![]() You can purchase additional sniper rifles and secondary rifles, as well as pistols and gadgets. So it's really up to the player to make their own fun and change up how they approach the situation. You can buy more gadgets and weapons, but that's not really needed, as the entire game is easily completed with the starting gear even on higher difficulties. Completing objectives earns you cash, and unlock points, which can be spent at the shop. It slightly resembles the approach that the Hitman franchise took in recent years, though there's not nearly as much variety – but also not nearly as much grind to unlock everything, striking a good balance. There are collectibles to find, and challenges to complete which are usually mutually exclusive – like killing the target a certain way. You have five missions which you must play in succession as the story unravels, but the game puts a lot of emphasis on replay value. Sneaking up to grab and interrogate an enemy results in extended animations with awkward pauses in dialogue, and the only thing you can gain is marking of all other enemies and where the gear stash is. The hiding mechanics could have really used an improvement, as it's also often unclear which type of grass will hide you. You can hide in the grass, but the game takes far too much liberty here – you're considered hidden when your entire torso is clearly exposed. You might encounter a few different enemy sub-types, but everyone except for the heavily armored foes are eliminated with a single headshot from any class of sniper rifle, so there's not much variety improvement. In another example, a flood light that was shot out remained operational and would spot the player. Enemies have unpredictable vision, and there are bugs AI can get stuck on something while on patrol, or snap between animations which teleports them a few feet – a big deal when you're trying to line up a clean shot. AI is very important in stealth games, but sadly Contracts 2 continues to have many of the inconsistencies of its predecessor. The experience is quite similar, and in some cases that's not a good thing as little progress was made in problem areas. However, it prevents you from pulling off critical shots in quick succession as it un-scopes you afterwards, which is a bit of an issue. The bullet-time camera, which you can adjust the frequency of, follows your shot all the way to its target, which is fun to see. There's still a great amount of satisfaction to be had when making challenging shots. Your scope still has an indicator (which can be turned off) that clearly shows where your bullet will travel, and lets you adjust your aim for distance/gravity, and wind speed and direction. In sniping, too, there are no major differences to be found. It can still be a bit silly that you can climb on some objects but not others, especially when it comes to urban settings – such as on some stacked crates but not others, despite jumping high enough to clear the object. The game also insists on occasional first person platforming/climbing, though much less than before. The loud approach remains rather stiff, with assault weapons not feeling very good to handle. If you choose to, many times you can also sneak through without eliminating anyone, take everyone out with silent melee kills, or go in guns blazing. With careful planning and timing, you can clear entire bases without raising any alarms. The basics of the gameplay haven’t changed – you find a good elevated position, get your binoculars out and start tagging enemies. Along the way you'll be met with enemy patrols and checkpoints, which you can sneak by, or eliminate everyone inside by whatever methods you choose. From there, the map clearly points out where the objective areas are located, and there are usually a few ways to get there. You select a mission, your loadout, and get dropped into a semi-open world. The structure of this single player game remains similar to its predecessor. Still, at least the sequel does a better job at adding just a little bit of life to the character and their handler through bits of extra radio chatter, compared to the original. To do so, you'll be sent out to five different deployments, which means that each mission progresses the story quite rapidly and there's not any room for additional details. Your task, paid for by an unknown sponsor, is to eliminate her key organization members and eventually the leader herself. There's a fictional nation in turmoil, and a dangerous woman with her supporting commanders have taken hold. The very predictable story has you, a faceless assassin, follow the orders of your handler as you’re sent in to prevent a global crisis. Following the frozen landscapes of the first game, Contracts 2 brings players to an arid Middle East setting.
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