A bit different from the rest of the games in the series. Some things might take some getting used to for some fan boys but in the long run they make the game more fun. The best game I've played sine MGS 3 Subsistance. Well worth the price tag. The way of killing your targets is more intense and thrilling. Although I haven't beaten it yet i have a feeling that when i do I will be replaying it many times. Fans of the old series and new players will find the game-play very immersing and at some points challenging. With there being about five ways to perfectly complete one level the player gets a sense of freedom and control of Agent 47. It is in your face and sadistic at points. Hope others agree with me.
18 Reviews
Best Stealth title of the year? Maybe...
eboli2120 June 2006
Hit-man: Blood Money (played on the PS2) creeped me out right from the start. Not in a manner quite like Contracts, the 2004 installment of the awesome series, but in a different way. The main menus consist of what appears to be the protagonist's, Agent 47's, funeral, while Schubert's Ave Maria plays softly yet hauntingly in the background. This is just one of the many ways that Blood Money twists with your mind and makes you question your morality and sanity. This is, no doubt, one of the best games of the year so far, and aside from a few glaring flaws, is the best installment yet in the Hit-man franchise.
The major flaw in Blood Money is the way it begins. The beginning is dark, melodramatic, and moody, taking place at an abandoned amusement park, but the structure isn't as smooth as levels in the other Hit-man titles, and the game leads you by the nose for the entire level, effectively removing the open-ended nature of the series. But when you are past this training level, it's Blood Money to the Big Leagues time, with 47 taking no prisoners in a dark, violent tale of conspiracy and intrigue. It's a very compelling story, combining the international appeal of Silent Assassin with the brutish, disturbing nature of Contracts.
One of the best additions to the game is the Accident system. This will change the way you play Hit-man. It allows you to place explosives, poison foods, switch items and loosen bolts to sabotage your target's lives in cunning displays of ingenuity. These 'accidents' (ranging from pushing people from balconies to fake suicide, to forcing chandeliers to fall large heights before hitting anything remotely resembling a target) play perfectly into the Notoriety system, which tracks your mission stats and compiles them into a faux newspaper clipping. These stats, including your hit ratio, number of times seen, and the amount of people killed, factor into how well the enemy will recognise you in the next mission. It's a great concept, but don't worry about this one in the lower two difficulty levels; Notoriety is barely recognizable on the Normal setting, and doesn't even exist on Rookie.
Hit-man: Blood Money is a very good game in danger of being overlooked by the average gamer this year. In 2006, we've seen the jaw-dropping Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, a game I consider the best stealth title ever. Later this year, we'll be getting Splinter Cell: Double Agent, promising a true, next-gen experience on the Xbox 360. Hit-man: Blood Money, however, should not be overlooked; it is a near-perfect example of how to do a game right. It is, by far, the most mature game I've ever played. The story is deep, involving, and serious. The games industry has a problem with maturity, leading to many doubting the veracity of gaming as a whole. Hit-man sets the bar for maturity, and all other games strive to that mark. Jesper Kyd's orchestral-eletronica soundtrack is also phenomenal (as always), being the best thing to hit my ears this year.
If you play any games at all, and care for intelligence in your entertainment, by all means, play Hit-man: Blood Money.
Now.
The major flaw in Blood Money is the way it begins. The beginning is dark, melodramatic, and moody, taking place at an abandoned amusement park, but the structure isn't as smooth as levels in the other Hit-man titles, and the game leads you by the nose for the entire level, effectively removing the open-ended nature of the series. But when you are past this training level, it's Blood Money to the Big Leagues time, with 47 taking no prisoners in a dark, violent tale of conspiracy and intrigue. It's a very compelling story, combining the international appeal of Silent Assassin with the brutish, disturbing nature of Contracts.
One of the best additions to the game is the Accident system. This will change the way you play Hit-man. It allows you to place explosives, poison foods, switch items and loosen bolts to sabotage your target's lives in cunning displays of ingenuity. These 'accidents' (ranging from pushing people from balconies to fake suicide, to forcing chandeliers to fall large heights before hitting anything remotely resembling a target) play perfectly into the Notoriety system, which tracks your mission stats and compiles them into a faux newspaper clipping. These stats, including your hit ratio, number of times seen, and the amount of people killed, factor into how well the enemy will recognise you in the next mission. It's a great concept, but don't worry about this one in the lower two difficulty levels; Notoriety is barely recognizable on the Normal setting, and doesn't even exist on Rookie.
Hit-man: Blood Money is a very good game in danger of being overlooked by the average gamer this year. In 2006, we've seen the jaw-dropping Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, a game I consider the best stealth title ever. Later this year, we'll be getting Splinter Cell: Double Agent, promising a true, next-gen experience on the Xbox 360. Hit-man: Blood Money, however, should not be overlooked; it is a near-perfect example of how to do a game right. It is, by far, the most mature game I've ever played. The story is deep, involving, and serious. The games industry has a problem with maturity, leading to many doubting the veracity of gaming as a whole. Hit-man sets the bar for maturity, and all other games strive to that mark. Jesper Kyd's orchestral-eletronica soundtrack is also phenomenal (as always), being the best thing to hit my ears this year.
If you play any games at all, and care for intelligence in your entertainment, by all means, play Hit-man: Blood Money.
Now.
A great game.....
