#10: The Ark Society [HITMAN 2]
One of the most impressive levels in the entire history of the franchise for visuals alone. The Ark Society is set on a remote island where the richest of the 1% buy and sell methods for surviving the coming apocalypse. Part cult and part trade convention, you’ll find bunkers for sale alongside priceless artifacts in the main keep of the ancestral castle. Everyone is masked, making uniforms important for accessing the various parts of the castle — and some of the mission stories that play out here are straight-up devious.
You can disguise yourself as a VIP to access the secret council at the very top of castle — featuring a stunning enclosed glass garden. You can pretend to be a corpse in an elaborate burial ritual. You can knock targets into massive pyres during crowded speeches. My personal favorite involves finding hidden coins all over the map to purchase a private meeting with one of the targets.
While this level appears restrictive, it’s actually ridiculously open if you know how to properly navigate and climb around the castle. It’s possible to complete the whole thing without changing costumes once — and solving that elaborate puzzle is one of the most fun challenges in the game.
#9: Traditions of the Trade [Hitman 3: Contracts]
Hitman 3: Contracts remade a few levels from the original Hitman: Agent 47, and this is my favorite. The premise is very simple — there are two targets for you to eliminate in a medium-sized hotel. What makes the level great is just how much of the hotel you can explore and access. You can get the keys to the rooms on the upper levels, or use the balconies to hop the gaps and reach connecting rooms where Agent 47 doesn’t belong.
You can do some pretty clever stuff too. To get the Master Key, Agent 47 just has to wait for a clerk to vacuum the rooms — while he’s vacuuming, he leaves the key in the door. Perfect for snatching. The hotel is a complicated place, with a thermal bath and a haunted murder room. Yes, there’s really a ghost room that still kinda gives me the creeps. That’s the kind of detail I crave!
The Hitman countdown continues on the next page.
