The Weirdest Objects Turn Into Deadly Weapons in This Clever New Video Game Trailer

Resourcefulness is not only a skill; it’s an underrated art form. The ability to turn an unassuming object within your reach into the most useful tool in your arsenal will undoubtedly get you far, regardless of industry. It’s not just about convenience, but about really testing the limits of your critical thinking to accomplish a lot with very little.

This is the central allure of the Hitman series from Denmark-based game developer, IO Interactive. The game doesn’t just assign the user a mission; it gives them the freedom to design their own approach via an array of unlikely tools, weapons, disguises, and targets. Based on the newest campaign called “Think Deadly” from creative agency Omelet, the long-awaited follow-up, Hitman 2, appears to continue the tradition of testing the sharpness of the gamer’s mind as much as their kill shot.

The minute-long ad spotlights Game of Thrones’ Sean Bean, who will be starring in the game’s Elusive Target mission, as he showcases some of the best available tools at the disposal of any hopeful assassin. But we’re not just talking guns and knives. Some of the savviest instruments can come in the form of a rubber duckie, a flamingo costume, or even a dead fish.

It’s surely a random assortment, but in the hands of the most cunning hired gun—the gamer—it can become the deadliest thing in the room. Because like Bean says in quite the debonair fashion, “a true assassin knows the world is always your best weapon.”

What sets this campaign and, by extension, Hitman 2 apart from other assassin narratives isn’t just the enticing gameplay, but the room for limitless creativity. Rather than wading into the exceedingly deep pool of first-person shooter games, IO Interactive has created a story that leans on stealth and something more cerebral. “Think Deadly” exhibits some of the possibilities that come with quick thinking and manipulating your environment, not just pointing and aiming.

The trailer will be available exclusively online just ahead of Hitman 2’s Nov. 13 release. Players can watch Bean portray target Mark Faba in the first Elusive Target mission starting Nov 20.

CREDITS:

Client: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Vice President of Marketing: Tim Kamienski
Senior Brand Manager: Minh Tran
Brand Manager: Jeffrey Hong
Assistant Manager, Brand Marketing: Janci Morimoto,
International Senior Marketing Manager: Olivier Perbet

Game Developer: IO Interactive
Chief Marketing Officer: Marc Skouborg
Chief Creative Officer: Christian Elverdam

Creative Agency: Omelet
Chief Content Officer: Mike Wallen
Creative Director: Josh Smutko
Creative Director: Raul Montes
Associate Creative Director: Andrew Rutledge
Associate Creative Director: Jimmy Barker
Art Director: Kate Eglen
Copywriter: Blakeley Jones
Head of Production: Dan Ruth
Chief Strategy Officer: Thas Naseemuddeen
Senior Strategist: Riley Strand
Executive Director of Brand Management: Andrew Krensky
Brand Manager: Holly Lim
Business Affairs Manager: Audra Brown

Editorial & Post-Production: Darkburn Creative
Creative Director & Producer: Andrew Chan
Creative Director: Chase Boyajian
Producer: Tanner Boyajian
Producer: Dani Castellanos
Editor: Jason Koczanowicz

Production Company: Studio Qi-Ni
Co-Director / Director of Photography: Xavi Amoros
Co-Director: Nono Ayuso
Creative Director: Na-eem Hoosain
Head of Motion: Charlie Davies
Senior Designer: Steve Smith
Project Manager: Emma Carruthers
Producer: Sorcha Bacon

Music:
Composer: Niels Bye Nielsen

Color: MPC
Colorist: Kris Smale

Shannon Miller

Shannon Miller is a writer, podcast creator, and contributor to Adweek.