Comments on: Blood Money And Sex

By: sigh

sigh — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:24:35 +0000

how about you get rid of that stupid fucking thing blocking half the page on the right.

By: Jackohbite

Jackohbite — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 11:33:48 +0000

Gotta say, I recently started trying to actually finish Hitman (I have a kind of a long list of games I need to finish) and an incident in the Porn King level made this article ring especially true for me. Not the, well, the whole level, though that was part of it (those poor girls were cold and I felt bad for them) but one incident in particular. Super duper spoilers There's a part where you can slip an aphrodisiac into your targets drink, making him drag a woman back to his room to give him a lapdance. I followed them, obviously, not sure how it'd end and wanting to be close so I could walk in, block him and shoot him once it was over and the girl had left, and after they entered the room I looked through the keyhole. The view was totally obscured by the (ridiculously busty) girl giving the target a lapdance, and yet I watched, for almost a minute. That's not the amazing thing, the amazing thing is I was watching it because I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to kill the guy she was dancing for. Not because of her. Her ass was an annoyance and an obstruction and I hope never to say that collection of words in the same sentence ever again. I watched because I wanted to be sure that I'd be able to kill this guy, and didn't even consider anything else. That's what this game can do. Inspire dark actions? Shit, GTA didn't make me act this cold and disconnected. Of course, later I realized I had a map that'd let me watch their movements remotely without getting a face full of ass, but shut up, the point stands.

By: Lampica

Lampica — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 06:46:40 +0000

@Lain - what are you on about? If you don't want to kill in video games then obviously you should avoid a title called "Hitman" right? Pretty basic...

There actually are lots of non-violent games out there. Plenty of interesting adventure games, exploration games, stealth games, sports games, and puzzlers. Even some Action RPGs where most violence is optional and non-violent solutions exist to most objectives. These games have been a mainstay in video games since the beginning and continue to be developed and released now too. Remember Pong? Frogger? Old school text based RPGs, Sierra's old point and click adventure games, Myst, Sim City. Oblivion, and Fallout3 both offer innumerable alternatives to violence, as well as Deus Ex (the original) - though of course these conflict oriented action games have some parts where the only way forward in the story is some physical confrontation, though I think they are a far cry from what you're saying. Certainly they offer more ways of interacting with the game than killing. You yourself even mentioned The Sims, but somehow managed to fault even that game for violence - go figure...

Minecraft is pretty fun. You don't really have to kill anything in that game though the possibility is there. There are thousands of really great flash games which are not based even remotely on violence as well.

@Chijts - The first game invented did not have anything to do with spaceships. I think it was probably wrestling. The first 'video' game was also neither violent nor about spaceships. I believe that the first video game to be released commercially was Pong, you hit the ball back and forth with blocks that you could move up and down on each side of the screen. Unless you want to get very abstract then Pong was not about killing and even in an abstract sense, no more violent than tennis or table hockey.

And as I mentioned above, non-violent games have not gone away, and continue to be produced and released to this day.

@Pentadact & The_B - I have my own doubts about whether games only truly appeal when they let us do things we can't normally do.. What about all the video game versions of card games. Solitaire even. Not many people can't play a real game of solitaire. Pool. Looking way back there was an old game that let you play hacky-sack by yourself. There are games where you make tacos. If you make them in real life you get to eat them too, yet these games do hold some appeal.

Certainly escapism and fantasy fulfillment do play major roles in the appeal of video games, but I have don't buy that there are not many other factors at play here as well. Heck, a big part of why I play games is just enjoy the art that goes into them. To look at the ingenious use of polygons and textures and animation. It is the same sense I get from looking at paintings by my favorite artists. I think the novelty of just seeing what can be done with computers plays a part in the appeal to many casual gamers. Colorful, happy cuteness appeals to many, and humor plays a role too. Some people's competitive nature draws them in, others get hooked on collecting and/or progress in the same way they may get hooked into just-one-more in many real life activities.

