Hitman 2: Silent Assassin is where this series really started coming into its own. The game was a monumental step forward for the franchise after Codename 47, releasing on both consoles and PC, and generating a huge amount of critical and commercial success which propelled the series into the mainstream. The storyline here is probably the best in the entire series, and is the main driving focus for completing the game. Also, let's talk about that soundtrack. Jesper Kyd really knocked it out of the ballpark with this one, creating the best Hitman soundtrack of the franchise. The main menu theme alone is worthy of the greatest praise. The levels this time around are both great fun and some of the most frustrating in the entire series. While the gameplay has seen several improvements over Codename 47, the AI is still very awkward. If you even so much as look at wandering guards wrong, they'll open fire on you. This can lead to very trial and error gameplay instead of the experimentation seen in Contracts and Blood Money. There are a few standout missions in the game, and the good does outweigh the bad, but the AI quirks and general trial and error puzzles keep this game from reaching the heights of the two sequels following it. Graphically the game looks pretty good for its time, and it's a huge step up from Codename 47 in every way with its presentation. There's a staggering amount of weapons to obtain, and using the cheats to obtain all of them and going on a murdering spree is surprisingly more fun in this game than any other Hitman in my opinion. Overall, it's a very solid Hitman game, and, if not for its sequels, would have been more fondly remembered if they didn't improve even more upon the formula.
