Manhunt

"Metal Gear Solid meets........a snuff film?"

Manhunt is one of the few games that I would actually caution parents from letting their kids getting if under age. I would scoff at parents for making such a big deal about the Grand Theft Auto series. While GTA may have mature aspects, it's not dark or extreme enough to have parents deprive their kids of the game. If I had a 12 or 13 year old, I would let him play GTA without much thought. Manhunt on the other hand is dark and violent enough to where younger gamers should veer towards something else. So parents, if you are reading this (and if you are I'd be shocked, most parents have no clue about games) I wouldn't pick this up for your wee tot, because you'll probably be appalled when they begin to play. Anyway, enough disclaimer. On to the review!

The game begins with you assuming the role of James Earl Cash. Mr. Cash was supposed to be put to death by the state, but was given a second chance at life. His second chance, unfortunately, involves him killing gang member after gang member so they don't kill him, all the while being taped.

To go through the game, and keep a low profile from all the gang members, you must be very stealthy. To do this, the shadows will become your best friend. Whenever you are covered in shadows, the enemies cannot see you, unless they saw you enter them. If you do have to fight one on one, you will take damage. If you are forced to fight two on one, it's better to run, as most likely you will be killed. You have a run gauge next to the health bar though, so you can't run forever.

To kill someone with stealth, you need to do a few things first. First, you need to have an item to use. There are certain items (plastic bag, glass shard) that are only used for stealth kills. Then you have weapons (crowbar, bat) that are used for melee attacks, or also stealth. Second, you must approach the enemy from behind. If you run up to him, he will here you, and be alerted. You can tell by looking on your radar to see how loud you are being. Any noise you make will create a red circle coming from your point on the radar. After you sneak behind the enemy, you can perform a stealth kill.

There are three different types of stealth kills. They are determined by how long you hold down the attack button before releasing it. When you initially lock on to an enemy, the cursor will be white. Pushing the attack button and then releasing it will perform a normal stealth kill. Holding the button longer until the cursor turns yellow will produce a violent kill. Holding longer will make a gruesome kill. The system for doing this very good, for if you want to perform a bloodier kill, you have to take the risk of the enemy seeing you. Performing more violent kills will give you more stars at the end of the level, which I will discuss later. When the kill happens, the game breaks to a short cinema shot from a camcorder. This enhances the kill making it more up close, and increasing the pleasure from doing more gruesome kills. Morbid, yes. Fun? Definitely.

There are other items you acquire such as bricks that you can throw or painkillers that increase your health.

After going through the first five levels or so the game begins to be repetitive. Because you can only hold one of each certain type of weapon (IE. one handgun, one heavy gun) there are times when I was afraid if I got rid of one weapon, I'd need the other one later. This especially came up when I could have either a gun or a crowbar. The gun cannot perform stealth kills like the crowbar, and if I ran out of ammo, I'd be screwed. This made me lurk in the dark longer then I probably needed to do, just so I could keep my stealth weapons. About midway through the game though, the action really picks up and makes the game ten times more enjoyable. Ammo is plenty and gun fights happen often.

After playing through levels, you are given stars due to your performance. On Fetish (normal) the highest number of stars you can get is four. One is given for a good time, the other three are style points. Style points are given by how you killed your enemies. More points are given or a gruesome stealth kill then say, having a boxing match with the guy. On Hardcore (Hard) you can get five stars, with one just for playing on hardcore. The stars unlock various things throughout the game, such as bonus levels and codes.

One thing that really bugged me though was the AI. If you are in a shadow, the enemy can't see you, even if they are right in your face! I realize that if stealth games were very realistic, they would be next to impossible, but come on! At times it got to be comical, with the enemies saying they can smell you when they're practically on top of you. Also, in the beginning of the game, some enemies would get stuck on a set path, and just twitch about 6 inches back and forth. As soon as I would approach them from behind, they would snap out of it and start hitting me. This didn't happen except for the beginning, which I found odd.

The voice acting for this game is top notch. It has some of the best characters and dialogue I have heard from a game in a long time. The director is perfect and the gang members say lines that made me laugh out loud a few times. Speaking of dialogue, the game doesn't get it's mature rating from just its' violence. The 'F' word is said (and written) quite a few times throughout the duration of the game. The game is dark and gritty, and having coarse language seems to fit. Swearing has been in movies for years, so having it in games is no big deal.

Graphics

The graphics are done pretty well. The different environments look and feel fleshed out. The character designs for the different types of gangs are unique and interesting. The gore is displayed nicely, with red chunks of flesh enhancing the mood.

Gameplay

The gameplay is a more stealth oriented in the beginning and more action towards the end. Knowing now what the whole game is like, the mixture is balanced quite well, but thinking it was going to be stealth the ENTIRE time, I started getting worried. Being forced to take a risk to perform a gruesome kill and reap the benefits was a smart way to do it, making the game stand out from other stealth titles.

Controls

All of the controls handled really well. The only problem was when leaning against edges that were slightly rounded, pushing the lock on button to swing out would cause the character not to lock on to the enemy, but face some other direction, and leave him wide open for blasting.

Sound

If there was any back round music throughout the game other then when you get noticed by an enemy, I can't remember any of it. The music when you get spotted though is pretty creepy, and helps to add to the suspense. The sound effects are pretty good. Different floors provide different noises and the like.

Replay

The game in itself took around 15 to 20 hours to beat the first run through. Going back to play it on Hardcore (with no radar) and getting five stars on each level would take quite awhile, and provide plenty of replay. I personally rented the game, and while if I owned it, I would replay it, I'm not going to lose any sleep over leaving it not 100% complete.

I expected this game to be somewhat like State of Emergency. Really fun for about an hour, and then after that the excitement is gone and so is $50. I am pleased to say that while it started that way, the action picks back up half way through the game, making it much more enjoyable. I am pleased having rented it, but if I had bought it, I wouldn't be screaming for my money back.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/05/03