Hitman: Blood Money

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Hitman: Blood Money
Developer(s)	IO Interactive
Publisher(s)	Eidos Interactive
Engine	Glacier engine
Native resolution	Excluding Windows Version 1080i (HDTV) (Xbox 360 only) 720p (HDTV) (Xbox 360 only) 480p (EDTV) 480i (SDTV)
Version	1.2 (2006-6-21)
Platform(s)	Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360
Release date	PAL May 21, 2006 NA May 30, 2006
Genre(s)	Stealth
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: M BBFC: 18 PEGI: 18+ OFLC: MA15+
Media	DVD (1) Download
System requirements	Windows: Windows 2000/XP Pentium 4 1.5 GHz or Athlon XP equivalent 512 MB RAM DirectX 9.0c compatible video card w/ Hardware TnL and Pixel Shader 2.0 DirectX 9.0c Compatible Sound Card Quad-speed (4x) DVD-Rom Drive 5.0GB free disk space.

Hitman: Blood Money is a stealth game developed by IO Interactive, published by Eidos Interactive and directed by Rasmus Højengaard. It is the fourth entry in the Hitman video game series and was released on May 26 in Europe and on May 30 in the United States, 2006^[1] for the PlayStation 2, PC, Xbox and Xbox 360. A Mobile Phone version under the same name was also released but with drastically different gameplay, graphics and overall style. ^[2]

The story follows the life of professional hitman Agent 47, as narrated in cutscenes by a former director of the FBI to a journalist who is interviewing him at his home. The wheelchair-bound ex-director recounts how his agency tracked 47 over a two-year period. The tone of the Blood Money, in complete contrast with the dark and depressing mood of the previous game, is operatic and often veers into the larger-than-life, recalling elements of the 'world-traveller' grandeur of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin. The game also differs from the original three in that several contracts are carried out in civilian areas, as opposed to the "covert ops" settings of Codename 47, Silent Assassin, and Contracts missions. A sequel has also been announced.

Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Plot 3 Controversy 4 Reviews and awards 5 Soundtrack 6 References 7 See also 8 External links

[edit] Gameplay

The basics of Blood Money are similar to past entries in the series; each mission is framed around the killings of one or more individuals, which the player character (Agent 47) must accomplish. Standing between him and success are armed guards, security checkpoints and other obstacles. The player guides 47 through the game's levels with the help of a satellite map which can be accessed at any time. The map indicates the layout of each topographical area of the level, the whereabouts of 47's main targets, and other CPU-controlled characters. In order to carry out his mission, 47 may use any method at his disposal to eliminate his targets, regardless of witnesses or excessive violence done to bystanders. Not only rewarding stealth over bloodshed as is traditional in the series, Blood Money includes features that directly penalize the player for making too much 'noise'.

Many new features were introduced to Hitman: Blood Money. These include the capability to climb through more obstacles, improved unarmed combat, the ability to use an NPC as a human shield, improved character animations (example - face, eyes, etc), a new game engine and the ability to upgrade weapons and equipment^[3]. However, only five of the featured weapons in the game, as well as assorted pieces of equipment such as bombs and armor, can be upgraded^[3]. Every level contains some sort of method to make the target's death look like an accident^[3]; for example, tampering with someone's grill to make it explode when they turn it on, to rigging a chandelier to fall on a target, or the target 'accidentally' falling off a balcony. There are also improvised weapons, like a nailgun or a pair of hedge clippers.

A gameplay feature new to the Hitman series was also added, the "Notoriety" system. If the player, during a mission, kills innocents or civilians, gets caught on CCTV or is witnessed committing murder, Agent 47's notoriety will rise^[4]. Conversely, if the player executes the mission perfectly with none of the aforementioned events occurring, 47's notoriety will be minimal. The higher Agent 47's notoriety is, the easier it will be for NPCs to identify him. Players may use the bribery system to negate accumulated notoriety^[4]. The notoriety system is not enabled in "Rookie" mode, which also allows unlimited saves and a lower level of general difficulty.

When each mission has been completed, a newspaper article is displayed regarding the hit, in which the content varies depending on the investigation results and the player's notoriety. It will detail the weapon most frequently used, how accurately it was used, the number of police, security, and civilians killed or injured, and if there were any witnesses. Any injured people will be counted as witnesses. Depending on how many witnesses there were will affect your Notoriety. Sketch drawings are also sometimes visible of Agent 47's face, which grow progressively more accurate as 47's notoriety grows. The article's title relates to the player's mission rating. "Silent Assassin", in which you assassinate the targets as cleanly and quietly as possible, and draw no unnecessary attention to yourself (blow your cover, leave no extra bodies, etc.), is the best rating possible on all missions.

