THE GOOD: Predictably, this game is just as fun and imaginative as Contracts, and it’s even better!!! Blood Money has taken all the creative aspects of Contracts, and made them better!
Keeping in the Hitman spirit, there are multiple approaches to all missions, pleasing both stealthy assassins and maniacal murderers alike.
We are given a great variety of levels, more so based in public places, giving the game an “authentic” feel. It’s much more fun to sneak through a public casino than a deserted warehouse.
As usual, there is no set way to complete levels, on the whole, though some levels are questionable.
Agent 47 has acquired a lot of great new moves, and so the various hit techniques have been greatly expanded, mostly due to the new additions of pushing people over edges, throwing objects, and a personal favourite- Bombs.
Not only is there a truckload of weaponry at your disposal, but some of your guns can be customized!
Agent 47 is better at improvising, by which I mean that there are far more weapons to pick up and use. A lot of fun is to be had with such mindless violence as flinging cleavers into people’s heads, or cracking their skulls with a shovel!
There is plenty of replay value in Blood Money, as there is more to see and do in all the levels, and you won’t get Silent Assassin without some effort!
Accidents were a great idea to add, as they seem like something a hitman would do, and gives you that feel of satisfaction to know that you can’t be blamed!
IO Interactive have (thankfully!) fixed up the graphics, not to mention Agent 47’s animations. You no longer look like you’re sliding around, and as an added bonus the scenery is overall more enjoyable.
The tutorial level is actually useful, and it teaches you all the basics in future missions. Also, you actually assassinate someone in it!
Coins are a clever way of completing levels, though I completely forgot about them on my first play through! Using noise is actually amazingly effective, and it has that sneaky feel to it.
THE BAD: The controls have changed from the previous games, so once again it will take some time to get into the game.
The AI, though improved, leaves a lot to be desired. There are lots of ways to use their stupidity against them, and even though it’s funny, it takes away from the gameplay. I found there just weren’t enough guns, compared to my almighty arsenal in Contracts. I was also annoyed by the amount of guns you could bring on a mission, for example- One pistol, one shotgun, etc, and a maximum of about five guns.
The developers left out some very fun aspects from previous games, for example sniper points. There are very few sniper points, and most are pointless.
The sniper rifle has not only lost its practical use, due to lack of sniper points, but also its functional use- When you zoom in to score the perfect hit, the scope starts to fly up and down alarmingly, and it gives the impression that you are not Agent 47; you are in fact playing as an asthmatic whale, who smokes.
Though the amount of ways you can kill enemies has expanded, if you want a Silent Assassin rating there really is only one way to take out certain hits.
SUMMARY: I might as well start with the most important bit. Most people will think that this game is better than previous Hitman games, and they are right, but Blood Money is more than that. I really believe that this is one of the best games of all time, full stop.
Blood Money provides what thousands of games don’t; unparalleled freedom. You’re given a level, with no rules, no single route entries. You can do whatever you want, as long as you complete the objectives set down. These objectives themselves are open ended, and instead of just the traditional “kill a guy, escape, blah blah blah” layout, there is a larger variety of missions: Protect a guy, steal this, use that, etc. There are also optional missions, a nice touch in my opinion.
The weapons have their ups and downs in this game. I don’t think there are as much as in Contracts (though it is hard to count!), and you are also restricted on the amount of weapons you bring on a mission - One Pistol, one Submachine Gun, one Sniper/ Assault Rifle/ Shotgun is the basic setup. Restrictions are few in the Hitman series, but this one is rather annoying. This is mildly remedied by Custom Weapons.
With such restrictions in place, you are most likely going to bring with you your custom weapons. These are the five weapons you start the game with, and you can spend the money earned on missions to upgrade them, for example giving them Silencers, Laser Sights, Scopes, etc. All these weapons are (In my opinion, but I’m sure many will agree with me) rather terrible at the start of the game, especially the legendary Silverballers featuring in each game. At the start they are worse than the meanest pistol, but after around three levels, they are comfortably usable. By five they are nearly as good as you can get in the game.
Of all the weapons, Sedative syringes were always some of the handiest in Contracts. In Blood Money, however, they have nearly lost their use. You can now take people as human shields and knock them out, which can be done endlessly. Also, accidents don’t count as kills, meaning you can use them to take out guards permanently, gaining you an outfit and one less person to worry about.
