The bald, bar coded Agent 47 has seen more stealthy action in his many years than just about any other silent protagonist out there. The Hitman series of games has always been one that tested gamer’s minds as well as their reflexes and Hitman: Bloody Money raises the bar once again. Being one of the most open ended games available, Hitman lets you figure out how to complete missions on your own, many different ways, finding out which course of action works the best and which way will get you in and out without being noticed. With the same principles as the previous games in place, not fixing what isn’t broken, Blood Money adds some interesting new features to make the tension even higher and the missions all that much more complicated.

Hitman: Blood Money follows the smooth and shiny cranium of Agent 47 through 13, all new missions which are told in a past tense, relayed through in-between mission cut scenes. The scenes move the story along while instead of just being told what has happened, you actually play through it and find out for yourself. It seems that some rich and influential persons have become antsy at the notion that there is a clone walking around in the world with the honor of being one of the best assassins ever. They want to put and end to him and end the issue of clones of perfection actually existing. Not being one that is easily tracked and hunted, someone is about to be in a world of hurt.

Hitman: Blood Money uses the same ideology as the previous entries in the Hitman series such as trying to be unnoticed as possible, using costume changes and very open ended missions. Being able to complete a mission 2 or 3 different ways is not unheard of and gives the game a high replay value to play missions over and over again. Some of the new additions to Blood Money include improved enemy A.I., a notoriety system, upgrading weapons and being able to kill people to make it look like an accident. If there are enemies standing close to railings or ledges, they can be walked up on and pushed over to make it look like they fell or jumped. Also you are able to have an object crash down on victims from above or rig items so that they malfunction when a target goes to operate them. The notoriety feature is something that is calculated at the end of each mission in a summary of your feats. When a mission is completed, you will be shown the front page of a newspaper that will tell the story of what happened during the mission and how well you did. It will tell you shots fired, how many witnesses spotted you and how many bodies were found.

After you are given the summary of your actions, your notoriety rating will reflect how well you did. The more bodies found and witnesses that spotted you, the higher it will go. The higher it goes, the more difficult future missions will be. People will be able to recognize you easier and will blow your cover much quicker. Notoriety can be lowered by paying bribes or getting a total makeover which will completely wipe out all the notoriety you have garnered. To be able to do this, you need to hand over some big bucks, not some nickels and dimes. After each mission, while you are given your rating, you will receive money for how well or poorly you completed the mission. This money can then be used to lower your notoriety, for upgrades on your weapons or clues during missions. When you select your weapons at the beginning of each mission, you are given the option of being able to upgrade each. Upgrades range from better accuracy, quieter weapon discharges and being able to hold more ammunition. As the missions progress, you will need the upgrades to make life easier and to get yourself out of tricky spots when you find yourself cornered.

Along with the usual silver ballers, fiber wire and sniper rifle, Agent 47 can now use melee attacks like head butts and disarm maneuvers to get out of close encounters as well as hiding in closets and climbing through windows. Hitman: Blood Money is another worthy addition to the series and the new features make it all that much better. The interesting and diverse missions are something that any fans of Hitman will love to see returned and the open ended missions are as cunning and devious as ever, giving you many options on how to complete each mission. If you haven’t given any Hitman game a chance in the past, you definitely should give Blood Money a run through. If you have been a long time fan of the hairless hunter, then you absolutely owe it to yourself to pick this up and add it to your collection. - Jeff McAllister.