Gunmaster4531 August 2007
This game can have mixed results among different people. Some can't figure things out for themselves after level one and give up after dying 40 times. This game is all about having a game plan and a good strategy. If you don't you'll just be playing a very hard shooting game. The game is very rewarding when you do everything perfect. You get such a satisfied feeling when you flawlessly complete your mission and see that "Silent Assassin" rating on the screen. The reason this is different from other Hit men games is that it has many new things. Populated areas(no more dark, guard ridden areas), New guns, weapon upgrade systems, and now it is easier to hide bodies. If you know what you are doing, this game is very fun. The only major flaw is the saving system. All in game saves are wiped when you leave or even restart the level by accident.(although, I usually beat each level and then saved, making it less of a problem to me.) Even though there are many guns in the game, a "silent assassin" will never need them for more than using them to grab a human shield to knock people out. If your a patient gamer with good wits, you'll love this game. If you're a "terrorist", you'll be infuriated by the games small health bar and over active AI. (One person busts you, and everyone knows.) Games like Metal Gear Solid solved problems like this years before by simply giving guards radios. The news paper is a very clever way to show how you did. It also lets you know how accurate you are. Do bad and your a "A shooter of limited skill, and dangerous enthusiasm." Do good and your a "Talented Marksman as few shots were wasted." This game is definitely worth while. A must buy. 10/10 And now for pros and cons and etc. Good: Very satisfying when done right, lots of problems from first games fixed. Bad: Small health slot, over active AI, and bad save system. Should have: added more sniping opportunities. They put four sniper rifles in the game and no high towers to shoot target from. :(
Blood pays well
Targetius10 May 2007
I have to say that "Hitman" games (and I mean pretty much all of them) are great. The first one maybe a bit better in some ways than the second one, but that's irrelevant and everyone can decide by themselves.
Anyway, I think that "Hitman: Blood Money" is a nice upgrade to the series. It has pretty much everything good that there was before and some new things too. One of the newer things is killing the targets by making a fake accident. That's great, but basically it could make you feel a bit that "it's the only real" or "right way" to go with the mission. That might limit the freedom a little, but of course you can still kill your targets in the old fashioned way. That's still absolutely only your choice, and the accident is only one more way to eliminate your personal VIP.
One interesting thing is also the newspaper that appears to the screen right after the mission. Eventually your face can get to the front page if you're seen by too many people, or if you don't bribe anyone. The newspaper always talks about your last murder. That's one thing I noticed to be a bit annoying, since even if you don't kill anyone and make the murder look like an accident, they still magically know that it was a murder.
However, in the end, "Hitman: Blood Money" is a great game. The story might not be extremely interesting or unpredictable, but it's much more interesting to follow than nothing. And many of the missions are very great. You get a lot of money, but if you try to be as silent as possible, you don't have to use 'em that much. I'd recommend this to everyone who wants to be a virtual hit-man for a while, as well as to everyone who likes previous "Hitman" games.
Anyway, I think that "Hitman: Blood Money" is a nice upgrade to the series. It has pretty much everything good that there was before and some new things too. One of the newer things is killing the targets by making a fake accident. That's great, but basically it could make you feel a bit that "it's the only real" or "right way" to go with the mission. That might limit the freedom a little, but of course you can still kill your targets in the old fashioned way. That's still absolutely only your choice, and the accident is only one more way to eliminate your personal VIP.
One interesting thing is also the newspaper that appears to the screen right after the mission. Eventually your face can get to the front page if you're seen by too many people, or if you don't bribe anyone. The newspaper always talks about your last murder. That's one thing I noticed to be a bit annoying, since even if you don't kill anyone and make the murder look like an accident, they still magically know that it was a murder.
However, in the end, "Hitman: Blood Money" is a great game. The story might not be extremely interesting or unpredictable, but it's much more interesting to follow than nothing. And many of the missions are very great. You get a lot of money, but if you try to be as silent as possible, you don't have to use 'em that much. I'd recommend this to everyone who wants to be a virtual hit-man for a while, as well as to everyone who likes previous "Hitman" games.
Hit-man: Blood Money
tbenson-125-6249035 April 2012
This game has got to be one of my favourite games. I've had it for years and usually play it on my laptop when I just want to relax.
CONTROLS 10/10 The controls in the game are very easy to understand and using them for me is not a problem. I am using the default controls(w,s,a,d), and they are fine. Controls are customisable.
FUN FACTOR 9/10 Most of the levels in this game have no time limit, and this means you can take your time to do what you need to do. The missions have a very good story line, and not once in the game do you feel like you are playing a slight repeat of a different mission. There are 13 missions and each one has a completely different environment. I have played every mission countless times and each time I will try something different each time.
GRAPHICS 7/10 This game was released in 2006. At the time, the graphics looked very detailed. Playing it now looks very different to my first opinion. The detail in the environments is extremely high and I will reward that 5/5. On the other hand, the people let me down. In other games, they would have random clothed people so you would not see the same people twice(most of the time,anyway), but in this game, the number of different NPCs is limited. Another thing that caught my attention was that nearly every man in the game looked extremely strong. Plus, all women except for supermodels are chubby.
RE-PLAYABILITY 9.5/10 All the missions are re-playable. In each mission, there is no direct way of completing. There are a a number of weapons and secrets scattered around the maps. Every time you re-play a mission, you are very likely to do something different.
SOUND 8/10 The game has an exclusive soundtrack by Geoff Zanelli. The music is orchestral and suits the game perfectly.Although, I have heard snippets of certain scores in Hit-man: Contracts. It was very brief, but shows that some of the scores were made before this game. The voice talent is, well, talented! The accents are very authentic and the acting is brilliant.
OVERALL 9/10 As I said before, this game is very fun and has logic and meaning behind it. I recommend this game to anyone who likes this sort of gameplay.
CONTROLS 10/10 The controls in the game are very easy to understand and using them for me is not a problem. I am using the default controls(w,s,a,d), and they are fine. Controls are customisable.
FUN FACTOR 9/10 Most of the levels in this game have no time limit, and this means you can take your time to do what you need to do. The missions have a very good story line, and not once in the game do you feel like you are playing a slight repeat of a different mission. There are 13 missions and each one has a completely different environment. I have played every mission countless times and each time I will try something different each time.
GRAPHICS 7/10 This game was released in 2006. At the time, the graphics looked very detailed. Playing it now looks very different to my first opinion. The detail in the environments is extremely high and I will reward that 5/5. On the other hand, the people let me down. In other games, they would have random clothed people so you would not see the same people twice(most of the time,anyway), but in this game, the number of different NPCs is limited. Another thing that caught my attention was that nearly every man in the game looked extremely strong. Plus, all women except for supermodels are chubby.
RE-PLAYABILITY 9.5/10 All the missions are re-playable. In each mission, there is no direct way of completing. There are a a number of weapons and secrets scattered around the maps. Every time you re-play a mission, you are very likely to do something different.
