With the fourth game, IO Interactive has tweaked things even further, not only taking it back to basics, but also expanding on the original ideas. This time they’ve got it right and created the most accomplished Hitman game to date.

For those uninitiated with the series, Agent 47 is the titular Hitman, a genetically engineered killing machine with a shadowy past and motivated by money. With a clandestine corporation that acts as the middleman between client and killer supplies the contracts, Agent 47 travels the world carrying out wet work with a mixture of stealth and brute force, for those who can afford to pay the highest prices.

The obvious upgrade this time around is the visuals, which display the Hitman’s world in the most stunning fashion yet. Whereas the other games often looked quite flat, here the improved dynamic lighting and character models, shadowing, blood splashes and bullet holes make for some impressive sights. Even the environments look and feel more expansive and alive, in part due to the inclusion of crowds. Some stages, such as the New Orleans Mardi Gras level, have an obscene amount of character models on display, which affords the player the opportunity to slip in and out of crowds unnoticed. The downside to this is the large number of identikit NPC’s stand out even more, but this is easily forgiven due to the wow factor of the dense crowds.

A graphical overhaul would be meaningless without gameplay improvements, and it’s the upgrade to these other aspects that benefit Blood Money the most. Previously Agent 47 always felt clunky to control, particularly if a carefully executed plan went south and ended up in a blood bath. Here he feels a lot more fluid, not only in combat but also in general movement - even the use of the trusty fibre wire for garrotting people has been simplified. The end result is a character who feels less robotic and much more intuitive to control, the way that a person who kills for a living should be!

While previously, Agent 47 could make use of items, he often seemed blind to the fact that some things could have more than one use. Now knives can be thrown, syringes of poison can be administered into food and surroundings can be used to cause explosions or act as impromptu weapons. Firearms can be concealed in boxes and cases to get past security checks, guns can be wrestled off opponents and people can even be used as human shields! These are just some examples of how Agent 47 has been stripped of his one-dimensional interactivity with objects and also the world around him, the result being that he and the player feel much more capable of carrying out their objectives.

Weapons and their customisation has also been streamlined so that although there are fewer weapons to upgrade, additional weapons can be selected once they are found in game. Only the stock selection can be customised with scopes, silencers, laser targets etc, but there is more than enough there to keep the player happy.

For a series where being a silent assassin was paramount, it often made it difficult for a player to complete and objective without raising the alarm and leaving them with no idea as to why. The suspicion meter now gives the player an exact indication of how much they stand out and how likely it is that they’ll blow their cover. This avoids the frustration of earlier titles and is aided by improved audio and visual clues from NPC’s such as hand gestures or even down to the fact that your disguise is visibly blood stained. While the AI is vastly improved over previous titles there are still a few funny moments of ESP on the behalf of guards that will catch the player out, but thankfully these are now few and far between.

The stages have been created with the new features in mind and can also be completed in a number of ways. Agent 47 is now able to act as an Accident Man, staging deaths to look like a series of unfortunate events. Pushing people over balconies, down stairs or into swimming pools and rigging explosives onto chandliers can all be used to divert attention. It’s immensely satisfying to plan and execute a series of deaths, making them seem like freak accidents before slowly strolling away. Obviously the game is meant to be played by being as subtle and sneaky as possible but it is the freedom to play the game in whichever manner suits best that raises it’s replay value.

Levels themselves feature diverse environments such as a suburban FBI Witness Protection hideout, a boat on the Mississippi and a Playboy-style mansion, with each one different enough from the previous stage to remain interesting and varied. The game does have a central story running through it and, although it can be seen as superfluous to the entertainment provided on each hit, it’s enough to keep those who want a bit more of a narrative happy, instead of the missions feeling isolated and unconnected.

Some of the scenarios have pretty powerful content and while the targets are all quite shady, there are moments that may make the player falter before pulling the trigger. The target being a drug baron or Pederast may make the decision easier, a ruined man, living a destitute existence is not so easy. It’s a powerful moment as he gets on his knees to plead for his life and an example of how strong some of the subject matter in Blood Money is. Sadly the majority of the game’s targets don’t feature these morality conflicts and it would have been nice to see this idea expanded.

Blood Money also gives a comprehensive stat breakdown at the end of each level with a new inclusion of newspapers that allow you to revel in the headline stealing glory of your killings and subsequent police investigation. It’s a nice idea but sadly much of the text comprises of stock phrases that make it seem a little disjointed or contradictory on times.

Linked to this, is the notoriety system, which gives an indication of just how public Agent 47’s activities have made him. Wholesale slaughter, getting caught doing something suspicious like hiding a body or poisoning food, blowing your cover or getting caught on CCTV, all raise the notoriety and make it much more difficult to go unnoticed. While things like CCTV tapes can be stolen during levels, at the end of each completed stage players can opt to bribe members of the public and officials to reduce the notoriety level. Naturally this costs money which reduces the funds available for upgrading weapons.

What might confuse players is the odd decision to have a save system which wipes all in-game save points once a stage is exited, either by completion or the player quitting. Clearly done to make the game more challenging (along with the limited number of saves depending on the difficulty level) it will certainly catch a few people out that you can’t leave a stage mid-way and return to it.

Undoubtedly the best game in the series, Blood Money will thrill long-time fans, giving them everything they could possibly want from their favourite killer. The increased gameplay elements mean that newcomers will no longer be put off by feeling too restricted and will find that there’s plenty of sadistic entertainment to be had once they put themselves in the right heartless mindset.