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Hitman. Also available for xbox and PC.

Amazing game. You are Agent 47, bald assassin extraordinaire.

There is a story involved but it is meaningless.

Basics
The game is centered around a series of locations around the world. Miami. Columbia, New York. Mumbai. Etc. Each location is something. Thailand was a hotel. Italy was this mansion. Right now I'm working on Mumbai and it's the city. At each location you have a few people you need to kill.

Each location is a large, relatively open ended world. There are tons of ways to complete each mission. You find disguises. You set up elaborate sequences of events. You wander around trying to figure out who is doing what and why and how you can influence or change it.

It is not really an action game at all. It's more of an elaborate puzzle.

Each level has a series of challenges and missions that give you some clues as to the variety of things you can do within the location. Things to find. Ways to kill your targets. Story missions that give you some background on what is going on in the level. When you complete the level you get a score based on how well you did and what challenges you complete. The more points you rack up, your level mastery goes up. You unlock new places you can start, items you can get in the level. And then you play the level again because this time you want to figure out how to get the dude to visit his mother's grave so you can push him in.

Each time you start a level you are essentially lost. But you wander around. You mess up. A bunch of people shoot you. You shoot them. Eventually you start figuring out where things are, what disguises you need to go where. And a month or so later you are still playing the level and you are just an assassin god.

I've never played a game that I enjoy replaying as much as I do this one. I've played Mumbai for a month now. I finally figured out how to get Vanya (the slum queen of India) to meet with the Maelstorm in the train yard. And since they were in the train yard I figured I would derail an incoming train to just get them both at the same time.

I've drowned Vanya in a fountain. I rigged her meditation steam room so it would explode while she was in it. I've poisoned her tea. I've disguised myself as her tailor and strangled her while taking her measurements for a dress....and on and on and on. In addition to just shooting her in the head more times than I can count. And there are three targets. Each one has a ton of elaborate ways to kill them. And then there are ways to get them to meet. You just keep figuring out how to unlock the puzzle.

Next I'm trying to figure out how to get "silent assassin." You eliminate your targets, hide the bodies, no one sees you, no evidence. Then I'm going to figure out sniper assassin. Getting them all with the sniper rifle.

Again, not an action game. It rarely requires fast twitch reflex. Just a lot of replay and thinking. The graphics are good. The writing and dialogue is great. A ton of humor in it. Another level I was killing a rock star who was the son of a rich corporate something or other. I had arranged for him to go to a surprise birthday party. Finally figured it all out. He is there. And the dialogue before he blows out the candles was hilarious. When he was done I smothered him to death in his cake.

The point is I love this fucking game.

You might like it as well. IF you decide to take the plunge, start with Hitman 2 and if you like it you can buy the levels of Hitman 1 "in" Hitman 2, so you get the better graphics everything in one package.

Been meaning to play one of these. I hear nothing but great things.

Ronald RayGun wrote: ↑Sat Mar 27, 2021 10:01 pm Been meaning to play one of these. I hear nothing but great things.

If jumping in, jump in with Hitman 2. If you like it you can buy an access pack that puts the levels from Hitman 1 into the game.

Word. I'll add it to my collection.

Unrelated but I'm looking to play something else...I've done nothing but play Call of Duty exclusively for like forever. I didn't buy the latest game, Cold War...still trying to play Modern Warfare but for whatever reason latency has made it almost unplayable. I need something to break my attachment to the COD franchise.

Horizon: Zero Dawn. Great action/adventure game with an awesome story and memorable characters. You can pick it up now for about 15 bucks, or you can wait about 15 days and get it free on PS+.

Oh, and Ghost of Tsushima is an absolute masterpiece. One of the best looking games I've ever played. Incredibly smooth combat. Even has a "Kurosawa Mode" where it's all in black & white. Highest recommendation.

Since we're talking about vidya here, can someone explain to me what the game Destiny is? I have almost lost a friend to his addiction, and I'd like to understand the illness.

Mak, I don't know but if it's losing friends, marriages, jobs etc. then it almost assuredly is some form of a RPG (role playing game) and that shit is cray cray. I had a married friend some years ago that nearly got divorced from playing World of Warcraft. That dude would stay up all night playing that shit and forget it on the weekends.

Shapecharge wrote: ↑Mon Mar 29, 2021 3:26 pm Unrelated but I'm looking to play something else...I've done nothing but play Call of Duty exclusively for like forever. I didn't buy the latest game, Cold War...still trying to play Modern Warfare but for whatever reason latency has made it almost unplayable. I need something to break my attachment to the COD franchise.

Bro....Hitman 2. Get on that shit. I finally figured out a way to eliminate Vanya with no witnesses and hiding the body. It involved disguising myself as a servant, poisoning her tea which led her to go throw up in the bathroom, wait a beat so that I could choke out her bodyguard, then choke out Vanya and snap her neck. Then hide both bodies.

I've been playing this level for a month and am finally at the point where I know it almost inside out.

I still haven't completed everything in it, but I'm at the point where I've done everything I want to do and am going to move onto the next level.

Another game I just started dabbling in -

Streets of Rage 4 - old school side scrolling 2D hand drawn brawler. Nice mindless enjoyment.

Destiny is a first person shooter with a major emphasis on collecting ever-stronger weapons & loot. Never been my thing.

Shapecharge wrote: ↑Mon Mar 29, 2021 7:35 pm Mak, I don't know but if it's losing friends, marriages, jobs etc. then it almost assuredly is some form of a RPG (role playing game) and that shit is cray cray. I had a married friend some years ago that nearly got divorced from playing World of Warcraft. That dude would stay up all night playing that shit and forget it on the weekends.

It's funny you mention WoW because I have a dear friend that actually did lose his extremely hot and big-titted girlfriend because he became so addicted to that game. He would literally neglect and not fuck her to play a video game. That's something I can't really even wrap my mind around.