Blood Money also improved the melee weapons system, allowing the player to lethally throw certain weapons at NPCs (i.e. kitchen knives, stilletos, etc.) Once thrown into anybody, however, the weapon cannot be retrieved.

Blood Money also introduced the concept of rival assassins to the storyline^[5]. The developers created the Mark Parchezzi character as a sort of foil to the character 47, for he is "everything [Parchezzi] is not^[5]." The other "lesser" assassins were there to prove more able adversaries than "drug dealers or [similar adversaries].^[5]"

[edit] Plot

The game begins with a flashback at a Baltimore amusement park, where many people are killed in an accident caused by negligent maintenance of a ferris wheel. The father of one of the victims calls the Agency and orders a hit on the park owner, Joseph Clarence, who was cleared of all charges. 47, on the run from competitors from Europe, carries out the hit; following that assignment, he receives a string of contracts from American clients eager to hire the legendary hitman.

The bulk of the game takes place as flashback sequences that occur concordant to the present day, in which a journalist and the former FBI Director, "Jack" Alexander Leland Cayne, discuss 47's hits over the past two years (2004-2005) and his involvement in them. The reporter, Rick Henderson, arranged to interview Cayne concerning a recent attack on the White House. It quickly becomes clear that Cayne's real intent is to discuss 47. As the story progresses, it is implied that the Agency's employees are being systematically eliminated by an albino clone, a super-assassin dispatched by a western counterpart to the Agency called "The Franchise"; the situation degrades to the point where 47's controller Diana Burnwood informs him that they are the only ones left.

Diana closes down the Agency with a final contract to kill the assassins coming after them and splits the remaining funds between them. After the assignment, 47 is approached by an old acquaintance, a CIA agent named Smith, who 47 rescues from a rehabilitation clinic earlier in the game. He approaches 47 with a high-profile mission, paid for using several million dollars worth of diamonds, to prevent an assassination on the President of the United States of America Tom Stewart. The assassins are "The Franchise"'s clone assassin, Mark Parchezzi III, and the Vice President, Daniel Morris, both working for Alpha Zerox, the organization dedicated to monopolizing the cloning technology that spawned 47. They intend to assassinate the President before the elections so he may not be re elected and forward his pro-cloning stance, thereby disabling their ability to monopolize it, as "The Franchise" and its controlling parent stand to lose their military edge.

47 successfully eliminates Morris, and ensues in a shootout with Parchezzi on the roof of the White House, in which 47 implicitly kills Parchezzi. Hunted by both enemy operatives and the police, he flees to his hideout. Without warning, he is visited by Diana, immediately arousing his suspicion. Diana proposes a plan to 47 to help them both escape danger from "The Franchise". As 47 mulls over the briefing she hands him, expressing his misgivings as to the likelihood of its success, Diana injects him with a syringe, putting him into a comatose state (her apparent betrayal causes 47 to shout "Bitch!", inciting his only line of verbal aggression in the series). 47's body is surrounded by SWAT members, and Diana, announcing that killing 47 was "surprisingly pleasant", is formally inducted into "The Franchise" by Alexander Leland Cayne, its founder. The story at this point shifts to the present day; 47 is scheduled for cremation so his bone marrow cannot be harnessed by cloning rivals, forever destroying anyone else's chance of producing a non-defective clone. Diana drapes 47's custom Silverballers over his chest during his hasty funeral and kisses him after applying lipstick. It becomes apparent that the "poison" she injected was actually a fake-death serum 47 uses in an earlier assignment to smuggle Agent Smith out of the rehabilitation clinic that induces a death-like hibernative state. Diana's lipstick contains the antidote in it.

The funeral begins and the story then concludes in one of two different ways. In the first, it is presumed the antidote fails to work, and 47 descends into the crematorium. In the second, canonical ending the antidote is successful and 47 awakens, slaughtering everyone in the church (excluding Diana, who has already left - apparently locking the gates behind her to prevent witnesses from escaping) including Cayne's personal guard, the priest, Rick Henderson and Cayne himself, who is killed after falling down the church stairwell, leaving no witnesses and ultmately securing 47's identity from the public.

