Hitman 2 expands its competitive Ghost Mode today
Who ya gonna call? IAN HITMAN!
The true joy of being Ian Hitman is not just in the hitting of men, but in doing it properly, which is what makes Hitman 2's competitive Ghost Mode so compelling - it gives you an audience. Today, Io Interactive rolled out a big update to the competitive mode, letting players compete in Santa Fortuna. They've also added a bundle of new ghost-busting special items that allow you to disrupt your rival, making for some potentially comical Spy Vs Spy action. For those still focused on single-player mastery, they've also reworked the rules for earning those coveted Silent Assassin ratings.
While today's Hitman 2 update includes a few amusing bug-fixes (47 no longer just sits around reading the newspaper when being shot at), the majority of its changes are to Ghost Mode. You can see the full April 30th patch notes here, but the short version is on top of the changes made to Ghost itself, it should be easier to match up with players, and easier to call rematches. Matches should also be more varied now, with the Santa Fortuna map opened up for multiplayer, and four new Ghost Mode targets. Just an aesthetic change, but it's better than the previous single target.
The biggest change is the addition of the Freeze Grenade, Outfit Manipulator, Proximity Explosive and Flash Grenade items to Ghost Crates. The first will slow your opponent down, the second picks a new random disguise for both players, the third is a land-mine you can try to blow up your rival with, and the last temporarily blinds your opponent. The explosive is the only one capable of directly harming your opponent, but all the others have the potential to throw a spanner in the works of your rival. There's also four emotes that you can use to taunt your foe, if you have the time.
I've not played Ghost Mode in a while, but the addition of these new, more aggressive tools has me eager to try them out. At launch, the mode was an entirely hands-off affair. Now it reminds me of the old Spy Vs Spy series, but (thankfully) without the less-than-classy option to just punch the other player. For those who decide to stick around with multiplayer, there's an extra small incentive for playing Ghost Mode now: Kill a cumulative total of 100 targets in PvP and you'll unlock the subdued but classy Phantom Suit, with its blue shirt and white tie - it's nice to accessorise.
The Ghost Mode update is live, with full patch notes here. If you're still on the fence, there's a free 'Starter Pack' demo for the murder-puzzle sandbox here on Steam.