(S)hitman

[MasterSmithFandango]

Eh, people bitch about console crap because most games on consoles are crap. Sadly, most games on PC are crap, too.

 

[Annonchinil]

I thought the asian levels in the first game were fantastic.

 

[TripJack]

I think I've only finished the 2nd and 4th.

2nd one had some levels of unholy difficulty. And that's just to beat it, nevermind getting perfect rating at the end. That snow level where you break into the castle is fucking bullshit. And the castle itself is bullshit too. And that's not even halfway into the game I don't think.

Blood Money is definitely the most polished game in the series and just seems to be the most 'complete'. Lots of ways to accomplish each mission. But it still somehow felt too easy. Seems like nobody ever notices you, as there's always a conveniently placed disguise laying around or some lone guy for you to knock out... usually both. And unlike with Silent Assassin, you can run circles around baddies and they don't really care as long as you're in the right suit.

I'm torn as to which I liked better.

 

[CrimHead]

Yeah that's another thing, I wish the game gave you more incentive to actually move slowly and deliberately as opposed to just sprinting from one objective to the next. I was hugely disappointed when I discovered, probably 2 levels in, that running around, bumping into people, or even staring them down like a psychopath had no effect on their likeliness to expose me. It'd feel like more of an authentic experience if any abnormal behavior whatsoever risked your getting caught. Hell, you can even stalk your contacts! The most they'll do is stop occasionally to look at you or turn a suspicious glance over their shoulder, but it wont ever trigger any sort of response as long as your notoriety is low.

 

[MetalCraze]

Eh, people bitch about console crap because most games on consoles are crap. Sadly, most games on PC are crap, too.

Except games on PC today are games from consoles.

 

[Koshachiy Barin]

Wtf, Codex is actually praising something that is a sequel? Just what happened to you guys? Am I the only one who thinks only the first game was any good?
Didn't play Blood Money, but Silent Assassin was meh... Currently playing Contracts, and so far it's also meh.

 

[SoupNazi]

Wtf, Codex is actually praising something that is a sequel? Just what happened to you guys? Am I the only one who thinks only the first game was any good?
Didn't play Blood Money, but Silent Assassin was meh... Currently playing Contracts, and so far it's also meh.

Trust me when I say that you should play Blood Money even if Contracts put you off. I too thought the first game was the best (except for the bit in the jungle) in the series, but Blood Money is superior even to the original.

 

[SCO]

Speaking of blood money does the no cd crack on gamecopyworld has a trojan or virus? It is suspicious because there is some network activity (log from wine) that there isn't in the original exe (that granted doesn't run much because i not removed it from a friend).

 

[Admiral jimbob]

Yeah that's another thing, I wish the game gave you more incentive to actually move slowly and deliberately as opposed to just sprinting from one objective to the next. I was hugely disappointed when I discovered, probably 2 levels in, that running around, bumping into people, or even staring them down like a psychopath had no effect on their likeliness to expose me. It'd feel like more of an authentic experience if any abnormal behavior whatsoever risked your getting caught. Hell, you can even stalk your contacts! The most they'll do is stop occasionally to look at you or turn a suspicious glance over their shoulder, but it wont ever trigger any sort of response as long as your notoriety is low.

Yeah, Blood Money went over-the-top on this. Hitman 2 was a bit too far in the opposite direction - walk too close, too quickly or too slowly past a guard in an area you're allowed to be in and chances are about 50/50 this will be punished with immediate execution - but I enjoyed its way of doing it a bit more.

 

[SoupNazi]

I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that on the highest difficulty in Blood Money, if you just creepily stare at someone for long enough they eventually pull a gun. I'm certain this happened to me at the vineyard mission, where while disguised I could never stay around other guards for more than a few seconds, and just running past them also got their attention.

Of course if you're just standing in a public area where people expect you to stand then I don't see why should they be alarmed. But running around in the opera level, without disguise, should alert the cops and I think it does. Not sure though, it's been a (long) while since I last played.

 

[MetalCraze]

Wtf, Codex is actually praising something that is a sequel? Just what happened to you guys? Am I the only one who thinks only the first game was any good?
Didn't play Blood Money, but Silent Assassin was meh... Currently playing Contracts, and so far it's also meh.

1st and 4th Hitmans are the best. Ignore Contracts, move on.

 

[Achilles]

Hitman: Blood Money was great, but I'm afraid that the next one will go the Splinter Cell Conviction route.

 

[SoupNazi]

Kane & Lynch didn't really dumb down from the original... I'm hoping IO can keep the standard up with the Hitman series as well...


OH WAIT KANE & LYNCH IS POPAMOLE

 

[Koshachiy Barin]

Well, I'm afraid this is gonna be a tl;dr post, but what the hell... just thought I'd share my impressions.
I finished Contracts, then Blood Money and, contrary to expectations, I'm somewhat disappointed. Overall, I feel like the further series went, the more it declined. Don't get me wrong, each of the sequels is a good game on its own but none of them were anything like the first.