SOUND 8/10 The game has an exclusive soundtrack by Geoff Zanelli. The music is orchestral and suits the game perfectly.Although, I have heard snippets of certain scores in Hit-man: Contracts. It was very brief, but shows that some of the scores were made before this game. The voice talent is, well, talented! The accents are very authentic and the acting is brilliant.
OVERALL 9/10 As I said before, this game is very fun and has logic and meaning behind it. I recommend this game to anyone who likes this sort of gameplay.
Hit-man fully evolved
kumar_amit-517-86632123 November 2012
Warning: Spoilers
This game was ahead of it's time. The creative level design, AI, manipulating the environment, tools and balanced all these things together to form a great game that you can easily immerse yourself in
You are thrust upon a small sandbox to experiment with. A street, a hotel, a club, a party. your mission; use your tools, knowledge and things you discover to assassinate a target. You are given information before hand to help you - a drug deal is taking place kill the buyer etc. and you see what's going on and adapt. As you walk around trying to find out more information and gain access to restricted areas by means of sneaking and disguises you may think to yourself shall I take up a sniper position, or should i disguise myself and get in close, plant a bomb..pretend to be the drug dealer. You can do all of these things- most of them are even accommodated with their own bonus cutscene.
I was actually surprised when I saw some donuts and I thought I wonder if I can poison them and make the FBI agents eat it.... well you can!... accompanied by its own cutscene
I was standing outside a villa thinking there's a drain pipe..leading to a window but surely it's just graphic decoration and 2006 games are restrictive maybe I shouldn't even try...and omg it let me climb it!
In the opera level someone is performing Tosca(i think).there's a scene where a fake gun is fired at the target. They do multiple rehearsals, you start thinking to yourself if I time my sniper fire to that shot can I get away with it..and proceed to gain access to the perfect sniper spot. Or you think can I replace the gun with a real one? will that work? Or you think maybe I can take the shooters place and go up on stage. All these things you can do. It's not over the top obvious as you are unsure it will work.
There is no pop-up alert saying 'shoot now', or 'do this'. You have to have had paid attention to the previous rehearsal to time it right. The anticipation before taking the risk of executing the final part of the plan (that might not be in the mechanics of the game-but surprisingly is) and the thrill when it goes to plan is what makes this game unique even to other hit-man games
And you don't have a silly radar- you have to physically look at who's around you. Also you can't suddenly make a sniper rifle or assault rifle disappear under your clothes, like the latest Hit-man. They try to keep the game realistic which adds to even more to the immersion
Hit-man games are not story driven yet there always is a loosely held together story that provides the end level climax. Only after you realise there were a few clues all along. For a game not known for it's story there really is a great ending that ties everything together. I didn't even realise it hadn't ended till a few days later when I had an epiphany and went back to it.
One of the best video game experiences I have had - and I got round to playing it in 2010 (because my PC couldn't play it in 2006). 4 years late is a long time in video game years but I was still in awe..that's how good it was
You are thrust upon a small sandbox to experiment with. A street, a hotel, a club, a party. your mission; use your tools, knowledge and things you discover to assassinate a target. You are given information before hand to help you - a drug deal is taking place kill the buyer etc. and you see what's going on and adapt. As you walk around trying to find out more information and gain access to restricted areas by means of sneaking and disguises you may think to yourself shall I take up a sniper position, or should i disguise myself and get in close, plant a bomb..pretend to be the drug dealer. You can do all of these things- most of them are even accommodated with their own bonus cutscene.
I was actually surprised when I saw some donuts and I thought I wonder if I can poison them and make the FBI agents eat it.... well you can!... accompanied by its own cutscene
I was standing outside a villa thinking there's a drain pipe..leading to a window but surely it's just graphic decoration and 2006 games are restrictive maybe I shouldn't even try...and omg it let me climb it!
In the opera level someone is performing Tosca(i think).there's a scene where a fake gun is fired at the target. They do multiple rehearsals, you start thinking to yourself if I time my sniper fire to that shot can I get away with it..and proceed to gain access to the perfect sniper spot. Or you think can I replace the gun with a real one? will that work? Or you think maybe I can take the shooters place and go up on stage. All these things you can do. It's not over the top obvious as you are unsure it will work.
There is no pop-up alert saying 'shoot now', or 'do this'. You have to have had paid attention to the previous rehearsal to time it right. The anticipation before taking the risk of executing the final part of the plan (that might not be in the mechanics of the game-but surprisingly is) and the thrill when it goes to plan is what makes this game unique even to other hit-man games
And you don't have a silly radar- you have to physically look at who's around you. Also you can't suddenly make a sniper rifle or assault rifle disappear under your clothes, like the latest Hit-man. They try to keep the game realistic which adds to even more to the immersion
Hit-man games are not story driven yet there always is a loosely held together story that provides the end level climax. Only after you realise there were a few clues all along. For a game not known for it's story there really is a great ending that ties everything together. I didn't even realise it hadn't ended till a few days later when I had an epiphany and went back to it.
One of the best video game experiences I have had - and I got round to playing it in 2010 (because my PC couldn't play it in 2006). 4 years late is a long time in video game years but I was still in awe..that's how good it was
greatest game in the world
asim34522-131 March 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I really wanted to play Hit-man Blood Money and when I had completed it I loved it! Most certainly the best game I've played in my entire life. I was obsessed with it! Also the graphics was great and the game was very logical. You can place bombs on chandeliers, wait until the target is under it then detonate the bomb. The chandelier's chain will blow up and it will fall down and crush the target making it look like an accident. Now let's get to violence-this game is very very very very very very very VERY violent. It is so violent it makes Grand Theft Auto look like a game for a 3 year-old. Excellent plot and you can do more things. Best game EVER, 10/10 for effort, 10/10 for graphics and a definite 10/10 for violence. PLay the game. If you are a blood thirsty game player play this game. It will do more than satisfy you, I can guarantee you that.
