Bam! Bif! Pow! Hitman 2 out now

Ian Hitman is back once again with the kill behaviour in Hitman 2, which just launched. The sandbox stealth-o-murder simulator visits new lands, does new murders in new ways, and generally does that Hitman stuff well. Adam Cook said in our Hitman 2 review that "although IO's latest take on their murder-sim doesn't veer too far from the previous game's reinvention, it spends time re-enforcing what made it so good to begin with," which sounds like a grand old time to me.

Hitman 2 is very much built around the bones of H1tman, following the same structure of a few big open-world locations with main story missions then a load of other murders to do in them plus live events (including murdering Sean Bean). Though unlike H1tman, Hitman 2 is launching in one lump rather than episodically. It even brings over the first game's locations and missions, touched up a little with new features the sequel brings, which are available free for people who have H1tman or sold as a £16 upgrade for newcomers (more if you want the bonus mission too).

This time, Ian is off to Colombia, Hawke's Bay in New Zealand, the made-up Isle of Sgàil somewhere in the North Atlantic, Miami in the USA, Mumbai in India, and the fictional town of Whittleton Creek in the USA (Vermont this time - more sedate than Florida). He brings a few new tricks with him, including blending into crowds, new items, and the ability to smuggle forbidden items into places in cases.

More than that, Ian's got new modes. Sniper Assassin brings back Hitman: Absolution's Sniper Challenge pre-order bonus oddity as a full mode, this time with co-op support as snipers try to take down targets and score mega-points on a living shooting gallery. A form of competitive multiplayer is in too, Ghost Mode, where two Hitmans compete to whack targets in parallel versions of the same level, seeing each other only as a 'ghost'.

Here, our Nöa has murder experiences to share and all:

Hitman 2 is out now on Steam for £45/€60/$60. Folks who paid an extra £30 for the Gold Edition got to play from Friday; today brings the game to everyone else. Since Square Enix ditched IO Interactive, Warner Bros. have stepped up to publish this one.

If you need some help getting started in the exciting field of professional murder, check out our Hitman 2 guide.