Just before 2014 is done I managed to make my way through Hitman: Blood Money, the last game in the Hitman HD Trilogy that I bought at the end of 2013. I think part of the reason that I really got through this game quickly was because I played it on Normal (7 saves, regular AI), but still I was mostly playing for the storyline and not the achievements which makes this sort of a speedrun for me.  Despite the speed at which I played this game it was actually pretty good, and much better than the previous two I played.  The story is a continuation from Hitman: Contracts where the Agency is being targeted and all agents are, except for 47, are actually dead.

If you are paying attention, the load-screens at the beginning of each stage do foreshadow that the FBI has actually killed Agent 47. The story unwraps in flashback mode.  Some FBI director is detailing a particular scoop about how the FBI has finally caught up with the Agency and 47. As the director details specific hits, you play as Agent 47 and relive the mission.  The underlying plot, with which the story culminates, is that the Vice President of the US is looking to kill off the President to take over the country and Agent 47 needs to infiltrate the White House to kill off the assassins and the VP. In the end, after that final mission, it appears that Dianne has double crossed 47 by bringing the FBI to his location, but has she?  She gives him the same drug that 47 gave to that Agent he rescued from a previous mission (btw, am I supposed to recall who this guy is?), and at the mortuary she administers the revival counter-agent to the drug she gave him, along with placing two ballers in you hands.

The story in this game seemed much better than both the previous games combined.  The game play was also pretty nice. It seemed less linear than before, and it encouraged me, as a player, to see alternate routes and experiment more.  At the end of the day I attempted to really get as many Silent Assassin ratings as possible.  It didn't always happen, but this game actually made me want to care about more stealth ratings.  I did see Hitman: Absolution - the next game in the series - at a GameStop a few weeks ago, used, for $7. Maybe this is something to try out before school starts!

Overall, I would give this game an 8/10.  Not bad at all!