Hitman: Blood Money (PC, X-Box, PS2 and part of the HD Trilogy for PS3 and X-Box 360) is the fourth instalment of the venerable Hitman series which happens to be a social stealth game where you play as the world's greatest assassin, Agent 47 (a genetically engineered super assassin), as said assassin completes assassination jobs assigned by the ICA (International Contracts Agency). As I mentioned in my Dishonored review, I consider Blood Money to be the best social stealth game and one of the best stealth games involving assassinations that I have ever played. There are flaws as all good things have though mitigated by so many merits and seeing as this blog is called "What makes or breaks it?", I think it's time to write about something I really like rather than stuff I am okay with (also partially due to having finished it two weeks ago). One thing to note though, I played this on PC (a laptop to be precise) using my Steam copy and I had problems with it as the Steam version does not seem to be optimized properly (at least in my case, I suffered from crashes if using high graphic settings and the game requiring some tweaking to play on Windows 8). My experience with the Steam version could differ from others but I'll just point out that there could be issues (that can be fixed with some troubleshooting and forum searching).
What makes it
Gameplay in any stealth game is very important as it can make up for flaws in the story. Games like Dishonored or Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory have weak writing but if the stealth gameplay is fun and intuitive, the writing becomes a negligible stain on a custom made tailored suit. Coupled with a dash of creative experimentation, Blood Money delivers on gameplay and more. As a hitman in public areas, a player would have to focus on the social aspects in stealth, namely blending into crowds, looking for opportune moments to assassinate while hiding among the regular folk and to escape without being detected or suspected. To aid in this task, 47 is provided with a plethora of equipment (customisable firearms, fibre wire, syringes, mines and lock-picks) and the ability to disguise himself using the outfit of certain NPCs. While the game offers you the freedom to go in guns blazing with the numerous weapons provided, this is usually unwise (especially on harder difficulties) as 47 has the constitution of a twig when faced with multiple opponents and has no clue on how to use cover. This usually forces the player to play stealthily and assassinate using certain tools and methods (i.e fibre wire for garrotting, poisoned syringes, silenced pistol shots to the head, re-enacting the Kennedy assassination (a sniper riffle from a good vantage spot) and more) . A player can go beyond typical stealth kills and create accidents with the tools and methods that can be found(i.e placing a mine on a chandelier winch for a chandelier above the target, pushing the target into water or off a flight of stairs and many more). This is where the fun was for me as setting up these accidents were difficult at times thanks to a reasonable NPC AI whose patrol routes I usually forgot at inopportune times. When the set up and execution do work, there is a greater thrill and sense of accomplishment from performing a masterfully executed hit which appears to be an accident to the NPCs. In addition, if the stealthy approach fails, the game does provide the freedom to go postal on the NPCs though at a significant disadvantage on harder difficulties or even improvise a different method of assassination (i.e sticking a bomb in a mission vital suitcase and toss it near the target). While the controls do require some playing to get used to, the game does have a tutorial level to gain some familiarity with them.
Wide open levels are part of the reason why Blood Money's gameplay is excellent. Most levels are large with many places and tools strewn around for the player to discover. The large levels encourage exploration and as a result of this exploration, any player can potentially discover new methods to arrange accident kills, new tools to use, occasional easter eggs, surveillance rooms to steal evidence tapes from (removing the danger of cameras from levels) and the location of disguises. While not as large as open world games, these large levels act as an experimental sandbox where the player is free to poke and toy with the AI and the game mechanics. Some have even discovered unintentional methods to murdering targets using these mechanics and those like me will attempt to determine if an alternative method to elimination can be done.
The sound design is decent and works well. Voice work is fine as it is with David Bateson, the voice of Agent 47, being as professional and cold as a professional hitman and the other voice actors sounding natural without being cringe-worthy. Stereotypes are present but in light of the setting they are in, this is not an issue unless you happen to be overly sensitive. The music of the game has numerous classical scores (Ave Maria as an example) and fits the tone of the moments they represent, such as a tenser track used when the corpse of a target or bystander is found along with calmer tunes at the start of each level.
Entertainment value can be very important to some games that lack a good story and can compel players to continue playing the game. Blood Money has this due to the freedom granted by the gameplay and levels which allow for vast freedom to experiment as previously mentioned. A normal player could replay certain levels differently and see a different result on the second result screen which happens to be a newspaper with your hit being the front page article with references even being made to the weapons used, the number of witnesses, the analysis on the shooter's accuracy rate and even an acknowledgement of having no information by the authorities in said article. Some experimentation can even lead to new methods being discerned from careful observation of routines. I appear to repeat this often but bear with me, I am emphasizing a strong part of the game as a whole. The freedom to perform these hits in a way that the game has allowed directly or indirectly is ever present and as a result, any player can return to this game after a successful play-through to impose rules to their play-styles (i.e only using a fibre wire to kill targets, only use accidents, only use loud weapons to kill and many more). As a result of all this, Blood Money has immense replay value and will entertain players for a long time, until a new Hitman game appears that improves everything about Blood Money.