You won't mind the flaws
bulleetz3723522 November 2008
Warning: Spoilers
What the game is about is obvious, you're a hired goon going around bumping off targets in a covert manner for a top government contracting agency. Things go a bit dodgy when other goons start muscling in on you due to the events surrounding your hit-man's incarnation. So, with this in mind you get the idea that you're doing this stuff whilst being targeted yourself. Clever.
Besides the plot, which is okay and logical enough, the general gameplay is astounding. Sure it's violent, but it's called a hit-man, as said, some goon killing people, it's bound to be, that's why it's got an 18 certificate. If you're into a bit of pixelated violence then you're in for a treat.
And to be honest, as some over-exaggerate, it's not overtly violent at all, you get used to it after a while. But it's never mundane, from crushing skulls with claw hammers and other random tools you find lying around, to merely wandering around shooting people, even drugging people can have numerous applications that connect it with fun, which is endless. If you want carefree murderous fun, and to control an avatar with a barcode on the back of his head, then Hit-man's Agent 47 will not disappoint.
It's not just an exercise of puerile murder sprees though, although it can be amusing. Each level has the advantage of endless replayability. Depending on how stealthy and clever you are, you'll get a rating, ranging from Mad Butcher to Silent Assassin. If you want to get the top reward, then you need to plan your mission, utilise the environment to provoke accidental deaths that you won't be blamed for, which are hilarious. From pianos falling on heads to sabotaged cooking appliances. (P.S. If you want a special rating, do go around missions with hand-held tools butchering everyone. You'll get a namesake worth cherishing - 'Evil Eye Gouger' being one such thing that made me laugh, for a bit. And made me feel proud - it's loads of fun, but not easy. You'll see when you attack gun-wielding pigs with nothing but a shovel).
Furthermore the notoriety feature is also something to care about, if you leave mayhem and a gaggle of witnesses you're going to be suspected on the next assignment, unless you bribe people, which you may not have the money for. If you want a way around this, I suggest killing everyone if you think you've screwed the mission up, no one alive, no witnesses. Seriously, you can go berserk on this game, and that never gets boring.
The general graphics are pretty good. The worlds you stalk are large, full of unique opportunities for 47 to take advantage of, and extremely varied, from massive casinos to boats.
There are a few problems though. Glitches mainly: 1) It crashes. I tried killing with a spade and a fire extinguisher and a knife on differing occasions. And it seemed that if I did too much of this I would find the game crash as I tried to hit someone, after which many people had been killed. 2) People don't always die! Shooting some people in the head may cause said bloke to freeze and meh, he won't die. Even if you try blowing him up. Hence, he'll be a witness and you're buggered if you want a top rating. 3) Sometimes people will appear in floors, and in walls and the place will look like some diabolical Andy Warhol thing. It can be very annoying.
4) I would have liked more levels to get my teeth into, but that doesn't matter really.
Overall these flaws won't bother you. You can happily reboot and get on with it again if it crashes. The numerous ways of completing a silent hit, and the four different difficulty levels mean you can attempt it in various modes, and in various ways. Making the 'serious' game play rewarding, mature and something that won't become boring very quickly.
And, if you fancy stalking corridors for the laugh, if you're bored perhaps, then that's cool too. To just ferry your man from place to place 'doing in' all who stand in your way is an utter joy, and along with some of the in-game quirks and jokes (Such as Clown Antics to Love-Starved old ladies) you'll be surprised at the heart this game seems to have, it's nice that it isn't just a relenting murder saga.
All of this put together ensures that you will never be short of a good time at the control of the greatest professional killer the world has ever seen. Highly recommended save game glitches.
8/10
Besides the plot, which is okay and logical enough, the general gameplay is astounding. Sure it's violent, but it's called a hit-man, as said, some goon killing people, it's bound to be, that's why it's got an 18 certificate. If you're into a bit of pixelated violence then you're in for a treat.
And to be honest, as some over-exaggerate, it's not overtly violent at all, you get used to it after a while. But it's never mundane, from crushing skulls with claw hammers and other random tools you find lying around, to merely wandering around shooting people, even drugging people can have numerous applications that connect it with fun, which is endless. If you want carefree murderous fun, and to control an avatar with a barcode on the back of his head, then Hit-man's Agent 47 will not disappoint.
It's not just an exercise of puerile murder sprees though, although it can be amusing. Each level has the advantage of endless replayability. Depending on how stealthy and clever you are, you'll get a rating, ranging from Mad Butcher to Silent Assassin. If you want to get the top reward, then you need to plan your mission, utilise the environment to provoke accidental deaths that you won't be blamed for, which are hilarious. From pianos falling on heads to sabotaged cooking appliances. (P.S. If you want a special rating, do go around missions with hand-held tools butchering everyone. You'll get a namesake worth cherishing - 'Evil Eye Gouger' being one such thing that made me laugh, for a bit. And made me feel proud - it's loads of fun, but not easy. You'll see when you attack gun-wielding pigs with nothing but a shovel).
Furthermore the notoriety feature is also something to care about, if you leave mayhem and a gaggle of witnesses you're going to be suspected on the next assignment, unless you bribe people, which you may not have the money for. If you want a way around this, I suggest killing everyone if you think you've screwed the mission up, no one alive, no witnesses. Seriously, you can go berserk on this game, and that never gets boring.
The general graphics are pretty good. The worlds you stalk are large, full of unique opportunities for 47 to take advantage of, and extremely varied, from massive casinos to boats.
There are a few problems though. Glitches mainly: 1) It crashes. I tried killing with a spade and a fire extinguisher and a knife on differing occasions. And it seemed that if I did too much of this I would find the game crash as I tried to hit someone, after which many people had been killed. 2) People don't always die! Shooting some people in the head may cause said bloke to freeze and meh, he won't die. Even if you try blowing him up. Hence, he'll be a witness and you're buggered if you want a top rating. 3) Sometimes people will appear in floors, and in walls and the place will look like some diabolical Andy Warhol thing. It can be very annoying.
4) I would have liked more levels to get my teeth into, but that doesn't matter really.
Overall these flaws won't bother you. You can happily reboot and get on with it again if it crashes. The numerous ways of completing a silent hit, and the four different difficulty levels mean you can attempt it in various modes, and in various ways. Making the 'serious' game play rewarding, mature and something that won't become boring very quickly.
