Manhunt 2

"Where is the heart?"

My title says it all. Where is the heart? I had high hopes for this game, simply because I played the original Manhunt, and I wanted to relive that same engaging experience. Instead, with Manhunt 2? I get a empty and void mockup. This can not be the game that I had been anticipating ever since I heard of it being announced.

Sound: 8/10

As great as it has ever been. From the eerie background ambiance music, to the taunting and jeering of the enemies, it is very believable audio that help compliment the gritty atmosphere of Manhunt 2. The weapons sound like they should, and the sounds of the death strikes are stunningly realistic. I gave it an 8 however, because of the random items that clatter as well as the speaker on the wiimote.

The game's items that are littered all over the environment make a very dull clatter sound effect that, to me, does not differentiate well with all the variety that is put into the environment's items. The speaker for the most part, holds up decent and helps relay the noises well, but of course, it has a really static feedback sometimes, which takes away from the intensity of the kills by a little bit. They are minor gripes though, and the overall sound for the most part is extremely well done.

Controls: 7/10

The controls for the most part, have been done splendidly. You can tell that Rockstar went through a great effort to simulate the executions as realistic as they could, and it shows. The motions to bound a phone around the neck and throttle hasn't ever felt more fluid and realistic. The main gripe does not fall on the execution controls, but rather on the overall controls when you are not killing a hapless victim.

Movement is handled with the nunchuk naturally, and pretty much any and all action based controls are handled via wiimote, so it is basically your standard Wii game control scheme. Daniel controls like a robot when he runs, complete with slow robotic turning. Basic combat outside of execution is handled by flailing either the nunchuk or wiimote. Stealth maneuvers are clumsy at best, as in order to look around corners you have to tilt the nunchuk to the side you desire, but the problem occurs when the slightest tilt without your desire of doing so causes Daniel to spasm and tilt awkwardly to peek out from a corner. It is not broken though, as all you have to do is simply tilt it back to neutral, and Daniel snaps back upright.

There is some hangup when you aim a gun as well. For instance, when you pull out a firearm and aim, the cursor will (sometimes) lock up in a corner for a short moment. The remedy for this is to simply wag the controller, but when you are running from a squad of angry hunters, and you go to shoot and it hangs up, well, you are going to die. Guns with scopes are awkward to use, as the motions required to zoom in and out and turn are ultra sensitive in scope mode, making it really frustrating to use.

Story: 6/10

"You have heard it already" is the best way I can describe Manhunt 2's story. I won't go into vivid detail about the story, as what little there is to gather from it is instantly ruined if I go indepth with it. Basically, you are a loon in an asylum, and you escape in an effort to find yourself. This storyline has been done to death in movies as well as other games, but it has been done better. I gave it a 6 because there is little to no guesswork to figuring out the climax of the story as well as the events that will happen on the way. You basically will know what is going to happen 5 chapters in, which, to me, is poor storyline craftsmanship. It is however, a decent storyline in it's own right, it is just overdone and cliche.

Gameplay: 6/10

It is a sad day indeed when a game gets edited to meet other peoples standards; However, it is just straight up depressing when the editing affects the overall core of the game, making what could have been a splendid and engaging stealth adventure into a shallow and mediocre adventure. Adding insult to injury comes in the form of clumsy hit detection as well as dumb A.I.

Everyone who has played the first Manhunt KNOWS what to expect: A stealth game with some of the most brutal finishers ever implanted in a video game. People will be quick to argue that they got the game because of the "stealth" experience, but I believe that to be a fabrication. Sure, the stealth factor helps tally in the overall reason of why you would get the game, but you got the game for the kills, and the kills are what make the game what it is...

Now, what if the killing finishers were somehow negated of their overall shock value? What would you have in it's place without the driving force of gameplay? You have Manhunt 2.

I am sure everyone has heard or seen the filters that Manhunt 2 is forced to undergo to maintain an M rating. The kills are still there, but you just won't be able to see them as clearly. While the effect does add to the "blind rage" effect that murder might perceive on an individual, the fact remains that by censoring what makes Manhunt 2, well Manhunt, all you have in it's place is a shallow stealth system. It is a fact that without the brutal murders that Manhunt has, there is little to no drive of lurking in the shadows to pull off the deceitful endeavor when you can just as easily run away or kill them with a shotgun. Why wait 3-8 seconds to pull off a vicious murder when you can just as easily take a bat to them?

Censoring the killing hurt the overall gameplay because the series has integrated the vicious killing system as a core part of the gameplay. Think of it as a reward for all your hardwork of taking the time to sneak, rather then run full speed through the level. After all, the game is about hunting down individuals, so you are going to want to experience the thrill of the kill, and it is kind of hard to do that when you can vaguely tell what is happening. The execution system then loses it's merit, as noone is going to bother wasting their time to lure enemies to an execution, but would rather just rush through the level.

So without executions, not only does the game lose it's driving factor, it becomes mind-numbingly shallow and loses it's challenge. The A.I. is really stupid, so stupid that you can only wonder why these individuals were hired to track you down in the first place. You can EASILY run into a swarm of 4-5 police officers, punch one, and dart into the safety of a tree's shadow, where the cops will LOSE COMPLETE SIGHT OF YOU, RIGHT WHEN THEY ARE IN FRONT OF YOU!

It becomes very easy to beat the chapters, as you soon realize that you don't have to really sneak at all. Just find yourself a gun and run and gun through the level. Some levels mind you, you can't do this, but others it's a cinch. There is no punishment for being able to do this, as the A.I. are incapable of punishing you for it.

Replayability: 3/10

I am being generous by giving it a 3. Once you beat the game, the only thing you have to look forward to is an alternate ending mission that you get after you beat the game. There is no unlockables, no rating system, not even a movie player...

The game is completly void of replayability. It is almost like Rockstar didn't want you to play through it again. Sure, you can try the only other difficulty in the game, but it isn't like the missions are any fun, as you can get all you want out of them by the first time you run through the level. On top of that, the game can be completed in 5-7 hours...

Buy or Rent? Rent. Do NOT buy. Unless you are rich, there is no reason to waste 50 hard earned dollars on a game that is mediocre to the definition. Replayability to me, is a VERY important factor in a game, right next to control and gameplay. After all, if you are going to spend money on it, you want the experience to be nothing short of fulfilling.

Final words: This game got nerfed bad. REAL bad. Not only did they strip away the core essence of Manhunt, they slapped it in the face by offering NOTHING to make the experience authentic. The controls are there, as well as the sound, but everything else REEKS of Mediocrity. It is such a shame that this game could have easily went up 1-2 points had there been more to it...

but alas, there is nothing. Nothing but a shell of what could have been one of the better games out there.

SUMMARY:


Sound: 8/10
Controls: 7/10
Story: 6/10
Gameplay: 6/10
Replayability: 3/10

30/50=0.6

Manhunt 2 scores a 6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/05/07

Game Release: Manhunt 2 (US, 10/29/07)