Manhunt

"Rockstar North delivers another unforgettable masterpiece"

MANHUNT
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Introduction
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Ever heard of Rockstar North? The creators of Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City? Sure you have. Well their latest project, Manhunt, was sure to raise eyebrows on release. The level of violence and gore in this game is VERY EXTREME. I recommend to all parents and anyone over the age of 17 to keep this game away from anyone below the age of seventeen.

So what is Manhunt? Manhunt is a game about survival in a gritty and dark fictitous world where your enemy is man, and that enemy is out to hunt you. Surely sounds like a typical idea? However, the folks at Rockstar North has performed well, and fails to disappoint, as they provide an unbreakable idea thats sure to inspire many game developers on future games as it did with its infamous Grand Theft Auto series.

Gameplay
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In Manhunt, gameplay consists of a nice mix between stealth and action. You play as James, and your objection is to make it out of Carcer city alive. The game consists of 20 scenes, and fortunately, every level has its own style - making the game interesting indeed.

You basically have two main formations - hunting and hiding. You spend the majority of the game in different areas in Carcer city with different objectives - such examples - sometimes you have to 'execute' (more on that later) all the enemies in an area to proceed, sometimes you have to avoid detection as you make it through a level, sometimes you have to use specific weapons, sometimes you have to protect someone (think ICO) - in other words, the game has a lot of differences between the levels, and that is one thing that makes the game enjoyable until the end.

Executions play a big part of this game. They are usually ways to kill your enemy quietly with one of the many weapons you get in the game (thanks to the nasty minds at Rockstar North - your execution weapons range from a plastic bag, glass shards, baseball bats, nightsticks, hooks, chainsaws - you name it). Basically, executions are stealth kills, and in order to perform one, you must attract the enemy to your position (a la knocking on the wall, knocking over a trash can, throwing a bottle - in other words ways of distraction, just like when you knock in Konami's Metal Gear Solid games), and using the radar, which is structured a lot like Metal Gear Solids, the enemy's awareness level depends on the color. Yellow is normal, Orange is cautious, Red - run for it. You get the idea. So after distracting an enemy,(or in lucky situations, when an enemy happens to come your way which is occasional), just wait for the right moment where the enemy is not facing you, and press L1 for a lock on - then you get a lock on icon colored white, you basically hold on to the square button as you slowly approach your enemy from behind, and every three seconds that go by as you hold on to square, the color changes. From white to yellow to red. Red is basically the most violent kill, and the hardest one to achieve as it requires the most timing. So in the end, every weapon has 3 different stealth kills. Every weapon has different kills themselves - and as you perform a kill, the camera shifts focus to you killing the guy - ending up with one hell of a gruesome and sadistic view. Rockstar North makes sure you can see it all for yourself.

Thats for executions. But Manhunt offers more than just different executions for different weapons. Manhunt offers a lot of gunplay. There are over 10 guns in the game - ranging from revolvers and magnums to ak47s and sawed off shotguns. These weapons are usually used for dead-on action, no hiding, no stealth kill, just gun rampage.

Another level of combat is offered - hand to hand combat. You can pull off a string of combos as well, not to mention, your ''execution'' weapons, can be used for hand to hand combat as well. You can battle it off with glass shards on your hand. Violent stuff.

So Manhunt offers a lot of depth in gameplay, from the stealth kills, gunplay, and hand to hand combat, as well an addictive stealth system (hiding, attracting the enemy, checking the radar, stealth kill). Very neat stuff. You can even hide the bodies of your victims in dark areas, the dark areas are the areas you usually hide in where enemies would not be able to see you - unless they see you running to that area of course, which brings us to the AI - the AI is hands down fantastic and realistic in the game. Some enemies wont fall for your usual prank - and will never come for you no matter how much you distract them. Some will call in a group of comrades to support before searching for you.

One more thing i must mention, is the games enemy consists of different 'gangs'. Skins, Smileys, Innocentz, and Wardogs are just a few examples. Each has their own way and different AI, and different style.

One major interesting feature - is the radar usually picks up all forms of sound, you walk on gravel, the enemy may hear you - all thats needed for you to know, is sound plays a very important part in the game (NOTE - the game is compatible with the USB headset). The game itself is very challenging, and as IGN stated when you die its cause ''you screwed up''.

All in all, Manhunts gameplay is flawless. Very well structured gameplay, a perfect camera, excellent and smooth controls - manhunt deserves a thumbs up on the gameplay.

Story
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The story in Manhunt is simple and straight to the point, but is interesting nevertheless. You play as James Earl Cash, who is convicted for an unknown reason and has been sentenced for execution.

The weird thing is after the execution, James wakes up in a room, to find that he is still alive and has been drugged, to seem as if he was dead. He hears a man talking to him, telling him that he will give him a second chance in life as well as the chance to find out who framed him, all James had to do was listen to this so called Director's orders, and thats how the game goes.

The game consists of about 10 CGs and many cutscenes that will help explain this weird yet intense story.

Graphics
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The graphics in this game are done very well considering it to be a Rockstar game. The game is dark, and certainly looks good. It has good lighting and shadow effects too. The blood may look bland, but theres....a LOT of it. The graphics are very solid, and the environments are finely detailed. Manhunt offers great graphics - note to fans of survival horror, its got a grainy filter style, as well as a new style, ''as seen through a grainy video''.

Sound
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As mentioned above, sound plays an extremely big role. Just read the gameplay section to read about how sound is used in the game. As stated above, Manhunt is compatible with the USB Headset, other than using it for cool features like speaking loudly to attract enemies through the mic, you can listen to what the Director has to comment for, which makes the game seem even more realistic. Sound here is done perfectly.

Surprisingly, the games music is very suitable for the game. The music ranges from scary yet quiet (like Fatal Frame 2s music) but picks up and becomes scarier in situations where you get seen by the enemy. (Just like Metal Gear Solid where they have different music for Cautious, Alert, and normal modes.)

This is also one of Rockstar's first performances in actual in game music, and not licensed music (as in Midnight Club 2 and Vice City) or songs (as in GTA 3). The music is very good, and that IS surprising.

Play Time / Replayability
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This game takes roughly 20 hours to beat. Hows that fpr an action-horror game? Very, very damn good if you happen to be a person who beat a lot of action games (which usually take no longer than 10 hours)

There are 20 scenes in the game, each with its own setting, and no two levels are the same, believe me. There are 4 bonus levels you can unlock that serve as minigames. Think survival modes. There are also tons of artwork you can unlock depending on how well you perform in every level (out of 5 stars), so theres more than enough reason to replay a level.

The game also comes with a Hardcore difficulty setting, which makes the enemies harder and remove the radar completely. Very tough.

Also, as this is a Rockstar game, you can unlock many other features such as being invincible, playing as a different character, or unlimited ammo. Just check out how many codes Vice City has.

So in one word - Replayable.

Overall
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Rockstar North may not have contained Manhunt saleswise as it did with Vice City (obviously), however it performed rather outstandingly again by giving us a twisted and gory game that actually has great stealth gameplay, a twisted story, great graphics and sound and music, intense gameplay thats supported by fluid controls and a flawless camera. If youre over 17 and like action games (or stealth on the other hand, or even survival horror) give this game a shot. If youre a fan of any of the mentioned genres, give this a BUY. Otherwise, rent it first.

NOTE: Im not a fan of violence, so i must note that the game's violent nature has nothing (i repeat, nothing) to do with the games excellent gameplay.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/20/04