I don't really like episodic releases and I tend to wait until all episodes are out before buying; That said Hitman is different specifically because I don't have plans to play it but I did enjoy all the site content based on the first game which was really driven by it's episodic release.

Putting aside the fact that in order to get the whole thing in one package you have to pay upwards of $100 for the collectors edition i'd much rather have a full game than have it sold piece meal over the course of a year or so. I'm not one of those people that was angry over how Hitman season 1 was sold though. (mostly because I borrowed "Hitman: The complete first season" from a friend, weirdly enough that didnt have all the content) I assume that Hitman 2 will still have elusive targets and extra stuff to keep people coming back so it serves the same purpose.

I don't really care about the format, I'm just happy we're getting season 2 and that overall, all the bad stuff around IO Interactive got a happy ending (them going independent from Square and retaining the hitman IP, for example). Judging by Season 1, the sequel will have a huge amount of content that will take me a long time to play through, and I play other games in between so whether it would episodic or full game right away doesn't matter. Plus, I'm sure IO will support this already full package with post-launch content, events etc. both free and/or paid to keep people constantly involved.

The last game didn't have a platinum trophy due to it being episodic, so yes...I'm "happy." Given its checklist nature of gameplay, I quickly lost interest last time out when there was nothing to work towards.

Loved the episodic nature of it, kept the game fresh for more than a year for me personally.

No. Their hand was pretty much forced by shitty Steam reviews whining about it, and I have my doubts that the levels will be as deep or as good this time around due to this structure. They clearly put some real time/effort into the last game that I just don't think they'll be able to in a non-episodic format. I hope I'm wrong.

Also, there won't be the same kind of zeitgeist where people discovered cool stuff together, and I'm guessing people will be far less likely to take a deep dive into each level with them all being made available from the start, which will lead to them missing a lot of the best stuff in the game. That it's releasing in November alongside a bunch of other shit only increases the chances people will just breeze through it on a surface level and move on without putting in the time to really appreciate it.

Oh, and the last game cost $60 total if you bought it from the start (okay, I spent $80 total if you count the $20 GOTY expansion), whereas the full game this time around is $100, so all the Steam whining about the extra $5-$10 some people paid if they played the waiting game and bought episodes individually actually made the whole thing more expensive this go-round. Good work, assholes.

The only mini-positive here is that the Elusive Targets can be better spread across the maps.

I don't really care. I only got the last one when all the major episodes had been released. It will probably make for less GB content this time around, which is a bummer, but for me personally all that matters is that there's gonna be more - presumably - good Hitman.

I don't know, I thought the episodic thing seemed like an interesting setup for the series. I never ended up buying the game, but that was because of its intrusive DRM rather than the episodic nature, and I really hope that aspect has been fixed in Hitman 2. I may hold off until it comes to GOG given just how messed up the last one was for a lot of users.

Absolutely playing it, so I don't really care. I really did enjoy the episodic nature of the last one but I also understand why they aren't doing that with this one.

I'll be playing it either way as the last one was SO good. It'll actually be nice to have it all at once now!

I'll play it either way, absolutely, but the episodic format was fun in that it paced everything out nicely to keep me playing throughout the year. It encouraged really exploring each level and completing challenges up until the next level got released, which with Blood Money if I recall correctly I only did after I'd beaten the whole game.

Not that it's bad, it's just different. Instead of hanging on every episode as they come out across a year, I'll just play the shit outta a buncha Hitman at my own pace.

I really liked the episodic nature. I had never really played a Hitman game prior to this one, and after seeing it on here month after month I decided to pick it up. Also the ability to buy a single episode made it much more appealing in case the game didn't gel with me.

Like others mentioned, I liked that it gave players time to constantly iterate over the levels, and that it gave the developers the chance to react to players reactions and have a faster feedback loop.

So I probably won't buy this one, at least until it goes on sale. And I predict it will fall out of the zeitgeist shortly after release.

Can't wait!

i'm happy is the whole game at once and i hope the crew does a quick look for each mission though

Don’t care. Will play.

I liked the episodic way cause it just meant I focused one map at a time. Even maps like Colorado which wasn't my favorite I still spent lots of time there when it was the new map. I'm fine either way, I'm in for more hitman. I wonder how elusive targets will work? First I assume there will be elusive targets. Will they be released on any map in any order? Miami map looks great. I want to blow up some stuff.

