When I played Hitman for the first time, I realized two things: having so much pleasure assassinating people should be illegal, and developer IO Interactive has a bright future ahead of it with the Hitman series. Since its inception, there have been four installments featuring the clone-assassin Agent 47. The latest, Blood Money, improves upon the series with added features to boost gameplay challenges and attention to detail while remaining true to its origin.

One of the major new changes to the Hitman franchise is the game interface and control system. When passing by a useable object, the game alerts you on screen. Opening doors, jumping through windows, and picking up items can all be done by clicking on the available button. Sometimes the controls were a little too sensitive for their own good, forcing me to stop what I was doing to execute the proper command. This becomes a little frustrating when trying to evade enemies.

Agent 47 has traveled into the United States on the hunt for new targets with high price tags. With stops in Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Las Vegas, our bar-coded friend must compete with rival assassins to get the contracts. Each level offers its own unique design and planning out each “hit” based on the layout of the area is crucial. For every successful kill, Agent 47 is rewarded with cash to purchase new weapons, information, and bribe officials. I’m currently working to become a Certified Public Accountant (because video games don’t pay the bills). One of the best parts of the game was the cash management system designed to increase performance difficulty. Every action you take effects the amount of cash you will earn. Using your funds wisely will give you greater abilities to kill your targets in more innovative ways (firing bullets gets old fast).

Those players that just want to run through a level with guns blazing and no thought of strategy might find this game too laborious. After all, Blood Money is first and foremost a stealth title where the objective of staying hidden is just as much important as finishing the job. Agent 47 must stay covert to avoid suspicion. Targets have their own system of defense including body guards and security cameras that are very sensitive to movement (you’ll become well aware of this after the fifth or sixth attempt at sneaking through a level).

The artificial intelligence is somewhat more advanced than its predecessors. There were times when I killed a group of enemies and only a rent-a-cop stopped by to investigate. But generally, the AI system is more intuitive when handling certain situations and the reaction time associated with events is appropriate. The “shoot first, ask questions later” mentality that the other Hitman installments are known for no longer holds true in most circumstances. Body guards will forcibly ask you to leave the area before sticking a gun in your face, giving you more leeway in how to handle each mission.

Of course, in the end, your target will be dead and investigations and headlines will ensue. Cutscenes with eyewitness testimonies and crude police sketches of Agent 47 (that look strikingly similar to Mr. Clean) are all a part of a new notoriety system. Although cool at first, you will progress through the levels with certain characters recognizing you from the news and it will be a lot harder to complete the jobs. One easy way of solving this is to kill any witnesses that may see you (after all, dead men tell no tales). Dumping the bodies into garbage cans and other hidden compartments quickly and quietly will decrease the likelihood of suspicion. Deception is also the key when you can steal your victim’s clothes and take on their identity for a short period while they lay there in whitey-tighties. These facades don’t work on everyone so don’t walk casually into a room where a target resides wearing a chef’s hat and holstering a revolver (odds are he didn’t order room service).

The graphics engine for Blood Money is brand-spanking new and does a great job in lighting and textures. The character models are nicely detailed and the environments are interactive and look pretty good. The music is top-notch and changes depending on the action of the game. Agent 47’s voice acting is pretty good but other characters sound weak.

I have played all four Hitman titles and one thing remains true: Agent 47 is one of the coolest video-game characters ever created. Blood Money continues his tradition of killing for cash by bringing in some innovative new gameplay features to advance the franchise. Although some of the mechanics are a little rough around the edges, the title comes out strong.

Gameplay: 8.4
The control system is a little tedious to get a handle on, but Blood Money is still a success.

Graphics: 8.7
The character models and environments are detailed and the effects looks great coming from IO Interactive’s new engine.

Sound: 8.3
An awesome soundtrack accompanied by mixed voice performances.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard

Concept: 8.5
A clone-assassin with dozens of weapons at his disposal…can it get any cooler?

Overall: 8.5
More of a stealth game than anything else, Hitman: Blood Money serves up a familiar taste of assassin gameplay with new features to spice it up.