Title: Hitman: Blood Money

Date: 05.31.2006

Genre: 3D Action/stealth

Platform: Xbox 360

Developer: Eidos Interactive

Publisher: Eidos Interactive

It’s been ages since I last wrote a review, with the release of Hitman: Blood Money a few days ago in Europe I thought I’d try and put those trembling worriers at rest by writing what I hope will be a fairly comprehensive review about the newest and perhaps greatest Hitman game in the series thus far.

To those unfamiliar with the Hitman series, it is at its most simple a somewhat unholy fusion between stealth and shooting. Obviously these days everyone and his wife are making games that include elements of sneaking around in the shadows and jumping on people as they walk by like a drunken aunt at a wedding, but what makes Hitman so special is that it’s so much more than just the sum of its parts. You play as Agent 47, a professional Hitman, and every level is a complex, living breathing puzzle. You’re basically dumped at the start of the level and using your peepers and your lovely map, you have to make your way towards your target and eliminate him as best you see fit.

The player is presented with different ways to take out their target, and rewarded for doing so in a way that attracts as little attention as possible. Obviously all the targets are heavily guarded, and there are also members of the public and policemen wandering about, so it’s very much up to the player how they go about taking out their target, be it in a subtle sneaky drunk aunt way or running in all guns blazing and leaving no one alive. A new addition in the series that features heavily in Hitman: Blood Money is the ability to make hits look like accidents, which is a welcome addition and takes the game to an ingenious new level, as you’re constantly thinking how you can turn every day items into potential death devices.

Unfortunately it is not possible to hide the bomb in the sausage although I did spend a good long time trying to. The sausage was not big enough. The gameplay will naturally be instantly familiar to anyone that’s ever played a Hitman game before. To mess with it would cease to make it a Hitman game, so what you’ve basically got is more of the same, but better. Many of the flaws of previous games have been ironed out, for example you can run around a lot more now and enemies don’t go a bit mad, Agent 47 can interact with the scenery a lot more and everything generally feels a lot more solid than before. The controls are still a tiny bit strange, a lot of the scenery interaction is dealt with automatically when you stand in the right spot and push towards what you want to interact with, but it seems a bit too picky, and for a game which is all about stealth and timing it can be a bit frustrating to be frantically struggling to make 47 climb through a window when you know the guards are almost upon you. The shootings sometimes a little loose too, but all in all the controls are solid enough, and any niggles, whilst annoying at the time, don’t stop you enjoying the game.

The graphics on both the 360 and the original Xbox are wonderfully detailed. After playing through the game on the 360 I messed around on my friends Xbox copy, and there are noticeable improvements in the lighting, draw distance and character detail. Bear in mind the game was developed for the original Xbox firstly so there’s not a huge leap forward, but on the whole everything looks amazing on both versions.

The sound, as in all previous games, is never anything less than outstanding. I’m quickly coming to the opinion that the soundtrack for the Hitman games is one of the most impressive soundtracks I’ve ever heard, and that includes film soundtracks as well. Due to the stylistic nature of the game, a lot of the music is performed by an orchestra and features grand sweeping pieces of classical music with suddenly swell up as the player nears completion of the level, or when something exciting is happening, and it’s done incredibly well. The Hitman: Blood Money theme that greets you at the title and is played throughout the game is the beautiful “Ave Maria”, probably one of the most famous pieces of music ever written.

I’ve already seen a lot of debate about whether a song that is so strongly associated with religion should be included on a game of this kind; personally I have to say, as the entire Hitman series has revolved around the lead character and his search for religion, the fact that he is a clone and the main debate of the game: should man legalize cloning and in effect act as God, I don’t think a better piece of music could have been chosen. The very fact that this debate has even been raised shows the adult content of the game, and highlights what makes the Hitman series a cut above the rest. It also goes to show just how seriously the game developers take the franchise. There’s none of this GTA-style tongue in cheek homage to famous films or set pieces, every single level feels new and unique. The only real comedy comes from the disgustingly dark subtle humor that Hitman: Blood Money constantly has on show, walking the line between hilarious and really nasty more than once.

Indeed, in a time where violence is no longer considered that shocking by the vast majority of players, it’s a wonder Hitman manages to be as shocking and adult as it is. Agent 47 himself, in a brave move by the game developers, is even more unlikeable than in previous games. That isn’t to say he isn’t cool, far from it, but he’s a ruthless killing machine and a horrible horrible man. There really is no justification for the violence committed in the game, whilst your targets are always bad eggs, i.e. drug smugglers, pimps, etc the very fact that it’s not who they are that seals their fate but the money Agent 47 is paid makes for a very interesting game as you descend upon the level and witness your target going about their business before you kill them. Another disturbing element to the game is just how much the voyeurism factor has been cranked up.

Thanks to new moves, like being able to hide in wardrobes and look out, there’s a very real sense that you’re observing peoples lives, and thanks to the dozens of subtle scripted events that go on throughout the game that you’ll observe simply by being at the right place at the right time, before too long you’re completely submerged in the levels and the people within them. Obviously I’m not going to spoil any of the surprises you’ll witness during the game, but rest assured there’s some stuff in this game that will take you by surprise, and not in an entirely good way either. Morals aside though, it’s always a fascinating and enjoyable playing experience.

The real stars of the games though are the levels. Ever since the days of Hitman 2, players throughout the world have rolled their eyes skywards when briefed with “In this mission, 47, you’ll be in the snow ridden alps!” Hitman: Blood Money is better than every other Hitman game mainly due to the fact that all the levels are in a modern urban environment. I’ve nothing against Arabian market places and snowy wastelands, but for goodness sake I’m not playing Goldeneye, I don’t want to be running around in the snow when I’m wearing an expensive Armani suit. The levels in Blood Money are therefore fantastic, and get better as the game progresses, right up to the amazing twist at the end and one of the best final levels I’ve ever seen. The demo on the marketplace is awful though, and thankfully the rest of the levels are all so much stronger than the training level, which is dangerously weak.

To conclude then, Hitman: Blood Money is in my opinion the strongest of the series. Elements like the summery of your progress in the format of a newspaper and the slow upgrade of weapons are amazing, and the fact that one can play through each level about five different ways means replay value is dangerously high indeed. If you’ve played previous Hitman games and you’ve loved them, then you’ll love this. If you’ve never played the Hitman series before you might want to consider renting first, or buying a previous copy. Hitman 2: Silent Assassin should be dangerously cheap by now and that should give you the intro you need, but all in all Hitman: Blood Money is highly recommended by me.

Game Score

9.1

Reviewed By: Contributed