Hitman 2‘s gameplay is similar to that of the previous installment, being an action-adventure stealth-based game, as players control Agent 47, a contract assassin working for the International Contract Agency (ICA), in a third-person perspective, as he travels to various locations around the globe to eliminate high-profile criminal targets. The game features eight missions, which are set in distinct locations.[1][2] Summarily, the missions of the game take place (in order) on Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand; at a racetrack in Miami; the fictional area of Santa Fortuna in Colombia; the slums of Mumbai; a fictional Vermont suburb; the fictional Isle of Sgàil somewhere in the North Atlantic; the fictional Milton-Fitzpatrick bank in New York City; and the fictional Haven Island resort in the Maldives.

The game introduces concussive gadgets, which can be used to render an NPC unconscious, and reintroduces the briefcase, which allows the player to conceal and carry large weapons, such as sniper rifles, in public without arousing suspicion.[3] The game’s announcement was accompanied by the release of a cooperative multiplayer mode titled Sniper Assassin, available immediately to those who pre-order Hitman 2. This mode is also bundled with all copies of Hitman 2 when the game releases.[4] In this mode, players are tasked with eliminating targets using a sniper rifle within a set time limit. In addition to Agent 47, players can play as Knight and Stone, both of whom have access to unique ammo types.[5]

As with the game’s predecessor, Hitman 2 features the time-limited “Elusive Targets” missions. British actor Sean Bean portrays the first Elusive Target in the game.