Hitman: Blood Money

[Drozdov]

Just got this yesterday after playing the demo. I think this is a game a lot of you would appreciate, even if you're not a fan of the Hitman series. I liked the original Hitman, but not Hitman 2 so I didn't get Hitman: Contracts. Blood Money is more of a return to the original spirit of Hitman: killing people because you're paid to do it, not because you're a hero who likes to save the world. It makes it a much more unique and original game.

Its main strength is the amount of thinking you have to do before you go for your target. You really need to walk around for a long time before you make a move, because one mistake and it all goes up in flames. And unlike previous games, there's not only one or two ways of taking your target out - there's a much bigger range, and the new 'accident' system is great. It allows you to make people you've killed appear to have died accidental deaths - make it look like a suicide by pushing them out of windows or over the edge of cliffs, make it look as though a chandelier just happened to drop on their heads when they just happened to be under it, cover their barbecue in lighter fluid so whoever next uses it goes on fire... And also, I like the fact that now you can't leave witnesses behind - if anybody's seen you, you'd better take them out or you'll have to bribe them after the mission to keep your face out of the papers. Same with CCTV cameras - get caught on them and you'll have to remove the tape. You can upgrade weapons and equipment with the money you receive for hits, buy silencers, different ammo (e.g. low velocity ammo for reduced noise and recoil), laser sights and various types of scope...

All in all it's a game that should appeal to tactical thinkers - it doesn't reward you for just going in and blasting everything, and there's a lot of freedom in deciding how you will go about your job. And another thing, it's not like other games which give you freedom of choice -  in those, whatever you can do will be the right thing to do. In Blood Money, just because you can do it doesn't mean it's the smartest thing to do, or that it'll even work at all. Makes a nice change.

There are some bad points - the AI is still unrealistically predictable - they have their routines and stick to them, even if it means drinking coffee in a room, going to a balcony and smoking for a while, then coming back to the room and drinking coffee again over and over (which of course gives you a nice opportunity to put poison in the coffee). And some guards seem to have an unending desire to go to the toilet.

Download the demo from here. Bear in mind the demo is more of a demonstration of some of the different techniques than a proper mission itself, and be prepared for ludicrous over-the-top gangsta talk.

[Jason]

There are some bad points - the AI is still unrealistically predictable - they have their routines and stick to them, even if it means drinking coffee in a room, going to a balcony and smoking for a while, then coming back to the room and drinking coffee again over and over (which of course gives you a nice opportunity to put poison in the coffee). And some guards seem to have an unending desire to go to the toilet.

Yeah this can be a good and a bad thing. It will affect the replay value I can imagine, unless it is like SWAT 4 and the AI routines change when the map reloads?

The game sounds extremely cool, not sure if it's the right game for kids to play though It definitely sounds like a new take on strategy and tactical thinking, can you compare it to any other game? Does it get dull or boring with all the "waiting"?

The demo is 759MB

Please post some screenshots if you can

[Drozdov]

I'm sure many kids would love it, but it's not a game for sensitive people to play. It does come with an 18 rating here in the UK.

The AI predictability is a good thing because it means you can easily set up little ambushes for people rather than just having to shoot them. Of course, it makes your job as a sneaky hitman unrealistically easy because you know what your target is going to do and which food/drink to poison. So far I've only shot one person - I much prefer pushing them off of things or poisoning their drink/food, and if I want to take their clothes as a disguise I prefer to sedate them by injection.

All it can really be compared to is the previous Hitman games, on which it's a big improvement. Maybe Splinter Cell, but I've not played that and Hitman must have much mroe ways of taking people out.

The demo is worth the download, although as I said in itself it's not a great mission, but it's a good demonstration of most of the sneaky techniques you can use. 759 MB isn't that big for a demo these days!

I'll post some screens later if I can get round to it.

[Oldih]

I have only played Hitman - Codename 47 and it was excellent overall but the AI was major letdown back then, and I got bored to the game after completing it like over 10 times in a row.

A guy I know told that Blood Money is decent but bit more action-based than sneaking-based. However, the ending of the game is something you´re going to remember in gaming industry.

SPOILERZ
I´m not gonna tell the ending 
/SPOILERZ

[Drozdov]

I don't think it's more action-based, I'd say the opposite in fact. Hitman: Codename 47 was a great game, but just too short, and the Columbian and Dutch campaigns pretty much required you to go Rambo.

So far in Blood Money, as I've said, I've only used my gun once, in about 8 missions. Maybe it gets more action oriented later, we'll see...

[Oldih]

Columbian and Dutch campaigns pretty much required you to go Rambo.

True, but I counted it as minor setback considering otherwise very special theme for a game.

But one thing is for sure, you´re gonna love the ending.

[Drozdov]

Agreed, but with no saves that second Colombian mission was a real pain in the arse. Still think the Hong Kong campaign is the best part of all the Hitman games, although I might change my mind by the end of Blood Money.

Here's some screenshots for you, possible spoilers but nothing too important:

Well, that's just asking for trouble...

... and trouble he gets.

Hitman takes some doughnuts for hungry FBI agents...

... woops, must have been a bad batch!

At least they had a stylish uniform for him...

Tragic barbecue accident...

Even sniper rifles come flat-packed these days...

Viewing the crowd through a scope...


Graphically the game is fine, and I've been able to run it with all details set to the maximum, despite the fact I don't have a super-spec PC (GeForce 6600 GT with 128 MB RAM, 2.8 GHz P4, 1 gb RAM - not normally enough to run new games on anything more than medium settings).