Contracts didn't impress me initially. But the more I was playing, the more I was liking it, as I was slowly realising how many options to walk through missions there were. Then there was Baldingford Manor, a true masterpiece IMO. The rest of the game consisted of remade missions from the first game. It's funny that their level of detail is poorer comparing to their original prototypes. But what I really liked about remade missions was an increased number of ways to complete them. Playing Codename: 47 was like constantly uncovering some set of actions left for you by developers, then following them in strict succession. Contracts, on the other hand, doesn't give you any obvious action sequences. It gives you a set of possible actions, all of them effective and entertaining, and you decide how to put them together - like a puzzle.
What I didn't like about Contracts is a lack of cinematography. Previous games often had a small mood-setting intro at the beginning of a level, some script-based cutscenes, caracter dialogues and such. In Contracts there's almost none of this. Still, I liked this game.

Blood Money... After reading all the good comments, I was expecting a huge improvement over Contracts. Didn't turn out this way. Sure, new possibilities were very nice, especially hand to hand combat, hiding the bodies and setting up "accidents". Graphics are nicer than in previous games, though 47 now looks somewhat fatter and older. The controls were changed for whatever reason, but I could manage with it.
Funny thing is, I don't know why many didn't like the tutorial, cause I found it excellent. Even being railroaded, it really served the purpose, and felt very spectacular. Was expecting more of this, but it went downhill for me from there.
A lot of similar-faced npcs who hardly ever interact with you or each other. Targets who do nothing but walk from point A to B and back. No dialogues with hints how to progress through the level. Oh, but there's an intelligence system! Let's try it! Wait... "Weight lifting can be fatal"? Is this the kind of info you give me for $3500? Not that it matters, though, as the money are in abundance...
Also, why every guard in the world is dressed like an American policeman? Like the developers were too lazy to make, what, two additional models? Hell, even the guide in the French opera house is an american policeman! And speaking of guides, this is almost the only one in the whole game who actually says something. Others silently wave their hands... well, like most other npcs in this game.
Of course there are some brilliant levels, like the Las Vegas hotel and the heaven & hell theme party. Mardi Gras was nice too. You can clearly tell they put the most of the effort in them. Other levels - not so much. Even the promising White House turned out rather boring.
And just like in contracts - lack of cinematography. Picture in picture - this feature was just meant to be in the series from the beginning. So you could suddenly see a sniper aiming at you, or someone drinking a poisoned drink, or a bomb with a countdown - without interrupting your gameplay. Well, they kinda made this - but only kinda. Overall, they wasted some great potential here.
Also, the same consoletarded map and Lara Croft style weapon selection screen as in previous two games. Honestly, I was expecting some development here. The map and weapon selection in the first game were far from perfect, but I liked it much more. And by the way, even on pro, why do you always see your targets and vips on the map? It's like a magical quest-compass. I remember, in Codename:47 you had to place a gps transmitter on the car to track it - wouldn't make sense in other games, as you know where the guy you have to kill/rescue is, no matter what.
Storywise, I didn't like how they turned 47 into some greedy for money and bloodthirsty freak, who shoots postmen just for the sake of it and raises canaries just to snap their necks in a moment of alarm. I don't remember 47 being like this in previous installments. I always liked how he was cold, dispassionate, detached from everything most of the time. He could brutally kill someone, but he could also bring some toys and syringes to the lunatics in the asylum, practically for nothing. I bet the new 47 would kill Mei Ling in the brothel without turning a hair rather than save her (sure, this was an option in the original game, but still only an option).
Overall, I liked playing it, but hardly think it's better than Contracts, and all the hype around it honestly surprises me.

I too thought the first game was the best (except for the bit in the jungle)

Actually, I liked the jungle part. It was a nice change of pace right in the middle of the game, where I could nicely load up on weapons and go full Rambo-style without worrying about consequences.

Blood Money [...] has its flaws; there's always one or two "perfect" ways to complete a mission (usually with the accident feature) that you're clearly intended to follow [...] somehow feels like it could have more replay value

Yeah, this.

Blood Money [...] still somehow felt too easy. Seems like nobody ever notices you [...] And unlike with Silent Assassin, you can run circles around baddies and they don't really care as long as you're in the right suit.

Also, this.

 

[SoupNazi]

Storywise, I didn't like how they turned 47 into some greedy for money and bloodthirsty freak, who shoots postmen just for the sake of it and raises canaries just to snap their necks in a moment of alarm. I don't remember 47 being like this in previous installments. I always liked how he was cold, dispassionate, detached from everything most of the time. He could brutally kill someone, but he could also bring some toys and syringes to the lunatics in the asylum, practically for nothing. I bet the new 47 would kill Mei Ling in the brothel without turning a hair rather than save her (sure, this was an option in the original game, but still only an option).

