What are your fave levels from the classic Hitman series and why?

Anathema
Basement Killing
Beldingford Manor
The Lee Hong Assassination (Contracts>C47)
A Vintage Year
A House of Cards

5 Likes

Lee Hong assassination is my forever favourite (hitman codename 47)
Then comes St Petersburg Stakeout (Hitman 2 : Silent Assassin)
Traditions of the Trade (codename 47)
Basement killing (Silent Assassin)
And of course Requiem from blood money (as my username suggests😜)

3 Likes

For me it must be Hitman 2 Silent Assassin mission Anathema, my first mission in the Hitman series, I love stealth games and changing disguises on top off that was awesome I could sneak around or change disquise or both or use a sniper rifle, the possibilities was many and games like that is for sure my cup of tea (and I can hardly wait for Hitman 3) :grinning:.

Oh it was levels, not only one level… :joy:.

Well then I will add:

Hitman 2 Silent Assassin St. Petersburg Stakeout, The timed sniper moment was a thriller for me, I killed the wrong General many times :joy:.

Hitman 2 Silent Assassin Invitation To A Party, where I could use poison, either in a bottle of wine or in a glass, I don’t remember exactly .

Hitman Contracts, I played that game, but I don’t remember much from it, remember a attack on my hideout/church and killing a NPC in a Chinese resturant?

4 Likes

I will only mention three.

ignore order:

  1. Anathema (Hitman 2: Silent Assassin), because it was my first Hitman level that I played. Also I really like the mafia-feeling and music.

  2. The russia levels (Hitman 2: Silent Assassin), especially St. Petersburg. I like it, because of snow and underground.

  3. Asylum Aftermath (Hitman 3: Contracts).
    This mission is one of my favourites. The mission begins with an awesome bloody, dark, brutal atmosphere and an amazing music. There are bloods everywhere, dead bodys, Psychos and the FBI.

4 Likes

Say Hello to my little Friend: obviously.
Traditions of the Trade: top notch Hitman Mission Design.
Plutonium runs loose: separates the men from the boys, great atmosphere.

Kirov Park Meeting: Carbomb goes Boom
Invitation to a Party: classy Location, nice Gimmick, interesting.
Temple City Ambush: nice Gimmicks, great soundtrack

Asylum Aftermath: not a real mission, but interesting to see what happened after C47
Meat Kings Party: i want to participate.

Murder of the Crows: best Mission in BM

Run for your life: great atmosphere, love the library

11 Likes

This is not a very solid list, more like my fresh impressions from the recent replays of the games.

Codename 47

The Massacre at Cheung Chau Fish Restaurant - very simple, basic, yet the absolute classic that introduced the social stealth in Hitman.
The Lee Hong Assassination - on the contrary, very overwhelming and complex level that becomes fun once you learn the map and start experimenting with opportunities.
Plutonium Runs Loose - brilliant atmosphere, an unforgiving level-design that tests you.
The Setup - mainly the atmosphere. A quiet asylum at a seemingly peaceful night turns out to hide a lot of disturbing secrets and becomes a warzone shortly after.
Meet Your Brother - maybe not that exciting in terms of the gameplay, but anything will go with Ort-Meyer’s monologue.

Silent Assassin

Invitation to the Party - the setting that is very Hitman’y, an interesting gimmick, and overall a nicer level than most of the H2SA missions.
Jacuzzi Job - very small, yet quite complicated level. Unusual setting.
St. Petersburg Stakeout — St. Petersburg Revisited - very iconic levels that have the most connection to the plot. Similar on the surface, but very different in the reality - the first mission is done by the book, and the second is a challenging improvising nightmare.

Contracts

Asylum Aftermath - very atmospheric mission, especially the first part. Though here I’m done with pleasantries to this level :stuck_out_tongue: Imo, it’s quite bad gameplay-wise.
Beldingford Manor - very classy, hitmanish, and excellent in terms of gameplay location. I would have preferred it to concentrate more on the main building though, removing most of the open space outside and possibly even the rescuing objective.
Deadly Cargo - I don’t really see this mission as a replacement for PRL, but it’s a good one on its own. Very smart ideas with the SWAT wanting your target too (except, alive) and the target threatening to detonate the bomb.
Seafood Massacre - a worthy successor to the C47’s counterpart. Still love it despite a little bit tedious “Hide body in the sewers” objective.

Blood Money

A Vintage Year - great and classy level.

The Murder of Crows - there is something so immersive in the “city” levels like this one. Great atmosphere, great gameplay. (Random positioning of one of the targets and long route of another is not good for speedruns, I must admit)

House of Cards - yet another classic Hitman environment, that being a hotel. Waiting for the elevators and targets to arrive is tedious, sure, but I still love it.

A New Life - perfection in terms of gameplay. I consider it to be one of the most enjoyable levels in the franchise.