Sometime after the funeral massacre, Diana reopens the International Contract Agency, which overlooks the Copenhagen harbor. She receives a call from a client referred to as "Your Majesty", pushing the fact that the agency is linked in to most of the worldwide governments and powers. The voice cannot be heard, but Diana replies that the Agency has lost track of 47. Meanwhile, 47 is seen at a seedy-looking brothel engaging in conversation with a traditionally-dressed Chinese man. He is led off-screen by the man after expressing interest about what is "in the back". As 47 and the man enter a room, curtains close over the screen, followed by the credits.

[edit] Controversy

Despite the fact Blood Money has been said to be the most violent game of the series yet, the magazine ads for the game generated more controversy than the title which spawned them.^[6] The ad that drew the most attention and protest depicted a woman lying on a bed in lingerie, seemingly asleep but with a bullet hole in her forehead.^[7] The caption above the picture read: "Beautifully Executed" a pun regarding the woman's appearance and her fate. Other ads were "Classically Executed", featuring a cellist with a slit throat, "Coldly Executed", showing a body in a freezer, and "Shockingly Executed", depicting a woman in a bath who has been electrocuted by a toaster.

[edit] Reviews and awards

Reviews

Publication	Score
GameSpot	8.2/10[8]
Game Trailers	7.9/10[9]
IGN	8/10[10]
Official PlayStation Magazine UK	9/10
GameSpy	4.5/5[11]
Official Xbox Magazine	8.5/10
PC Gamer	81/100

Blood Money received generally favorable reviews upon release, with an average critic score of 83% for the Xbox 360^[12] and PlayStation 2^[13] versions and 82% for the Xbox^[14] and PC^[15] at Game Rankings.

Many critics felt the game was an improvement over the previous Hitman titles, with Official PlayStation Magazine UK calling it “without question the best Hitman yet”. Other critics shared this thought, despite feeling that the basic gameplay elements were similar, if not unchanged from the previous installments, with GameSpot stating the “the underlying stealth action is mostly unchanged” while “a diverse sequence of imaginative scenarios gives Blood Money its own fair share of violent thrills.”^[8] GameSpy praised the expanded scope and options in each level, such as making kills appear as accidents, that “the game features enough choices and entertaining kills to have you playing some missions more than once, striving for that elusive Silent Assassin rating.”^[11]

The soundtrack was also considered one of the game’s strong points, with IGN noted the “impressive orchestral compositions”,^[10] while Game Trailers felt it “drives your emotions throughout each evolving mission”^[9] and was even nominated for Best Original Music in GameSpot’s Best and Worst Awards 2006.

While new features and additions to the series were praised, some critics felt the Notoriety system was “underutilized”^[11] and “half-baked”^[8] while others pointed issues from the previous Hitman games still being present, notably with the AI. Game Trailers found that “some enemies behave erratically in specific situations taking you out of the experience”.^[9] TeamXbox said they couldn’t “really see any more alertness or cleverness on the part of the CPU than in Hitman Contracts”.^[16] The Xbox 360 version was singled out by some reviewers given the high price compared the other versions considering the graphical enhancements not fully utilizing the system’s capabilities.

Blood Money was voted Game Of The Year 2006 by BBC Scotland's videoGaiden.

[edit] Soundtrack

Main article: Hitman: Blood Money Original Soundtrack

The score was, like all other Hitman games, composed by Jesper Kyd.

The song "Ave Maria" featured during the menu, opening sequence, final mission and at other points in the game is "Ave Maria" by Franz Shubert as part of his Ellens dritter Gesang Suite.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Hitman Triple Pack
• Hitman (series)
  • Hitman: Codename 47
  • Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
  • Hitman: Contracts
• Hitman (2007 film)
• Agent 47

[edit] External links

• Hitman: Blood Money Official website
• GameDaily Biz Article on ad controversy
• GameDaily PC Article on ad controversy
• Franz Schubert - "Ave Maria" (Ellens dritter Gesang)Wikipedia link for Theme Tune Ave Maria
• Hitman: Blood Money at MobyGames

v • d • e Hitman series Video games Codename 47 · Silent Assassin · Contracts · Blood Money Soundtracks Codename 47 / Silent Assassin · Contracts · Blood Money Other media Hitman (film) · Enemy Within (book) Related articles Agent 47 · Characters · Hitman Triple Pack