Hitman: Blood Money [revisited]

chitoryu12 · Post by **chitoryu12** » 2007-09-07 02:59pm

I think the biggest problem with 47 is his inability to show emotion. Aside from shouting "Bitch!" at the end of Blood Money, he's always been very calm and emotionless. Even when the priest, his mentor and one of the only friends he had in Silent Assassin was kidnapped, he showed little emotion at it. Why is it a problem? When someone walks into a bloody murder scene, you expect him or her to have some reaction, be it fear, revulsion, shock, whatever. It's a bit funky when someone very calmly and stolidly walks right across a bloody body while everyone else in freaking out.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2007-09-07 08:33pm

worse yet, trying to infiltrate a conspiracy theorist's armed compound...

EEEEEEEIIII it's an MIB!!!

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2007-09-08 01:45pm

There's a hitman novel out by William C Dietz

Post by **weemadando** » 2007-09-09 12:18am

The Yosemite Bear wrote:worse yet, trying to infiltrate a conspiracy theorist's armed compound...

EEEEEEEIIII it's an MIB!!!

Even better. Hitman going in to take out someone at Burning Man or similar. The reactions to a hideously straight man in a black suit there would be classic.

Adrian Laguna · Post by **Adrian Laguna** » 2007-09-09 01:39am

weemadando wrote:Even better. Hitman going in to take out someone at Burning Man or similar. The reactions to a hideously straight man in a black suit there would be classic.

I think people might have a positive reaction. It's almost brilliant, dress-up in something that would blend-in out in civilization and be the centre of attention in Burning Man. The hilarity would come from everyone going, "Brilliant dude! It's like reverse psychology* or something." Which is the exact opposite of what 47 is trying to accomplish.

*They're too stoned to realized reverse psychology is wrong term.

Joviwan · Post by **Joviwan** » 2007-09-10 01:32am

MKSheppard wrote:There's a hitman novel out by William C Dietz

I've read all of 90 or so pages and have yet to be convinced the novel isn't made of crap and fail. I may or may not slough through it, though, simply because I'm a hitman fanboy. I find that it suffers from woefully uninteresting prose, boring enough to the point where I would rather read a shooting script. The adjectives would be more flavorful, at least.

Post by **Beowulf** » 2007-09-10 11:22am

weemadando wrote:
The Yosemite Bear wrote:worse yet, trying to infiltrate a conspiracy theorist's armed compound...

EEEEEEEIIII it's an MIB!!!
Even better. Hitman going in to take out someone at Burning Man or similar. The reactions to a hideously straight man in a black suit there would be classic.

On the bright side, he could probably get away with strangling the guy. Just claim it's a cooperative performance art piece.

GuppyShark · Post by **GuppyShark** » 2007-09-10 09:38pm

I'm surprised by how interesting a character he is. I wasn't expecting much out of him. But his lines, while sparse, are worth their weight in gold.

Anyone find the map really irritating? I'd prefer a more traditional style map. The one in the game is so annoying I find the first few times I try a hit I'm just 'casing' the layout on foot because it's the only way I have to get familiar with it.

Joviwan · Post by **Joviwan** » 2007-09-11 02:24am

I've played Blood money twice through now and with various mission replays, and the map still confuses the ever loving crap out of me most of the time.

Anyone else go hog wild with the air gun/tranquilizer on A New Life? Nothing quite like tranquing everyone in the backyard and dragging them into the pool when no one's looking.

chitoryu12 · Post by **chitoryu12** » 2007-09-11 03:11pm

Would it be possible to do multiplayer with the game? It could be something like online-only like:

Everyone plays one of the NPCs on the map (if there aren't enough players, some NPCs are AI only. Same goes if there are too many civilians). One random person is designated the assassin, but only he knows it. He must go to an ICA box on the map and collect equipment, which is one variable stealth weapon (either the fiber wire or poison syringe) and a gun with ammo. They must try to kill the target, while the police and bodyguards must protect the target. To keep the target player from just running off somewhere, he could either be confined to certain areas, losing health when he leaves them, or be tasked to do certain errands, like watching TV or meeting another player/AI.

There may be some kinks to work out in the idea, though.

Pint0 Xtreme · Post by **Pint0 Xtreme** » 2007-09-11 06:17pm

I think a better multiplayer concept for Hitman would be for all the players to play as individual assassins going for the same target. This would force the players to take extra precaution to blend in with the population (ie. no running around like a freak or producing any other suspicious behavior that the AI would not normally pick up) since other players would be able to rat each other out to the authorities or try to take them out by themselves.

Vendetta · Post by **Vendetta** » 2007-09-11 08:05pm

Splinter Cell: Conviction's multiplayer is going to work something like that, though probably with more intel and object based missions, rather than bumping someone off. It will be a good platform demonstration for that sort of multiplayer though, and if it turns out well, it could make it into a future Hitman game.

Balancing it will be tough though, you need to make sure that players can't just identify and off each other too easily, and you need to make AI suspicion and intervention really significant, so that players have an incentive not to try and just batter through each other and the mobs to get to the target (or that if they do it's easily exploitable as a distraction for a more intelligent player).

chitoryu12 · Post by **chitoryu12** » 2007-09-12 02:51pm

Balancing it will be tough though, you need to make sure that players can't just identify and off each other too easily

You could do it so that a certain amount of their face detail must be visible before a nametag shows up. It could be as if your character has to recognize someone by their face.

