August 3, 2007 - For anyone who has played the Hitman series, the memories of Agent 47 won't soon be forgotten. There's nothing quite like a bald head with a barcode stamped into the back to inspire some fear in his targets. Eidos has found it fit to release the three most recent games in the series as one packaged purchase, dubbed the Hitman Trilogy.

The gameplay has generally been the same throughout the series: Agent 47 is to infiltrate a location and take down a target with as little fuss as possible. Stealth and intelligence are the issues here, not the size of the guns. Taking down the target with no witnesses is the objective, and throughout the missions are often ways to do just that without firing a single bullet. Whether this means staying out of sight entirely or hiding in plain view with the disguises taken from the bodies of your victims, taking out your enemies before they even know you're there is the key to completing your goals.

It was a little disappointing to see that the package includes the games with no changes whatsoever. The copy of Hitman: Silent Assassin even comes with trailers for 'upcoming' games such as Legacy of Kain: Defiance (which, incidentally, was released 2004). What would've been nice is a unified interface, control scheme, game engine, or even menu screen, but this is not the case. The result is still enjoyable gameplay, but it would've been nice to see some sort of change or appearance that unified the three titles.

With the three games, it's easy to see the series evolve with each iteration. The action starts in Silent Assassin as Agent 47 must work for the mysterious Agency to get enough funds to free his priestly friend, while Contracts instead focuses on the past of the hitman, delving into his missions that he took part in after escaping from the events of the first game in the Hitman series. The best is, of course, Blood Money, where a rival agency threatens to take down Agent 47 and his employers for good. A new engine and a slew of new additions easily made this the best addition to the series yet.

Each game has its good points and its bad points, and to list them all would require a separate review for each. This package is a great deal for anyone who has yet to play the series, but it is essentially a trio of games that are years old. Fortunately, all the games are fun to play. One of the problems with a package like this is that a great game like Blood Money really shows the age of Silent Assassin.

These are three great games selling for a good price. Although it's great for those who don't have the games already, anyone who has purchased or even played the titles doesn't really have much reason to purchase them again. The lack of any extra inclusions whatsoever is pretty disappointing, but it doesn't detract from the games themselves. It just would've been nice to have more offered.

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