Hitman: Blood Money

"Hitman enters the next generation"

Hitman: Blood Money is Agent 47 's fourth game in the series and the first game to enter the next generation of console gaming. While this game suffers in some spots, it outweighs them with its strengths. It may be one of the best XBox 360 games out so far, and by far my favorite stealth game.

Gameplay: 10/10
This is the strongest point of Hitman: Blood Money. You usually use a third-person view, but first-person is always an option. There are four difficulty settings (rookie, normal, expert, and professional) and there are 13 levels, all of which are creatively designed and are extremely fun to play. In each level you are on a mission to take out at least one target. Sometimes you have to take out multiple targets, and sometimes you need to retrieve items such as a suitcase. You can bring any weapon you find on your travels with you, and you start with five customizable weapons.

Taking out targets is extremely fun. There are so many different ways you can do it, from poisoning their drink to rigging the gas tank on their grille. The only problem is that there are several armed guards near the target and you can't just walk by them. Yet, if you find the right disguise you can breeze right by them. For instance, you can fibre wire a clown, steal his suit, and then reek havoc in the backyard. In the bottom left-hand corner there is a bar that tells you how much people suspect you. Next to that bar is your health bar, but if you make the perfect kill it should remain full. It's your choice as to whether you're going to run in shotting everyone you see, or sit back, observe your target and plot your murder. The choices are endless.

Story: 4/10
This is where Hitman: Blood Money is weak. In between every mission, a tiny bit of the plot is revealed. The missions themselves really aren't that relevant themselves except for the fact that you commit murders. There is a man who is revealing to a reporter his plot. He shows the reporter all the crimes Hitman commits, and meanwhile, you are playing those crimes. Clever, but the story doesn't go very deep.

Graphics: 8/10
I don't have an HDTV, but I'd have to assume the graphics would be even better on one. For a regular TV, the graphics are great. Sometimes the graphics look almost life-like. There are amazing textures, shadows, lighting effects and all that fun stuff. Occasionally weapons and cases go through Agent 47 and hands stick out of doors, but for the most part it has fine graphics. I have encountered frame-rate hiccups several times, too.

Sound: 9/10
Another shining point in Hitman: Blood Money. The sounds go well with their animations, like if you shoot a gun it sounds the way it should. Stabbing people with syringes sounds the way I'd imagine it would. There is sometimes a glitch though where the sound temporarily goes out after you beat a mission. It doesn't matter that much because there really isn't much to hear, but it can sometimes be annoying.The music in this game is very fitting. In those moments of suspense, they play a music that suites it.

Re-playability: 7/10
There are four different difficulties, so you can play through the game 4 times. For each difficulty you beat you unlock an achievement. There are also tons of different ways you can kill your targets, so for each mission you can try different strategies. After a while it can get boring though, killing the same people in the same scenario over and over again. The game length is decent and should last a while.

Controls: 8/10
The control scheme is decent. It has the basics of most games gun-wise and movement wise. Most of the game, however, you use and A, B, and Y buttons. You can move the camera around Agent 47 using the right thumb stick which is something you couldn't do in previous games. Sometimes is can be annoying using the A, B, and Y buttons.

Buy or rent?
I'd recommend buying this game. If you have XBox Live, download the demo first. The only difference between the XBox 360 version and the XBox version are the graphics. This game is too long for just a rent. I hadn't been into the series much before, but I fell in love after playing this one.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/31/06