Title: Hitman: Blood Money
System: Xbox360
Players: 1
ESRB: M
Summary:
The fourth in the chilling Hitman series featuring the cold-blooded killer Agent 47. Finding that members of his contract agency, The ICA, are now being quietly (and mortally) eliminated, Agent 47 suspects a larger organization is moving in. Fearing he may be the next target, he heads to America. His jobs now will pay in straight-up cash — and how he spends the money will affect what weapons he has and what he does next. The developer added new gameplay systems, such as the concepts of notoriety and of blood money. The new Notoriety system means that anyone causing a bloodbath worthy of front page news is risking being recognised by civilians and guards in the future. Blood Money lets players spend their earnings on fully customisable precision weapons and specialist equipment, or they can buy additional information upon the targets and location at hand, to aid a successful and professional hit.
Review:
With the previous Hitman (Contracts) looming, and still haunting my memory. I decided to get Blood Money. To say the least, I wasn’t disappointed. The controls take a little getting used to, and the game requires patience. Both of which frustrated me at first, but once I got into it, it is really great.
There are several things IO improved upon, both from playability and performance. The results speak for themselves. The new notoriety systems works smoothly and the upgraded currency systems encourages wise spending. However, the newly added features, don’t alter the fundamental experience, so much more than Contracts. Fans of the series will notice the changes, but it is still the same as the previous games, which is good. IO built upon the game fundamentals, but still left 47’s core alone. It looks so much better on the 360 than other systems. Either way, it is well worth your money.
Story wise, the game is awesome. You are basically listening to an interview about 47, how the FBI or CIA almost catch him, and the reporter listening, and when they say, there was such and such case, queue the game play. You take over. Over the coarse of the game, you find that you are the only assassin left. You will want to watch all the cutscenes, as they reveal crutial information. The CG is refreashing and look drastically better than gameplay, the lighting and character models look phenominal.
There are many improvements, such as the 3 button system, where you can pick a lock, pick up a briefcase, and stow away a weapon at the same time. Which you will really appreciate in those tight situations. There are a few levels that you think would take 5-10 minutes, but because people move differently each time you replay it, it can take 20 minutes. All depends on your boldness and willingness to have the patience to get Silent Assassin.
One of my qualms about this game, is the difficulty. It is a hard game, even on rookie, where you have full agency support and no notoriety, the game still takes patience. I tried it on Expert, and if you follow to closely, you get peoples suspicions up. The AI in the game is incredibly intelligent. There are a few frustrations, such as if you are at a party and kill someone, only the local guards come, not a whole search party, and if you weren’t spotted, you can walk away pretty easily. The AI is also a lot more relaxed in some senses. You can walk up to a door with a guard, and he will put is hand up and warn you to back away, instead of just blasting you.
There are a few things, when you hid and go to snipe someone. You stand there and shoot, and instantly, your bar goes red, and everyone comes running, if your bar goes red, your best bet, is to restart the mission.
In closing, while the game looks incredible visually, the lighting, shadows, the textures. For those that are unsure, rent it. Give it a try, I can assure you that you will love it and go buy it, that is what I am going to do.
9/10
