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Hitman: Blood Money Review in Syndicated News: Gaming, Arts and Media News
Picture this.

You are a genetically engineered clone, number 47 actually, who is also a hired gun.
The man you have to assassinate is in a house, laden with FBI agents and random public services, like garbagemen, clowns, caterers and pool cleaners. It's his daughter's birthday party, and she'll becoming home to it later. You also have to retrieve a piece of microfilm hidden in his wife's locket. So... let's explore.
There's a suspicious van parked opposite his house. Inside, two FBI agents are setting up surveillance for the house. Go in there, shoot 'em up and take their clothes. Penetrate the house in disguise, kill Vinnie, soak the barbeque with lighter fluid and watch as his wife turns Southern Fried, snatch the locket from her charred neck and flee.

Or, you can wait by the clown's van, knock him dead, take his clothesand stuff him in the costume trunk in the van, then head on in.
Or, you can snatch some darts from the vet's, head into a woman's house and use her son's treehouse as a sniping position, especially with his shiney new dart rifle...
The possibilities are almost endless. It just snaps into place as you try to dodge detection from things like searches, metal detectors and cameras to pull off the perfect hit.

- - -

The variety of levels are great too. In previous installments we've been to Hong Kong, Russia, Malaysia and more. This is the first game in which we go to America, from the 'burbs to Las Vegas, to Missisipi. We also go to France and Sicily. The level design is not just beautiful and realistic, but practical too. I mean, you have a waterfall which is awe-inspiring, and also doubles as a way to get rid of the bullet-riddled corpse next to you.
Weapons play an essential part in this game, and as you get paid for each contract you take on, you can customise five of your armaments, the weapons you are always given by your 'Agency'. Things like silencers, laser dots, scopes and improved ammo are essential to increasing your stealthyness. Weapons you procure on-site, like special weapons snatched from the still-warm fingers of your targets are stored in your weapons cache.

Large weapons, like assault rifles, are stowed away in trunks hidden in the level, but weapons like syringes, knives, pistols and even sub-machine guns can be stored in the bottomless pockets of Codename 47's dinner suit. Much like his Eidos bretheren Lara Croft, he has a ring inventory which is easy to navigate.

Gore-wise, this is quite strong. Maybe not as gross as seeing a dead chick hung up on a meat hook, while you have to take her severed finger as evidence that she is dead, as seen in Contracts, but it has it's Manhunt-esque moments. Stealth crouch behind someone with a melee weapon and a lavishly shock animation unfolds. Whether it is a hammer going *thunk* into a soldier's skull, or a knife being dragged through a gurgling woman's throat, it is not for the squeamish.

Another interesting point is the way you can make hits look like accidents. Plant a mine on a ropebox and watch as the chadelier goes plummeting into an unwary mark. It's very rewarding when, after multiple plays you plot a stragety and it pays off, but to have a bullet end your career just as you near the exit post is soul crushing.

- - -

The plot is basic, but pretty tight. It revisits some of Hitman's latest and greatest assassinations, as the story is told in flashbacks and by a haggared old man with more agendas that meets the eye. it all leads up to the "dead" body of Hitman, in a ghostly white suit, apparently a victim of a spine crushing accident. Like I said, there are more agenda's and sides in this story, even pitting you against another clone.
It takes you from high-class citizen areas to lowlife, drug-fuelled fetish parties. It exploits the sins of humankind in a similar way to Se7en. From a sucessful wine cellar who makes a side profit on cocaine to a ace actor who molests children. Most of the hits you won't regret killing.








FINAL SCORES:
GRAPHICS - ****
Improved majorly over the glitchy Contracts and the rainbow hued Silent Assassin. Great lighting textures and a nice grainy effect.
PLOT - ***
Only reason for it is to hold together the levels together, and serves its purpose well. Nice tense mid-level cutscenes top off the big-budget feel.
GAMEPLAY - *****
Still quite original in it's fourth incarnation, the stealth/shooter/hitman angle is great. Things like hiding bodies, disguises and dodging security is great, and when you think you're about to be discovered, you feel the tension eating away inside. Brilliant.
SOUND - *****
Great voice acting and beautiful music from series conductor Jesper Kyd. After a strange delve into synth in Contracts, hearing epic John Williams-esque scoring makesme happy, and to hear Ave Maria so hauntingly echo as Hitman lies on his deathbed is simply heart stopping.
Overall:
* * * *
A brilliantly woven tale of deciet, danger and high stakes, this is a masterful videogaming tale of epic proportions. UNFORGIVABLY UNDERRATED! Give this a try, you will not regret it.
Posted by JDash10 Sat Dec 15, 2007 7:22 pm
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