In Silent Assassin, you take the mysterious Mr. 47 out of retirement to recover a kidnapped priest, though many other layers to that tale gradually unfold. As you’d expect, the gameplay involves plenty of combat, but what makes it interesting is planning your hits. The fairly open worlds present several alternative methods but few cues, so you have to cook up the one that works best for you. This brew of puzzle-solving and stealth can be heady and fun as you infiltrate compounds, sneak past the bit players, and take out the big cheese…although you’ll often long for craftier A.I. and sharper physics. The controls, however, rain on the parade. They’re too intricate, and their fussy, challenging feel takes a while to master. They lack a sorely needed custom configuration, and, unlike the Xbox version, you have to fiddle with the L2 button to make 47 run, which sucks. At least you can save your game anywhere. Visually, the PS2 fares surprisingly well against the Xbox, sporting spiffy lighting and environments but not-quite-right animations. The audio is serviceable, never really registering as good or bad. If you have the option, play the Xbox version—it’s definitely superior. Many PS2 gamers will enjoy this intriguing title, but it’d be smart to rent before you buy to be sure you can tolerate its flaws.
