Yes I love Hokkaido! I need to go back & explore it some more but I love how it does more with a smaller area. That’s exciting! I’ll check out thsoe extra missions too, and yeah I love doing Suit Only Sniper Assassin - it’s such a test of patience and map knowledge.
Love OutsideXbox! I’ll check out their videos on the game
Dang!! That’s some time! I’m still playing through the main campaign (once I finish a level I replay it 3-4 times), I’m super excited to try out all the extra challenges & Freelancer mode. Honestly the story has pulled me in more than I expected, it’s really well told.
I actually started with Hitman 2 back in 2020, but only put a lot of time in Miami. My current favorite levels are: Sapienza (just gorgeous), Miami, Sgail, Dubai, Berlin, & now Chongqing. I love playing with no hints, it’s super satisfying figuring out how to navigate the level myself. Shame the game leaves mission stories with full guidance unless you change it - feels way too on-rails.
Hitman World of Assassination! I put off playing it because the purchase model was so fucking confusing, but now that I got it I’m having a blast! These games have some of the best level design I’ve ever seen, the way IOI integrates story with natural progression through the level is incredible to see. I’ve never seen a level like Sgail where a player must choose between either climbing the physical structure of the level, or climbing the social ladder through disguises that grant you increasing influence.
I’m on the Chongqing level, and the neon lights look absolutely gorgeous.
Language transfer is amazing! Gets you to a level where you can start learning on your own - I was able to start reading children’s books in spanish and work my up from there.
The Italian course is also excellent, gave me enough skills to feel comfortable traveling & speaking Italian
What gets lost in the ending discourse of 3 is how the entire game acts as endings to various character arcs and subplots among the trilogy. Some conclusions are utterly spectacular, while others like the ending of the game - can disappoint. Though I will say the Extended Cut fixed a lot of issues fans had with the original “choose a color” ending, and like I said above I was pretty happy with the ending mods I installed.
Some mods like the Diversification Project are great for a first playthrough, while others like the Risky Suicide Mission definitely aren’t. The vanilla experience is great on its own but mods can help fill out the universe where the dev team was too crunched or forgot to work on.
It works well if you have good wi-fi!
ME 3 easily has the best normandy, actually seeing squadmates walk over and talk to each other adds so much to the feel of the game. I was getting weirded out by the end of ME2 when I realized some squadmates I brought on missions just wouldn’t say anything at all - they were like silent puppets. 3 did a lot to fix that as well
Not sure how it works natively, I streamed from my PC to play on my Steam Deck
Yeah honestly on a playthrough of 1 I wasn’t engaged in the story missions until Virmire. The pace dragged & all the bland corridors weren’t helping.
Hope you have a blast!! Honestly if I’d go back I’d get the unlimited sprint mod & other gameplay ones for ME2. The combat felt so slow even playing the Vanguard class.
Cairn! Not very patient haha, oh well
Played through this cute game called Shelter! You play as a Badger mom guiding your cubs through 5 levels of intensifying scenarios. It’s super short and still got some emotional moments out of me. My favorite part was when chirping caused all my little cubs to chirp & mimic me.