What breaks it
Dated graphics is something that can break immersion for the modern gamer. In Blood Money's case, the dated graphics primarily appear in the character models (at least from what I can tell) and the textures of certain objects especially when viewed in first-person along with a repeated usage of character models in some levels. For me however, the graphics do not actually harm the gameplay since the point of Blood Money is granting any player a dollhouse or playground to experiment to their hearts content. At the very least, the low graphics reflect the notion that the game world is not realistic which makes sense seeing how some guards will simply shoot a person for walking into a party without the proper attire even if no else is. I only point this flaw out for the reader's sake and while I do acknowledge that the graphics are dated (though not dated around the time of release), I personally did not see this as a flaw. Hitman: Absolution, the sequel and fifth installment, had better graphics and more character models but suffered a reduction in the large levels that Blood Money had, causing most levels to end up being stealth treks from point A to point B.
Frustrating features are something that can irritate players to the point that they would abandon whole playthroughs. Blood Money has a few that I can note. The first of the top of my head is the speed of 47's actions which include the speed used to drag and hide bodies along the speed in equipping disguises. While these are negligible issues that can be justified, they can lead to frustrating moments that can ruin a perfect stealth run whereby 47 drags or hides a body so slowly that a patrolling guard or civilian sees 47 trying to hide said body in the nearby freezer. This makes playthroughs on the harder difficulties frustrating as at the hardest difficulty, no saves (in the levels) are allowed which means an hour's worth of effort can be undermined by an NPC walking in at the wrong moment. The other feature is the gunplay which does not work as well outside of stealth. Most gunfights in this game require an absurd amount of strafing as 47 has not fully comprehended the concept of using cover like most modern games. This usually is not a problem until the player is forced into a shootout situation in the game and at higher difficulties, any player would feel frustrated by 47's low constitution along with his inability to blind fire from behind some cover. Personally, I did not find this to be a major issue except for one particular section which I'm not going to spoil but let it be said that being able to use cover would have aided me immensely in that section. These frustrating features could turn off some players though those that can adapt could overlook these features.
Story is not a positive point to Blood Money as it is mostly told through cutscenes that are rather insignificant in comparison to the game. While a story does exist in Blood Money, it is rather underwhelming and can be missed by an inattentive player or someone forced to skip cutscenes due to time constraints. While the game shows the presence of a rival faction of assassins, their presence is rarely felt in the game which makes them seem like weak villains rather than worthy adversaries. Blood Money instead showcases 47 at his job with the actual story mentioned during said cutscenes or pre-mission briefing. Then again, Blood Money is more about the gameplay rather than a thrilling story and for what it has, it was sufficient to justify 47's position in the levels. Absolution tried to make a Hollywood-esque story in a Hitman game and as a result, the levels suffered as there was a need to accommodate for said story. Without an pver-arcing storyline that watches over 47, locales of greater variety can be introduced.
Personal views
I quite enjoyed Blood Money when I first played it 3 years ago and I still enjoy coming back to it every once in a while. The freedom provided in the game makes it fun to experiment especially on the lower difficulties whereas on higher difficulties, I usually attempt a perfect Silent Assassin run that I can usually pull off due to strategies that I can dimly recall. The frustrating features I mention above only become issues for me in higher difficulties since they usually spell the end of a particularly good attempt on the highest difficulty but they also add a challenging aspect to the game as the player would have to compensate or even time one's style. For me, I found it enjoyable to stick to a carefully planned out strategy and watch it work out flawlessly before reloading another level to re-enact the battle at the Alamo on a random NPC's face. To make it official, I highly recommend getting Hitman: Blood Money if you enjoy most games or want to re-create your favorite murder-fantasies that involve chandeliers and shark tanks.
Summary:
What makes it
Gameplay, Wide open levels, Sound design, Entertainment value
What breaks it
Dated graphics, Frustrating features, Story
P.S: Now I would like to voice out my opinion on the new Hitman game announced at E3 2015: Looks promising but not enough to be hyped about. Not a lot of gameplay was shown at E3 and even if a developer explains its features, it may differ from the final product (see Aliens: Colonial Marines, a heavily misrepresented product that led to my embargo against Gearbox games; f*ck Borderlands). That said, it appears that the new Hitman might go back to Blood Money-like missions where you play as 47 performing hits in large and differing locales. I read about improvements to the AI that allow for player manipulation to alter their routines (using well placed bombs to draw attention in order to sneak into areas, similar to Blood Money) which sound promising as a gameplay feature and may even be an improvement on Blood Money's own manipulation (the bomb trick works in Blood Money too). All this game has to do is avoid Absolution's disguise system (every cop in the city knows each other on sight?) that made harder difficulties nearly impossible to play and return the normal save function rather than fixed checkpoints that reset progress whenever used. I guess what I'm saying is that the new Hitman game should be like Blood Money but with vast improvements that fits the current technology available and providing the freedom of Blood Money (rather than the penalties imposed by Absolution that force a particular playstyle).
P.P.S: This review is subjectively biased and opinions of the game can differ. Feel free to voice your opinions on the matter.
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