Every “field agent” (that is, assassin) who works for the ICA is partnered with a “handler,” who briefs each agent on their upcoming assignments and serves as the agent’s primary liaison within the ICA. I bring that up because that notion brings us to Agent 47’s employers and how their hierarchy is structured… well, kind of.įor the entirety of Blood Money and its predecessors, Agent 47 is employed by the International Contract Agency, or ICA for short.
Ort-Meyer psychologically conditioned his creations in such a way that they would prove unquestioningly loyal to whomever knew how to control them. Thus, our legendarily-bald protagonist decided to simply go by “47.” I should also mention that Dr. Now, obviously, that string of numbers would be too much for the average person who is neither an accountant nor an otherwise insufferable nerd to remember, much less use as a form of identity. Due to this, he was subsequently officially identified as “640509-040147.” It just rolls right off the tongue, doesn’t it? Agent 47 was, as you may have gathered by now, Dr. So, he did what any sensible person in his position would do: he tattooed bar codes and specific strings of numbers onto the back of the heads of each of his creations. Otto Ort-Meyer, needed a way to differentiate his clones until he perfected the one who would ultimately go on to become the assassin we know from the series. 47,” or simply “47.” That’s because, as I alluded to a moment ago, the main character of the Hitman franchise is a clone created from the genetic material of five of the world’s best and most ruthless murderers, whether they worked for hire or otherwise.Ĥ7’s creator, Dr. You play as a man known to his employers and to the world as “Agent 47,” “Mr. It just dawned on me that I should probably explain a few things for the sake of people who might be completely unfamiliar with the Hitman franchise and/or any aspects of its story. Considering the game’s subject matter and the fact that it tasks players with controlling a man who was, quite literally, created by a mad scientist to be the perfect contract killer, I think the fact that Blood Money has the ability to put players inside Agent 47’s head in a sense really works in this title’s favor.
I’ll be discussing each aspect I’ve just mentioned in what I consider to be appropriate detail throughout the rest of this review.Īs I said in my “Forgotten Journeys” article on Blood Money, this title essentially showed me how to think like a professional assassin would. Lastly, I also ponder the idea shared by many people that Blood Money was the zenith of the Hitman franchise. That is, outside of more kid-friendly titles like Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. I reminisce about the fact that this title was my first real foray into the world of stealth games. When I hear those words, I think of an exemplary game in the stealth genre which was developed and published by IO Interactive all the way back in May of 2006. So, without further ado, the phrase in question is “ Hitman: Blood Money.”
Feel free to share them in this article’s comments if you’d like. I’d like for you, in turn, to think of your own memories and opinions about this phrase. Let’s perform a little thought experiment, shall we, folks? I’m going to say three simple words, and once I do, I will then spend time sharing with you my fondest memories and most deep-seated opinions associated with those words.