Silicon Fusion >> News >> Every Manhunt has a Story

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1st October 2003:
Every Manhunt has a Story
New story details of Manhunt will excite you
Posted by Chris Barnett - PlayStation 2 - UK and Europe

As little information was released for so long, it is suitable that Rockstar has now given us a great deal on Manhunt within the last week. Today they have given us some clearer details about the story of the game and confirmed that the main writer is James Worrall, co-writer of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

The full story goes something like this:
James Earl Cash is set for execution by lethal injection following a collection of crimes. So certain is his death that he is actually strapped to a bed and injected. But instead of being killed, he is simply rendered unconscious - waking with an earplug in his ear telling him what to do next.
Cash is then a pawn in a massive game where his very life is on the line at all times. Every action that he makes is captured on camera, with the murky Carcer city packed with CCTV cameras.

The buildings in the city are empty and boarded up with society desperate to leave it behind. But instead they are forced to stay and endure government by corrupt politicians and officials (a bit like our current society in real life then!).

The man who has apparently saved Cash is known as the director, real name Lionel Starkweather. He has more money than sense and can afford anything he likes (a little like certain football chairmen, not naming anyone in particular!); in fact he has his own financed defensive force, the Cerberus. In addition to this personal force, the Director has also paid off all of the cops in certain areas of the city to ensure that it is a total set. Everything in these specified areas is carefully designed by the Director to ensure maximum entertainment. This entertainment is quite simply the screening of brutal killings on national TV, which must surely beat repeats of Benny Hill or Coronation Street.

The story is told through both cut scenes and a voice over by the Director as different areas are reached. So the story unfolds as the game does, with the player only knowing what Cash knows. This is a method of story telling that is often reserved for movies and is a far cry from the 'latched on' story to Vice City (the story was never key to the game's progression).

As a final touch of realism, gangs who will hunt Cash down regardless of the Director's plans also populate the city. These gangs are individual and will do what they like, as will the normal civilians of the city.

And with apparently no hope of escape, Cash may have a chance in a female journalist. She witnessed the Director's apparent 'death' by execution and knows of his snuff ring. All she needs is proof of his involvement with the killings, which Cash must get by regaining certain tapes and information.

As you can see, this could be the plot of a movie and you would be interested in seeing it, but as it is a game you will be given something that is rare in games today: a story that makes you want to play on. We always like great gameplay, sound and graphics, but when a good story is added it makes all the difference. Witness Halo, Resident Evil (any of them) or Half-Life for examples of this. So the fact that Manhunt sounds so good before we have even played it must be a good sign (who can honestly claim that they played Halo for the first time because of the story they had heard of?).

This game is shaping up to be better than ever and rumours of a new design to the Cash character should be proved in the next few days with screenshots. You can rest assured that we will keep you in the know.

Chris Barnett

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Related Games:

Manhunt
for PlayStation 2

Screenshots