Hitman: Blood Money continues the mythos of Agent 47 without alienating players new to the series.
The highlight of Hitman: Blood Money is the game settings. From the tranquil suburban neighbourhood to an infernal Vegas party, and from the humble American south in Mississippi to the boisterous New Orleans during Mardi Gras, each location is beautifully rendered and created for your gaming pleasure. The realistic settings make your missions more immersive. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself taking your time not only to figure out how to carry out a hit, but to enjoy the beauty of your surroundings.
The game also gives players the freedom to decide how to carry out the hits. Whether you prefer to start a bloodbath or to creep up on your victims, there are often a number of (creative and sly) ways to complete each mission. At the end of each mission, you will be paid for your services. The amount you receive depends on your level of success, including whether you left behind evidence of your presence (such as customized weapons) and whether you had your covers blown. The noisier you were in your hits, the greater your notoriety would be, making subsequent missions more challenging as a result. Luckily, you can use your earnings to bribe witnesses to lower your notoriety and to upgrade weapons to even out the odds somewhat.
Despite the presence of this in-game economy, I found it to be more of a gimmicky game feature than a well-implemented component. Perhaps it is because I preferred to be a silent assassin, for I mainly used my money to upgrade my custom Silverballer pistols and my sniper rifle. Even after bribing a witness or two, I still have plenty of currency remaining for me to retire from “professional cleaning” for good. However, I gather that this financial freedom is limited for players who decide to play the game as though they are playing Max Payne. This will likely present them with the greater challenge of deciding how to spend their money.
The artificial intelligence in Hitman: Blood Money is adequate. Sometimes the NPCs’ idiocy can work to your advantage. However, sometimes they can be overly sensitive to their surroundings, forcing you to find alternate ways to get to your target. It can get frustrating when you think you’re well-hidden only to be soon detected by an NPC. In these instances, a visibility meter that tells you how detectable you are (like in Splinter Cell) would have been beneficial. Despite that, Hitman: Blood Money is an addictive game that will appeal to both Hitman veterans and initiates. The beautiful settings, gaming freedom, and replayability make this game worth playing and would make an Hitman fan out of you.