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Hitman returns after a 4-year break which led to a full-on reboot in 2016, and, now, new publisher in Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment. Many fans of the series were surprised by the sequel announcement just a week or so ago via IGN. In case you missed the series return, Hitman (Now) had an episodic format with lush, big open world settings; the reboot also gave players and fans of the series a look into the origin story.
Things are back to business as usual in Hitman 2, as my demo run behind closed doors begins on the sunny, sleezy scene of a southcoast racetrack. My target is a female car driver not named Danica, as this mission requires weapons-free camouflaging to gather intel. The first thing I did was pursue and subdue a guy in a flamingo costume to get a hold of some explosives. The next object was to mix in with security, steal their garb and destroy footage of me roaming the premises; while typical, I found it funny donning a measly waiter’s uni while tending/poisoning the martini of a critical pitcrew member. Now I know how they deal with that job!
As a team mechanic I was able to place the bomb under the engine without notice, leading the evil racer’s utter — yet ever-so-glorious — demise. Hitman 2 gives you an abundant number of choices to go about any mission, as I attempted earlier to snipe my target but failed miserably, as lag in the demo prevented any proper accuracy. Bummer. While we’re a ways from release (November 13th), Agent 47’s next set of missions are shaping up nicely. 4.25/5 Wet Willy’s.
From Lego Batman to Lego Marvel Heroes the LEGO games have always been pretty underrated if not even great, and Lego DC Super Villains is no different. I started off as a new recruit for Lex Luthor and worked my way through Maximum Security Prison, teaming up Mercy, Cheetah and Solomon Grundy; later, I played with Joker and Harley Quinn and freed Metallo to fight against the Justice League. Yeah, that’s quite a number of epic moments by comic book reading standards, and thst was all within 20-minutes of hands-on play.
Just when the villains thought they were getting away, the Crime Syndicate of America hopped in to give the Justice League a hand. The Super-Villains are such a focus, I guess they needed it! This demo had a lot of “LOL” moments and was a literal blast to play. I mean, not too many superhero games — or many stories, really — give you the villain’s perspective. And creating/playing your own LEGO baddy as you progress and gain new powers is just the cherry on top. On October 16, I’m edging to pick this one up. 4/5 LEGO Bibles.
-Artez Bailey