The boys and girls at Copenhagen-based Io Interactive have done awfully well for themselves. Thanks to their Glacier Engine and a certain bald-headed, bar-coded assassin, they've been able to pump out a steady stream of critically-acclaimed quasi-stealth action games (with the occasional dip into something new like Freedom Fighters). In many ways, Agent 47 and the Hitman games were what kept Eidos around after the Tomb Raider franchise going south.

With Lara firmly back on track, it's now Agent 47's turn, and IO aims to pave the way in Blood Money, featuring a new engine, a new storyline and a new, more open-ended approach to tackling missions. And lucky us, we only have to wait until the end of next month. Hitman is returning come May 30th, and it means plenty of garroting and playing dress-up in the uniforms of the dead for us!

See, 47 has made a name (or, uh, number) for himself being the stoic assassin type, and his agency, the ICA, have seen fit to reward him handsomely for his contribution. Problem is, fellow hitmen are getting gunned down systematically as a bigger, badder agency muscles its way into the scene. When contact with the ICA is severed, 47 sees it as a sign that he might be next, and decides to take the fight to his hunters.

The Blood Money title isn't just there for kicks (yes, we get a kick out of bloody titles for some reason), it's actually the spearhead of the new, less restrictive mission structure. Depending on how you spend said blood money after finishing missions and how you off targets, your arsenal will change to match your play style. Neat, huh?

With just over a month and a half for the development team to polish things up, we'll doubtlessly see something of Blood Money come E3 next month. We'll be sure to give updated impression