newdarkcloud plays Hitman: Blood Money - Episode 12 (Finale) - No Witnesses

Anyone who knows about Blood Money knew this episode was coming, but it is the finale and the natural place to end an LP of the game.



I'm a little disappointed, because I was prepared to go into a large tirade about how difficult this gunfight is, because I died so many times to it.

But then I went and killed everyone the first time, without need to give it a second shot, ruining said tirade.

Like the White House, it's a cool idea. However, for it to really work, the player needs the ability to mow down all the mooks with little difficulty. I'd probably have given 47 extra defense or outfitted the enemies with weak weapons that don't do much damage.

Instead, it's just the usual guards and guns. Players will probably die countless times to it before they get it right.

Fortunately, this is all just a prelude to my next project. See you next time, when we play the new Hitman, which will start on Monday, September 19th.

newdarkcloud plays Hitman: Blood Money - Episode 11: Part 2 - None Of You Are Safe

We finish the worst, and final, mission in Hitman: Blood Money today:



Last time, I wrote about how awful it was that this level runs you through a linear sequence of rooms like the tutorial.

newdarkcloud plays Hitman: Blood Money - Part 11 - The Final Contract

Today, we break into the White House to stop the president from killing the Vice President:



With the exception of the tutorial, which is only linear so that it can teach players about the game's mechanics, this is the worst, most linear level in the entire game.

newdarkcloud plays Hitman: Blood Money - Episode 10: Part 2 - An Angel Clips Its Wings

Today, we finish up our Vegas activities.



Another thing this mission highlights is the thrill of system/simulation-driven design. Every NPC in this mission has a set routine, and the player succeeds by recognizing those routines and exploiting them, either with disguise. Though he spoke about it in the context of Deus Ex, Mark Brown and Game Maker's Toolkit did a great video on it here.

newdarkcloud plays Hitman: Blood Money - Episode 9 - The Ultimate Gamble

You know what they say: What happens in Vegas stays in body dumps!

Back when Hitman: Absolution came out, people (rightfully) got angry over some of the strange marketing decisions made. Most notable, was the reveal of The Saints, assassins in bondage suits who disguised themselves as nuns.

newdarkcloud plays Hitman: Blood Money - Episode 8 - Shotgun Wedding

Another episode in Mississippi, this time we go to murder a groom and his would-be father-in-law at a his wedding.



Like the birthday party in Episode 4, this is another small, but dense level filled with murderous possibilities.

On top of that the implications that the bribe is also the client adds a neat level of intrigue to the whole mission. Not much to say about it, but it's at least worth noting.

newdarkcloud plays Hitman: Blood Money - Episode 7 - Blood on the Bayou

Today, we get down and dirty in the swamps of Mississippi:



Back in the Mardi Gras mission (Episode 5: Part 1) I discussed the problem Blood Money has where guards exist in a binary. They either shoot you on sight or are completely unaware of any danger.

newdarkcloud plays Hitman: Blood Money - Episode 6: Part 2 - Have a Holly, Jolly Hitman

Let's try this again....

To clarify my point, when I say that the game manipulates you into thinking like a psychopath like Agent 47, I don't mean that as a negative criticism of the game.

newdarkcloud plays Hitman: Blood Money - Episode 6: Part 1 - Hot Tub Murder Machine

This next one is short, but I promise to make up for it.



It only occurs to me now, but they could easily solve that subtitle problem by just shifting the subtitles down into the black space under the cutscenes. They're half-in and half-out of the shot.

newdarkcloud plays Hitman: Blood Money - Episode 5: Part 2 - Late to the Murder Party

Welcome to the party. I hope you remembered your chicken suit.



One thing I noticed about this mission after watching the tape is that the chicken suits serve an second purpose, other than just being a joke.

newdarkcloud plays Hitman: Blood Money - Episode 5: Part 1: Mardi Fail

And thus we begin one of the most well known and loved missions in Hitman: Blood Money.



This video talks a lot about one of the problems in Blood Money, and that's how quickly guards are willing to open fire on you.

newdarkcloud plays Hitman: Blood Money - Episode 4 - Poking, Prodding, and Used Panties

You've been invited to a very special day. It's the day where Suzie's dad dies during her own birthday party...



This is without a doubt my personal favorite mission in the game. Though the actual house is small, there's so much going on within that house that you'd be surprised. There are donut-loving FBI Agents, seductive housewives, used panties, pool boys, waiters, and even a party clown. And any or all of them could come into play during the mission.

newdarkcloud plays Hitman: Blood Money - Episode 3: Part 2 - Clinical Aggression

In this episode, we redeem our failures from the previous run:



You can kinda see the genesis of the Contracts Mode that I/O Interactive introduced in Hitman: Absolution (and Hitman 2016 later) here. Even though we have a clear, primary target to take out, we also have two other targets that provide bonuses.

newdarkcloud plays Hitman: Blood Money - Episode 3: Part 1 - Bad and Wrong Hitman

In this episode of Hitman: Blood Money, we save one dude in order to murder three.



...or we would if I didn't screw it up.

I'm really glad that I messed up the way I did though, because this is a lot of what Hitman ends up being. You try one method, make some mistakes, and learn from them. Then, armed with what you learned the last time, you try something new. This process keeps going until you can make stunning assassinations flawlessly. Going back to that video I mentioned in the last episode, this is a good demonstration of that.

Next time, I manage to do this right...

newdarkcloud plays Hitman: Blood Money - Episode 2 - Assassin of the Opera

In this episode, we enter the opera house to enjoy the show... and murder some people!



In order to elaborate a point I made in the episode, this game operates on a "realistic surrealism". What I meant by that is that the things that Agent 47 can do are completely absurd in the context of real life. There's no way that his disguises should work, and many of the props in the game (like the over-sized laundry bins and trash cans) are deliberately created out of proportion to facilitate gameplay.

newdarkcloud plays HItman: Blood Money - Episode 1 - Mistakes Were Made

Another new series for you guys, and this time it's just me, going solo. I'll be running through and talking a bit about Hitman: Blood Money.

To start off, I should acknowledge the absolutely terrible quality of my audio during this recording. Unfortunately, by the time I started editing these videos, I made already completed three assassinations.

I also admit that I found it extremely hard to keep the dialog going. I'm used to playing off other people after all the many projects I've been involved with. Without that buffer, I suffered a bout of stage-fright and just kinda went blank. It's something I hope to practice and iron out the more I do these solo LPs.