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Good: Presentation, graphics, sound, variety of ways to kill, challenge

Bad: Controls are a bit clunky sometimes, some clipping/ragdoll issues

Funniest moment by far: Dropping a piano on a girl's head while I was dressed as a giant bird

The Hitman games have always been solid to a degree, but most suffered from several annoyances. With each game, it seems like the franchise is working towards fixing these in an effort to provide a great gameplay experience. Hitman: Blood Money for the Xbox 360 is definitely the most fun I've had with the series, and it's the most playable to boot (although it hasn't fixed ALL the issues).

So many games in this post-GTA industry have tried to create "open-ended" gameplay, but most don't get the entire point of that concept. It worked with GTA because it gave the gamer an unprecedented level of freedom in terms of what to do and where to go. Hitman has always offered this same level of freedom, but in terms of how to kill. If you want to go balls-to-the-wall and run through the level guns-blazing, go for it. If you're more of the tactical type, this series offers you a ridiculous amount of options when it comes to dispensing of your target.

Many elements of the Metal Gear Solid series seem to have been borrowed, such as hiding bodies, donning disguises, eluding your pursuers by hiding in closets, etc. Despite these similarities, this series has a hugely different feel than the stealth classic. Whereas Solid Snake was a noble soldier with hopes of eliminating a nuclear threat, Agent 47 is a man who is simply doing his job. It should be noted, however, that his "job" occasionally includes dressing as a clown and killing women at birthday parties.

The freedom is truly incredible in Blood Money. If you don't want to dress as a clown to enter the party, why not disguise yourself as an FBI agent and rig the woman's barbeque grill with a ton of lighter fluid? While it was great going the clown route, it was just as fun to watch her burst into flames and then fall dead into the pool. Neither of these ideas work for you? That's fine, as there are dozens of other ways to successfully complete the mission. This isn't an isolated example of one well-crafted mission they're all like this.

You can incapacitate or murder targets using a truly impressive array of methods. It's possible to make things simple and strangle them with a fiber wire, or you could get crafty and put poison in their drink. You can snipe them from afar, or present them with a tray of deadly donuts. One of my favorite kills involved shooting out the underside of a glass-bottom Jacuzzi and watching the wealthy owner fall about 70 feet to his death.

Possibilities are endless, but the methods in which to perform these actions can be cumbersome at first. It's hard to put a finger on what makes it occasionally hard to control, but it usually revolves around the methods of equipping or dropping items. If you're standing over a dead law enforcement officer, it's hard to specify whether you want to pick up his gun, grab his keycard, or don his suit. It's also difficult to really make a true escape if you've been caught and shots have been fired.

Missions take place in a great variety of locales which range from a snowy Xmas get-together to a visually striking "Heaven-and-Hell" themed dance party. Agent 47 will visit operas, suburbs, wineries, and Mardi Gras in an effort to finish the job. After each mission, you'll get a very cool recap in the form of a local newspaper. The actual text of the article will vary depending on how you played the game.

As you make money, you'll be able to use your hard-earned cash to upgrade your weapons and various equipment. You can also use it to buy level-specific intelligence during gameplay. Blood Money introduces a notoriety system that rewards you for being more of the stealthy kind of gun-for-hire. After all, no one wants to hire a hitman that's going to make himself heard and massacre a bunch of innocent bystanders, right? The more blunders and senseless kills you make on your mission, the lower your asking price goes. It's a nice feature that adds to the realism of the game.

Blood Money is easily the best-looking of the franchise thanks to the power of the 360. Everything looks absolutely gorgeous in HD, especially the Mardi Gras level that features literally hundreds of NPC's walking the streets. Even when they're scrambling away from gunfire, the framerate doesn't drop a bit. There are a few instances of clipping issues and some occasional problems with the ragdoll physics. The latter usually only pops up when you're about to die, which puts the game into slow motion. During this phase, enemies fly ridiculously far when shot. At one point I shot a woman in the chest with a silenced pistol, which caused her body to fly about 40 feet in the air and spasm everywhere.

The sound and music only add to the technical excellence of the game. All of the soundtrack is perfectly suited to the mood of the game, and all effects sound great in 5.1 surround. There is a very noticeable touch of class in the presentation of this game that you don't see in the majority of other titles. Everything from the menus to the overall presentation just screams polish and attention to detail.

Hitman: Blood Money is easily the best game in the series. It features some gorgeous graphics, creative missions, lots of replay value, and a killer (no pun intended) last "mission." Even after beating it for the first time, there's plenty of reason to go back and see how many other ways you can go about it. Not for the simpleminded action fan, Hitman: Blood Money is bound to be a treat for those with patience and a taste for intelligent stealth.

Graphics: 9.0

Sound: 9.0

First Play: 8.0

Replay Value: 8.5

Gameplay: 8.5

Overall: 8.4