Manhunt (Manhunt (PS2))

Member Name: hackersuprciao

Product:	Manhunt (PS2)
Date:	28/11/08 (181 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Atmospheric, Stealth gameplay

Disadvantages: Killcam gets annoying, a bit hard

I'd have let this game slip by me but noticing the Rockstar Games logo I was compelled to buy it, for those of you unfamiliar with Rockstar they are the absolute geniuses that brought us the Grand Theft Auto series. If you are looking for a game like GTA this couldn't be more different. In GTA you with full health and body armour and a shotgun you can easily take out 50 guys. In Manhunt with full health you are only an inch away from death.

You play the game as James Cash sentenced to death by the law, abandoned by all of humanity. You wake up later, very much alive. You hear some freaky voice ordering you to follow his instructions and the game begins, At first you notice it plays nothing like GTA although it is a 3rd person action game ( you see the whole player instead of just a weapon or fist which is 1st person ),in Manhunt stealth is everything you must use stealth to stay alive. Your only friends are the shadows, distracting your enemies is a must by tapping on the walls (very Metal Gear Solid) and lobbing bottles.

If you thought this was just a standard 3rd person action game you couldn't be more wrong. The game is gruesome, very sickly as you use a large arsenal to take out your enemies. In this game you can only carry 3 weapons one light weapon such as a plastic bag, light weapons can only be used once, a medium weapon maybe a meat cleaver and a heavy weapon possibly a sawn off shotgun. This forces you to think tactically and is great.

Basically in Manhunt the more sick the better as you are awarded points for the execution style, with weapons such as knives and bats you can hold down the attack buttons to great effect, you have the normal attacks but the finishing attacks are special ,the crosshair helpfully lets you know how strongly you're going to finish the guy off. Green being a light attack, but it does the job, a yellow crosshair indicates a fierce attack and red is an attack so brutal it's hard to describe. I don't like the fact that whenever you execute an enemy the game goes to a cut scene where you can watch the kill in all its bloody glory. Good the first few times but it does feel slightly gimmicky and it can get tiresome.

The sound is so spine tingling, with horror styled music creeping you out in total style with the music jumping in volume and speed when the enemies spot you. The best bit is the voices the voice acting is terrific, nothing is more chilling than hearing an enemy mutter about how he's going to kill you, there is a lot of crazy talk to keep you entertained.

The graphics are more GTA than Metal Gear Solid though, for such an adult game the graphics are a bit of a letdown, slightly grainy, the gang members look a bit cartoony with brightly coloured costumes and masks. James (Mr. Cash) looks a real dodgy fellow; with a shaved head (like Hitman) and a prison uniform definitely not someone to meet on a dark night. Blood, there is a lot of this in the game but it remains a bright red colour. The scenery is no disappointment, complete with dark dingy alleyways and trashed buildings setting the scene nicely.

The game is pretty tricky sometimes and it can become repetitive and very frustrating later on when you just can't get past a certain mission. The controls are simple and there are few attack combos to master which helps keep further complication to a minimum.

This game is best played on a dark stormy night with no one around so you can really enjoy the full creepiness of the game (it nearly gave me a heart attack!). A great effort but I do find GTA more appealing. If you like lots of blood and creeping around this is for you. If you like blood but prefer to be a gun slinging hero try GTA.

Summary: A good game from Rockstar.