IO Interactive gets creative with multiplayer with an all-new and unique competitive game mode for Hitman 2 called “Ghost Mode.” When it was first revealed that the studio would implement a competitive feature for players, it was difficult to foretell their direction. Would it follow the traditional player versus player scenario with a “everybody for themselves” approach? Thankfully, the crew approached it with a unique take where two players will compete for the best assassination time instead.

Ghost Mode pits two Agent 47‘s against each other for best time set for assassinating targets and earn a total of 5 points. Each kill must be completed without alarming surrounding NPCs, alerting attention, or found for a “short time afterwards.” Eliminating non-targets will penalize players with a point lost. There will be outfits, items, and various gear scattered around the map. There’s an interesting twist to this competitive mode that suits the franchise perfectly, see for yourself below:

In other words, players will exist in their own reality while witnessing the ghost of a competitor. It antes up the competitive nature of the game with a sense of urgency. There are time limits as well, depending on the circumstances. Here’s the official description on Ghost Mode for Hitman 2:

Ghost Mode challenges you to earn 5 points before your opponent by eliminating targets. To earn a point, the kill must be unnoticed and the body cannot be found for a short time afterwards. You’ll also lose a point for eliminating non-targets, so be smart and precise. Once one target has been eliminated, both players will begin the hunt again with a new target. To help you in your mission, you can pick up items, disguises and weapons from Ghost Crates. The items in each one are randomised but they are the same for you and your opponent. You can only take one item from each Ghost Crate and doing so removes that item as a choice for your opponent.

The unique twist with Ghost Mode is that each player is in their own ‘reality’, where your actions only affect your reality – but you’ll always be able to see a ‘Ghost’ version of your opponent. You’ll see exactly what they’re doing, what they’re wearing and any items they’re holding. One key strategic element in Ghost Mode is the use of Ghost Items, as these are the only way to impact your opponents reality. For example, throwing a Ghost Coin will attract attention in your reality, but will also do so in your opponents reality.

You’ll get Picture-in-pictures updates along the way and an announcer will keep you informed about key elements in the match. In the screenshot below, you can see that Player 2 has eliminated their target and Player 1 now has 20 seconds to equalize the score and earn a point. After those 20 seconds, a new target will be selected. Player 1 would be advised not to panic, because if a player is killed at anytime, they will be spawned back into the location but will retain their disguise and combat status. No points are lost upon death.”

What do you think of this multiplayer mode for Hitman 2? Is it a pretty neat concept or were you looking forward to something akin to traditional player versus player? Let us know what you think in the comments section below or start a conversation on DFTG Facebook page. To stay up to date on gaming news as it happens, follow us on Twitter! Here’s some of our latest:

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Hitman 2 arrives November 13th, 2018 for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.