  Sometimes Agent 47 can be a pain in the neck.
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Let's face it, bald guys are just naturally cool. From Ving Rhames to Patrick Stewart to Lex Luthor, there's something about the smooth pate that conveys power, danger, intrigue and extreme sexual attractiveness.
And maybe if I keep saying that enough, it will actually become true.
Whatever your take on hairlessness, Agent 47 is definitely one bad, bald mother of an assassin. His debut PC game, 2000's Hitman: Codename 47, took a cerebral approach to the third-person shooter, tasking you with patiently setting up kills with as little muss, fuss and screaming as possible. No screaming! We're professionals here!
With Hitman: Blood Money, Danish developer IO Interactive hasn't done much to radically change the formula used in the three previous titles, except to make it a little more appealing to players who prefer run-and-gun action over stealth and subterfuge.
Blood Money is the best game in the series so far, enhancing its variety of missions with a new system for earning cash to upgrade your weapons and equipment. Or to bribe the local cops, just in case things get a little messy on one of your jobs.
Those great Danes at IO have put in a lot of hours coming up with elaborate and entertaining missions, ranging from rubbing out the groom at a redneck wedding to eliminating a corrupt target in the White House. But this time around, you're also at odds with another group of assassins who have their own agenda. Just in case things weren't complicated enough.
Each of the game's 12 levels has an abundance of means to dispose of your chosen targets, from poisoning their drinks to shoving them off a balcony to swapping out a prop stage gun for the real thing during a rehearsal. Ouch.
Or you can spend your savings on a big, shiny machinegun and walk in the front door spraying lead everywhere. Of course, even if you survive the inevitable onslaught of guards and police, you'll make no money and your picture will be plastered on the front page of the newspaper at the end of the mission (a nice new touch in this game). But hey, whatever floats your boat. Psycho.
To me, playing that way is heresy. Agent 47 is an ice-cold professional, not some bald Rambo. And thus my biggest problem with Blood Money isn't a flaw with the game, but a flaw with my own obsessive personality: I simply MUST try for the fiendishly difficult "silent assassin" rankings on every level.
To get that ranking (and, on the Xbox 360 version, the achievement points that go with it) you have to complete a mission without killing anyone except the intended targets, without raising any alarms and without leaving any of your gear behind. Fortunately, "accidents" are okay, so if you need to shove a riverboat guard over the railing or drown a henchman in a vat of wine, you're not penalized. Clearly they just slipped.
To each his own, and Blood Money allows for a nice amount of freedom in how you approach each contract. Add in new weapons, new moves and an interesting storyline, and it's a welcome addition to the series.
Plus, bald guys are cool. Or maybe we said that already.
BOTTOM LINE
The franchise gets its most solid game to date with this fourth instalment in the series. There's nothing radically new here, but it's got the best variety of missions and the best storyline of any of the Hitman titles.
WHAM! Rating: |
8 out of 10 |
ESRB Rating: |
M (Mature) |
Official Web Site: |
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