Silent. Deadly. And actually, pretty cool.
Graphics: They're not stellar, but they're not bad. I'd say middle of the road on this one. Guns can look particulary nice in the menu screen, if you're picky like me anyway. Character models look good, although many NPC's look the same. It's no wonder you can sneak by if you're wearing the same clothes. I guess the barcode on 47's head doesn't get noticed easily...
Sound: Not very good. Guns sound average, but the music score is pretty bad. Voiceovers are par for the course. You won't be spellbound by the characters talking, but you just might get hooked by the vicious gameplay.
Control: There are some issues here. The biggest is trying to strangle someone while walking behind them. Usually, this results in punching them in the back of the head. If this happens, its time to restart the mission..unless you enjoy mowing through non-stop waves of bad guys who will most likely kill you. Sneaking is easy enough by just holding the left trigger. I liked the way Hitman automatically jumps ledge to ledge if you are close enough..it's a nice touch.
Gameplay: Go slow. That's the best advice I can give you on this one. Much like Ghost Recon, trying to run and gun here will get you laid out pretty quick. Discretion, as far as Hitman is concerned, is the greater part of valor. It does get annoying when you die during a mission and, unless you've saved your game at some point during the missoin, you have to start it all over. There are no checkpoints, so it's up to you to save the game. And on harder difficulty levels, you won't be able to save at all...so don't mess up. As frustrating as it can be to play this game, when you're hard work finally pays off and you get that kill you've been working towards, it does have a very satisfying feeling. Agent 47 is one cool cat, but he's also one vicious S.O.B. with a severe mean streak. I played Hitman: Contracts back when on the Xbox, and I was terribly let down. I'm glad to say that Blood Money corrected many of the issues that plagued that game. The A.I. is still questionable though, but it's not as bad as other titles I have played.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are in a slump for 360 software right now. If you're like me, you're willing to play almost anything just to have a new game that doesn't suck horrendously. If you're looking for a stealth adventure that involves alot of patience and willingness to learn, Hitman could be the game for you to play until Gears of War or another AAA title comes out. I'd go ahead and give it a rental before buying if I were you, but if you are a Hitman veteran, I'd say just go ahead and pick it up. It's the best in the series as far as I can tell. All in all, not as disappointing as I originally thought. Sorry for the premature review for those who caught it before I could change it. But hey, you never know when a game like this is just going to grow on you. In the end, I like it.