Eidos and Io Interactive will be bringing the eponymous Hitman back to the small screen next spring, with the arrival of Hitman: Blood Money on the PS2, and PC. Publisher told press that Agent 47 will be faced with a rival agency in his next outing, and he will even lose touch with the ICA in a conspiracy fuelled plot which sees him journey to America.

In America, Agent 47 will be paid in cash, which he can choose to spend as he so wishes, whilst always watching his back should he be next on his former employers hit list. Apparently, how the 'blood money' is spent will determine the agent's progress in the game, as well as which weapons become available for jobs.

"The most brutal and realistic simulation of life as the world's deadliest assassin" is promised thanks to the brand new version of the glacier engine being employed in this latest opus. "Considerable time and effort has been spent developing a new version of the Glacier engine that enables us to implement many new and exciting features," commented Io MD Janos Flösser. "The quality of the graphics and A.I. surpasses even our own expectations and this combined with a gripping narrative and the introduction of some really inventive characters makes us confident that Blood Money will be the greatest Hitman title to date."

By Luke Guttridge