Manhunt

"If You Like Stealth Games and Grand Theft Auto, Your Going To Love Manhunt!"

Back in the day when Grand Theft Auto first came out on the Playstation and the PC, people complained about the violence and foul language. Then, when the Playstation 2 came out Rockstar (aka DMA Design) released Grand Theft Auto 3, one of the most controversial games ever created because of it's violence, foul language, drug references and, well, let's just say ''special'' activities performed with various women of the night. So, given that, it's safe to say that Rockstar likes to keep pushing the boundaries with it's new games, and their latest game, Manhunt, is no exception.

Story

You play the role of James Earl Cash, a convicted murderer sentenced to death by lethal injection. The prison guards lead you to the execution room to meet your fate. Later you wake up in a small room. A man begins talking to you via a nearby speaker on the wall. He identifies himself as Lionel Starkweather. He makes snuff films for his own morbid enjoyment and he faked your execution so that you could be the star of his latest film. He has dropped you in the middle of Carcer city, which is also populated by Starkweather's hired gangs. He will help you find your way out of this city and give you your freedom, but in return you must satisfy his sick desires by killing said gang members in some of the most brutal ways you can think of. Personally, I thought this was a very interesting premise for a game. I really loved the idea. The only thing is, they didn't really follow through much with it. What's there is very good, but I would have liked just a little more. 8.5/10

Graphics

The graphics in Manhunt are quite good. The atmosphere is dark and depressing and Carcer City looks old and run-down, perfect for a game of this type. The textures aren't amazingly detailed but they certainly get the job done. The characters look great in game, but look slightly edged in certain cut scenes. On the other hand, the animations are quite good. Cash moves with fluidity and most of his attacks look smooth and realistic. The game does get kind of dark at times, which makes it difficult to see certain threats, but I think it was done on purpose and if it is too dark for you, you can always adjust the brightness. One more thing, 90 percent of the time the camera is fine and stays with you, but sometimes when you are near a wall or going around a corner the camera seems to get ''caught'' and it kind of jiggles for a brief second while it tries to catch up. But, like I said, this happens rarely and I have never had it happen when I was running from hunters or in the middle of a fight. 9/10

Sound

The sound in Manhunt is excellent. The music is very quiet and not noticeable most of the time when you are sneaking but ramps up when you are spotted, and that’s how it should be. I don’t want loud, annoying music going when I’m sneaking around, it would ruin the mood of the game. Also, nearly all the voice acting in Manhunt is great. Hunters have a wide variety of things to say, whether they are talking to others, trying to lure you out of thee shadows, or just mumbling to themselves. The things you will hear will also vary depending on which gang you are up against at the time. For example, the Skins, a white supremacist gang, will yell things at you such as “Half breed!” and “Mud blood!” While the Smileys, a gang of mentally handicapped people, will utter nonsense to themselves and scream things like “I’m gonna squeeze out all your head juice!” at you. His brings up another thing about the sound…foul language. The gang members, and Starkweather all use quite a bit of foul language during the game. The “F” word is uttered quite frequently among just about every other cuss word you can think of. But, hey, this is one of the reasons the game is rated mature. 9.5/10

Gameplay

Sure, it’s pretty, it’s got nice voice acting and a good story, but who care’s about all of that stuff if the gameplay sucks? Well, thankfully the gameplay doesn’t suck. As you probably know, Manhunt is a Stealth game. Well, at least for the most part. There are many shootouts during the second half of the game, which are quite fun, I might add. But, for the most part, you use stealth. You can try fighting with whatever weapon you have, but if you get more than one hunter on you at a time, your pretty much dead unless you have a gun so it is best to hide in shadows so that hunters can’t see you, or hide behind objects and then sneak up and go for the kill, which brings me to the most controversial part of this game. The violence. Manhunt is a very violent game. Easily the goriest I have ever played. There are 3 levels of stealth kills, or “executions” per melee weapon. To get a level 1 (the least violent kill) simply sneak up behind a hunter, keep getting closer until Cash raises his arm signaling he’s ready to deliver a kill, tap X or Square and there you go, a level 1 kill. For a level 2, once again, sneak up, wait for the arm to raise but now press and hold square or X until the targets on the hunter turn yellow, release the button and you perform a level 2 kill. For a level 3 do the same as you did for the level 2, but hold the button longer, until the target turns red, then release. It’s that simple. You get more points, which get you extras like artwork and stuff, by doing level 3 kills, but you have to hold there longer, which means you are more likely to be spotted. But, anyway, like I was saying, these kills are gruesome. Bones are broken, people are suffocated, skulls are shattered, little pieces of brain matter splatter up against walls. So you can get an idea of the violence and the executions, I’ll tell you about the 3 levels of kills with the wire. Level 1: wraps the wire around the guy’s neck, blood starts spurting and the guy dies. Level 2: Cash wraps the wire around the guy’s neck, turn him around, looks him in the face, and keeps pulling harder, while the guy gasps for air until he dies. Level 3: Cash wraps the wire around the guy’s neck, the guy falls to his knees. Cash puts his knee on the back of the guy’s head, starts working the wire deeper in to the guy’s neck, starts “sawing” with it, gives on final yank and the person’s head plops on to the ground. So, as you can this game is not intended for children. So, parents, don’t go blaming Rockstar for showing your kid all of this violence if you were stupid enough to ignore the mature rating and buy this game for him or her. This game is for mature audiences only. 9.5/10

Overall

In case you couldn’t tell, I loved this game. It’s got an awesome premise, good graphics, great sound and the best stealth gameplay in a long time. Yes it is filled with cussing, yes it is gory yes it is disturbing (Piggsy, anyone?) but it is also just a flat out great game. I know most are going to be drawn in purely due to the gore, hell, I was, but people are going to keep playing because it is a fun game. And I’ll say this one more time, PARENTS, THIS IS NOT FOR KIDS. Do us all a favor and keep this game out of little Timmy’s hands so that us older gamers can continue to enjoy mature-themed games like this. I highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys stealth games and Grand Theft Auto (because it controls similarly to GTA) and is old enough to handle the content.

9.2/10 (Rounded to 9 for Gamefaqs)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/29/03