TheHitmanseries is among the very best when it comes tostealth and assassination. The recentWorld Of Assassinationtrilogy has taken the franchise to a new level, however, presenting players with a series of beautifully rendered semi-open-world maps in which to explore and wreak havoc.
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Within each map, theHitmangames give players a series of missions (primarily assassinations) to carry out however they see fit. This could include the use of the environment, NPCs scattered around the map, or pre-determined mission-related methods. Here’s every map fromHitman 1and Hitman 2, ranked from worst to first.
14Colorado
The Colorado map onHitman 1is definitely the worst of a brilliant bunch. The beauty of theHitmanmaps is their variety, and this map just doesn’t offer enough of that. Players will spend the majority of their time outside in the farmland scape of Colorado, which can grow tiresome pretty quickly. It does have the best plot twist ending of anyHitmanmap, though the game forces players to watch the same cinematic with each additional replay, which can also become tedious.
While exploring this map, players can disguise themselves as a scarecrow to hide upon 1 of 6 scarecrow posts around this location. Using all of the posts to hide will complete the “No Birds Here” challenge and can also be a fun way to knock out targets while hiding in plain sight. Climbing onto one of the posts while being watched is a bad idea though, as it will upset the guards for some unknown reason.
13Hawkes Bay
The concept behind Hawkes Bay is actually pretty great, and, as it effectively serves as the tutorial forHitman 2, it can be let off slightly for its lack of ambition. However, it’s still just too small and repetitive to compete with some of the other maps across the games. Worse still, the vast majority of the map is just a sandy beach with nothing in it, and the main area could easily be a small chunk ofa bigger mapif placed elsewhere.
For patient players who wish to stealthily assassinate the main target in a way that even the victim won’t notice, here’s how to complete the “Sandman” challenge. First, follow the story objectives until the target arrives. Next, head up to the roof, take out the guards, and wait by the window above the target’s bed. When both she and her partner go to sleep, fire a round from one’s silenced pistol into her head to complete the challenge and walk away with a Silent Assassin rating.
12Whittleton Creek
The idea behind Whittleton Creek is absolutely brilliant. It places players in the middle of a sunny, completely normal slice of suburbia. Very few games allow players to mix madness with absolute mundanity, butHitmanperfectly provides that here. Players also get to uncover the secrets lurking in each house, though, after getting used to the simplicity, things can get a bit boring.
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To spice things up a bit, players should look around for things to do and challenges to complete; many of which are quick and easy to perform and can net them some bonus experience points to boot. One such challenge is theIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia-inspired"Troll Toll" and can be completed by shoving an unfortunate NPC down into the map’s well.
11Mumbai
More so than any of the other maps inHitman 2, Mumbaiis a mapof two halves. The main part of the map is relatively uninteresting and can get old pretty quickly. Down beneath it, however, there’s a very cool underground area for players to explore, as well as a film set that’s full of unique methods for murder.
One such method involves using a machine that can create powerful gusts to launch a target off of a building, which will complete the “It Was His Biggest Fan” assassination challenge. To do this, players should grab the “Bollywood Crew” disguise and head up to the huge fan on the film’s set to sabotage it with a screwdriver. When the target stands in the path of the fan, they’ll then need to use the nearby computer to increase the fan’s power to send them flying to their doom.
10Marrakesh
The crowded markets of the Marrakesh map make for an interesting experience when wandering around locating the targets, but the fun ofHitmanis figuring out an approach and then trying to pull it off. The crowded marketplaces of Marrakesh just seem a little harder than many of the other maps in that respect, which makes the map a bit jarring in the wider context of the game.
For an unorthodox way to eliminate one of the targets, players can grab the “Cameraman” disguise and then head into the tv studio with the green screen where an interview takes place. They should bring the ICA Remote Explosive and place it into the camera beside the green screen (not the one on the tripod). When the target begins the interview and sits next to the bomb-filled camera, they can then trigger the explosive remotely for a sneaky kill, which will complete the “Drama Queen” challenge.
9Bangkok
Much like Mumbai, the Bangkok map is a game of two halves. It might be incredibly beautiful to look at from outside the hotel, but the masses of similar corridors within end up getting a little boring. The music studio, however, is a very unique setting from which players can attempt to pull off one ofthe most satisfying and intense set-piece assassinations in theHitmanseries.
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In one of the challenge packs that were released, there is a pretty unique way to eliminate targets called the “Heeeere’s Johnny;” an obvious reference to the famous line from legendary director Stanley Kubrick’sThe Shining. To complete the challenge, Agent 47 will have to kill four targets with a fire ax and verify that all of their bodies are found. This can be tricky — not to mention, risky — yet exists as a fun challenge nonetheless.
8Colombia
Columbia is one of the largest maps in the entireWorld Of Assassinationtrilogy. This gives it a lot of variety, whether that means wading stealthily through tall grass, wandering the grounds of the mansion, or immersing oneself in the daily life of the Colombians who live in the village. The only real downside is that the possibility forcarefully crafted killsis made considerably harder by its sheer size.
Players who enjoy karmic balance will have a great time completing the “A Bite Out of Crime” challenge here. To do so, they should find the hippo and take out the nearby guard to obtain the “Mansion Guard” disguise. Next, they’ll need to pick up a piece of meat and throw it into the water to get the hippo to come out of its cave. From there, it’s a simple matter of getting the “Hippo Whisperer” disguise and then leading the target down to the hippo to feed them to their former pet.
7New York
The first ofHitman 2’s DLCsandbox maps, New York may be confined to the interior of an investment bank, but there’s still a surprising amount of variety for players to enjoy; both in terms of assassination methods and sub-locations. Best of all, it feels like a genuine part of the game’s world rather than just a phoned-in add-on to justify the existence of a season pass.
Though the map itself is a lot of fun to explore, the heist that takes place there really allows it to put its best foot forward. A slew of challenges offer upnear-endless replayability, while the finance theme and accompanying mechanics really help to set New York apart from some of the other maps found throughout the series and also prove that bigger isn’t always better.
6Paris
The idea behind the Paris fashion show map is another genius one from the creators ofHitman. Most of the map is densely populated, and players are able to get relatively close to one of the targets, but the game forces them to think a lot more about their approach than they might expect. On top of that, the map is filled with nooks and crannies that actually end up providing a huge amount of variety.
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The “Showstopper” challenge is probably one of the most impressively destructive ways to kill a single target in Paris and is definitely worth doing at least once. All that the player needs is the “Tech Crew” disguise and a crowbar, which will allow them to head to the area above the runway. Once the target shows up, players can use the crowbar to break the winch holding up the chandelier; causing it to come crashing down and wipe out the target, the room, and a ton of other people as well.
5Hokkaido
As soon as players forget that they’re actually in a glorified hospital, the Hokkaido map actually becomessomewhere that they’ll desperately want to visitfor themselves. They can relax in a sauna, wander around in the beautiful garden, and even do yoga. At the same time though, it’s also possible to perform some of the most brutal kills thatHitman 1has to offer in this winter wonderland.
An easy and satisfying way to take out a target while doing a particularly chaotic run is to complete the “Don’t Look Down” challenge. This can be done by going nuts with firearms so that one of the targets begins fleeing the area via the gondola. After they board the wire-traveling vehicle, players can shoot the wheels connecting it to the cable, causing the entire gondola to fall down the mountain and become the target’s coffin.