And, if you fancy stalking corridors for the laugh, if you're bored perhaps, then that's cool too. To just ferry your man from place to place 'doing in' all who stand in your way is an utter joy, and along with some of the in-game quirks and jokes (Such as Clown Antics to Love-Starved old ladies) you'll be surprised at the heart this game seems to have, it's nice that it isn't just a relenting murder saga.
All of this put together ensures that you will never be short of a good time at the control of the greatest professional killer the world has ever seen. Highly recommended save game glitches.
8/10
Near-perfect execution
TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews17 October 2008
As is more often than not true for my reviews of VGs, this is based on the PC version. This title is generally met with positive response. That is well-deserved. In almost every way, this is the greatest since the first, and in many, it's even better. This is incredibly smooth, every aspect of it, it's unbelievable how much effort was put into it, and how well and clearly it all has paid off. This is probably the best of the whole series. The freedom is quite simply extreme. If you think you can do it, it makes sense to do in the context of what your goals are, and you have or can obtain the means... you are enormously likely to be able to. This allows you to be creative with your main limitation being your own imagination. You can spend literally countless hours trying out and finding the just about infinite different methods of successfully taking out your targets, with varying degrees of secrecy. Unprecedented, at least for these. Talk about your re-playability value. Things that occurred in the others are considerably more available here. They manage to keep them from becoming flat and dull. I'd say it's because they have multiple applications, and are, honestly, darned fun to work with. Examples, you ask? How about the possibility of making your hit look like an accident? They do happen, you know. Barbecues malfunction. Heavy objects drop at inopportune times, for those that are under them as they do. Less attention can help a professional killer. That brings me to the notoriety. If you get seen or make yourself too noticeable... mass murderers tend to be... then you will, in fact, be tracked down. Your picture might get in the paper. Civilians can recognize you. That's gonna make a mess of your next assignment. Either you plan and sneak, eliminate them spot-on, without anyone knowing you were there, or you spend a hefty chunk of your reward... which also depends on your rating, the stealthier, the more... buying the trouble away. Furthermore, you always get to carry a tactical explosive with you. Sabotage or a crude... but deliciously effective, and usually untraceable... instrument to render members of the opposition, and that includes the ones you're specifically hired to remove, deceased. The choice is yours. You now always have a syringe of poison, and one that will sedate, and mostly two uses of each. They can taint foods, or you can go for the direct approach. This combination is good, and the next step for that. In this are intricately detailed briefings, more so than the others in the franchise, except for perhaps Codename: 47, as well. This makes hiding easier, both for yourself and for bodies. Someone pointed out that this does get a tad obvious... with containers big enough to hold a corpse found in a bunch of areas. The closets for the clone himself are somewhat inconspicuous. There are negatives in this... they're minuscule and seldom impact the entertainment, but not entirely nonexistent. The training bit has been brought up before, too. While it does, indeed, introduce a lot of what you can do in this, leaving little of it unrevealed, it fails in setting the tone, by not only suggesting you mow down the majority of all you meet, but largely forcing you to do so. Unwise. From then on out, every mission does let you attain the coveted SA, or Silent Assassin, if you do it right. The several marks in all of them, among other things, help ensure that this offers plenty of challenge, and to all, on account of the four difficulty settings, that are rather well defined, and you get to read precisely what each has and hasn't got, prior to any second of trying it. This has a profile system... for every completion, you can store your progress, although you aren't required to, if, for example, you weren't happy with how well you did. Note that you can't load what you've saved if you exit, if you stop playing, you have to start that one, over. The weapons of this are nice and cool, and you have a couple that you can upgrade... the iconic Silverballers, the nifty Spas 12, an M4, a Heckler & Koch MP5 and the infamous Walther 2000. We're talking, silencers, alternate ammo, accuracy, speed to name a few. The money for those would be another reason to go for "clean" play-throughs. You can now purchase "intel", hints. The level design is solid. The map leaves little, if anything, to be desired, as with most else in this. The interface is magnificent. The camera is now "loose", with 360 degrees of freedom. And without losing the solid control of 47. You can, as the developers put it, stage the attacks, view it from the angle you want as you go into action. The cinematic style of this is excellent. The cut-scenes are amazing, and, seemingly, in spite of the LOD on them, invariably in-engine. They're part of the source of pure, unadulterated awesomeness of this. The plot is intriguing and well-told, with a climactic and satisfying twist. The graphics are immense and masterfully done. This tops as far as the realistic movement goes, and the rag-doll physics. This supports a huge group of characters at an occasion, and the NPCs always have their own life. You can watch it play out if you don't affect them. The AI is astounding. The music... wow. I wouldn't rule out that it's more enticing and fitting than in the other three. Jesper Kyd outdoes himself. With one exception, this takes place in the US... and nowhere else. That doesn't have to preclude it from having interesting and diverse locations, and it doesn't. There are some stereotypes in this, along with language, particularly in aforementioned intro, that can get harsh, and strong, at times pervasive, sexuality, albeit no nudity. I recommend this to any fan of the others, and/or open games. 9/10
Hit-man Blood Money is great
bigdk65 June 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This game is possibly the best of the series, of course Hit-man 2 is still better in my opinion and Hit-man Contracts being the worst. Anyways this game is brilliant, great graphics easy to get game play, and great voice acting. The game can sometimes be hard to get, even when you dress up as another person you might get caught. Overall I thought this game was one of the best out of the series, nothing all that great but the ending was the best. Near the end you are killed and the police find you and then hold a massive funeral for your cremation. But of course you come back to life in the end mission. You of course have to kill every witness, and the game ends. Anyways definitely get this game.
The game that made me become a Silent Assassin
ThunderKing613 May 2020
I love this game because its open ended. You can kill and do whatever you like.
If you want to shootout, if not and you want to be a ghost then be a ghost.
Bloodmoney is one of the best games of all time.
Make an order and play this game.
If you want to shootout, if not and you want to be a ghost then be a ghost.
Bloodmoney is one of the best games of all time.
Make an order and play this game.
