Hitman 2 Turns Heads, Snaps Necks

Hitman 2 Turns Heads, Snaps Necks

After a bumpy patch with former owner Square-Enix, a fully independent IO Interactive has returned with a follow-up to the 2016 soft reboot of Hitman. This sequel features six brand-new maps that are absolutely brimming with both bespoke events and enchanting systemic interactions.

Ryan McCaffrey reviewed Hitman 2 at our sister site IGN, and he awarded it a Good score of 7.7/10. While he doesn’t think much of the high-level plot presentation, and the lack of mechanical innovation is mildly disappointing, the team at IO has delivered a slew of excellent new content for fans to immerse themselves in.

The PS4 version of the game has the largest number of reviews, and the 41 counted on Metacritic amounts to an average of 82/100. IGN ends up being on the lower end here, but outlets like USGamer and Shacknews awarded the game high marks, and those reviews make a good argument for the game’s strengths. The clockwork world is more complex, the in-mission writing is on point, and the ability to revisit spit-shined maps from the last game is undeniably cool.

We’ve spent some time with Hitman 2 on the PS4 Pro, and found the experience to be pleasant overall. While the gunplay still leaves a lot to be desired, the UI improvements this time around make for a quicker on-ramp. It’s much clearer now what will and won’t blow your cover, so new players will be empowered to explore.

Digital Foundry has gone through the game with a fine-toothed comb, and found that the changes made to IO’s own Glacier 2 engine have resulted in some meaningful advancements. Reflections are massively improved, a stylish bloom effect has been added, and the crowd density is truly impressive. And the fact that you can enjoy many of these improvements applied to the older levels makes this release all the more enticing to enthusiasts.

The stock PS4 sticks to 1080p, but the vanilla Xbox One is running at 900p – a 30 percent decrease in pixel count from the previous installment. On the upside, there is visual parity in every other respect, and they both stick to the 30fps cap in nearly every situation.

The game runs at 1440p on the PS4 Pro, and the capped 30fps mode is solid. You can unlock the frame rate, but you’ll find that it mostly hovers in the high 30s to low 50s. However, the Xbox One X version offers two options: 2160p with an unstable 30fps target or an uncapped 1440p. In the uncapped mode, the X handily beats the Pro, but the instability at full 4K is disappointing. As DF’s John Linneman points out, a proper dynamic resolution implementation would go a long way toward smoothing out the issue.

At launch, the PC version is a bit of a letdown. Let’s be clear: It looks great, but the paltry customization options and the lack of DX12 are a huge bummer. And HDR? It’s supposedly supported, but the folks at Digital Foundry couldn’t make it work. Combine that with a number of accusations of instability from the community, and PC players might want to wait for a few patches.

[Image credit: IO Interactive]

Continue reading

Qualcomm’s New Snapdragon 888 Will Power Flagship Android Phones in 2021
Qualcomm’s New Snapdragon 888 Will Power Flagship Android Phones in 2021

The 888 comes with a new CPU design, integrated 5G, and a massive GPU boost. It's shaping up to be the most significant update to Qualcomm's flagship system-on-a-chip (SoC) in years.

Samsung Reveals Galaxy S21 Family With Snapdragon 888, $200 Price Cut
Samsung Reveals Galaxy S21 Family With Snapdragon 888, $200 Price Cut

All three devices have the latest Snapdragon 888 ARM chip, lower price tags, and no included charger. Read our full breakdown of the different models here.

Qualcomm Revamps Snapdragon 865 Again, Calls It Snapdragon 870
Qualcomm Revamps Snapdragon 865 Again, Calls It Snapdragon 870

Qualcomm just unveiled a new high-end 800-series ARM processor, and I know what you're thinking. Didn't Qualcomm already announce its 2021 flagship system-on-a-chip (SoC)? It did, but the new Snapdragon 870 will slot in below the flagship Snapdragon 888.

New Horizons Reaches Deep-Space Milestone, Snaps Photo
New Horizons Reaches Deep-Space Milestone, Snaps Photo

It's only the fifth human-made object to reach a distance of 50 astronomical units. In celebration, New Horizons snapped a photo of the Voyager 1 spacecraft. Well, it tried, but Voyager 1 is still way out in the lead.