A Murder of Crows is the 6th mission in Hitman Blood Money and is arguably 1 of the most impressive missions of any Hitman Game, even rivalling today’s offerings in my opinion. In the build up to Blood Moneys release, A Murder of Crows was shown off for its next gen crowd dynamics and the scale of the level.
A Murder of Crows Follows a Plot… then Doesn’t
As discussed in the Blood Money Level Formula, targets need to have routines that can be interrupted manipulated and A Murder of Crows has several moving parts that all function independently as well as merge with each other. It starts off with Agent 47 in the same bar as a delivery man in a red bird costume who is tasked with delivering some diamonds to 1 of the targets, Raymond Kulinsky. The player can follow this bird around the map, incapacitate him, and deliver the diamonds themselves under disguise which then gets them involved with the assassination plot.
This is a great opening hook because at the start of the mission only Raymond is shown as a target on the map and whilst you can just head over to this building, it is well guarded and near impossible to get to him without killing a few guards. The player must kill 1 of the targets to acquire an earpiece which then displays the location of the other targets around the sprawling map.
It is then a massive shame that the plot never evolves past Raymond getting the delivery of diamonds since this set up has so much potential. Aside from the delivery guy (who just becomes another guard for Raymond after the delivery) and Angelina Mason, another target who wanders between a few back alleys and never interacts with anyone, Raymond and Mark Purayah Jr only roam around the small rooms they inhabit and occasionally look over a balcony.
Mark doesn’t even kill the politician which I feel like would have been a great fail state for if the assassination plot continues to its conclusion. This could have been tied to the targets making preparations together or just if the politicians float does x number of cycles but to have nothing come from the plot leaves A Murder of Crows feeling empty.
The Map Steals the Show
I’d argue that this map is 1 of the best we’ll ever see in a Hitman game due to how it uses levels and hidden rooms to creates a feeling of expansiveness. Many of the buildings around the map can be entered, there are 3 core bars with different layouts that you need to navigate because Mark can spawn in any of them, and even the starting hotel can be explored to find a saferoom and a waiter outfit.
The crowd dynamic is impressive but doesn’t see much use other than potentially making it harder to follow targets, especially Angelina whose small black head disappears in a crowd, and to deter being opening violent. If a gunfight does break out it also feels especially epic as you can be running through the crowd as shots are killing everyone around you.
As well as civilians, the map is populated by police and hospitality staff whose disguises allow them a lot of flexibility within the different buildings. The waiter disguise is especially useful since all the bars have kitchen areas by the stairs and a chef that you’ve got to get past before you can ascend to Mark.
I do question the door policy of the bars since you’ll often be refused entry on the door but then if you’re found inside you won’t be asked to leave but this can be put down to an oversight.
There are also several smaller areas/rooms that can be accessed through climbing pipes and doing some parkour that then offer vantage points or the opportunity for accidents. This, similarly, to A New Life, goes to show that many smaller moments can come together to make the whole thing feel like more than is actually there.
How the Assassination Plot Could be Improved
The biggest let down of A Murder of Crows is that the assignation plot starts and ends with the delivery guy despite there being many moving parts around the map. I don’t know if there was more planned and was cut due to restraints or budget but either way I feel like this lets the map down. I’m going to offer a few simple ideas for how the plot could have continued and ended with the politician being assassinated.
The first idea would be for the payment to be a starting point for events to go ahead, such as Raymond will pay Mark with the diamonds, but he needs to get the diamonds first. Raymond could then call for Angelina meet Mark in a separate area to transfer the diamonds over or drop the diamonds into a drop point, and then the assassination can go ahead. This could take the length of time of the politician doing 3 rounds of the map or it could be dependant solely on when the plot finishes, but either idea this allows for several opportunities for the player to intercept or manipulate events.
Another idea, which would also be easier, could be the expand the role of the delivery man so he meets with all of the targets and exchanges items with them. You could take this a step further by never revealing the location of the other targets on the map and the player only learning of them by following along with the plot. The delivery man could be told by Raymond to deliver a note to Mark or Angelina by meeting them at x location and then have to go there and wait for them to arrive.
Is A Murder of Crows a Good Hitman Level?
A Murder of Crows sets up something really interesting but then stops after the first point. This is disappointing as even simple steps in the plan, such as Mark shooting the mayor, aren’t even in the level. The plan starts and stops with the briefcase being delivered.
This hurts A Murder of Crows, but I don’t feel like it brings the level down. The map is impressive, and it feels immersive so I don’t think many players will realise the missed potential. Overall, it’s a good level with a lot of potential.
In Conclusion
- The assassination plot and the moving parts are impressive by let down by ending very quickly with no fail state
- The map steals the show with it’s many layers, crowd dynamics, and expansiveness achieved by having many smaller areas/rooms that can be accessed through parkour