Totally fine with it, though wish they would do away with the elusive target crap. I have no idea why people are so into the idea of time limited content.

i voted, "i liked the way it was" but i'm not too far off from, "i dont care, i'm playing it either way". But the episodic method was something i've never experienced in a positive way before and i liked hot the drip feed worked out a great deal. I'll still be playing Hitman 2 though, eventually when i figure out if i can update the base game to get the "season pass" content later. If they try to hold the content hostage then i'll likely go without until i can get a sale.

There’s a reason i spent less than 20 hours with each of the previous two games, and spent over 40 with the episodic game.

Having a curated year of hitman helped keep me engaged and checking in. I was able to try a level for 20 bucks and decide if i wanted more, it was awesome. I certainly won’t be paying a full 60 for this game. For all i know every level in this one is like marrakech.

We’d probably have already played the first level or two if this were episodic. We’d be talking about it though the end of the year. Instead it’ll come out alongside other big games and possibly ignored, a shame.

The episodic rollout definitely made Hitman a special communal experience, and part of me mourns losing that in the new game. But it's still Hitman, so ultimately I'll be there Day 1 regardless.

Does anyone know if the menu will be integrated into the menu for the first game's? Like will there just be a season 2 tile or something

I didn't get the last one until all of the episodes were out, so functionally this won't be any different for me. Not dealing with it episodically didn't stop me from sinking almost 40 hours into the whole thing, and if the level quality is equal or better than Hitman 2016 I could see myself putting in a similar amount of time.

I think the format really benefited season 1 in two main ways:

1) It encouraged players to take their time trying out lots of different paths in the same level, instead of "mainlining" the story. A lot of the joy in the game IMHO is using your knowledge of the level to come up with creative and/or "cool" approaches, as well as becoming confident enough to take bigger risks which lead to the best moments.

2) It (ostensibly) let the devs spend a lot of time tweaking things for each level and cram each one with lots of interesting bits.

I think a lot of the fans that have now figured out #1 don't need the second game to force them into it. And this way players that want to see all the levels quickly can do that too (personally, I'll still wring a lot out of each level before moving on).

I trust the devs opinion that they don't need the extra time to deliver a full game of interesting levels: presumably with a lot of the complicated engine work behind them, the process of designing & implementing a level is a lot smoother now.

And all that said, they're still going to do updates over time with contracts & elusives so we're not losing much on that front either.

Yep

I did enjoy how when a new map came out it was an event, everyone would post their experiences and fun things you can do over the course of the whole year. In the end though I do prefer getting a full package. Especially when certain maps in Season 1 fell short of expectation like Colorado or Marrakesh. To wait a month or two and get a map I wasn't overly keen on was a real bummer.

Yes. I replayed certain levels in Silent Assassin and Blood Money a ton and those were full releases. Plus they are still keeping the Elusive Target going in some fashion, so got at least one extra reason besides different routes to go back to missions...and they might also do those bonus missions again, so that's another reason.

I liked it being episodic because every new map was something that the community came together to discover this whole new thing and it kept it in peoples minds throughout the year. Some people might have hated it but I did enjoy how they were constantly adding to the game and listening to feedback and making changes.

I think episodic releases really worked for Hitman, more so than any other episodic game I can think of off the top of my head. It kind of makes sense in-universe too. 47 isn't just going to go on one contract and then another and then another - he'll get a contract, do it, there will be downtime, then another contract, do it, have some more downtime, etc...

That wait between episodes actually made sense and worked in a way that kept me interested the entire time between doing the extra stuff to rank-up.

I think a full Hitman game can still work as long as there is enough content, but I think they might lose that special something a little bit too. I guess the big positive will be that (hopefully) it's not always online or online-only anymore. I know that kinda screwed a lot of people last time who didn't have stable or consistent internet access.

I'm happy in that it should mean the game reaches more people and will be more successful but I think it will make for a worse gameplay experience.

The all in one release means a lot of people will treat it as any other linear game so getting the kills in each level in any way will be enough before moving onto the next one. The strength of the episodic style was spending significant time on each map and finding all sorts of ways to get the job done. Of course this will still be possible but when the option is there to simply move onto the next thing most people will be inclined to simply take the path of least resistance and push through the levels. If you did this with the first game it's maybe a 10-15 hour experience which wouldn't have been anywhere near a GOTY contender.

I'm getting it anyway because I thought the first was brilliant, but I really liked the episodic model and I'm sad to see it go. I don't think I've ever seen that business model or the "games as service" concept so well executed anywhere else.