HITMAN BLOOD AND MONEY (XBOX 360)

In a nutshell:
Agent 47 is back in the game that finally does full justice to the Hitman concept, with huge improvements to the graphics, controls and, most importantly, the number of ways for you to plan your hits – from wading in guns blazing to making it all look like a simple accident.

The lowdown:
Although the Hitman games were always a great idea they never quite worked the way you expected, with an awkward control system and camera and far less freedom than it at first seemed. This latest sequel solves almost all these problems, starting with a standard third person camera over which you have full control. Although you can ask for hints on how to carry out a hit you’ve so many options the game’s almost like a macabre graphic adventure - do you use the remote detonated bomb on the chandelier winch in the ballroom or plug the secretary’s Coke with poison and hide in the cupboard? The new notoriety system seems a bit pointless but otherwise this gets almost everything right.

Most exciting moment:
The game features tons of new additions like grabbing human shields, a quick draw for your gun and the ability to hide bodies. The most fun though is the simple sounding push option, which allows you to sneak up behind someone and send them flying off a balcony by "accident".

Since you ask:
Blood Money includes various references to previous Hitman games, the most prominent being the Paris mission in an Opera house, which acts as a prequel to Hitman: Contracts.

The bottom line:
The best Hitman game yet, that makes a real effort to fix the flaws of the previous games.
Harrison Dent