Hitman: Blood Money
Posted June 27, 2006
The bald, nameless clone of the Hitman series is the unlikely anti-hero that invigorated the stealth genre when games like Splinter Cell were still in the development stage. Agent 47 and his creators at IO Interactive have nearly topped the popular Hitman 2 with their new entry into the series, Hitman: Blood Money. IO has captured the dramatic elements that made Hitman 2 so excellent as well as creating a suspenseful, intriguing storyline. 
Many story elements of the previous games are mentioned in Blood Money, so it's in your best interest to play the original titles. The story actually opens at the prologue and the gamer gets to play through various missions while Agent 47's story is being told by a disgruntled, disfigured cripple, no doubt harmed by the dubious bar-coded agent. As the exploits of Agent 47 build throughout the narrative via mid-level cut scenes, the story takes Agent 47 through many real-world locales such as Las Vegas and builds to a momentous climax that ultimately brings 47 to the finality of his well-financed actions. IO put tremendous effort into spinning a tale at the same cinematic caliber as such films like Collateral or The Professional.
Gameplay:
Obviously, the main attraction to the Hitman series has to be the variety of ways to complete a level. One can choose to dash through like a crazed psychopath eliminating every screaming human along the way or choose to eliminate specific targets with a silent precision that protects your precious identity. The incredible breadth of options is staggering to say the least. My favorite kills usually involve triggering a chain of events to move my next target into a perfect position for assassination. The game really promotes exploration to determine all the courses of action before choosing the most appropriate method of death. Additionally, courses of action will influence assassin ratings which effect achievements and monetary gain.
At the completion of each level, you are assigned various ratings that influence your fee for the job as well as your notoriety. These ratings measure the amount of violence involved, noise made, damage control, and mission completion time. Notoriety affects the amount of people that may recognize you on the next mission. It also changes the story in the quaint newspaper article at the end of each level which details your exploits and advertises a crude sketch of your likeness. You can reduce the amount of notoriety on your identity by bribing officials or simply avoid being seen altogether to eliminate any notoriety increases. The payout for each mission will influence the amount of money that you have available for weapon, health, armor, and intelligence upgrades.
The variety of weapons isn't overly expansive compared to the previous Hitman games, but the customization options have definitely increased. The upgrades vary from silencers, ammo types, scopes, red dot sights, larger clips, and recoil reducers. For each of the five custom weapons, there are 12 to 13 different upgrades available, ranging from $50,000 to $250,000. The entire array of custom weaponry is available at the start of the game. Also, a group of miscellaneous upgrades exist to boost supplemental objects in the game. For instance, you can purchase painkiller pills, adrenaline shots, higher quality body armor, more explosives, and stealthy suitcases to lug around that beloved Dragunov sniper rifle. Any foil lined suitcase that can fool security at the X-ray scanner is worth its weight in gold to Agent 47.
Shifting between these various objects is easily performed at the inventory menu. You can switch between those Silver Ballers and your hidden MP5 in a matter of seconds. Also, FPS purists can switch between a first person view when navigating the various levels to run and gun their way to the exit. Object usage in the level environment is performed by a handy button menu in the top corner. If you come across a set or clothing you would like to change into, just click the appropriate button and your identity will change. The same goes for swapping guns, searching bodies, lock picking, opening doors, hiding bodies, and speaking to people. Additionally, movement control is simple to pick up with the exception of moving through windows. You have to push up a couple times on the left movement stick to pop through an open window or climb a wall. It's a bit annoying to perform successfully on a consistent basis.
If the A.I. catches you lumbering through a window, be ready to fire immediately. Regardless of the level of difficulty, the A.I. will always notice suspicious activity. They will stop you before allowing entrance to restricted areas along with herding you out if caught in one. Their interest in your presence increases as the colored activity bar in the left corner increases. Yellow or Red is a sign of panic on their part which may mean time for a clothing change. Sadly, the A.I. doesn't react appropriately when a dead body is discovered. While they do increase their level of alertness and radio for assistance, eventually they just whip out a black body bag and drag the poor soul away. It would have seemed more realistic if they search the complex for the killer or even sound an alarm. As the difficulty increases, the A.I. accuracy and weapon damage increases. Interestingly, this promotes stealth action on the higher elevations of difficulty rather than mass murder.
The 24 achievements will add up to 1000 gamerscore points for those looking to bump up their score. The points are all awarded for single player action with about 60% available in Rookie / Normal and the remaining 40% in the last two levels of difficulty, Expert / Professional. All of the achievements are attainable, but some of the tougher Silent Assassins tasks will cause a great deal of frustration. Most descriptively, these achievements have purposefully been setup to encourage replay-ability. IO did a fairly creative job assigning points to tasks worthy of bragging rights in terms of skill, but not time spent. These points can be racked up during a rental period if you already have a thorough knowledge of the gameplay in the Hitman series.
