Nothing extraordinarily good OR bad…just more “47 fun” for fans of the series.
Personally, I’ve always thought of Hitman as a kind of “acquired taste”. The stealth elements and open ended game maps are a welcome diversion from the standard fast-paced shoot-em-ups that dominate the market. As in previous games, the mysterious assassin known only as ‘47’ undertakes a series of contract killings, working for an organization known as ‘The Agency’. An enigmatic back-story that unfolds in cut scenes (and to a lesser extent, in the missions themselves) reveals that the Agency is under attack from unknown forces, and 47 is charged with finding out the who-and-why before everyone is wiped out. It’s the series’ most engaging back-story yet, and it would have been even more effective if the missions had a direct correlation to it. Granted, several of the missions actually DO have tie-ins to the back-story, but several are pretty arbitrary, and feel as if they were simply plugged in to add some playtime. (What the hell am I doing in Mississippi, for God’s sake?) Given the looming threat to all Agency members, incorporating specific goals in each assignment that tie back to a resolution would have helped create a greater sense of purpose.
The missions themselves are as fun and challenging as ever, and in Blood Money, the player has even more choices for successful completion. Large open-ended levels set in exotic locales provide respectable eye-candy, and the ability to set up "accidents" adds an entertaining element to the list of viable options for taking out the targets. (OK, I admit it...there's something gruesomely satisfying about pushing someone into a shark tank or alligator pond.) Each assignment usually involves from 1 to 3 victims, and figuring out the best way to take them down without being detected requires a deliciously maddening “trial and error” approach that lies at the core of Hitman’s popularity. Now, I’m a firm believer in the old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, and hence I certainly don’t think every new release has to strive for some revolutionary threshold. By staying true to its core elements, Hitman has given me 4 great games (3, if you count “Contracts” as a re-do of the original), and countless hours of sneaky fun.
But I must confess, I find myself at a bit of a crossroads here, given that I was unable to find anything ‘remarkable’ in Blood Money, despite the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. To their credit, the developers have tried to add some fresh new elements, but they feel sort of half-baked. Agent 47 now gets paid for his services, and he can use the money to upgrade his weapons. Although deciding which options to purchase can be entertaining, it’s also pretty much irrelevant, particularly when you consider that the ultimate goal in each assignment is to secure the coveted Silent Assassin ranking. The 100-round drum magazine upgrade on the M4 can be a lot of fun at parties, granted, but putting it to use pretty much eliminates any chance you have of getting thru the level undetected. Additionally, Eidos On-line now provides a ‘ranking site’, where players can post and compare their statistics for various missions. Unfortunately, the site is pretty wonky, and has been completely over-run by players who obviously exploit some of the game cheats to garner the highest positions, which makes any comparisons rather pointless. Although this ‘enhancement’ is a cool idea, it feels like it was just cobbled together to serve as a ‘new feature’. (Note to Eidos…seems like you could have an administrator look in on the site from time to time to kick out all the ridiculous stats.) At the end of the day, the core game-play is pretty much the same as it’s been throughout the series. Again, that’s not necessarily a BAD thing, given how much fun it’s been up to now, but I personally think it’s time for SOMETHING remarkable to come out of the next release.
The Bottom Line…if you’ve played previous Hitman games and didn’t find them to your liking, then Blood Money probably won’t change your mind. If you ARE a fan, then you’ll definitely have a lot of fun with this release, even though there’s really nothing new here. The back-story has been made more prevalent than in any previous Hitman game, and I hope this trend continues. Allowing the actions in an early assignment to have an impact on later assignments will help make future releases even more engaging. And I for one am not quite ready to place 47 in the Inactive File.