issues are the controls and the graphics. Happily, both come out well, especially the visuals, which show a solidity and fluid animation style uncommon on PS2. But Hitman 2 isn't suitable for a console owner wanting a quick blast. This is all about stealth, cunning disguises and tactical planning. Whether it's stealing a guard's uniform to infiltrate a party in St Petersburg or interrupting two generals in a city park, there is plenty of sneaking and garrotting to be done.
Unfortunately, the downside is a frustrating amount of trial and error, not helped by the harsh difficulty level. This is a very challenging game, with some missions simply too long. The time-limited levels, while realistically tight, feel overly constricting. Nevertheless, by mixing the stealthy bits of Metal Gear Solid with numerous spy-movie influences, Hitman 2 offers some welcome variety on the PS2. (GH)
Project Zero
PS2 £29.99 Tecmo/Wanadoo ****
Japanese arcade adventures have driven the genre almost single-handed for years. Some work brilliantly (Final Fantasy and Resident Evil the obvious trailblazers), while others are too predictable and badly translated. Project Zero falls in the middle, a flimsy premise crammed with excellent ideas and a brooding sense of menace that younger gamers will find disturbing.
You begin the game as a journalist named Mafuyu, armed only with a torch and camera, creeping through a ruined manor in search of clues. Seconds later, and after a 10-second cut-scene every bit as scary as the Blair Witch Project, you switch roles to play his sister Miku, trying to find out what became of him, fighting off all manner of spooks.
As the game progresses, you begin to increase the power of your camera. Ghosts moving through mirrors and torchlight as the only means of illumination are survival horror staples, but Project Zero pulls them off with panache. Part is down to good programming - for example, in the way there are no annoying "loading" pauses as you move between rooms.
However, the game also proves that the idea of an interactive movie is no longer the object of derision it used to be. When a story is this well plotted, entering an ominously noisy room is far more tense when it's you choosing to turn the handle.
The first-person perspective blends well with third-person action. If nothing else, Project Zero is a wake-up call to Squaresoft and Capcom that when it comes to horror, less is definitely more. (MA)
Blade II
PlayStation2 £39.99 Xbox £44.99 Mucky Foot/ Activision **
Blade II demonstrates the tribulations that beset new UK developers. Created by Mucky Foot, who developed Urban Chaos and StarTopia for Eidos, it is typical of a game of a film. It is not what you would expect to find an ambitious developer making for an American publisher.
But movie tie-ups are good for balance sheets, and generate the cash required to make more experimental games. Blade II is a well-executed, yet generic, action-adventure game, in which you play a facsimile of the Wesley Snipes character.
Combining shooting and hand-to-hand combat it is authentic, but action-adventure gamers will feel they have seen it before. It tries to differentiate itself by forcing you to select weaponry before each mission, and Blade has been given a rage meter which, when full, turns him into even more of a killing machine.
But the game is sufficiently brutal to spark debate about violence in games. Points are even allocated according to how many opponents you kill during each mission. Graphically, Blade II is impressive (particularly on the Xbox), but the camera occasionally makes things tricky, the gameplay becomes repetitious and the close-quarters fighting a bit ponderous. Such games aren't the way forward. (SB)