I had more thoughts on the actual game in question here but I got sidetracked by the comments, and now, I really have said too much...

By: Crowbar

Crowbar — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 03:06:09 +0000

That saves thing is annoying. Does anyone know if there's a mod for that? Or if there's a way I can fix it myself?

By: XChillaGorillaX

XChillaGorillaX — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:33:52 +0000

ok now I got two fave blogs. yours and 1Fo.. sorry I meant First Person Shouter :D
what a great gaming article. I really love Hitman but i didnt realise all those psychic tricks the developers use on us gamers.
but.. you wrote that there is no reward for accidents. at the one hand its true.. but at the other hand you just feel great and like a genius when you fake a death like this. There is also an archievment on the xbox 360 version for accidents. But well.. it gives you 5 Gamerscore which is like..almost.. nothing :D

By: Jazmeister

Jazmeister — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:06:59 +0000

I think the villain was fighting Wolverine and his plan was to not get shot and hopefully escape, but yeah. I should have said "exercise" caution. Jubilee's powers are fireworks, aren't they?! I think Wolverine pities her too much. Maybe it would be mercy. I remember she wrecks an arcade machine and the guys like "DO J00 NO HOW MUCH THAT COST!" and she says "A quarter?"

By: DoctorDisaster

DoctorDisaster — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:17:49 +0000

Wait, I thought we were talking about a villain.

By: Bret

Bret — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:22:26 +0000

Maybe the villain wanted to make Wolverine irritated enough to gut Jubilee like a fish.

By: DoctorDisaster

DoctorDisaster — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:33:47 +0000

Seriously? That was the villain's plan -- have Jubilee shoot the guy who heals gunshot wounds in like a second? That must have been an incredibly stupid villain.

I think the black box did attract attention to the possibility of impersonating you. (Why doesn't 'impostor' have a verb form?) It also made it possible to do it just as a way of messing around, without actually confusing people. You have removed the real-world consequences for fakery and now you are reaping the whirlwind, or something.

By: Jazmeister

Jazmeister — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:16:44 +0000

I remember this X-Men cartoon where there are two wolverines and Jubilee has a gun and one says "Shoot us both! It's the only way to be sure!" and she shoots the other one - who turns out to be the real wolverine, who just says "Well, you live n learn, kid|bub".

1) Get a picture of Tom - one of those ones where he's thoughtfully looking at the top right corner.
2) Copy it and flip it, so there are two looking at the top centre.
3) Apply flexo beard.
4) Repeat for further subjects - apply caution with Rossignol.

By: Bret

Bret — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 01:09:36 +0000

If that really was Tom...
Or do all the impostor's points go to the real Tom?

By: Formerly Cpt.Muffin

Formerly Cpt.Muffin — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:44:58 +0000

Tom gains a Futurama contextual reference point.

By: Pentadact

Pentadact — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:59:24 +0000

Shoot Flexo!

By: Bret

Bret — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:49:19 +0000

So, should we just shoot you both?

By: Pentadact

Pentadact — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:40:10 +0000

Touché, sir.

By: Pentadact

Pentadact — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:37:42 +0000

Actually, I think I'll do that. From now on, all imposters have a black border to indicate their foolishness.

By: Pentadact

Pentadact — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:21:43 +0000

I can't help noticing that since I made it difficult to imitate me, I've had a lot more people trying to imitate me. I could probably tweak it to replace 'Pentadact' with 'Imposter' when this happens.

By: HoW Monty

HoW Monty — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:26:05 +0000

Sorry bout that, was just testing to see if my comment would come up in black. Well programmed.

By: Pentadact

Pentadact — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:23:30 +0000

Good article.

By: Cptn.Average

Cptn.Average — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 05:02:03 +0000

Not to be undermine the debate, but Iain I think you may be a little bit overcritical of the games themes considering its title is "Hitman: Blood Money". It's obviously a game that's been designed from the outset to portay a grim subject, and it seems to have at least done it in a stylish and dramatic way, which many games fail to achieve.