Hitman: Blood Money

I have to say that "Hitman" games (and I mean pretty much all of them) are great. The first one maybe a bit better in some ways than the second one, but that's irrelevant and everyone can decide by themselves.

Anyway, I think that "Hitman: Blood Money" is a nice upgrade to the series. It has pretty much everything good that there was before and some new things too. One of the newer things is killing the targets by making a fake accident. That's great, but basically it could make you feel a bit that "it's the only real" or "right way" to go with the mission. That might limit the freedom a little, but of course you can still kill your targets in the old fashioned way. That's still absolutely only your choice, and the accident is only one more way to eliminate your personal VIP.

One interesting thing is also the newspaper that appears to the screen right after the mission. Eventually your face can get to the front page if you're seen by too many people, or if you don't bribe anyone. The newspaper always talks about your last murder. That's one thing I noticed to be a bit annoying, since even if you don't kill anyone and make the murder look like an accident, they still magically know that it was a murder.

However, in the end, "Hitman: Blood Money" is a great game. The story might not be extremely interesting or unpredictable, but it's much more interesting to follow than nothing. And many of the missions are very great. You get a lot of money, but if you try to be as silent as possible, you don't have to use 'em that much. I'd recommend this to everyone who wants to be a virtual hit-man for a while, as well as to everyone who likes previous "Hitman" games.

Hit-man: Contracts came in at the tail end of the standard definition era of video gaming. Two years later this, the 4th game in the popular series, came out - right at the infancy of HD gaming. It shows, but it's still a noticeable graphic improvement. For this entry IO Interactive have changed the controls and gameplay, which annoyed me at first, but you get used to it, even though they are still rather fiddly and you'll often select the wrong command by accident.

The story bounces around in time as Agent 47 travels to various locations around the world offing evil-doers. It ties into the story of Hit-man: Contracts rather tightly, which is not something I expected it to do. The killing and gameplay is still very similar and the game doesn't offer anything new in that regard. I think it is time that Hit-man starts introducing gorier deaths that obliterate victims or feature noticeable damage instead of the ragdoll effects after a sudden burst of red.

I liked this game, but for Agent 47's first jaunt into HD I would have preferred new methods of killing that would benefit from the better resolution. Maybe next time.

Graphics B- Sound B Gameplay B Lasting Appeal B+

Love the games but this is the only one with weird fu**inf controls first crouch is Lt but in the other one it's right stick. Hold b to swap weapons plus you can't customize the controls in settings.

Hit-man: Blood Money (played on the PS2) creeped me out right from the start. Not in a manner quite like Contracts, the 2004 installment of the awesome series, but in a different way. The main menus consist of what appears to be the protagonist's, Agent 47's, funeral, while Schubert's Ave Maria plays softly yet hauntingly in the background. This is just one of the many ways that Blood Money twists with your mind and makes you question your morality and sanity. This is, no doubt, one of the best games of the year so far, and aside from a few glaring flaws, is the best installment yet in the Hit-man franchise.

The major flaw in Blood Money is the way it begins. The beginning is dark, melodramatic, and moody, taking place at an abandoned amusement park, but the structure isn't as smooth as levels in the other Hit-man titles, and the game leads you by the nose for the entire level, effectively removing the open-ended nature of the series. But when you are past this training level, it's Blood Money to the Big Leagues time, with 47 taking no prisoners in a dark, violent tale of conspiracy and intrigue. It's a very compelling story, combining the international appeal of Silent Assassin with the brutish, disturbing nature of Contracts.

One of the best additions to the game is the Accident system. This will change the way you play Hit-man. It allows you to place explosives, poison foods, switch items and loosen bolts to sabotage your target's lives in cunning displays of ingenuity. These 'accidents' (ranging from pushing people from balconies to fake suicide, to forcing chandeliers to fall large heights before hitting anything remotely resembling a target) play perfectly into the Notoriety system, which tracks your mission stats and compiles them into a faux newspaper clipping. These stats, including your hit ratio, number of times seen, and the amount of people killed, factor into how well the enemy will recognise you in the next mission. It's a great concept, but don't worry about this one in the lower two difficulty levels; Notoriety is barely recognizable on the Normal setting, and doesn't even exist on Rookie.

Hit-man: Blood Money is a very good game in danger of being overlooked by the average gamer this year. In 2006, we've seen the jaw-dropping Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, a game I consider the best stealth title ever. Later this year, we'll be getting Splinter Cell: Double Agent, promising a true, next-gen experience on the Xbox 360. Hit-man: Blood Money, however, should not be overlooked; it is a near-perfect example of how to do a game right. It is, by far, the most mature game I've ever played. The story is deep, involving, and serious. The games industry has a problem with maturity, leading to many doubting the veracity of gaming as a whole. Hit-man sets the bar for maturity, and all other games strive to that mark. Jesper Kyd's orchestral-eletronica soundtrack is also phenomenal (as always), being the best thing to hit my ears this year.

If you play any games at all, and care for intelligence in your entertainment, by all means, play Hit-man: Blood Money.

Now.

I love this game so much and the music is amazing and the missions are so fun and you can do whatever you want.. but you have to complete the mission but other then that it's very fun