this game is a classic. it held up for a remarkably long time; i replayed it over and over in a way i was never tempted to by its predecessors, Hitman 2 : Silent Assassin and Hitman: Contracts, or even its sequel Hitman: Absolution

the levels are memorable and well-designed, with a variety of routes, there is an incredible variety of possible assassination methods, the mechanics of "hiding in plain sight" are fairly well-realized for the time, and the Jasper Kyd's score is also very good. the atmosphere of this title is much less edgy than Contracts, which some may miss. Blood Money has more of a sophisticated/cosmopolitan James Bond vibe, although most of the levels are set in the United States. the story also really isn't especially interesting, but it doesn't really matter because the environments are so compelling

there's a reason fans of the series viewed this as the best title for a full decade until the beginning of the World of Assassination trilogy in 2016. with the release of HITMAN (2016), Blood Money was finally dated, and with the three incredible WOA titles available, there isn't really much reason to revisit Blood Money any longer

still, the more open-ended puzzle sandbox of Blood Money is unquestionably the inspiration for the much larger and more complex games of the WOA trilogy