IO Interactive

The safety and relative ease with which the player can now experiment robs Blood Money of its predecessors' nail-biting tension and perhaps only in retrospect can we realize how much the unknowability of the simulation made it all the more engrossing.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs

A huge fan of Agent 47, I found myself nodding in agreement after reading Scott's evaluation. The first time I laid hands on a Hitman game was a genuinely unforgettable experience. Contracts delivers more of the same, which is not a bad thing.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs

I did a lot of waiting in Hitman: Contracts. I did a lot of walking, too. That's pretty much the whole game—waiting and walking, walking and waiting. Sounds dull when I put it that way, but I'm telling you, never before have these two seemingly banal acts been fraught with so much simmering tension.

Game Description: Hitman: Contracts takes players back into the world of Agent 47, genetically engineered assassin. In this new game, we find him in a hotel room in Paris. Shot up and full of painkillers, he begins hallucinating. As his mind wanders, we'll travel to the missions that left him in this sorry state. Amazing locations, from a realistic slaughterhouse to incredible recreations of Holland, France, China, England & more Incredible all-new graphics and advanced AI pull you into the world of the assassin.

Brad's right—Freedom Fighters' juvenile take on world politics is indeed a missed opportunity, particularly during these volatile times. It could have been the videogame equivalent of Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket or Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front. Instead, the game is content being as politically shallow as Stripes.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Violence

One school of thought says that videogames are pure entertainment, nothing more, nothing less. Taking a different view, some suggest that the power of a well-crafted interactive experience can be more significant than an afternoon of frivolous distraction. The answer likely lies somewhere in between, but for any game, it's important to consider the content and the context in which it is couched.