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I've seen far too many reviews of this game (and others) by people who played it for two days, got 1/10 the way into it, and felt that qualified them to write a review. It doesn't. Especially for a game like this.
First of all, and this must come right up front, this is *not* a game for children, or even teens. The game is rated for 17 year-olds and above. That might even be young. This is by far the most graphically violent and grotesque game ever , and it will gradually desensitize you from the first to the last level, until it feels perfectly normal to gut someone and hollow out their head with a chainsaw. Absolutely not for anyone under 17. Furthermore, later in Manhunt you will be killing cops the one area of the game where I felt truly uneasy so again, no kids.
The Story
Those people at Rockstar are disturbed if nothing else. From the makers of Grand Theft Auto comes Manhunt, a game that makes the aforementioned series look as tame as Super Mario Cart. You are Cash, a murderer on death row who receives a lethal injection. But something unexpected happens you wake up, fully alive, in a strange place. You begin receiving messages from a strange voice in your ear, from a man named Starkweather the voice of Brian Cox. Cox is an actor you would recognize if you saw him the head trooper in Super Troopers, he was the father of the girl in "The Ring" and he lends a large amount of credibility to the game.
You soon find out that Starkweather is a snuff film director. Snuff films are more commonly associated with hardcore pornography, but technically a snuff film is any movie where people die I mean *really* die. Starkweather forces Cash you to act in these films in order to stay alive. He places you in a slum where he has cameras placed everywhere to capture the action, pitting you against different gangs that he employs.
From the first moment this game turns your stomach. It's the first game I've seen use the F-bomb and other profanity so liberally. In fact, about 20 seconds into the game you will come up behind a gang member and spraypainted on the wall with an arrow pointing at him are the words "kill this dumb ..." You are initially armed with a plastic bag one of the many weapons in Manhunt and you sneak up behind him and perform an execution, the signature move of Manhunt. You can kill people the old-fashioned way, fighting toe to toe, fist to fist, but the real way of Manhunt is the executions, of which there are 3 levels. You carefully sneak up behind an enemy, and when you are close enough (your hand will move, letting you know you are in execution range) you press and hold the x button. A target will lock onto his head and the longer you hold the button, the more gruesome the execution will be. Each weapon has only three levels of execution. When you perform an execution the game "takes over" and you simply watch it happen in low-fi video "security camera" mode.
With your first execution comes the uncomfortable feeling that this is very, very wrong. But you'll keep playing. Starkweather guides you through each level, "directing" you exactly where to go and what to do. The point of these levels? To be as gruesome as possible. You get rated at the end of each level by a star system and the more gruesome and violent your kills, the higher you score. So not only is Manhunt the most violent game ever made, the actual strategy of the game requires you to be violent to score well.
Each level gets harder and more weapons become available to you, including a crowbar, a glass shard, a knife, a machete, a bat, a blackjack and then there's the guns a sawed off, the sniper rifle, even machine guns, and yes a chainsaw. Rockstar also gradually paces the gore so you are eased into it. After the initial shock of suffocating a man with a plastic bag and then snapping his neck, ripping someone's throat out with a crowbar has less impact on you than it otherwise would.
This is where most reviewers have played the game to. Many got bored after a few levels and assumed this is all there is to the game. Not true. After several levels of killing the gang members, Cash is able to escape from Starkweather's cycle. Starkweather sics the police on him, and Cash becomes a fugitive, eventually going after Starkweather himself. So the story does develop if you stick with it.
The Game
Gameplay is stealth based, similar to Splinter Cell. It's not a run and gun game it's a hide in the shadows and sneak up behind people game. If you don't like stealth games, I'd recommend against Manhunt, since it epitomizes the genre.
The optional headset is incorporated. It's how you receive Starkweather's messages and you can also speak into the mic to attract hunters (the gang members). The game isn't all that intelligent. The hunters can't see you even if they are inches away from you (and you are in the shadows), though they do have less defined patrolling patterns than other games I've played.