9 Likes

Codename 47

  • Lee Hong Assassination - very impressive in its size and the objectives are all interesting

  • Traditions of the Trade - love its layout, love the atmosphere, love the fact that it’s such a breath of fresh air after Colombia

Silent Assassin

  • I don’t like the game and even the ones that could’ve been great are ruined by the AI and general game rules. Maybe one day I’ll change my mind though

Contracts

  • Meat King’s Party - very on the nose in its dark tones but that’s exactly what makes it stand out

  • Rendezvous in Rotterdam - one of the best levels in the series, imo. From the opening cutscene to the fact that it gives plenty of suit only infiltration options. And the “intended” ways are also interesting

  • Seafood Massacre - that’s how I wish all remakes from C47 had turned out. Involves just a bit of waiting instead of a whole eternity and the cafe’s layout is much better as well

Blood Money

  • Murder of Crows - almost the whole game is very solid but this one reaches just a bit higher highs for me. Lots of nice ideas here: one target is in a random place but there is a consistent and relatively simple way of knowing where as well infiltrating said place so the random never feels unfair and never urges you to restart to try your luck; the fact that the mission is on a quite generous timer that you, once again, can easily stop; an optional objective of retrieveing the money briefcase; the whole crowd thing that looks pretty impressive even today and the ridiculous bird suits
7 Likes

Codename 47

  • Kowloon Triads in Gang War - classy and simple, take a target with a sniper rifle from the top of a building
  • Ambush at the Wang Fou Restaurant - for me it has the most memorable hit, disguise as a limo driver and plant a bomb in the limo
  • The Massacre at Cheung Chau Fish Restaurant - another classy and simple mission, now with a few more objectives to keep you busy
  • The Lee Hong Assassination - while not simple (actually on of the hardest in the entire game), the mission is still classic, a lot of fun blending as a civilian / guard and exploring the level
  • Say Hello to My Little Friend - this one get’s a lot of hate because of the previous Colombia missions which is a shame since it is a fun level, especially if you go for the sniper method
  • Traditions of the Trade - C47’s Showstopper
  • Gunrunner’s Paradise / Plutonium Runs Loose - while things can get pretty messy in these levels, I simply love the atmosphere, the soundtrack is my favorite C47 track.

Silent Assassin

  • Anathema - while the AI for the guards is borken, the level itself is quite straightforward and fun, with multiple ways to infiltrate the masnion
  • Kirov Park Meeting - limo driver? check; limo? check; bomb? check; classic hit for me
  • Invitation to a Party - similar to C47’s Traditions of the Trade
  • Tracking Hayamoto - unlike the two missions that follows this one, it is pretty straightforward and fun
  • Temple City Ambush - a guilty pleasure I guess, I really like the setting (an entire village), the objective is quite unique tough a bit too random for some and the soundtrack in this level is my favorite from H2SA

Contracts

  • The Meat King’s Party - straightforward mission with multiple way to complete it, it’s also nice to hear “Acum iti simt carnea. / Now I will feel your flesh.” line from time to time
  • Beldingford Manor - similar to the previous level I mention but with a more horror feel to it which I really like, nothing like creeping around an old mansion in the middle of the night, accessing secret passages while this plays in the background.

Blood Money

  • Curtains Down - while it’s a shame that there aren’t too many options to take out Delahunt, there are quite a few for Alvaro, not to mention once you chain-kill both targets, Apocalypse starts playing while you calmly walk towards the exit
  • Flatline - fun level with plenty of targets to take out in unique ways
  • A New Life - small level with plenty of options to mess with the target and the wife
  • The Murder of Crows - plenty of targets with plenty of options to take 'em out, neat idea of having two targets that are lovers to go berserk after finding out that their partner was found dead
  • Death on the Mississippi - plenty of targets to ruin their day, permanently.
  • Till Death Do Us Part - straightforward mission though the idea of 47 dressing up as a priest to conduct a wedding ceremony only to kill one of the targets soon after makes it even more memorable
  • A House of Cards - “It is a very large casino.”
  • A Dance with the Devil - really like the whole heaven / hell sections for this level, the hidden targets are also a nice touch though I wish they wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb
  • Amendment XXV - while the final showdown with Parchezzi is a total letdown, other than that I don’t see any faults with this one, very straightforward and it’s a novelty to explore the White House tough I doubt it’s accurately built.
8 Likes

C47 - Traditions of the Trade, not really a surprising one since it’s easily the best mission in the game.
SA - Shogun Showdown, I love the setting and it’s just really fun to sneak around the castle and to blow up Hayamoto with the helicopter or just kill him under the ninjas’ eyes.
Contracts - Bjarkhov Bomb, just kidding it’s Beldingford Manor, duh.
BM - You Better Watch Out, it’s a well designed and a comfy level, I always like to try out different methods.

Calling Absolution a classic Hitman game? Bruh moment.

11 Likes

the game is 10 years old now, its definitely not a new one :sweat_smile:

I dunno. The game uses newer engine, it also resembles the WoA trilogy more than its predecessors. So I can’t say Absolution belongs to classics.

If you allow me to talk about cars, it’s like a VW New Beetle (1999). It’s old now but you can easily tell its differences from the iconic classic.

