Hitman: Blood Money

Added May 30th, 2006 by T.S. McLaughlin - ''Chakan''

Codename 47 is back in a very new iteration of the one-of-a-kind Hitman series. Agent 47 is on his way to the Americas and he’s bringing his unique brand of justice and fun with him. This time around he’s added a few new additions to his menu of fun and destruction including the obviously new locales of an Amusement Park, Mississippi, New Orleans (during Mardi Gras much less), Las Vegas, “The Suburbs”, Paris, the Rocky Mountains, California, Washington D.C., and even a jaunt southward into Chile. A “notoriety” system will have to be managed as he completes his contracts so he can keep this region’s 24 hour cable news journalists and general media obsessions off his back. Additionally, money earned from 47’s contracts will allow them to upgrade their weapons to suit their play style right down to the sound, recoil, rate of fire, damage, reload speed, accuracy and zoom. A new plot will also have the player on their toes as a competing agency seeks to setup 47 for an early demise while systematically killing off his support-system, the International Contract Agency.

As you might have expected, this title is being developed for multiple platforms (PC, Xbox, Xbox 360, and the PS2). As you also might expect this multi-platform development model includes a mix of last-gen and next-gen hardware reflected in certain aspects of the game engine. Despite the “all new” version of IO Interactive’s “Glacier Engine” some of the game-play and some of the enemy AI seem to react a bit less dynamically than the player might have hoped. In addition, the character models are a mixed bag of great face modeling and poor body and clothing modeling. For example, while 47’s character model and his clothing makes him look like he just stepped out of James Bond’s Monaco “Next Generation” dry cleaners, the enemies look like they had their models and clothes made up at the “Fuzz-Factory”… which is apparently a Chinese laundry down in an LA ghetto on Last-Generation Avenue.

Granted the recently released demo is just a demo and a training level on top of that, but it was (at the best) a poor choice of demos for what Hitman most likely will have to offer its buyers. Many of the sounds were fascinatingly repetitive and astoundingly annoying. For example, no player of the demo who spent time outside marveling at the good sides of the newly enhanced “Glacier Engine” (the great stylistic art, textures, lighting, draw distance, and perspective, not to mention exquisitely modeled water) could have possibly not been driven mad by the four-second long looping of the world’s most irritating seagulls. This repetitive and annoying sound issue kept cropping up throughout the demo and damaged the experience. Each room was meant to teach the player something about the game-play. While this can be good in a retail game it makes for a bad demo choice as the player choices are limited to playing through the levels as mass-murdering psychopath or an elegantly professional assassin who follows all the objectives just as he told to do.

Shortcuts were inevitably taken to create the demo. The character modeling and some close-up details of many in-room objects look ripped right from the last generation. The HUD and controls also will take a player some getting used to. The retail version is bound to offer a lot more of what Hitman fans want to truly see: creativity in scenery and killing opportunities, and fun, dynamic ways to complete a mission.

The production values will not be lacking in this game. One sit-through of the opening scene with the gorgeously theatric version of Ave Maria overtop of equally gorgeous CG backdrops sets the tone for the now familiar mournful soul that represents Codename 47’s conflicted “white hat hero in a black-suit” character archetype. No one quote emotes this better than Eidos’ Mr. #47. The full theatrical trailer that also comes with the demo shows what could be called 47’s anti-thesis character taunting him… a man in a white suit… essentially a “black hat-wearing evil doer in a white suit” character who I, personally, cannot wait to find out more about.

The closing scenes of the demo also hint at some of the game’s possible genius. Instead of an after-game report with the typical statistics and ratings, the player is presented with a dynamic newspaper report of hilarious reporting that is accurate down to the detail. There are two main articles on what happened during your mission. The first narrative breaks down how you completed your mission (whether you were a marksman or an untalented schlock with a gun etc.), what evidence you left behind and how many people and innocents you killed. The second article seems to be a write-up of any of your unspoken side missions (in the demo it was taking down the drug-ring operating within the amusement park). There are other articles and ads too. Some are there for well-executed comic effect, others for their background-story value. This feature is about downright exhilarating to read as you soak in the glories of all your details and people’s reactions to them. The other articles also may be giving hints on other issues evolving in the story down the road, so keep your eyes peeled and read it all in.

I expect this game to do quite well despite its obvious issues. It’s still a unique brand of indulgent fun with an increasingly sympathetic character and some effectively added new game-play elements that will really enhance the game’s replay and fun factors.