Good game
cadenfears28 January 2022
Manhunt meets James Bond
Margera444519 April 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Hit-man Blood Money immerses you once again into the world of Agent 47, a sneaky assassin without morals. You need to do anything to kill your targets and get out of the area, most of the time without being seen. One of the many abilities brought back from it's predecessor that blood money has to offer is the ability to change 47's appearance in order to blend in to the surrounding crowd. Changing what you look like offers you the ability to walk into a restricted zone or zones that you wouldn't be able to enter with 47's normal apparel. A new system introduced to the game is the notoriety system, if someone sees you murder another person, they become a witness. A witness can tell nearby security guards of what you've done or, if you leave them behind, can give police your appearance which raises the notoriety level making it hard for you to blend in. Also, CCTV cameras positioned around the area can capture you. If you are captured, you need to find the nearest security quarters to steal the security video.
New missions take you through the United States to such places as -An old amusement park -A Paris opera -a quiet suburb -Bourbon Street Mardi Gras Party -A southern wedding -A steamboat sailing down the Mississippi River -A Las Vegas Casino -An office building/nightclub -The White House in D.C.
The improved Glacier engine offers the player with realistic environments, realistic weapon design, and Improved NPC Artificial Intelligence. The game also offers the player with different ways to kill their prey. You are able to go ballistic on the entire mission area or just keep yourself stealthy, just as long as you kill your target. Your rating affects your payment drastically. if you go in, kill your target, and get out without alerting guards or leaving any trace of yourself, you'll get a high rating and a high payment. A low rating, which means you've left evidence, witnesses, alerted guards to your presence or just killed everyone in the area, can give you lower payment. if you take a difficulty level with the notoriety system activated, a composite sketch of 47 will be in a newspaper article at the end of each level also including a small article about the targets killed, and your mission stats.
This game is a must buy. It's realism, attention to detail, and AI system will leave the player breathless.
New missions take you through the United States to such places as -An old amusement park -A Paris opera -a quiet suburb -Bourbon Street Mardi Gras Party -A southern wedding -A steamboat sailing down the Mississippi River -A Las Vegas Casino -An office building/nightclub -The White House in D.C.
The improved Glacier engine offers the player with realistic environments, realistic weapon design, and Improved NPC Artificial Intelligence. The game also offers the player with different ways to kill their prey. You are able to go ballistic on the entire mission area or just keep yourself stealthy, just as long as you kill your target. Your rating affects your payment drastically. if you go in, kill your target, and get out without alerting guards or leaving any trace of yourself, you'll get a high rating and a high payment. A low rating, which means you've left evidence, witnesses, alerted guards to your presence or just killed everyone in the area, can give you lower payment. if you take a difficulty level with the notoriety system activated, a composite sketch of 47 will be in a newspaper article at the end of each level also including a small article about the targets killed, and your mission stats.
This game is a must buy. It's realism, attention to detail, and AI system will leave the player breathless.
47 returns once more, this time taking on a shadowy organization in the US
killer3000ad28 October 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Whenever I hear people talk about how bad ass Splinter Cell is, I go,"Sam Fisher? 47 and the ICA would bugger him and superiors over and over every time." But enough comparisons there, ironically in Blood Money, the ICA, the agency that employs 47 is getting taken down left and right by a mysterious organization called the Franchise, and this time around 47 will have to face other assassins.
It's worth pointing out that a tie-in occurs here that connects the third mission,"Curtains Down" with the events seen in between missions and the last mission of Hit-man:Contracts,"Hunter and Hunted". Essentially, the events that occur in "Hunter and Hunted" are immediately after "Curtains Down" in Blood Money.
Moving on, Blood Money is an upgrade in every way from the earlier games. A new engine with better graphics, upgradable weapons, a notoriety system that assesses how easily you may be spotted in later missions,the ability to conceal bodies in containers or throw them over the rail into the river etc. A splendid addition is the ability to grab people as human shields before knocking them out, thereby saving you on anesthetics.
The game also plays on the mind, because as the you complete more missions, the game's menu screen changes. Initially it shows a funeral with lots of people attending. As you complete more missions, it becomes apparent that the guests are the targets in the missions,and they began to disappear after each mission. Ultimately as you approach the last missions, we see that it is 47's funeral that is shown in the background.
Plotwise, Blood Money has all the aspects of the earlier games. The targets in the missions all have their own background info, so you aren't just killing some random person without knowing why someone wanted him/her dead. Some missions don't relate to the main plot and personally I feel those missions could have been left out in exchange for more main plot-related ones. The game follows a somewhat similar path to Contracts, with the missions told as flashbacks during an interview between a reporter and a scared and wheelchair bound man.
Some new gimmicks mentioned earlier, namely concealing bodies in containers can actually become quite repetitive later in the game. It's almost as if there's a body-sized box in every corner waiting for you to use to hide a body. Another repetitive addition is the post-mission newspaper report. At first it is interesting to read about your exploits in the media, and how you played the mission can affect the wording of the report. Too many living witnesses or being caught on camera can result in a sketch in the report and mass murder gets you labeled a terrorist. Ultimately it becomes repetitive and you can see a pattern in the manner of the reporting that can be boring later on.
Another aspect that disappointed me about the Blood Money is that it mostly takes place in the US. Previous Hit-man titles saw 47 as a globe trotter performing missions in Hong Kong, India, Middle East, Russia, Romania, Malaysia etc. Those games had numerous indigenous dialog that really added to the games' atmosphere. In Blood Money, there's only two missions that don't take place in the US. While playing Blood Money, I felt like I was watching lots of Hollywood movies due to the varying American accents. Blood Money has everything from hood talk to southern redneck accents. Of course other gamers might not have a problem with this. It's obvious that IO Interactive may have been targeting a specific group with it's choice of mission settings.
On the upside, I did feel that that the voice acting was quite well done, especially Alexander's VA. On the downside when it comes to voice acting, it seems that they didn't make enough voice sets for the guards. They all sound the same. When I grabbed a Middle Eastern-looking bodyguard as a human shield in the "House of Cards" mission, I was surprised to hear him yell out with an American accent.
