Manhunt

"The most dark and neolistic video game I have ever played -- I love it!"

Just as the title says of this review states, Manhunt is the most dark and nihilistic video game I have ever played. It has many fine points -- its black brand of humor, for example, as well as its rather intense stealth moments and shootouts. They are what keeps me coming back months after I've beaten it and unlocked all the bonus levels.

Story: 9/10

"These streets are being patrolled by gangs. They're scum -- just like you, and they're here to hunt you down and cut you up."

You are James Earl Cash. Supposedly executed for crimes so gruesome they're never even mentioned, the entire world thinks that you are dead... but one man has paid to give you another chance, but in reality... all he's done for you is given you false hope. Similar to the Running Man, for this gentleman's amusement and profit, he forces you to run a gauntlet through a run-down city where no one cares and anything goes. He's paying gangs that kill for solely to get their rocks off to find you and disembowel you. As James Earl Cash, you are to use the skills you have spent years honing to outsmart the human garbage that has been sent after you, and kill them before they kill you...

Man, oh, man! I've been waiting my WHOLE life to play a game with a plot like that. Even if it is a dark and depressing thought, it's still a great way to set up a video game!

Graphics: 8/10

"Paranoia, paranoia! I see you! I see you!"

A lot of people put a great deal of emphasis on the graphics of video games, but I don't. That doesn't matter though...

I was really impressed by the graphics of this game. The POV is third-person but, for your convenience, you are able to switch it to first person while standing still if you want to get a look at one of the many fine, cleverly hidden details in this game... did I mention this game is full of them!?! This game is also loaded with blood and flying human debris -- the blood is red, as it should be, and spurts from the victim appropriately; the brain fragments, not set to any particular flight, pattern go where ever they want, making a nice, realistic effect when Jimmy Cash unloads the 12-bore into the poor saps head, or comes down on his skull with such great force with that baseball bat. Cash himself is pretty well detailed, as are all the Hunters -- whether it's a scar or a mask, I could tell that Rockstar put a lot of effort into making MOST (but not all) of their characters drastically different.

I only nit-pick when the game comes real close to perfection, but fails in one or two minuscule ways -- so consider this very flattering, Rockstar. Sometimes, the cylinder to the revolver stays open after it has been loaded. Also, the enemies don't get cut or stabbed; blood is shown on Cash's shirt and in a very detailed way gray matter flies through the air, but that is it. The point of the game is to be gory -- I wanna see hack & slash marks next time around, the nasty kind.

Music & Sound: 9/10

"I'll be right there... before you can scream for help you little @#$%!"

There is very little music in this game, but that's a good thing... like the movie Alien, the game uses dead silence to build up a feeling of terror.

As for sound effects, that's part of what makes this game so gruesome. When crowbar comes down on the hunter's skull and splits it open, as James Earl Cash gouges out his victim's eyes with the shard of glass, the cold, wet snapping sound heard as the loony is decapitated with a meat cleaver... you get more of a feel for what's going on than a good view; the imagination can dream up something far better than Rockstar could ever emulate... To put it in other words: sweet.

As for voice acting, it's pretty much top-notch. The dialogue the Hunters taunt Cash with is very well written, as well as hilarious -- everything from the loony with the Meat cleaver who babbles something to the effect of "When I find you, Mr. Witchity man, I'm gonna suck out ALL your Head Juice!" to the pedophile Hunter who screams "Dirty Harlot!" The actor who played Mr. Starkweather, "The Director", has real personality -- he lights up the whole game! Also, if you have ever played Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto, you may recognize a few of the voices.

Game play: 10/10

"You're playing these chumps like a maestro!"

There are two modes of game play used throughout Manhunt. As one more gets stale, the other kicks in and gives you a break from it... and just as the new mode begins to get a little old, they mix it up a bit. That way, the game doesn't get old anywhere near as quickly.

The two modes of play are Stealth and Shooting. We will cover Stealth first; as it's the first mode of play the player experiences:

As James Earl Cash, the only way you're going to get through the levels in one piece is if you perform one of many gruesome executions on the Hunter who stands in your way. There are three modes of executions, each more gruesome than the last. As you hold down the button that puts Cash in Target mode, walk up to the Hunter and hold down the A or X button... first the reticule around the Hunter will appear Grey, then a few seconds later Yellow, then Blood Red. Grey is the simplest kill, which can be rather gruesome depending on what item you have; Yellow is rather gruesome and a bit more creative; Red is the most violent and grotesque and you can just tell by the way it's done that it was done with rancor and rage. The Scoring system OR method of rating the "Number of Stars the videos get is rather neat -- in order to get a good score, keep Cash in the shadows, as undetected as possible. Use Stealth the best you can, the shadows are your friend, for you are of the same mind as Jason Voorhees.

Once Cash acquires a revolver, however, get ready for some rather intense firefights. There are two ways to handle a firefight -- you can have Cash duck behind some kind of barrier, like a park bench or overturned hospital bed, and trade shots with the Hunters OR he can out maneuver them, dodging their shots or bolting toward them as they are reloading their guns, getting close enough to them to draw a bead on their skulls... if you have a shotgun, you're in for a real treat -- Human Piñata!

Overall: 9/10

So Manhunt is pretty much a blast for a 20-some year old guy to play, especially if he's a fan of dark humor (as am I). It is also a soccer mom's worst nightmare -- having qualities comparable to Grand Theft Auto, in many ways surpassing it in violence. So it's not a game I'd recommend to the kiddies, naturally, those with weak constitutions, or those who yawn at horror flicks.

Rent or Buy:

If, for some reason, you think you could be either offended or bored to death by this game's content, then it‘s good for a rental. If the reviews sound good, and visceral stealth games are your cup of tea, I guarantee you'll have a blast with Manhunt.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/01/05