Graphics:
Visually, Hitman: Blood Money is not the best the 360 can produce in terms of graphical capability, but it is vastly superior to the other versions on the Xbox and the PS2. In high definition, the sharp, high resolution textures really pop out at the gamer and the backgrounds are occasionally quite gorgeous. The Vegas skyline towards the end of the game is particularly breathtaking. The frame rate stays silky smooth and the object detection is spot-on, so no shooting through walls. The lighting effects are certainly not to the same caliber as a game like Oblivion, but still provide an important role for each level.
The character models are well defined, but no where near the level of a game like Condemned. The rag doll animations are not very fluid and seem a bit dated. The load times are relatively painless for cut scenes, but full levels can take 15 to 20 seconds to load up. Finally, the game uses simultaneous in-game cut scenes during a level when guards happen upon a corpse or cameras zoom in to your presence. It's an interesting graphical trick that uses half the screen to illuminate your position and the other half to provide a view of the action. It can also be distracting when attempting to evade roaming guards. Overall, IO provided an improved port, but doesn't impress on next-generation levels.
Audio:
The soundtrack is a delight to my ears in a plethora of auditory aspects. The main title track is a gentle flowing version of Schubert's Ave Maria sung by the Vienna Boys Choir which sends chills through your spine when matched with the haunting visuals. The remainder of the orchestral work is performed by the Budapest Symphony and the Hungarian Radio Choir with gaming enthusiast Jesper Kyd at the helm of conductor and composer. The entire score fits perfectly with the suspenseful nature of the Hitman series and chimes in at the appropriate moments for maximum emotional effect.
The sound effects are quite believable and seem appropriate to their actions. Listening to Agent 47 head-butt an unsuspecting target is a wonderful, guttural noise that makes my ears perk. Unfortunately, the voice work didn't offer the same level of excellence. While the main characters are certainly use a high caliber of acting talent, any throwaway character such as the various competing assassins or random ancillary civilians are hopelessly cheesy and absent of any realism. IO should have spent more time recording the remainder of the cast to only further increase the cinematic feel to the tale. Still, IO put forth a superb effort with the rest of the sound work and should be commended.
Conclusion:
Even without a multiplayer section, Hitman: Blood Money shouldn't be missed by any Xbox 360 owner. The captivating story is without a doubt the best in the Hitman series since Hitman 2. Additionally, the addicting gameplay invites patient gamers to replay all the levels to find the most efficient and lucrative form of killing. While I can't advocate purchase of Blood Money at retail price as it can be beaten easily within a rental period, I do recommend picking it up around the $25 to $30 mark once it hits eBay at that price. Blood Money should be played by anyone interested in the stealth genre or those looking for a yarn worthy of Hollywood standards. I highly recommend this game for Xbox 360 owners needing something to hold them until Double Agent gets released later this year.
Many story elements of the previous games are mentioned in Blood Money, so it's in your best interest to play the original titles. The story actually opens at the prologue and the gamer gets to play through various missions while Agent 47's story is being told by a disgruntled, disfigured cripple, no doubt harmed by the dubious bar-coded agent. As the exploits of Agent 47 build throughout the narrative via mid-level cut scenes, the story takes Agent 47 through many real-world locales such as Las Vegas and builds to a momentous climax that ultimately brings 47 to the finality of his well-financed actions. IO put tremendous effort into spinning a tale at the same cinematic caliber as such films like Collateral or The Professional.
Gameplay:
Obviously, the main attraction to the Hitman series has to be the variety of ways to complete a level. One can choose to dash through like a crazed psychopath eliminating every screaming human along the way or choose to eliminate specific targets with a silent precision that protects your precious identity. The incredible breadth of options is staggering to say the least. My favorite kills usually involve triggering a chain of events to move my next target into a perfect position for assassination. The game really promotes exploration to determine all the courses of action before choosing the most appropriate method of death. Additionally, courses of action will influence assassin ratings which effect achievements and monetary gain.
At the completion of each level, you are assigned various ratings that influence your fee for the job as well as your notoriety. These ratings measure the amount of violence involved, noise made, damage control, and mission completion time. Notoriety affects the amount of people that may recognize you on the next mission. It also changes the story in the quaint newspaper article at the end of each level which details your exploits and advertises a crude sketch of your likeness. You can reduce the amount of notoriety on your identity by bribing officials or simply avoid being seen altogether to eliminate any notoriety increases. The payout for each mission will influence the amount of money that you have available for weapon, health, armor, and intelligence upgrades.
The variety of weapons isn't overly expansive compared to the previous Hitman games, but the customization options have definitely increased. The upgrades vary from silencers, ammo types, scopes, red dot sights, larger clips, and recoil reducers. For each of the five custom weapons, there are 12 to 13 different upgrades available, ranging from $50,000 to $250,000. The entire array of custom weaponry is available at the start of the game. Also, a group of miscellaneous upgrades exist to boost supplemental objects in the game. For instance, you can purchase painkiller pills, adrenaline shots, higher quality body armor, more explosives, and stealthy suitcases to lug around that beloved Dragunov sniper rifle. Any foil lined suitcase that can fool security at the X-ray scanner is worth its weight in gold to Agent 47.