PeZook · Post by **PeZook** » 2007-09-12 03:26pm

chitoryu12 wrote:
Balancing it will be tough though, you need to make sure that players can't just identify and off each other too easily
You could do it so that a certain amount of their face detail must be visible before a nametag shows up. It could be as if your character has to recognize someone by their face.

The players would always be regonizable from AI, simply because of the way they move.

AI would have to occasionally do random stuff. Or every mission should just take place in a huge crowd.

And, of course, player models would need to be different each replay, so that elite players won't simply learn all variations.

Pint0 Xtreme · Post by **Pint0 Xtreme** » 2007-09-12 04:18pm

PeZook wrote:The players would always be regonizable from AI, simply because of the way they move.

There are a number of possible solutions to blend player movements with the rest of the NPCs. I believe Assassin's Creed's input system does precisely that. Or at least they try. For example, when the player is moving through the crowd, their character will traverse through the crowd in the same fashion as all the NPCs surrounding them. Some people will hate the fact that they don't have full-control of their character but I think in a game where blending with the crowd is critical to your success, most people would agree that it's a good thing.

AI would have to occasionally do random stuff. Or every mission should just take place in a huge crowd.

I would also argue that the players would need a wide array of "irrelevant" activities such as playing the slot machine, using the toilet, sitting down reading a newspaper etc. With a greater number of available activities, it's much easier to make random environments and less-than-deterministic NPCs for the players to blend in with.

And, of course, player models would need to be different each replay, so that elite players won't simply learn all variations.

I don't see how that's an issue. Simply include the NPC models as available player models and allow them to pick and choose which outfit to choose before the start of the mission. I think all these things are possible.

Pint0 Xtreme · Post by **Pint0 Xtreme** » 2007-09-12 04:38pm

chitoryu12 wrote:You could do it so that a certain amount of their face detail must be visible before a nametag shows up. It could be as if your character has to recognize someone by their face.

That's a terrible idea! Players should be identified through their actions, not some cheesy nametag like some MMO.

Post by **weemadando** » 2007-09-12 06:35pm

I always advocated this MP system:

1 - The VIP is an AI with a tight schedule and a simple command scheme (take route x, stop, go, get back). By tight schedule, I mean that they have to be at certain points at certain times (say, going to make a speech, or join a motorcade or similar)

2 - One player is the assassin, who gets to select an appearance at the start of each round so its not immediately apparent who it is. They have full control and the ability to roam at will.

3 - The rest of the players are security, be they USSS, police or private. They must have x amount of people (determine by the amount of players) within a certain VERY SHORT range of the primary at all times, meaning that they just can't fan out and turn it into deathmatch. They are BRUTALLY punished scorewise should any civilian be killed or harmed by them.

Other than that, it plays just like any other game of Hitman.

chitoryu12 · Post by **chitoryu12** » 2007-09-13 06:32pm

Is it just me, or is it really easy to get Silent Assassin in this game? I did A New Life and Curtains Down in a row and SAed both of them within ten minutes or less each. Especially since up until last week, I hadn't played it at all for a long time.

GuppyShark · Post by **GuppyShark** » 2007-09-14 07:33am

Just finished the game.

Loved the ending!

I hear there's a Hitman movie in the works. If it uses the Blood Money plot, it'll be awesome.

Enigma · Post by **Enigma** » 2007-09-14 08:05am

GuppyShark wrote:Just finished the game.

Loved the ending!

I hear there's a Hitman movie in the works. If it uses the Blood Money plot, it'll be awesome.

After watching Transporter again recently, I still wished it was Jason Statham that had the role of 47.

chitoryu12 · Post by **chitoryu12** » 2007-09-14 05:45pm

Enigma wrote:
GuppyShark wrote:Just finished the game.

Loved the ending!

I hear there's a Hitman movie in the works. If it uses the Blood Money plot, it'll be awesome.
After watching Transporter again recently, I still wished it was Jason Statham that had the role of 47.

Hell, they could just grab 47's voice actor. He DOES look exactly like him, after all.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2007-09-14 06:21pm

chitoryu12 wrote:
Enigma wrote:
GuppyShark wrote:Just finished the game.

Loved the ending!

I hear there's a Hitman movie in the works. If it uses the Blood Money plot, it'll be awesome.
After watching Transporter again recently, I still wished it was Jason Statham that had the role of 47.
Hell, they could just grab 47's voice actor. He DOES look exactly like him, after all.

Isn't Statham the VA for hitman?

Decue · Post by **Decue** » 2007-09-15 04:02am

The Yosemite Bear wrote:
chitoryu12 wrote:
Enigma wrote:
After watching Transporter again recently, I still wished it was Jason Statham that had the role of 47.
Hell, they could just grab 47's voice actor. He DOES look exactly like him, after all.
Isn't Statham the VA for hitman?

Nope, David Bateson is.

chitoryu12 · Post by **chitoryu12** » 2007-09-15 10:13am

His website is right here. He looks exactly like 47. Just dye his eyebrows black and he's perfect.

Ford Prefect · Post by **Ford Prefect** » 2007-09-16 08:34am

chitoryu12 wrote:Is it just me, or is it really easy to get Silent Assassin in this game? I did A New Life and Curtains Down in a row and SAed both of them within ten minutes or less each. Especially since up until last week, I hadn't played it at all for a long time.

it depends on the difficulty, of course. A New Life and Curtains Down are pretty simple just generally, even on Professional, but some missions would be practically obscene. Certainly, I'm not looking forward to Murder of Crows on Professional.