One of the coolest things that the very cool Hitman series is known for, aside from making you a remorseless contract killer, is the openness with which the gamer can tackle each objective (target, termination, contract - you get the idea). Instead of just presenting the player with a guy to kill and some bodyguards to kill along the way, Hitman has always been about allowing the gamer some scope with which to address these challenges. Yes, there's a bad guy and yes, he tends to have loads of bodyguards. But you don't have to just gun them all down as you advance.

Instead, you can sneak about, take on different personas and just generally be incredibly stealthy about it. Or you could blow up the guy's room with a rocket launcher from a distance. Or you could do the whole "run 'n' gun" thing. It's your choice. This gameplay mechanic is still completely sound in Contracts. New players to the series will quickly realise there is more to it and old timers will embrace it like their favourite jumper on a cool Winter's night. This isn't just a generic third person shooter.

Level design in this kind of game is a nasty bugger to get right. Presenting the player with options and yet driving the game along whilst keeping the story on track is one cumbersome beast to nail. Let's not forget that today's gamers want to be impressed by what they see and the expect detail and style in the design. With all that in mind, it's a (very) good thing that the masters at IO Interactive are on the case. In keeping with the previous games in the series, the levels in Contracts are smartly laid out and feel real as you sneak around in them.

In addition to the levels feeling real, many of them also feel... familiar. Any regular Hitman player will recognise many of the levels / objectives from earlier games in the series. Starting with the very first level, where you must help agent 47 escape from the hospital where he was created - lifted straight from the original Hitman game. The story to explain this has the present day agent 47 remembering his earlier adventures (most of which are new to the series, despite being "Flashbacks" for our lead character) thanks to being under considerable duress... why is he under duress? How is this situation resolved? You'll need to play it through to find out.

Graphically this is one very nice looking PS2 game. With clever lighting, dramatic level design and loads of character evidenced throughout, IO Interactive have managed to deliver an experience which doesn't highlight the weaknesses inherant to the PS2 platform. It's cool, it works, it's clear. Thumbs up.

The gameplay as a whole is solid. Gamers familiar with the series that are looking for the next leap in game design and challenge, however, might feel a little cheated. Due in no small part to the "Revisiting" of a number of levels, the game hasn't really moved on very far from where we last left it. It feels, in fact, like a mission pack or a direct continuation of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, rather than an actual sequel. That's not entirely a bad thing, of course, what with Silent Assassin being so darn good and everything, but it's important that you go into this understanding what you are getting. Then you can ignore this slight disappointment and get on with what is, on it's own, a fantastic game. People who are new to the series, of course, will have nothing whatsoever to complain about.