Graphics
Great and bad. Most noticeably, the rain looks terrible. That's my biggest complaint. Otherwise, the incorporation of "security-camera" style footage is very cool.
Bottom Line
If you liked GTA Vice City *and* Splinter Cell, my guess is you will like Manhunt. It's the next step in the evolution of video games, for better or worse. Rockstar just doesn't care. You probably haven't seen movies as disturbing as this game is. If you have the stomach for it, it's worth getting just to see where games are headed.
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How do you like your kills? Pick one Extra Bloody Violent and Gory Cranium Splitting Gut Spilling and Ripping or how about just plain old Neck Breaking followed by Baseball Bat Swinging Decapitation? For what its worth, Manhunt is easily the most depraved and violent video game ever to be released on the general publics computer store shelves and who better to bring it to us that the developers of Grand Theft Auto.The story is a simple one. You play a guy called Cash who has cheated a state execution because of a guy called the director (starkweather) who wants to see you hunted on the streets of Carson city by gangs of deranged hoodlums who he has hired to track you down for a live snuff film he is making. He directs you to murder the hoods as he films your every move. You better get violent quick if you want to make it out alive!
I have played and finished the game in three days. It was worth every minute! First of all let us address some issues just to get everything into perspective. Manhunt is a far cry from the terrible State of Emergency also released by Rockstar. The graphics are certainly not Silent Hill 3 or Metal Gear Solid 2, but they are better than Grand Theft Auto: Vice City but not by much. However the character moves are certainly superior to Vice City in 3rd person mode but the button bashing moves are not a whole pile different................. but this is NOT a button bashing game! Many people will hate this game if they do not take the time to actually play along with the stealth involved in the games architecture. If you only go for button bashing then you will only end up playing a fraction of what this great game has to offer.
If you think that Manhunt is just a bloodier version of the street brawls in Vice City then you will be mistaken. Manhunt is everything that you could hope for! It is an ORIGINAL game! It is hyper-violent! It has a unique story, with lots of levels, weapons and death moves. It is a FULLY FLEDGED 3rd person beam em up / shoot em up with approx. 22 levels from what I can see.
The best way to equate this game is by comparing it to the graphics and gameplay seen in Shadowman 2, crossed with the stealth of Splinter Cell and Tencho with a dash of Hitman 2 along with loads of nasty weapons and lashing more blood and gore. It also boasts a very unique way of creating finishing moves. Out of the 20+ weapons there are 60 possible death moves and maybe even more. However this is all not just kill, kill and kill some more. You got to use stealth and you have got to use some tactics in splitting up the hunters so you can jump out from behind a dark alleyway and proceed to slowly follow them before setting up a finishing murder move. You can go into a street brawl if you want too but chances are that you will just end up trying to take on a gang who will turn you into pulp.
There is a steep learning curve involved. If you rent for one night you will hate it. It took me awhile to get INTO the game and when you do it becomes something else. You actually experience the advantage of stealth mode when inflicting your kills and the game becomes a CHALLENGE!
This is not such a simple beat em up and certainly not as fluid as Vice City but if you will spend time on it you will experience THE MOST BRUTAL game ever made. The game does have some cons graphic detail is low, camera angles can sometimes be annoying, there is a linear story (but a good one!) and a lot of repetitive play but HELL this IS what everyone has been screaming out for! An ORIGINAL HYPER-VIOLENT game that actually has a half-decent storyline with some wicked sound effects to boot. The game is very funny in parts and the bad guys say hysterical things when you are hiding in the alley. It actually seems REAL at times! This just goes to show that graphics do not always make a game! The sound effects are top-notch and the cut scenes are vicious. When you compare this game to others of its type (Splinter Cell, Hitman, Shadowman 2) it ranks right up there with them! It is great ... ONCE YOU GET INTO IT! Give it time and wham! Instant pleasure in a sort of horrific way. If that is your thing then you will love it! All hail the surprise Rockstar xmas blockbuster! We didnt even see it coming.......... whack!
