Hitman: Sniper - Hints, tips, and cheats to shoot people as effectively as possible

Hitman: Sniper isn't a game about hitting men. It's a game about shooting men.

And women, and inanimate objects. Basically, it's a game about murder from a distance, with a high-powered rifle and a smoothly shaved head.

But if you want to be the very best in the world at shooting things in the face, we've got some hints and tips for you in this article that should set you in the right path. Or the wrong path, I guess.

Depends how you look at it.

Either way, we're going to walk you through the basics, drizzle some cheeky tips in your general direction, and explain some of the finer mechanics of the game. Because we're good like that. You're welcome.

One of the most important things is conserving your breath. You've got a button that lets you hold your breath, steadying your shot. What you need to realise is that it's not important to tap it with every shot.

If you're aiming for an inanimate object - a fuse box, a car, a gas cannister, or one of the other traps around the level - then holding your breath is a waste of time. They're not going to run off anywhere.

Plus it means you'll be able to take a lung-full in order to steady yourself for anyone who comes running to see what you've done.

Holding your breath is of the utmost importance when you're trying to perform a moving shot. You need to aim in front of your target, and judge the distance your bullet is going to cover before it reaches them.

It takes a while to get the rhythm of these shots right, but you score a lot more points for them, and a lot of the challenges you face will require you to score at least one.

It's a good idea to reload after every encounter, even if you've got a few bullets left in the clip. It'll mean you're fully stocked for the next one, and if things go wrong - which they probably will - you'll have enough fire power to sort it all out.

The power-ups you've got at your disposal are based on which sniper rifle you've got equipped. You unlock more as you level up your weapons by upgrading them. You can find out what the various buffs actually do in the armoury.

A lot of them add extra score to certain actions, so you can use them to your advantage in certain challenges. Check what your equipped rifle can do, and see what the others you have in your arsenal are capable of.

Don't rely too much on them though. They can push you over the edge in certain situations, but the best way to ensure you're scoring as many points as possible is to kill people as creatively as you can.

Your power-ups can certainly help in this regard, but it's important to make sure you can cope without them as well.

Look for combo kills, ways to dispose of bodies, and learn the locations in the level where it's easiest to chain together murders.

One thing you're likely to do is rush - this is a mobile game after all, and in mobile games time is usually precious. But there's no need. You've got ten minutes to complete your challenges, or at least you have most of the time, so picking your shots carefully is the best way to go.

Experimentation is important as well. If you see something that looks like you might be able to murder someone with, give it a crack. You might end up alerting some guards, or failing the level, but you never know unless you try.

Just because your target is a specific person, doesn't mean you can't take out other targets in a level to earn more points. This also adds them to the roulette wheel at the end of the level, meaning you might unlock new weapon parts as well.

Spend your cash when you get it too. If you can upgrade the weapon you've got, do. Anything that adds more oomph to your attacks is always going to help you out. And you'll unlock perks as you go to.

Oh, and the most important tip of them all - shoot things. Shoot them goodly.