The levels have gotten a huge makeover. They are bigger, they look nicer, and there is so much more in them. I like the levels where there are big crowds of people, because pulling off the perfect hit in broad daylight in a crowded area gives you a great feeling. It’s also good that in some places you are allowed to access certain areas without a disguise. I hate levels where you aren’t supposed to be there, and without an outfit you’re screwed.
Outfits have improved so much in this game. There are more, and a lot of them are quite funny. Haven’t you always wanted to see 47 dressed as a clown? Regretfully, some of the outfits cause some stupid moments. Pick up a certain outfit and 47 will magically grow a moustache. This is rather odd, and more so that when you pose as a specific character (rather than a guard or guest or whatnot) that you are not recognised. Still, the sheer variety and fun means you don’t really care. Sadly, you still cannot take women’s outfits.
The hits are reached, killed and used in better ways than before. Accidents, poison, and mines are a great addition to the game, as it means you can kill your hit without being there. Still, the accidents are a bit unbelievable in some places, such as people dying after falling down a mere four feet, or, even more daft, into a swimming pool! All enemy vulnerability aside accidents are fun and useful.
The bad thing is, with all these killing additions, the sniper rifle is next to useless. You have one from the start, but there are only a handful of places from which to use it, and they’re not very good. I made it through the game without using it once. Also, the breathing whilst in snipe mode has gotten worse. You’d think a world class assassin would be able to hold a gun steady.
Speaking of useless items, coins are severely overlooked. You don’t need them to get a Silent Assassin in any level, even though they can be pretty useful. Unfortunately, when you do use them, the most they do is make the AI look bad.
Though the AI has improved, you can utilise it’s downsides to bamboozle and get rid of guards. They can be easily manipulated in some situations, which, though handy, makes no sense.
I have listed the downsides, which, believe me, was really hard to do in this game. It’s got so much to offer! Amazingly, it suits both stealthy assassins and loud-and-proud terrorists, meaning that this is a game for anyone. If you want something in a game, you can be nearly sure it’s in Hitman: Blood Money (Unless of course you want a racing or sports game!).
In closing, I really can’t recommend how worth the money this game is. If you’re contemplating getting it, buy it. You won’t be disappointed.
Level design (not bad at all, but compared to Silent Assassin, it's crap)
SUMMARY: The strongest link of this game is without doubt the freedom. There is an infinite number of methods by which you can complete your mission. Unlike other games, Hitman: Blood Money doesn't give you a "game over" every time you mess up. If you do something wrong, you'll suffer the consequences yourself. For example, when you are caught doing something wrong, there won't be a "You were caught! Game over!" message or something like that. Instead you're given a chance to escape. But the more discreet you are the more money the agency will give you.
The AI is just awesome. If any civilian sees you running around with a gun (or a body) in your hands he'll run to the nearest police/security guard and report you. Soon the police/security guard will run to the location and check out if everything is fine. If he sees you, he will call for backup and will not hesitate to pull the trigger. Soon more guards will be on the scene. If you have good armour and a good weapon and manage to kill ALL police/security guards, the civilians will keep fighting for their life. They might grab a gun and start shooting you. Or they can just decide to run - but outrunning a bullet is a pretty difficult task so is not a good idea. But in this game, killing everyone might not be a good idea itself, since it will raise your notiority making future missions harder.
You as a civilian do not have access to every area on the level when you start out. So most of the time, you'll need to change your clothes. How about poisoning the police's donuts then when they're fully knocked out (or killed), you can just run in and steal their clothes? Yes, or you can just fibrewire the other guard when he's alone behind that truck? Yes, there are many ways you can do this simple task. So you just keep searching for clothes which give you the access to the area in which your target is in, then you can go ahead and kill him. But how do you do that? How about placing a bomb in his suitcase when he's in the bathroom? Oh, that chandelier on top of his head looks dangerous, surely he won't survive after it falls on his head will he? Then it's up to you to figure out how to do that. Again a tonne of methods to complete this. But although there are so many opportunities, you have to be quick so that no one witnesses you doing something wrong. So most of the time the gameplay is intense.