Moving on, the game's missions are a reflection of earlier titles, namely the multi-path solutions. And it goes further here with the ability to make hits look like accidents. Most can be achieved with a simple push over the rail or a mine blowing something up causing it to fall on the target. A few can be quite innovative, like sabotaging the stage pyrotechnics to burn the target during the performance. Too bad even if the target gets killed in an accident, the post-mission newspaper reports still report it as a hit.
All in all, a good game with some minor flaws. Fans of the series and stealth games will still love it.
It's worth pointing out that a tie-in occurs here that connects the third mission,"Curtains Down" with the events seen in between missions and the last mission of Hit-man:Contracts,"Hunter and Hunted". Essentially, the events that occur in "Hunter and Hunted" are immediately after "Curtains Down" in Blood Money.
Moving on, Blood Money is an upgrade in every way from the earlier games. A new engine with better graphics, upgradable weapons, a notoriety system that assesses how easily you may be spotted in later missions,the ability to conceal bodies in containers or throw them over the rail into the river etc. A splendid addition is the ability to grab people as human shields before knocking them out, thereby saving you on anesthetics.
The game also plays on the mind, because as the you complete more missions, the game's menu screen changes. Initially it shows a funeral with lots of people attending. As you complete more missions, it becomes apparent that the guests are the targets in the missions,and they began to disappear after each mission. Ultimately as you approach the last missions, we see that it is 47's funeral that is shown in the background.
Plotwise, Blood Money has all the aspects of the earlier games. The targets in the missions all have their own background info, so you aren't just killing some random person without knowing why someone wanted him/her dead. Some missions don't relate to the main plot and personally I feel those missions could have been left out in exchange for more main plot-related ones. The game follows a somewhat similar path to Contracts, with the missions told as flashbacks during an interview between a reporter and a scared and wheelchair bound man.
Some new gimmicks mentioned earlier, namely concealing bodies in containers can actually become quite repetitive later in the game. It's almost as if there's a body-sized box in every corner waiting for you to use to hide a body. Another repetitive addition is the post-mission newspaper report. At first it is interesting to read about your exploits in the media, and how you played the mission can affect the wording of the report. Too many living witnesses or being caught on camera can result in a sketch in the report and mass murder gets you labeled a terrorist. Ultimately it becomes repetitive and you can see a pattern in the manner of the reporting that can be boring later on.
Another aspect that disappointed me about the Blood Money is that it mostly takes place in the US. Previous Hit-man titles saw 47 as a globe trotter performing missions in Hong Kong, India, Middle East, Russia, Romania, Malaysia etc. Those games had numerous indigenous dialog that really added to the games' atmosphere. In Blood Money, there's only two missions that don't take place in the US. While playing Blood Money, I felt like I was watching lots of Hollywood movies due to the varying American accents. Blood Money has everything from hood talk to southern redneck accents. Of course other gamers might not have a problem with this. It's obvious that IO Interactive may have been targeting a specific group with it's choice of mission settings.
On the upside, I did feel that that the voice acting was quite well done, especially Alexander's VA. On the downside when it comes to voice acting, it seems that they didn't make enough voice sets for the guards. They all sound the same. When I grabbed a Middle Eastern-looking bodyguard as a human shield in the "House of Cards" mission, I was surprised to hear him yell out with an American accent.
Moving on, the game's missions are a reflection of earlier titles, namely the multi-path solutions. And it goes further here with the ability to make hits look like accidents. Most can be achieved with a simple push over the rail or a mine blowing something up causing it to fall on the target. A few can be quite innovative, like sabotaging the stage pyrotechnics to burn the target during the performance. Too bad even if the target gets killed in an accident, the post-mission newspaper reports still report it as a hit.
All in all, a good game with some minor flaws. Fans of the series and stealth games will still love it.
Who hasn't dreamed of being a hit-man ?
andreas-hoddevik2 December 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This is a great game, to say the least.
Shortly summarized, you play a cloned human working as a hit-man. "Blood money" is the latest part of the Hit-man series, taking place mostly in the US, with a few missions abroad.
The sneaking around part may be "easier" than, say Splinter Cell, but it offers a lot more in its own way. You don't work for any government, only yourself and your hit-man agency. Rivaling another agency, the Franchise, which you will be pitted against several times during the game.
The game can be played in either stealth or full assault mode. Each mission offers a lot of different ways to complete them, at 4 different difficulty levels, meaning that you don't get bored with this one after a few days. Always a lot of new things to discover.
A rival Hit-man bureau is trying to take agent 47 (you) down throughout the game, and you follow the storyline from their point of view as well as they sum up your recent hits, trying to catch and kill you.
BIG WARNING right here and a possible SPOILER ! When you get to the final mission, and are a little disappointed about the way it ends, check around the internet for the real ending. It doesn't end the way you think it does the first time you play through it; notice the mission "flatline", and you get the picture. If you don't get it, check out a walk-through on the internet, they're readily available.
The game: keeping a low profile, staying silent and unknown are the secrets to making the most money and having the most fun here. Your client won't be happy if you're supposed to take out a protected state witness, and you leave him AND 57 FBI agents in pools of blood. No Christmas bonus for you ! The key is to minimize fuzz and public attention.
You can kill your targets in a wide variety of ways, and the more it looks like an accident, the less witnesses, no evidence no nothing, the better your ranking, the better your pay. The optimal solution is to have your target(s) die in a freak accident, without any other kills. In this game you only whack bad guys as well. Drug dealers, mobsters, child molesters, drug runners, arms smugglers and so on.
The game features lots of different weapons; custom firearms that you own and can upgrade e.g. buy silencers and such for them, the weapons you can collect from dead/stunned/ sleeping hostiles, and melé weapons you pick up along the way. Having the ability to upgrade your weapons allows you to carry out missions quicker, cleaner and more effective.
This game got a rating of 18 years and above in Norway, something like and R in the US. Make no mistake, if you play it that way, this game can be extremely violent, very graphic, and definitely NOT intended for kids. No, 15 year old shouldn't play it in my opinion. If you shoot a target through the head with a 0.50 caliber gun, there will be spatter. And if you kill somebody with a hedge-cutter, kitchen knife, meat cleaver, screwdriver... the list goes on.... as I said, the game doesn't leave much to imagination.