It has been awesome to read all your level nominations and why. Brings back so many memories. I reckon we could add Absolution levels in here as well. Where else is it going to get some love?

If we count absolution then I’d say Run for Your Life since it’s a level designed for the sneakman mechanics of the game instead of the usual social stealth and it’s a great one at that. It has cool areas like the library or that drug-lab apartment that are also non-linear enough in how you may approach them. Looks gorgeous as well, no wonder they used it as the first gameplay reveal. Overall, feels like a better realized version of the last Contracts level but the only downsides are the very ridiculous beginning and a bit later the helicopter sequence which is not good at all.

2 Likes

Codename 47

  • Traditions of the Trade: One of the best missions ever.
  • Plutonium Runs Loose: Hard and challenging, but very rewarding if you have patience.

Silent Assassin

  • Anathema: Good design, many options to kill the target.
  • Kirov Park Meeting: Bombs are a good method, but I love sniping both targets from the radio tower.
  • Invitation to a Party: Nice setting, a race against another agent.
  • Tracking Hayamoto: I enjoy it for what it is. Guards are a bit too paranoid.
  • The Jacuzzi Job: Small location but I love it.

Contracts

  • The Meat King’s Party: Great location and atmosphere. Incredibly disturbing. A good number of options to kill both targets.
  • Beldingford Manor: Great level design, excellent atmosphere. Love to replay it.
  • Rendezvous in Rotterdam: Interesting setting, lots of tension.
  • Deadly Cargo: A good mix of two missions from C47 with its own twist.
  • Slaying a Dragon: Good remake. The poison method is fun.
  • The Seafood Massacre: I see it as an improvement over the original, making the Blue Lotus member a target and having more options to complete the mission.

Blood Money

  • Flatline: Very enjoyable. The context for the optional targets is great lol
  • A New Life: Many options, good design.
  • Till Death Do Us Part: One of my favourites. There’s like a dark/messed up subtext in this whole mission.
  • A House of Cards: Very enjoyable. Mysterious targets (I still wonder about them)
  • A Dance with the Devil: Outstanding mission.
6 Likes

I still love Invitation to a party. It was the first level i mastered myself. I love all the levels inside buildings alot. All Malaysia. Budapest. But still Invitation to a party is still best in my heart. I just had to try over and over all the little secrets.

I wish they would remake it, but i still play it today on pc.

1 Like

Can I just say every mission in Blood Money or is that cheating? Upon release I probably put the most time into replays of A Vintage Year, Curtains Down, A New Life, and You Better Watch Out. I’d say each of those tick all the boxes for me.

2 Likes

Kowloon Triads in Gang War - ok the name is a mouthful, but I think it’s neat just for being the first mission ever, very short and simple but I think it still kicked off the series with style.
Then it got a superior “remake” or rather reinventing in Contracts as “Slaying a Dragon” which added half a dozen new approaches you can take.

the 3 Malaysia levels are my favorite in SA, very cool to work through the very different sections of the one big skyscraper.

Contracts is hard to pick one favorite, but I think Beldingford Manor is a quintessential Hitman level, has a bit of everything I love about the series.

I’ll have to think more about Blood Money, I love everything in it.

1 Like

C47:
(For Screwing Around) Lee Hong Assassination- not so much able to screw around, but it is fun to mow down people if you don’t particularly care about doing it right
(Best Mission) Traditions of the Trade- TotT is a great example of a level where you are free to move around the level, blending in as a civilian and take advantage of routines and get away without anyone knowing that anyone had been killed.

Silent Assassin:
(For Screwing Around) Basement Killing- because I like testing weapons out in the lobby (as fucked up as that sounds)
(Best Mission) Invitation to a Party- Objectively Invitation to a Party is so much better as it’s a great feeling True Lies/James Bond style level where there’s a target, a target who is a threat to lives, and a bonus objective of taking something away. Good disguises, and a few ways to take out the target

Contracts:
(For Screwing Around) Asylum Aftermath- Get that minigun, go wild
(Best Mission) Meat King’s Party- The atmosphere is really gritty and dark, which the series can do well, but doesn’t utilise lately. Plus finding the missing girl is truly chilling

Blood Money:
(For Screwing Around) A New Life- So many things to muck around with, sniper rifle in the treehouse, or running through the house as everyone asks you to leave
(Best Mission) Flatline- Objectively there are some great accident kills in this, and it’s an interesting level. I don’t know how I feel about the randomised target though, as you just kill all 3 anyway for max cash so it’s ultimately quite meaningless
(Special mention) Death on the Mississippi- I’ve killed every npc as an accident on this level a few times; it’s just hilarious how you can make the results say like ‘103 accidents’ and that’s fair enough to happen on a boat

1 Like

HF version of an award
Best level: (in blood money) Death On the Mississipi, its so addictive to me
Best Level: (in absolution): Shaving lenny 100%, i just like Killing Metcalf And leBlond at the very start of the level.

well i mean it was originally released on xbox 360 like the others :man_shrugging: