Excluding the transitional stages (sorry Hidden Valley) and the final two story missions since they’re barely levels, what is your least favourite mission from H2SA?
I think I would have to say Tracking Hayamoto. Love the idea but it feels unnecessarily limited with how you can go about the stage and that starting position is annoying as hell.
What about you?
I’d have to agree and say Tracking Hayamoto as well. I might even put it below Hidden Valley tbh. I like the vibe and the concept, but as you say the execution is extremely restrictive. And it’s got to be one the smallest maps in the entire series, offering very little in exploration or different opportunities/approaches.
I actually really like Tracking Hayamoto. Yes, it is very limited, but I like its aesthetics and the fact that I can either go the full-stealth fugu-fish route, or go in guns blazing like it’s a rival yakuza hit. The tight spaces and paper walls/doors (allowing for bullet penetration) make slowly walking around and eliminating everyone with a SPAS-12 very cool and enjoyable.
My pick would go to Tunnel Rat. That is just an all-around uninteresting (in terms of visuals, level design, and target opportunities) and immensely tedious level.
My vote is also tunnel rat. Perhaps tracking hayamoto is next, but I don’t find either to be “bad.” H2SA didn’t really have bad missions.
All of the missions are terrible in some way. I can’t pick the worst among them.
Yeah, I agree. There’s some that can be more frustrating because of how the game works (like Hayamoto), but they’re all pretty solid!
I like those elements of Hayamoto too, I just get annoyed by other bits!
I actually really like Tunnel Rat though. Aside from the random patrolling enemies that can be a real pain to take out SA with bad luck, I enjoy it!
Only one mission comes to mind and that is The Motorcade Interception.
I like the general idea behind it and understand where it’s coming from, but a good Hitman mission requires the target to get out of his car and grant 47 at least one opportunity to get up close and personal.
Getting the weapon to one of the (sub-par) sniper spots without being spotted is tedious enough and takes ages, until everything happens fast as lightning once the motorcade arrives. The rhythm just ain’t right.
Oh wow, how did I forget about this level?
Yeah, you are right. Motorcade is the worst
I actually like that one. Sure it’s frustrating that you’re not allowed to walk with a sniper even in guard clothing, but with 20 missions in a game there can be one that is different. This one is hard and you’re on a clock and then you have to high tail it out of there.
I always loved that one. Although I never understood why you could fibre wire one UN trooper without penalty but you could not shoot one without penalty.
I also found it very funny when the 60 gunner would mow down his own soldiers if you got the truck to stop at the correct spot.
As I know, there is no clock here, sheikh’s arrival is scripted. I want to believe that Deadly Cargo from Contracts is actually also scripted, but I don’t. If it really scripted then conditions of this script are just less controllable than the Motorcade Interception.
Its sorta timed but also not. Motorcade wont spawn until you reach high ground. At that point you have a limited amount of time until it passes through to kill him.
Yes, you can let them drive by and out of reach 
I always hated Hidden Valley until I memorized and mastered every little intricacy of it for my video on it. Now it’s one of my favorite levels. The aesthetic is so unique and unreal and really creative artistically. Yakuza ninjas in snowy Japan with lasers and castles and everything is such a cool concept. Once you realize the AI is different in this game in different levels, and you realize that each mission is meant to be sort of treated like its own separate game with its own rules and mechanics, it’s easier to appreciate and master the different missions I think.
Yeah I don’t mind it. The biggest sin is the broken AI, and how that broken AI can cause you to fail SA for stupid reasons - and that only increases the longer you spend in the stage!
I think I dislike Tunnel Rat the most. It’s the one mission I almost never replayed in this game for whatever reason. The Japan missions are at least memorable and I’ve replayed them a lot to get better at them, I don’t remember anything from Tunnel Rat beyond the loading screen and there being an helicopter at the end though.
I agree. While The Motorcade Interception is undeniably flawed and straightforward, I always liked it. The whole concept with the anti-material rifle is so unique in the series, I wish it´d make a comeback in some form again.
I never bothered to figure out what the ideal spot was, but boy, did I enjoy when it happened 
I believe it is, but I have no clue what the actual time trigger is… I know the raid always immediately starts once you get a SWAT disguise, but beyond that…
I always wanted some mission with a guy on a speedboat going by and blah blah blah story BS your gear drop is wrong. You have a rifle but only one round. You setup and have one shot. Make it or don’t. Very straight forward, but challenging and once it could be fun. Maybe a couple possible spots to get to in order to take the shot? Harder spot to get to = easier shot.
Probably Motorcade Interception. I don’t like the time limit or the fact there’s only one way of killing the guy. I also just don’t like the way the level looks. It would have been way better if the target would have exit the limo once he reaches the lil’ town or city you’re in, and then you could kill him in various ways.
Man, that would be a pain without a save option 
But I can understand the appeal of the idea. I’ve always wanted something similar, but with a helicopter and more open. Where a target arrives/escapes via helicopter, and you have various ways to take him down, including planting explosives or using a high-calliber rifle a la the motorcade mission.
Honestly it’s criminal how the entire series is void of such a mission, despite having a number of missions across the board where a target uses a helicopter. Not to mention the amount of other games where missions with such opportunities exist.
Sapienza at least has some such variety with Caruso’s seaplane (bomb, cannon), but Shogun Showdown is the only one with such an explosion kill (The Disruptor allows for a pseudo-version of it). Dubai was such a fucking missed opportunity… (and the Sniper Assassin missions would be perfect for it as well if regular levels)