Hitman: Blood Money is an action-adventure stealth video game developed by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive. It is the fourth entry in the Hitman series.
The story follows the life of professional hitman Agent 47, as narrated in cut scenes by a former director of the FBI to a journalist who is interviewing him. The wheelchair-using ex-director recounts how his agency tracked 47 over a two-year period. The game also marks 47's arrival to the United States. The game was a commercial success, selling more than 2.1 million units.[1] It is the last game in the series to feature composer Jesper Kyd.
In Blood Money each mission is framed around the killing of one or more individuals, which the main protagonist (Agent 47) must accomplish. Standing between him and success are armed guards, security checkpoints, possible witnesses 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 violence done to bystanders. Beyond rewarding stealth over bloodshed as is traditional in the series,Blood Money includes features that directly penalize the player for making too much noise and/or being too violent, either toward their targets, bystanders, or both.
Many new features were introduced in Blood Money. These include the capability to climb through more obstacles, improved unarmed combat, the ability to use an NPC as a human shield with the help of a weapon (and to knock them unconscious afterwards), the ability to dispose of dead or unconscious bodies into containers, improved character animations, a new game engine and the ability to upgrade weapons and equipment.[2] Five of the featured weapons in the game, as well as assorted pieces of equipment such as bombs and armor, can be upgraded.[2] Every level contains some method to make the target's death look like an accident;[2] for example, tampering with someone's grill to make it explode when it is turned on, rigging a chandelier to fall on a target, or simply pushing the target off a balcony. There are also improvised weapons, such as nail-guns, a child's air rifle, kitchen knives, screwdrivers, stilettos, cane swords, fire extinguishers, and hedge clippers.
Also added was the Notoriety system. If the player, during a mission, gets caught on camera surveillance or is witnessed committing murder, Agent 47's notoriety will rise.[3] Conversely, if the player executes the mission perfectly with none of the aforementioned events occurring, 47's notoriety will be minimal. However, if the only factor affecting 47's notoriety in a certain mission is the fact that he was recorded on CCTV, the player may enter the location in which the tape that recorded him is located, usually in disguise, and retrieve it, thus eliminating that factor; if the player retrieves the tape before being recorded, this eliminates the risk of being recorded in the first place. 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.[3] Notoriety gained in early missions will affect later missions. Earlier missions in which 47 has gained notoriety in can be replayed to reduce notoriety in later missions. The notoriety system is not enabled on "Rookie" mode, the easiest difficulty setting.
At the end of each mission, a newspaper article is displayed about 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, who 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 newspaper announces in the headline how many people were killed, whereas executing the target without any problems will simply have 47 as 'wanted by police'. The article's title relates to the player's mission rating. "Silent Assassin", in which one assassinates the targets as cleanly and quietly as possible, and draws no unnecessary attention to themself, is the best rating possible. On higher difficulty levels, even something as simple as 47 exiting the level in a disguise rather than his original suit will adversely affect the player's notoriety, as well as deduct $5,000 from their payment for the mission. As one advances further into the game, more and more newspapers containing the headline from the last mission will be scattered around levels.[4]
SCREEN SHOTS
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