But you may ask, why not just walk into a restricted area and why not just put a bullet in the target's head? Again, it depends on the person playing. Go into a restricted area and the suspicion meter will rise to 75% and a guard will give you a warning. Hang around in there for too long and the meter will rise to 100%, that means that all the guards will engage fire. If they see you kill someone or carry a dead body around, you'll receive an instant 100%. Plus fooling the guards and making assassinations look like accidents is much more fun that just rampaging.
Then there are the weapons. You have five weapons with the ability to customize them, any other weapon you'll find throughout the game is not customizable. These five weapons are the trademark Silverballers, Tactical SMG (HK MP5-A2), Spas-12, M4 and the WA2000 sniper. You can add silencers, buttstocks, increase muzzle velocity, change ammo type etc. But adding silencers will reduce the velocity of the bullet, thus lowering damage. So it's not good for rampaging. Increasing power will make the weapon noisier and that's the last thing you need when trying to silently execute a kill. So the weapons usually reflect the user's personality.
The graphics in this game are incredible. The textures look solid and detailed. There is also a blur effect on far away objects and the lighting is simply brilliant. I have never seen any bugs in the graphics. The same however could not be said for sounds. The sounds are not intense enough. Shoot someone in the leg, and all he says is "AH!". The phrases said in game are repetitive. For example, all your hostage says is "Leave me alone!" and "Please, don't kill me, please!". Silenced guns sound fine but the Desert Eagle sound for example sounds more like someone hitting a metal tube with a hammer which is nothing as intense as shooting in real life. The music is totally the opposite. The game changes the background music to match the current situation. If it's an intense moment there will be intense music in the background and if it's a relaxing one there will be relaxing music in the background. The music choice is perfect.
As for level design, it's good. For those who played Silent Assassin - the level design isn't open and breathtaking. It's rather compact and uninteresting compared to Silent Assassin. But it still includes tonnes of opportunities. Your missions usually take place in interiors (usually buildings). Along the game you will find yourself in a casino-hotel, in the suburbs, on a ship, in the streets during an election etc.
Overall this game is certainly is a near-perfect one. Anyone will like this game, because this game gives the user a chance to be himself.
Although this is my first experience of the Hitman series, I have picked up some information about this one 'Agent 47' from playing the game. I know that he is a smart dresser, he's a perfect fit to any man's clothing, he can get changed quickly and he always folds his clothes neatly. He also cleans up after he makes a mess. In case you hadn't realised yet, he is a contract killer, but he does do all of the things I have just mentioned. Don't worry if you haven't played any of the other games, this game is great, and although in some ways the learning curve can be steep, the game has been made to accomodate for all skill levels, from first time players of the game to vetrans on the series. The difficulty levels provide great variety and degrees of challenges, as you can have dulled down A.I, infinite saves and more detailed maps on lower difficulty settings, but on higher ones have no save slots, super intelligent A.I and notority in full effect. Speaking of saving, the game does that very well. You can save after each mission is complete no matter what difficulty level you were on, but during the game you can make saves at any point, but different amounts based on the difficulty level. This works well to make different levels more challenging, as you might waste your saves early and have to go through a hard part of the game without being able to save after you have done it. These saves can be re-loaded if you are killed, but only last for one playsession, so if you turn off your console and come back the next day, you'll have to start from the beginning of the level.
The game handles like a standard FPS on a console, where you use one analog stick to move forward, and another to adjust the camera angle and make turns. Hitman: Blood Money can also be played as a first person shooter, or first person stealth action game, simply by tapping a button to change the perspective. In both it handles well and the transition between the two is usually seemless. In third person mode, the camera can also be used to look around corners before you go and walk down the wrong hallway. The problem that arises here is that the crosshair is your camera, and because the camera was made to be slow turning for ease of use, when someone is shooting you in the back, it takes ages for you to spin the camera around and kill them. This slow turning can seem awfully painful at times, but one shot to the head is an instant kill with even the weakest pistols, so at least there is some compensation.
While the game does cater for those new to the series, the general thought waves will take a while to catch on to you if you're new to the genre, or the series. After a while you realise what you have to do, but initially it can seem quite over whelming when you can see a guy and you just want to pop him with one quick shot, but you have to go through the map for what seems like an eternity, find the kitchen, posion some food that he will eat, and then wait for him to eat the food and die. The learning curve of the game is quite steep for this reason, but there are many levels for you to have fun on once you have gotten the hang of it. There is also a great tutorial mode level to start with that takes you through a linear level step-by-step, and teaches you most of the skills that you will need for later in the game. The level design is fantastic. If you've tried a level multiple times you can find a quick route to go through a party or a building and make the kills the level can seem quite small and straigh forward, but if you take the time to explore some levels, you'll see how much effort was put in to making them huge, interactive and full of lots of little secrets that you will only pick up when you go through a level multiple times.
