Hitman: Blood Money

"Nearly Flawless Execution."

Hitman: Blood Money comes from a line of sequels in the “Hitman” series. The concept of the Hitman series is simple: You are a hired killer that takes assignments to kill various targets throughout different missions. Hitman: Blood Money can be played in a variety of ways. At the core, it is a stealth game, but if you wish, there is always the option to run-n-gun, too. Whether you're a returning fan of the series, or just a fan of action/adventure/stealth games, you'll be sure to enjoy this installment in the series.

The story line of Hitman: Blood Money is fairly simple. You are a genetically engineered human called “Agent 47”, that is built to be an ideal assassin. The game takes place in a modern setting. Throughout all the varying missions, Agent 47 travels all around the world, fulfilling various assignments.

During the game, you follow a set path of missions. There are around a dozen different and very detailed missions in the game. At the start of a mission, you will be briefed thoroughly about the mission targets and the setting that it takes place in. After that, you can select your weaponry load out for the mission. They're dozens of weapons in the game. You start off with a handful of weapons, but as you progress, you gain every weapon that you complete a mission while having in your possession(ie, guns that you've picked up throughout the mission). For your standard five weapons, you have fifteen different upgrades you can equip the weapon with, which will cost money for you to do, that you will get from doing missions. They range from silencers, bigger clips, more clips, laser sights, and more. They're also several miscellaneous upgrades such as extra mine bombs to take in with you. After you're done selecting your weapons, you will begin the mission from a starting position near where the target is. The levels of the game are immensely detailed with tons of things to interact with. There are literally a dozen (if not more) ways to approach each mission. The levels are typically widely populated with people and police personnel, so the game tends to reward critical thinkers. Sure, you could take out your weapon and try to mow down the guards and your targets, but as detailed and vast as the levels are, there are always better and more fulfilling ways. One of the key things in the game are “disguises”. If you take great care of your surroundings, and catch someone alone, you can subdue the person, take their uniform, hide the body, and then move around in otherwise restricted area's without suspicion. You have tools available such as a fiber optic cable, and sedatives to deal with non crucial targets. I won't go into detail about anything else of that nature, as to not ruin any surprises. Trust me when I say, though, that everything is so elaborate that it'd be almost impossible to see every possible way that things can be done on the first play through. So, after making your way through the mission in your preferred manner, taking out the target, and making it to the extraction zone, you will see the results of your mission, and get a rating. You will get paid depending on how well you did. If you went through the mission like a mad man, shooting everything in sight to achieve victory, you will be paid very little, as you will not receive any advanced ratings, and you will have to pay part of it back due to the excessive amount of damage and noise you caused. Also, your notoriety will skyrocket, which will cause people and guards in future missions to recognize you. However, if you chose the stealthier options, and quietly executed the target with little or no witnesses, you will be highly rewarded. All of the different intricacies in each level, along with the stellar atmosphere of the game, make you want to replay each level time after time, to see and do all there is to do.

Now, let's talk about the AI for a moment. The AI in this game is pretty incredible. It's far better than about any other game out there. First of all, there is a meter that moves up and down on your screen showing how suspicious the guards and people are of you. If they become too suspicious of you, they will try to bring you down. Various things will make them more suspicious, including: Leaving bodies lying around, notoriety, holding dangerous weapons, catching you on camera, being in restricted areas, and actually catching you in the act of doing something horrible. My only real gripe here is that the AI will simply attack you once the threshold is broken. There is no attempted arrests or anything such as that. I feel that the main reason for that is game play balance, however, and that the game would be too easy if they didn't immediately try to kill you. You can do things such as take hostages to hold in front of you, and the guards will cease-fire. Civilians may even pick up guns from the ground and try to kill you while your back is turned. The difficulty of the game varies based on the difficulty level you choose, and how you play the game. On easier difficulty levels, there is no notoriety, plenty of intel, and the AI slacks off of you a bit. On the harder difficult levels, it is the exact opposite. The ultimate thing that decides how hard the game is for you is how you choose to play it. If you want to upgrade an M4 assault rifle as far as you can, and go through each level mowing down guards, the game is going to be fairly easy, especially if you add a bit of stealth in with that. If you choose to take other options, such as trying to achieve a maximum rating and not being caught, witnessed, and have a low death toll, you will find that the game will be much more difficult.

The controls in this game are done extremely well. All of your gadgets and weapons are at your fingertips with using the X key to easily rotate between them. The game even pauses while you pick which weapon you want to switch to, which is very, very convenient. Picking up and dropping things is very simple to do. Movement and camera controls are handled in the best possible way – Just using the L stick to move, and the R stick to rotate the camera in any way you please(or aim). The right trigger handles all attacks, including hand to hand combat, which will either try to punch out the person, or disarm them and equip yourself with their weapon. You can easily switch between third and first person view with the click of the right stick. The only complaint with that feature is that, for example, if I'm looking in one direction with the camera in third person view, and change to first person view and start moving around, when I change back to first person view, the camera will be distorted and at a different angle than intended. It is, however, a very small complaint and easy to overlook due to the flawless nature of everything else in the game. Everything else, including reloading, viewing your map, crouching, and throwing things are all very well executed as well. This game has spectacular controls, and it'd be hard to ask for much more.

The graphics in this game aren't the best you'll see on the Xbox 360, by a long stretch. They're still very nice, but do not expect outstanding graphics from this game. I think that the game took a cut in this area due to the immense level design, and that is an acceptable trade off in my opinion. Altogether, the game is still visually pleasing, and very, very detailed regarding all the different things that you see in each level.

The sound in this game is mostly bland. Perhaps it was to simulate the solitude of being an assassin; I don't know. The noises such as guns firing, foot steps, voices, and all of that is done well, but there's just nothing that shines out at you as far as the sound of the game, and that is somewhat disappointing.

Altogether, Hitman: Blood Money is a spectacular game that is well worth the money you'd spend to buy it(especially considering how cheap you can find it for as of the date that I write this). It's nearly flawless, and the flaws that are there, are all but transparent as you're admiring the vast, intricate levels of the game. The game is a bit short in terms of how long it takes to beat it, but there is just so much to replay and do, that you'd be hard pressed to do it all in even 2-3 replays of each level. So, I recommend that you buy this game if you even have the faintest interest in action oriented games, because it is a truly spectacular addition to the Hitman series.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/17/07

Game Release: Hitman: Blood Money (US, 05/30/06)