After each hit, you can read the local paper to see what the police say about the hits, and you'll get a statistical wrap up to see how good you are.
The scenery, ambiance, music and locations are very neatly done. Lots of well created details, monologues, great choices of personnel by Eidos for the voice over.
So if you fantasize about being a hit-man, aren't bugged by blood and gore, and are above 18 years of age, I highly recommend it ! If you're looking for a Christmas/birthday gift for your 12 year old nephew, I don't recommend it; really most of the hits can be made truly gruesome if you want to. That being said, it's worth the money, and it'll keep you playing for hours.
Shortly summarized, you play a cloned human working as a hit-man. "Blood money" is the latest part of the Hit-man series, taking place mostly in the US, with a few missions abroad.
The sneaking around part may be "easier" than, say Splinter Cell, but it offers a lot more in its own way. You don't work for any government, only yourself and your hit-man agency. Rivaling another agency, the Franchise, which you will be pitted against several times during the game.
The game can be played in either stealth or full assault mode. Each mission offers a lot of different ways to complete them, at 4 different difficulty levels, meaning that you don't get bored with this one after a few days. Always a lot of new things to discover.
A rival Hit-man bureau is trying to take agent 47 (you) down throughout the game, and you follow the storyline from their point of view as well as they sum up your recent hits, trying to catch and kill you.
BIG WARNING right here and a possible SPOILER ! When you get to the final mission, and are a little disappointed about the way it ends, check around the internet for the real ending. It doesn't end the way you think it does the first time you play through it; notice the mission "flatline", and you get the picture. If you don't get it, check out a walk-through on the internet, they're readily available.
The game: keeping a low profile, staying silent and unknown are the secrets to making the most money and having the most fun here. Your client won't be happy if you're supposed to take out a protected state witness, and you leave him AND 57 FBI agents in pools of blood. No Christmas bonus for you ! The key is to minimize fuzz and public attention.
You can kill your targets in a wide variety of ways, and the more it looks like an accident, the less witnesses, no evidence no nothing, the better your ranking, the better your pay. The optimal solution is to have your target(s) die in a freak accident, without any other kills. In this game you only whack bad guys as well. Drug dealers, mobsters, child molesters, drug runners, arms smugglers and so on.
The game features lots of different weapons; custom firearms that you own and can upgrade e.g. buy silencers and such for them, the weapons you can collect from dead/stunned/ sleeping hostiles, and melé weapons you pick up along the way. Having the ability to upgrade your weapons allows you to carry out missions quicker, cleaner and more effective.
This game got a rating of 18 years and above in Norway, something like and R in the US. Make no mistake, if you play it that way, this game can be extremely violent, very graphic, and definitely NOT intended for kids. No, 15 year old shouldn't play it in my opinion. If you shoot a target through the head with a 0.50 caliber gun, there will be spatter. And if you kill somebody with a hedge-cutter, kitchen knife, meat cleaver, screwdriver... the list goes on.... as I said, the game doesn't leave much to imagination.
After each hit, you can read the local paper to see what the police say about the hits, and you'll get a statistical wrap up to see how good you are.
The scenery, ambiance, music and locations are very neatly done. Lots of well created details, monologues, great choices of personnel by Eidos for the voice over.
So if you fantasize about being a hit-man, aren't bugged by blood and gore, and are above 18 years of age, I highly recommend it ! If you're looking for a Christmas/birthday gift for your 12 year old nephew, I don't recommend it; really most of the hits can be made truly gruesome if you want to. That being said, it's worth the money, and it'll keep you playing for hours.
Hitman Blood Money
dariustabor-9859928 February 2019
Killing in HD for the very first time
CuriosityKilledShawn9 May 2013
Hit-man: Contracts came in at the tail end of the standard definition era of video gaming. Two years later this, the 4th game in the popular series, came out - right at the infancy of HD gaming. It shows, but it's still a noticeable graphic improvement. For this entry IO Interactive have changed the controls and gameplay, which annoyed me at first, but you get used to it, even though they are still rather fiddly and you'll often select the wrong command by accident.
The story bounces around in time as Agent 47 travels to various locations around the world offing evil-doers. It ties into the story of Hit-man: Contracts rather tightly, which is not something I expected it to do. The killing and gameplay is still very similar and the game doesn't offer anything new in that regard. I think it is time that Hit-man starts introducing gorier deaths that obliterate victims or feature noticeable damage instead of the ragdoll effects after a sudden burst of red.
I liked this game, but for Agent 47's first jaunt into HD I would have preferred new methods of killing that would benefit from the better resolution. Maybe next time.
Graphics B- Sound B Gameplay B Lasting Appeal B+
The story bounces around in time as Agent 47 travels to various locations around the world offing evil-doers. It ties into the story of Hit-man: Contracts rather tightly, which is not something I expected it to do. The killing and gameplay is still very similar and the game doesn't offer anything new in that regard. I think it is time that Hit-man starts introducing gorier deaths that obliterate victims or feature noticeable damage instead of the ragdoll effects after a sudden burst of red.
I liked this game, but for Agent 47's first jaunt into HD I would have preferred new methods of killing that would benefit from the better resolution. Maybe next time.
Graphics B- Sound B Gameplay B Lasting Appeal B+
A game that you should play when alone
DcheatB18 October 2007
This game really live's to the name of 'hitman'. dozen's of ways to kill your target, fool thy enemy to destroy thy enemy by wearing disguises. You can pick from a selection of weapons that will make the local gun shop quiver in fear. The story really makes it seem like as if you are in the room...watching your target, unknowing to your intentions. Sadly, the game doesn't have enough! There isn't enough missions and that will result in you actually finding all the ways to kill your target, I was sadden to play the last mission because it showed that that was all you can see until the next game comes out. Now we gamers have to play the same missions and kill the same boring people over and over again until we bang our heads on the Monitor/TV until it breaks. But the music saves the game from a 5 but I have to give it a 7...out of 10
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