Back in 2000, the original Hitman blasted its way onto the gaming landscape like a bomb - literally. On one hand, it was well received by both the industry and those consumers who longed to live out their contract killer fantasy. On the other, the mainstream media and conservative industry detractors jumped all over it like vultures at a feeding frenzy for its unadulterated brutality. Yes, it was brutal, gory, and over the top. But five years later Agent 47 is still kicking, stabbing, garroting, and sniping. With Hitman: Blood Money, the fourth "assignment" for Io Interactive's "hitman simulation" set to unleash a few days after the new year, Agent 47 is bringing with him a whole new look and more than a few New Year's resolutions.

At the start of Blood Money, it's business as usual for the Bald Butcher. Or so it seems. But when the other assassins from the ICA (his contract agency) begin turning up dead, it doesn't take long to realize something's very wrong. A war has erupted between rival contract agencies, and Agent 47 is the next target. After losing contact with the ICA, 47 heads to the United States in hopes of keeping a low profile, finding out who's behind the war, and carrying on with his appointed rounds... so to speak. Except for a brief level in Paris, the rest of the thirteen levels of the game will take place in the U.S., primarily in the glitz, neon and seedy surrounds of Las Vegas.

The previous games really never added anything new; BM makes up for lost initiative with a bounty of new features. In fact, Io is so proud of one of them that they added it to the title of the game. The "Blood Money" system will reward you for a job well done. The cleaner the "hit" the more money you receive; the messier the hit the less money you get. The extra dinero can be spent on a variety of things, from weapons to information, to cleaning up messes.

The goal of any respectable hitman is to get in and out without being seen. You're not in the profession for notoriety or signing autographs. But notoriety plays a big part in this game. Say for instance you decide to pull a John J. Rambo - killing everything in your path on your way to your next target, instead of being "The Professional." You get out what you put into this game. Not only will you receive less money, but you also open yourself up to being spotted. If you are, the whole thing gets written up in the newspaper the next day... along with your description. Your notoriety starts to go up the sloppier you are. In turn, those newspaper descriptions become more detailed and sooner rather than later - someone will recognize your bald head dropping coin at the Texas Hold 'Em table. If this happens, you can fix it... but it will cost you. Literally. You'll have to bribe security guards to turn over surveillance tapes to you instead of the cops. And if worse comes to worse - you'll have to buy new identification. Thus, game play can take a dramatically different direction depending on how you play things.

Doing your homework is the sign of a good professional. Helping you accomplish this is the ability to buy additional information about your targets. Information about their lifestyle, the locations they frequent... things that will allow you to conduct the hit when it's most beneficial for you to do so. Not only that, but you can carry out your assignment in a variety of ways, such as making a death look like an accident, or even getting someone else to do your dirty work for you.

If by chance you leave a bloody scene behind, you do have the option of having it cleaned up. Again, it will cost you. Macabre Maids ain't cheap! Unless of course you want to clean up after yourself. And you can because now you can now stash a body in a freezer or dumpster, or toss it off a balcony - but be careful! According to Neil Donnel, the game's producer, "The engine and scripts that power the game's AI have been completely re-written. Expect NPC's to react accordingly to the environment and the people around them. They will follow blood trails and investigate suspicious items and behavior. This enhanced behavior can also aid Hitman as the NPC's can provide information that'll give the player clues as to how to get passed them or through the level." This feature alone adds a whole new layer of strategy to the game by making the way levels are completed vitally important to the rest of the game.

A hitman just isn't a hitman without his tools. All the weapons from the series are back, including 47's Silverballer pistols, the W2000 sniper rifle, as well as his trusty fiber-wire.
Plus, each weapon will now have between ten and twenty different upgrades available to them. You'll be able to buy silencers, lessen the recoil, enhance damage, increase reload speed, rate of fire, accuracy and zoom. Since Agent 47 now has far greater interaction with the environment, expect to see even more conventional weaponry, as well as a slew of makeshift weapons such as household items (pens, weights, chairs, etc.) and poisons. This interactivity will also allow 47 to distract guards, hide weapons after he has drawn them, use people as human shields, climb, hide, scale ledges and automatically pass low obstacles.

Blood Money will be the first game powered by Io's latest version of their in-house Glacier engine. This features a new render engine supporting realistic refraction based environment effects. The PC version will feature dynamic soft shadows, and a new highly realistic character rendering system utilizing normal mapping, self-shadowing and rim lighting. Music and sound effects have always played an important role in establishing tension and drama. And in that vein, Io is bringing back Jesper Kyd, the musical composer from all the previous Hitman games. "For this game we wanted a very epic score that would match the nature of the storyline and he's definitely delivered. The music was recorded a while back with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and Choir," states Donnel.

All this sounds too good to be true. Combined, all of these new elements are so cleverly tied together that it should make this Hitman feel like a completely different game! If Io can manage to pull this very ambitious task off without missing a shot... Blood Money could very well redefine this franchise and launch Agent 47 into the land of videogame dominance. Come the New Year... lets hope that what happens in Vegas doesn't necessarily stay in Vegas!