Pros:
Originality
Ultra-Violent!
Lots of nasty surprises.
Loads of weapons, bad guys and levels.
Outstanding finishing death moves.
You will play it again if you like it.
Cons:
PC version will probably have a way better graphics.
You may not like repeating scenes over and over again when you loose.
Some parts can be too easy and others nearly impossible.
Its not Grand Theft Auto 5.
***As a note this is a very ADULT orientated game with LOTS of VERY BAD language and LOTS of GORE. ABSOLUTELY NOT FOR KIDS!***
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By this point, the violence in Manhunt is well documented. If you're unaware for some reason, here's the gist: The player controls a death row convict who, instead of actually dying at his execution, is given a powerful sedative and carted off to an abandoned section of the city under the control of a wealthy ex-Hollywood director, who now makes his living by providing high-concept snuff films to well-heeled clientele. The main character, James Cash, is now the newest star of these snuff films, whether he likes it or not.Catch all that? Obviously, the setting alone should be a fair indication of what the player is in for, and rest assured that the game pulls very few punches in this regard. The game has the player stalking various "hunters" the Director has placed to hunt him down and essentially killing them before they can kill him, preferably in the most gruesome manner possible. The more painful the death, the more points the player earns. You can practically hear the meetings at Rockstar: "Everyone keeps complaining about the violence in 'Vice City.' They think that's bad? We'll give 'em violent." They do. It's not that the body count in Manhunt is particularly higher than any other game in the stealth genre, it's just the light in which the violence is portrayed. When you cut someone's head off in "Tenchu: Stealth Assassins" and a geyser of blood splashes everywhere, the effect is cartoony enough that it doesn't stick. However, when you grab someone in Manhunt and hack their head off with a Machete while you hear screaming and then gurgling noises, the effect is a lot more gruesome, even though the act itself is technically the same thing.
Still, if the incredible level of violence was all the game had going for it, it would've gone about as far as most shock-based games do: Nowhere, really fast. However, the folks at Rockstar can craft themselves a quality videogame, and whatever issues people may take with the game's morals, there's no denying the fact that this is a very well constructed and fully realized game. Everything fits the overall motif, from the way the game's intro plays like a VHS-quality tape to the game's so-evil-it's-funny manual. It's all flawlessly done, and most games wish their art direction could be this good.
This quality extends through the entire package, and is really what makes this worth getting (again, provided you've the stomach for the subject matter). Everything about the game, from the grainy graphics to the superb voice acting to the exceedingly twisted humor, just reeks of quality construction and serious commitment.
Gameplay is straight-up stealth, with the player at a serious disadvantage in hand-to-hand combat against more than one opponent. Often, there are objectives for the player to get through, and each level in the game is designed with a specific flow in mind. One level may only allow for stealth kills, while a later level may be all about gunplay. There are escort missions, treasure hunts, infiltration attacks, and it's all varied enough that the player is constantly kept on their toes.
The enemy AI, while easily taken advantage of, is still competent enough to provide a serious challenge. They do the type of things one would expect in this sort of game (respond to dead bodies not properly hidden, call for reinforcements, etc.) and do it well, particularly in the later levels of the game.
And really, that's all there is. It's a superbly constructed stealth action game, and while a 5-star rating might throw some people, there's seriously nothing the game doesn't do that isn't done exceedingly well. It's sort of telling that what hurts this game most in the sales department is, in fact, the subject matter. The quality of the game is somewhat wasted when the one thing that seems to affect people is the game's level of brutality.
Provided you can take the game for what it is without too many reservations, Manhunt is a total blast. Just know what you're getting into beforehand, and purchase accordingly.
