Kormiic
Nov 24, 2003, 19:52
http://www.rockstargames.com/manhunt
Manhunt is the latest of Rockstars shock-entertainment games, being a pseudo-sequel to Vice City, set in the infamous Carcer City. Manhunt is yet another stealth game. I think the wheels are about to fall off this bandwagon.
You may be forgiven for thinking "What the fuck? Rockstar released another game? I've heard jack shit about it."
Well, there may be good reason for this. It has been speculated that due to it's very graphic and sinister nature it could be banned if too widely publicised. After spending a good few hours on the game, you can appreciate why.
The Plot
Rockstar are renowned for challenging the boundries of decency and good taste with each new release. Manhunt reflects this perfectly. The whole theme of the game is making Snuff films. The star of these films, James Earl Cash, is a convicted murderer who's state execution was rigged to give him a new lease of life. A man named Starkweather, who owns a network of cameras that spans every inch of Carcer City enlists Cash to to wander the gang-filled, abandoned shithole of Carcer to fight his way though the turf of different gangs, filming each gruesome execution for sale under his "Valiant Entertainment" label.
I haven't played far enough into the game to make some proper judgements on the plot, but it does appear quite sparse. However, I get the impression there may be a few clever tricks waiting further along.
The Gameplay
The game is split into Scenes, which are further split by save points in the middle of them. In each scene, you are dropped on a gang's turf unarmed, and have to fight your way past them all as they hunt you down. Stealth is the key, and the game awards style points for issuing executions, the more brutal the better. Each weapon has different executions, each with three levels of brutality. The more brutal executions take longer to execute, but give a much better show. Stealth is the key to this game, and having a well thought out plan to execute. It can be infuriating how one wrong move can set you back half an hour, forcing you to replay the same part many times over because you died and got busted back to the last save point. However, it's massively satisfying when your plan comes together perfectly, and you manage to stylishly execute every last gang member as brutally as possible without being spotted once.
The main downfall is the controls, which don't seem sensitive or reactive enough. If you're a Metal Gear Solid fan, you'll know what I mean. Also, the game camera can let you down from time to time.
The Visuals
Graphically, this game is nothing exceptional. They do the job, and that's it, nothing too stylish, but not shabby. There are a few nice little features. The blood effect (especially the staining on characers) is extremely good.
The Sound
There are some great sounds in this game, especially in the executions. My favourites being the crowbar exections on medium and high brutality. Also, the way the gang members talk to themselves and communicate with eachother is rather impressive, especially when your standing over them with a baseball bat and they're begging for their lives.
The Overview
It's nothing new, it's nothing overly special, and it's not really what you'd expect from Rockstar games. However, this is still a good game and well worth buying, especially if you like stealth, and enjoy mindless brutality gone to the extreme.
7/10
Manhunt is the latest of Rockstars shock-entertainment games, being a pseudo-sequel to Vice City, set in the infamous Carcer City. Manhunt is yet another stealth game. I think the wheels are about to fall off this bandwagon.
You may be forgiven for thinking "What the fuck? Rockstar released another game? I've heard jack shit about it."
Well, there may be good reason for this. It has been speculated that due to it's very graphic and sinister nature it could be banned if too widely publicised. After spending a good few hours on the game, you can appreciate why.
The Plot
Rockstar are renowned for challenging the boundries of decency and good taste with each new release. Manhunt reflects this perfectly. The whole theme of the game is making Snuff films. The star of these films, James Earl Cash, is a convicted murderer who's state execution was rigged to give him a new lease of life. A man named Starkweather, who owns a network of cameras that spans every inch of Carcer City enlists Cash to to wander the gang-filled, abandoned shithole of Carcer to fight his way though the turf of different gangs, filming each gruesome execution for sale under his "Valiant Entertainment" label.
I haven't played far enough into the game to make some proper judgements on the plot, but it does appear quite sparse. However, I get the impression there may be a few clever tricks waiting further along.
The Gameplay
The game is split into Scenes, which are further split by save points in the middle of them. In each scene, you are dropped on a gang's turf unarmed, and have to fight your way past them all as they hunt you down. Stealth is the key, and the game awards style points for issuing executions, the more brutal the better. Each weapon has different executions, each with three levels of brutality. The more brutal executions take longer to execute, but give a much better show. Stealth is the key to this game, and having a well thought out plan to execute. It can be infuriating how one wrong move can set you back half an hour, forcing you to replay the same part many times over because you died and got busted back to the last save point. However, it's massively satisfying when your plan comes together perfectly, and you manage to stylishly execute every last gang member as brutally as possible without being spotted once.
The main downfall is the controls, which don't seem sensitive or reactive enough. If you're a Metal Gear Solid fan, you'll know what I mean. Also, the game camera can let you down from time to time.
The Visuals
Graphically, this game is nothing exceptional. They do the job, and that's it, nothing too stylish, but not shabby. There are a few nice little features. The blood effect (especially the staining on characers) is extremely good.
The Sound
There are some great sounds in this game, especially in the executions. My favourites being the crowbar exections on medium and high brutality. Also, the way the gang members talk to themselves and communicate with eachother is rather impressive, especially when your standing over them with a baseball bat and they're begging for their lives.
The Overview
It's nothing new, it's nothing overly special, and it's not really what you'd expect from Rockstar games. However, this is still a good game and well worth buying, especially if you like stealth, and enjoy mindless brutality gone to the extreme.
7/10