The ways to perform a kill have increased, as you can make things look accidental, by rigging a bomb to a chandeleer, and then detonating it when a person is walking underneath it. The problem with this is that in some levels there can be a lot of trial and error, perhaps too much trying to get it right. You're given hints in your mission briefing, and the maps show points of interest, but getting a kill, or multiple kills just right can take numerous attempts, especially if you don't learn quickly from your mistakes. So while some would say trying to kill people in numerous ways to get it right, or trying to kill people in a different way each time you play a level makes for good replay value, I personally think that there isn't a huge amount of replay value in the game, as it's all storyline based, and once you've done all the missions, there isn't a huge incentive to go back through them again, although the level design and different ways of killing does make it a possibility. Either way, there's still many hours of fun to be had.
The storyline. While it is present, it only makes small appearances between levels, and feels disjointed in some respects. It is logical, but it doesn't relate hugely to what you are doing in the missions, it's mainly some people trying to track you down and you getting your next assignment. The action in-game makes up for this though, and the cut-scenes are graphically beautiful for the Playstaion 2. The in-game graphics are reasonable, but have been toned down to create a steady frame rate, so you can have hundreds of people on-screen, such as when you're at the mardi gras, with no noticable slow down. On higher end PCs and the Xbox 360, the graphics are truely fantastic. The music in the game is good, and is used to create suspense at dramatic times, but what I have noticed is that the intense and dramatic music often starts playing when nothing is actually happening on screen. For example, you simply walk in to a room, go through a door and pick up some ammo someone left on the ground, you turn around, no one is in sight, but your hear a loud crescendo, the music speeds up and continually becomes more dramatic, trying to foreshadow danger when your metre for being noticed is still at zero. This may just be a glitch, but it's annoying as it can sub-conciously make you hurry thinking someone has seen you and is on to you.
When you do die, the cinematic death is quite enjoyable at first, where you go in to slow motion, and the screen slowly fades red and you collapse to your knees in slow muffled agony before blood spills over the camera and oozes out in silohette form. This is cool the first few times, but occasionaly it fails horribly. An example was when I jumped off a high ledge, to see what the splat would look like. Agent 47 landed on his feet, looking perfectly healthy, and I thought he may have survived. Then out of no where, the red screen appeared, with me slowly dying, even though I was still standing up calmly. It's a small thing, but I thought I would point it out. Another point to be noted is that the game dictates how interactive you can be with any one object. For example a door. You walk up to the door, some will simply not be able to open, so no prompts will appear. Other will tell you to press X to Open, or X to pick the lock, or X to use your keycard etc. Speaking of doors, there are a lot of doors in the game. Pehaps too many as you have to open each one manually, and if you're standing too close - it doesn't open. This works well when you need to be able to close a door, such as if you want to kill somone in there without anyone seeing, but if you simply want to go through several rooms, you have to laboriosly open each door.
Weapons are fully upgradable which is nice because with some hard earned bling, you can pimp a standard pistol in to a dual wield pistol, with fast recoil, a scope, laser beam aim and a larger clip. The same applies for most weapons that you can pay money to upgrade. The general weapons of the game are good, as there are plenty of guns, as well as other things such as shovels and stun guns. 47 himself has some cool gagets that can be used for all kinds of things. These include fibre wire, syringes, coins for distracting guards, knifes and more. Syringes can be used from sedating guards, to poisoning a victim's drink so it is his last drink and there's a dead man, but nothing points to you. Small items such as fibre wire and syringes, even small pistols can be concealed in his pockets, for quick access, so you don't have to open your inventory and scroll through every item to find what you are looking for.
It's probably a bad idea ending on a negative note when the game is overall of a high standard, but one gripe I had was with interacting. In particular, the new jumping system. If you need to jump between two ledges, you simply walk towards them, and a custom animation of 47 jumping will be performed, but you have no influence over it. This also means that if you want to jump somewhere that the developers didn't want you to jump, you can't. I found this annoying when I was on a veranda and instead of walking all the way to the stairs, I just wanted to jump over the low rail, but I was not able to. A minor frustration, but still a frustration.