Honest reviews on Manhunt - PlayStation 2
Manhunt is a tough game to view objectively. On one hand, it's a challenging test of skill that's frequently frustrating and often rewarding. On the other, it's loaded with potent violent imagery as it depicts the world as a dark, evil, rotten place where almost no one gets out alive. From a third-person perspective, you play James Earl Cash, a man given a death-sentence reprieve by "the director," an unseen nemesis who communicates via an earpiece (the USB headset option is a great touch). You can earn your freedom but only by passing through several rundown areas populated by foul-mouthed, reprehensible street slime (supremacists, survivalists), looney-bin inmates, corrupt cops, and merciless S.W.A.T. teams. Oh, there's a bounty on your head, too. You begin with handheld weapons-glass shards, wire, plastic bags, hatchets-and acquire more potent "tools" as things progress. Stealth, though, plays a vital role in scoring a successful kill. You can use cans, bottles, and, ahem, severed heads to lure enemies to look in the opposite direction as you sneak in from behind. Playing into this gameplay facet is Manhunt's biggest gimmick: executions that vary in brutality depending on how long you remain poised behind a potential victim before striking. Successful slayings are presented via grainy, handheld footage reminiscent of a snuff film. Yes, this is all very gory, grisly, and absolutely not for kids or anyone with a weak stomach as people are decapitated, disemboweled, perforated, shot, and chainsawed-all to the cackling delight of your offscreen savior (brilliantly voiced by Brian Cox) who relishes each kill. But Manhunt is more than a snuff show-there's some genuine skill required, too, as the difficulty is pretty steep thanks to thorough A.I. Scenes (or levels) are frustrating, time-consuming, and loaded with trial and error-they're akin to those in early Tomb Raider games in that if you try to run through a level or take your enemies head-on, you'll be shredded in short order. In that aspect, Manhunt is far more challenging than enjoyable, and you'd probably feel unclean to admit that you enjoyed it. Manhunt's aesthetics pack a punch. City walls are peppered with graffiti, and the red palette is put to excellent use as blood splatters, flesh shears, and the occasional skull shatters across the screen. However, areas are very dimly lit, and the occasional awkward camera angle does hinder the action. The audio track fares slightly better (especially when played in surround): Voices are clean and audible, and sharp sound effects, such as footsteps of approaching enemies or the jarring jolt of gunfire, keep you immersed in the action.If you crave a dark, challenging game, Manhunt completely fits the bill if you have the fortitude, patience, and (parents, listen up) maturity to hit its mean streets. And although Manhunt bears the same developer name as Vice City, those expecting this to be a simple Grand Theft Auto offshoot will be sorely mistaken. Off you go.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Manhunt - PlayStation 2
In a word, wicked, I think sums up this game rather well. Rockstar delivers another game worthy of playing. As an adult who enjoys video games, I can't play this cartoony crap being developed by other companys...that's where Rockstar changes the game. I can already hear the angry parents carrying on about this one..mad soccer moms calling senate and whining all night, while in the other room her son plays Manhunt.THIS IS NOT A GAME FOR:
1. The weak minded.
The reason being, this game can stay with you, and we don't need some guy in a office, ducking behind cubicles,armed with a Mont Blanc pen and a stapler, getting ready to "Ice the chump!"(as the Director puts it)
2.The weak stomached.
Logic for this is the violence is amazing, not the crappy old Mortal Kombat blood flying, this is grainy, graphic, morbid cut scenes, with a level of brutality not matched in another video game.(Example.. execution with a bat actually sends peices of skull flying...and you can find them on the ground)...wicked!
3. The children.
Do not let your little kids play this..c'mon parents have some common sense here, If you let lil Johnny play this, and 2 weeks later he comes from around a corner with a glass shard and stabs you with it...4 or 5 times...in the face, in my humble opinion, you had it coming. If the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers had lil kids at the bus stops beating the hell out of eath other with terrible kung fu, then I shudder to think what a game like this will have them doing.(breeding a generation of Hunter/Killers) Use common sense parents, I know Ritalin is easier than parenting, but when Johnny is a freak, it is your fault.(Terrible parenting or bad genes or something:)}
Long winded........YES.
Helpful....I don't know.
But one thing is for sure, Manhunt is the game to have, if you want a dark, strategic, violent fun.
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