IO's cold blooded killer is back and more famous than ever. Briliant new trailer inside!
The man named 47 has to be one of the most brutally interesting characters in mature rated video games today. He's uncompromising, violent, skilled, and extremely professional. While we've seen a little bit into his past and slipped into his bloody shoes in the first few games, 47 will have his biggest challenge yet when Hitman: Blood Money gets released to stores. IO Interactive is intent on making this sequel one to be proud of and in turn are adding a ton of new features, a deep story with just as many twisted turns as before, new weapons, and an updated engine. This is one of those games you don't want your children to play, but for those of us that can handle the content and context, Hitman: Blood Money should provide both a thoughtful and strategic experience and a brutal shooter... but this all depends on how notorious you're willing to get.
After so much death, you would think that a man would finally have his fill of blood and pain. But it seems that our bald buddy still has some room in the cracks. At the beginning of the game, 47 is back in the business and working for the ICA again. "Blood Money introduces a great new storyline," states Blood Money Producer Neil Donnel. "Admittedly when the player begins it may seem like business as usual for Agent 47 but by the second level, they'll know something's up and as they progress through the game, the plot will gradually unfurl and reveal some nasty surprises." Unfortunately, that's as far as Eidos and IO seem willing to go with the details of the story beyond the press release, which clearly states ICA assassins begin getting killed one at a time. After losing all contact with ICA, 47 does the wise thing and picks up shop to begin anew in America.
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Along with the hints of notoriety for 47 come a couple of new game systems that actually take advantage of that idea in a way that should make the way levels are completed more important to future levels than it ever has been in past Hitman games. The first idea is that of Notoriety itself. It seems pretty obvious, but if you're a hired assassin, it's probably in your best interest to stay in the dark and complete missions with the least fuss possible. In and out with no one the wiser. "Think about it, if you are an assassin your career will last much longer if you are able to take out your hits undetected," says Donnel. However, as anyone who has played Hitman games in the past knows, sometimes stealth just aint gonna happen. As before, you will be able to complete missions in whichever way you wish. "If you do choose to play through guns blazing, this will have a natural effect on a lot of the newly improved feature sets but this only increases the depth and experience of the gameplay to follow."
But the consequence of gaining Notoriety reaches farther than risking recognition during later levels. Those that complete the levels without being noticed and complete the perfectly clean hit will be rewarded with greater amounts of cash. With cash comes opportunity. Enter the Blood Money system. "The player can choose to spend their earnings on fully customisable precision weapons and specialist equipment, or they can buy additional information upon the targets and location at hand, to aid a successful and professional hit." Additionally, if you manage to leave a bloody scene behind, you'll have the option to have it "cleaned up." For a fee, you can make sure that any evidence like a dead body or witness won't cause future problems.
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Posted: 6 May 2005
- Release: 30 May 2006
- ESRB rating: M (Mature)
- Publisher: Eidos Interactive
- Developer: IO Interactive