This game is great, as it makes improvements to the series, and offers different things to differently experienced players, from beginner to vet. The occupation of being a hired killer is quite limiting (not that I would know from real life experience), but the developers certainly did their best to make it as diverse and fun as possible, while trying to create sound controls, good sound effects and non-linear ways of getting the job done. Of course there's still room for improvement, such as possibly a few more levels and more storyline development, and there's the minor annoyances which pop up in every game, but on the whole, it's definately worth a rent to see if you like the genre, and a purchase if you do.
THE GOOD: Notoriety system- It is one of the best ideas ever since the advanced A.I. in Pro mode, it literally makes you be more careful (means you won't be able to show off your upgrades since you won't be able to get any money for total damage done). Evidence impact feature- Getting caught on camera, leaving bullet cardriges in the scene of the crime, leaving witnesses alive? They all can affect your ranking...making it a better challenge to get your "Silent Assassin" ranking. "Accident" deaths- You need to get rid of an innocent bystander that could turn into a potential witness, but scared it can affect your ranking and fee? Worry not, make it look like an accident, and cops will not even mention it in the newspapers. Newspaper articles- You get to see your work in the newspapers, see what you did wrong, what you did to confuse the authorities, and what you can do to make it more subtle for the next hit...it's definetly an ego-booster
THE BAD: Graphic quality- The graphics are not really that impressive Look but don't use- Like all the other Hitman games, you are still not allowed to use your customized weapons to get the best ranking and your money Saving features- They are still slow
SUMMARY: This game is definetly a good realistic change to the whole series. The biggest plot twister, best ending, beautiful soundtrack...and it's still a cliff hanger just like "Contracts". It also makes the game feel more "Hitman-ish" by seeing your own accidents, and other problems at the same time, while keeping the "Cloning" crisis a huge deal. It keeps its dramatic environment while sticking to its root with subtle or chaotic ways of killing your victims
...In short, it shows the Art of Assassination...
Not to mention, missions featuring undercover assassins waiting to take you out while in the mission too...whether you see them or not, is up to you...and if you're afraid that killing them might affect your progress...you can always throw them off a building or make them "fall" off a flight of stairs...that death will certainly be overlooked, getting a lot of innocent deaths off your shoulders.
All in all, its the best game in the whole series so far which can keep you at the edge of your seat from beginning to end...having the same flashback missions like "Contracts" did.
THE GOOD: Excellent range of Murder Methods Ability to stage elaborate 'Accidents' for your victims Level graphics are often fantastic Improved AI over previous Hitman installments Loads of new hand to hand moves
THE BAD: Still somewhat glitchy Too easy on standard difficulty Usual ethnic and cultural stereotyping
SUMMARY: A huge improvement over all the previous games, Blood Money is the first of the Hitman games to really succeed at the credos that has driven the entire series so far: 47's goal is to enter the scene, kill his victim as stealthily as possible, then exit calmly without a big scene. The problem in the previous games was, due to all the odd glitching (Disguises failing for no reason, often bizzare enemy AI etc.) it was extremely difficult to do so, and often much easier to simply whip out your biggest guns and massacre everybody, which pretty much defeated the point of the game.
Blood Money has balanced this out: 47 can take a lot less damage than he could before, but disguises and infiltration seem to be a lot more effective, providing no-one sees you changing into them. Another huge improvement is the inclusion of hand to hand moves when 47 is unarmed, so you can headbutt, disarm and punch out an opponent, shove them over a balcony railing or even use them as a handy human shield if it all goes a bit pear-shaped.
The graphics are often excellent, and a special mention must go to the Mardi Gras level, which features hundreds upon hundreds of NPC walking around a crowded street, something which really shouldn't be possible on the now slightly decrepit PS2
There's still a few bad things to mention of course. there are still ocassional problems with the AI, enemies twigging to your disguise for no discernable reason, sometimes confusing mission parameters, and it's a little odd that shoving somebody in the street in Eidos' version of America will cause the local police to brutally gun you down. Still all in all, this is a cracking game, and for the price you can't go wrong. I would recommend that you play on the higher difficulty levels if you're a Hitman vet though, the normal difficulty is a breeze.
forums
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