I'm not going to reply to the rest of your points because they're just subjective opinions, but I'd like to shed some light on this based on the design decisions I noticed in Blood Money.

In the previous games, you were given certain interactions to justify the killing you've been doing. Mei Ling would want to run away, and she's a nice person, so the Triad boss probably isn't treating her very nice, making him a bad person. Alternatively, you could learn about this from the tortured American agent, etc.

Now in Blood Money, it's slightly different, and the game puts you in 47's shoes differently. They do it visually - ever notice how every character is physically a stereotype? Muscular guards, and grotesque women with gigantic breasts and emphasized curves. This is how 47 sees people, as grotesque caricatures of themselves. This is why he's a killer for hire, because he despises every single human being, he doesn't understand them because 47 himself is asexual.

It's supposed to make you, the player, feel as disgusted and disconnected by the world as 47 does. From there, it's your choice how the character reacts to that disgust. The only difference between the first game and Blood Money is in the way this effect is achieved. In Blood Money, it's done visually (and in my opinion better) than in Codename: 47, where the game urges you slightly to be nice based on character conversations or overheard conversations. I think that can be misleading and it also breaks that thought of being in 47's shoes. I didn't want to believe Mei Ling (I was pretty sure she was leading me into a trap) but the game punishes you for killing her even before you know for sure that she doesn't betray you. You're not allowed to make that decision yourself, the game forces your hand.

In Blood Money, it's entirely upon you. To the game, everyone can die as long as you don't kill too much. Except for the civilians, nobody is innocent, everyone is ugly and deformed. It's entirely your choice whether you kill the postman. Or if you kill the witness' wife simply because it disgusts you how she cheats on her husband. Never does the game really force your hand on who is evil and not outside the targets themselves, and so if you killed the postman... you can blame yourself entirely, not the game.

 

[Rhalle]

So I've never played but I remember seeing the Hitman box in the store with the back of the bald dude's head and thinking-- eh, this is for dirtbags.

But I've seen people praising it so many times now that I'm curious.

Which one should I play? The first one, or Blood Money?

 

[KalosKagathos]

Blood Money. As much as I love the first one, it's just too cruel for a beginner, mostly because you can't save mid-level.

 

[SoupNazi]

So I've never played but I remember seeing the Hitman box in the store with the back of the bald dude's head and thinking-- eh, this is for dirtbags.

But I've seen people praising it so many times now that I'm curious.

Which one should I play? The first one, or Blood Money?

Start from the first, pretty much all of them are worth playing.

 

[Rhalle]

Is Code Name 47 the first one?

Edit: It is.

Gamespot gave it a 5/10. Hmn.

 

[CrimHead]

Gamespot is shit.

 

[Admiral jimbob]

Storywise, I didn't like how they turned 47 into some greedy for money and bloodthirsty freak, who shoots postmen just for the sake of it and raises canaries just to snap their necks in a moment of alarm. I don't remember 47 being like this in previous installments. I always liked how he was cold, dispassionate, detached from everything most of the time. He could brutally kill someone, but he could also bring some toys and syringes to the lunatics in the asylum, practically for nothing. I bet the new 47 would kill Mei Ling in the brothel without turning a hair rather than save her (sure, this was an option in the original game, but still only an option).

47 was being hunted, remember. The other agency picked off his own to the point where it was only him and Diana left; he was starting to know fear, and it made him even more ruthless than he already was. I got the impression he genuinely cared about the canary, but he was still the old perfect assassin at heart - when it threatened to get him in trouble, he wasn't going to hesitate about putting an end to it. Didn't he actually shed a tear after doing so? Might be wrong, haven't watched the cutscenes since my first time playing.
The shooting the postman thing was just a bit stupid though, really.

 

[Conkrete Knight]

Is Code Name 47 the first one?

Edit: It is.

Gamespot gave it a 5/10. Hmn.

Blood money sure is much easier to get into.

In codename 47 there are no saves, and as those games to a big part are about trial and error prepare for a lot of ragequits and/or wasted time.
But if you have time and patience and are no graphicswhore, by all means go for codename.

Personally I liked the music in contracts, but that is probably not much of a selling point.

Also, IO were making making this instead of a new Hitman

Ps: Fuck gamespot

 

[SoupNazi]

Wait; what's this with the postman? I don't remember anything like that. Granted, I didn't watch the cutscenes after my first playthrough.

 

[Admiral jimbob]

A postman delivered him his latest orders or whatever. But they had "code red" on the packaging, so 47 invited the postman into his flat and shot him.

MAKES SENSE TO ME

 

[DriacKin]

Out of curiosity, how well did these games sell? Did Blood Money make a good amount of money or just struggle to break even?