The silent assassin is back for another couple of hits, in this that might be the final chapter in the saga.
Two years later, I/O Interactive, the developer, and Eidos, the publisher, released a sequel that improved on every possible aspect that could have been criticised in Codename 47 - Hitman 2: Silent Assassin. The bald assassin, named 47, survived all tough situations and killed his creator in the original, was now a quiet gardener/caretaker in a isolate chapel in Sicily, trying to forget his bloody past. When his protector, the priest, is kidnapped, 47 is forced out of retirement and finds out that he wasn't the last creation made by the insane scientist. The game featured a reworked system that featured a totally new physics engine and looked amazing. It was hailed as one of the best sequels ever and brought new players to the series, who soon wanted more targets to hit.
In 2003, their call was answered, when Hitman: Contracts was released - it featured basically the same game play found in Silent Assassin, with a bit of reworked graphics. New missions were created, and some of the ones found in the original game, Codename 47, were re-envisioned and remade to fit into the improved game system. Contracts played as a sequence of flashbacks that are lived when 47 is injured while on a mission that concludes in the game's final level.
Now, three years later, 47 is back, now with a prize on his head in Hitman: Blood Money - a game that was rebuilt from the ground up, adding new game play features into the mix, while preserving that feel that made the Hitman series what it is.
Some powerful people are after the silent assassin, and are trying to bump him by finishing the only connection he has with the world: the Agency. Every last agent is being killed, leaving 47 with the difficult task of finding out who is after him, why, and hit them back. The game is told in part by a mysterious disfigured man who is being interviewed by a reporter, every mission is a 'almost caught him' tale described by the man. 47 first starts his missions in South America, then moves to Europe, so he can finally arrive at the heart of the threat: the United States, where he'll cap people in the bayou, finish off some thugs in Nevada and eventually go to where few killers try to brave.
Blood Money brings to the table some interesting twists that are both enjoyable and demanding at the same time: the new accident system, where 47 can influence the environment to work for him into killing his victims - like pushing people over rails, or rigging chandeliers with bombs, ala The Phantom of the Opera. While most veteran Hitman players will opt to the trusty fiber wire, these new mechanics offer more options and are fun to try out. The 'pushing' system can also be used to subduing enemies because of the game's sometime crazy physics system.
There's also some hand to hand moves that are kind of put in for eliminating obstacles in a little more violent fashion, disarming them and alerting almost everyone around... while the human shield can the saver for the rare cases where you'll run out of sedatives: you can capture someone and drag then to a isolate location. It might be a little noisier, but it works just as well. This brings another new feature than can be considered a pat in the back for people who complained about bodies being found everywhere: the new hiding places. In most levels, scattered across them even, there are bins and trash containers that can be used for stashing bodies. While this is a creative idea by the developers, it can turn into a cushion for people, since most times these receptacles signal places where the player might be able to subdue an enemy and get their disguise, without worrying about the mess.
A change has been made in the saving system that is a grace and a curse at the same time: the game can be saved anytime, for whatever number of times it is necessary, depending on the difficulty setting. The 'catch' is that the saves are only worth for the game play session in which they are created. Instead of being able to save the game and try to finish a level some other time, the player has to do it all in one sitting. This may cause people who are impatient or that are time constrained to get very annoyed with the game. In most of the cases, it isn't a problem that will cause a lot of headaches.
In Codename 47, whenever a mission was finished, not mattering what solution was used, 47 was paid and the money summed up to a equipment screen where new weapons could be purchased, as well as equipment for each new mission, along with ammunition for the different guns and such. This feature was cut off in the following sequels, converted into the gun collection, but it was 'revived' in some ways in Blood Money. For every mission that is finished, depending on various factors like stealth, noise, violence and equipment retrieval, a sum of money is awarded and summed up to the rest of the balance. With it, various upgrades can be installed onto the custom guns: the Silverballer, the W2000 Sniper Rifle, the Tactical Sub Machine Gun, the M4 Rifle and the Custom Shotgun. These upgrades range from stealth additions like silencers and low velocity rounds, to high firing-rate clips and damaging rounds, and can highly influence the outcome of the missions. In addition to the weaponry, miscellaneous items can be bough, like painkillers for wounds and frequent use items can be upgraded, like a lock pick that takes half the time to crack a door or a further-range remote control for the mines.
Money comes also into play depending on how the missions are completed: if a violent approach is used and lots of witnesses are left behind, 47's notoriety level goes up and it gets increasingly harder to finish missions, since everyone will know who he is. This can be fixed using huge amounts of money after the missions: a new identity can be obtained, witnesses can be bought or can be taken care of, all through the Agency's support. While this is a interesting twist to the game play, it's more of an incentive to using stealthier paths in missions, like stealing the close circuit TV video tape so no one knows of the hitman's appearance, if he is filmed during his mission. Or it can be viewed as an excuse for having the money coming into play, since all the upgrades can easily be bought with a small fraction of the total amount. The notoriety system also influences the outcome of the missions: depending on how a mission was finished, the story in the newspapers will be different, stating the number of witnesses, the way the target was killed and the skill of the assassin. The stories in the newspaper are more of a gimmick than anything else and the articles around them are hilarious, and some are even related to past levels that were completed.
The graphics system was totally reworked for this game, and it shows. On current generation systems, the game will push the details to each system's limits, with beautiful lighting and great-looking character models. On the PC, the game also shines, but it is kind of a system hog, requiring quite the machine to run it in its full all-systems max detail glory. Whichever version is picked up, the game plays brilliantly. I/O Interactive made great conversions that won't force players into a system they don't want to get and instead let them enjoy the adventure with the current home console technology if they are not able to acquire a newer PC or a Xbox 360.
The music score is again handled by Jasper Kyd, and he again shows how he is comfortable in his role, like he did in the past Hitman games and Freedom Fighters. The score just sounds great and the atmosphere it creates, added to the graphical presentation of the game, make the game play experience immersive and memorable. Sound effects are well handled and are realistic and all of the voice actors from previous games in the series reprise their roles, making sure it stays true to the source.
Control-wise, the developers made some changes in the button mapping and it all shows on-screen to make it all easier: the top button in the graphic shows what you can drop, the middle one shows what you can pick up, depending on the situation, and the bottom one shows the context-sensitive action that can be performed, such as pressing a button or making an enemy a human shield in case you have a weapon in hand. Equipping different weapons or items is a matter of holding the correspondent button and choosing the appropriate image. Pressing the same button will make 47 holster the item, or disengage a weapon that might not be concealable. Firing guns and changing view modes remain the same for each system.
Replay-ability has always been a plus in the Hitman series, and Blood Money is no exception. While experienced players might enjoy jumping straight to the Expert difficulty setting, there are lower settings for new players, allowing them to get comfortable with the game so they can tackle the later difficulties. The alternatives and open-ended game play makes replaying the game's levels an enjoyable experience, since all the levels (except the first one, Death of a Showman, which is a on-rails tutorial) have many different paths to be taken and mixed between for different and interesting results.
Hitman: Blood Money is recommended to just about anyone who likes games. Experienced players might not take all of the new mechanics into play and newer players might be shoved around by the game's huge open-ended game play, but there is a really moody game to be found here. And it is also worth taking a spin through the past titles to get acquainted with the game's story, which follows up right after Hitman: Contracts. Some players might even notice a direct connection between the past game and this game's third level.
Thanks for reading!