Shifting between these various objects is easily performed at the inventory menu. You can switch between those Silver Ballers and your hidden MP5 in a matter of seconds. Also, FPS purists can switch between a first person view when navigating the various levels to run and gun their way to the exit. Object usage in the level environment is performed by a handy button menu in the top corner. If you come across a set or clothing you would like to change into, just click the appropriate button and your identity will change. The same goes for swapping guns, searching bodies, lock picking, opening doors, hiding bodies, and speaking to people. Additionally, movement control is simple to pick up with the exception of moving through windows. You have to push up a couple times on the left movement stick to pop through an open window or climb a wall. It's a bit annoying to perform successfully on a consistent basis.
If the A.I. catches you lumbering through a window, be ready to fire immediately. Regardless of the level of difficulty, the A.I. will always notice suspicious activity. They will stop you before allowing entrance to restricted areas along with herding you out if caught in one. Their interest in your presence increases as the colored activity bar in the left corner increases. Yellow or Red is a sign of panic on their part which may mean time for a clothing change. Sadly, the A.I. doesn't react appropriately when a dead body is discovered. While they do increase their level of alertness and radio for assistance, eventually they just whip out a black body bag and drag the poor soul away. It would have seemed more realistic if they search the complex for the killer or even sound an alarm. As the difficulty increases, the A.I. accuracy and weapon damage increases. Interestingly, this promotes stealth action on the higher elevations of difficulty rather than mass murder.
The 24 achievements will add up to 1000 gamerscore points for those looking to bump up their score. The points are all awarded for single player action with about 60% available in Rookie / Normal and the remaining 40% in the last two levels of difficulty, Expert / Professional. All of the achievements are attainable, but some of the tougher Silent Assassins tasks will cause a great deal of frustration. Most descriptively, these achievements have purposefully been setup to encourage replay-ability. IO did a fairly creative job assigning points to tasks worthy of bragging rights in terms of skill, but not time spent. These points can be racked up during a rental period if you already have a thorough knowledge of the gameplay in the Hitman series.
Graphics:
Visually, Hitman: Blood Money is not the best the 360 can produce in terms of graphical capability, but it is vastly superior to the other versions on the Xbox and the PS2. In high definition, the sharp, high resolution textures really pop out at the gamer and the backgrounds are occasionally quite gorgeous. The Vegas skyline towards the end of the game is particularly breathtaking. The frame rate stays silky smooth and the object detection is spot-on, so no shooting through walls. The lighting effects are certainly not to the same caliber as a game like Oblivion, but still provide an important role for each level.
The character models are well defined, but no where near the level of a game like Condemned. The rag doll animations are not very fluid and seem a bit dated. The load times are relatively painless for cut scenes, but full levels can take 15 to 20 seconds to load up. Finally, the game uses simultaneous in-game cut scenes during a level when guards happen upon a corpse or cameras zoom in to your presence. It's an interesting graphical trick that uses half the screen to illuminate your position and the other half to provide a view of the action. It can also be distracting when attempting to evade roaming guards. Overall, IO provided an improved port, but doesn't impress on next-generation levels.
Audio:
The soundtrack is a delight to my ears in a plethora of auditory aspects. The main title track is a gentle flowing version of Schubert's Ave Maria sung by the Vienna Boys Choir which sends chills through your spine when matched with the haunting visuals. The remainder of the orchestral work is performed by the Budapest Symphony and the Hungarian Radio Choir with gaming enthusiast Jesper Kyd at the helm of conductor and composer. The entire score fits perfectly with the suspenseful nature of the Hitman series and chimes in at the appropriate moments for maximum emotional effect.
The sound effects are quite believable and seem appropriate to their actions. Listening to Agent 47 head-butt an unsuspecting target is a wonderful, guttural noise that makes my ears perk. Unfortunately, the voice work didn't offer the same level of excellence. While the main characters are certainly use a high caliber of acting talent, any throwaway character such as the various competing assassins or random ancillary civilians are hopelessly cheesy and absent of any realism. IO should have spent more time recording the remainder of the cast to only further increase the cinematic feel to the tale. Still, IO put forth a superb effort with the rest of the sound work and should be commended.
Conclusion:
Even without a multiplayer section, Hitman: Blood Money shouldn't be missed by any Xbox 360 owner. The captivating story is without a doubt the best in the Hitman series since Hitman 2. Additionally, the addicting gameplay invites patient gamers to replay all the levels to find the most efficient and lucrative form of killing. While I can't advocate purchase of Blood Money at retail price as it can be beaten easily within a rental period, I do recommend picking it up around the $25 to $30 mark once it hits eBay at that price. Blood Money should be played by anyone interested in the stealth genre or those looking for a yarn worthy of Hollywood standards. I highly recommend this game for Xbox 360 owners needing something to hold them until Double Agent gets released later this year.