Silicon Fusion >> Reviews >> Manhunt

	All Platforms
	Xbox
	GameCube
	PlayStation 2
	PC
	Game Boy Advance

Site Sections:

	Updates
	News
	Games
	Publishers
	Developers
	Reviews
	Previews
	Release Dates
	Editorials
	Glossary
	Contact Us

Review:

12th December 2003:
Manhunt
Rockstar North get more brutal than ever with good reason; they want to kill you. Do they leave you dead with awe or with dissapointment? Read on...
Posted by Chris Barnett - PlayStation 2 - UK and Europe

We have been following the exploits of Manhunt very closely since its announcement due to its promising nature (let's face it, any game from the developers of the Grand Theft Auto games, Rockstar North, would be worth checking out). Now it's finally with us we are rather disturbed by it. We expected it to be brutal and offensive due to the initial details we had about it, but this expectation has been surpassed.

To recap on the game's basic story: you are a man who has been executed with a fake lethal injection, so you are still alive. After regaining consciousness after the injection you are instructed to put on a headset, which communicates with a man known as the director. He instructs you exactly what to do in a very linear way (and he is voiced by British actor Brian Cox) to keep the game flowing. As the story progresses a female journalist finds out about the plot and helps you overthrow the director's wicked game plan.

The story is quite relevant as it defines the whole gameplay. The game is a third person execution adventure game, to coin a genre. The core gameplay involves the killing of men who are attempting to kill you. This usually involves picking them off one by one by using stealth (and hiding in shadows). The stealth is pretty essential as you are an individual, you have no super powers or mutant sidekick, and you are more than mortal when you get two or more guys kicking the life out of you (as the enemies are subdivided into gangs it is not uncommon for three or four to put the boot in if you make yourself known). But instead of being slow stealth as in most games, it is more fluid and simple: an icon shows how lit you are and the default stance is walk, meaning that you can easily sneak up behind enemies and execute them.

As the controls borrow a lot from the last two Grand Theft Auto games they are pretty sturdy and responsive, a mistake is often yours and not the control system's. The only real differences are that here you can pick up bodies to hide in shadows and you must avoid direct combat at all costs (as stated above). Weapons vary from plastic bags to nail guns, with everything in between (there are quite a few to be honest). Not only do these weapons offer alternate strategies due to their unique properties; they also offer different executions. Collecting a new weapon is like gaining a new vehicle in a driving game; you know it's going to open up a whole new angle to the gameplay. With each new weapon you will get three new executions, which can only be executed (no pun intended) from behind an unsuspecting foe. Once you are behind the victim you must press the execution button to pull off the most minor execution. If you hold the button down the execution will progress by two levels if you stay undetected (indicated by a colour changing crosshair). Each of the executions are shown from a blurry CCTV cut scene that is out of your control, giving the most brutal view of the death possible (the way the cinematography is handled on these executions really is sickening). The more 'charged' the execution was, the more horrific the death.

The death moves serve a more practical purpose than those of, say, Mortal Kombat games, as they actually require planning; you can't just kill someone in potential view of another of his gang. But these moves make up the core of the gameplay and for that reason they become tiresome. Direct combat is another element to the gameplay, but this is only used as a last resort and the blocking system is a little annoying (simply hold no buttons) meaning that you often lose without being able to do anything about it. Since the levels are dictated by the game (they are not free roaming), it is given a nature of a movie. Everything feels planned in advance, and whilst this is okay for the first time you see a level, if you die and go back to the same part it does feel like watching the same scene over again (can you imagine watching a scene in a movie about ten times before going onto the next one? That's what it feels like here). The linearity of it all does create atmosphere and the game is scary as well as being brutal (when you are informed that there are enemies nearby and you wait to see how many and where you can hide) which makes up for the restriction somewhat.

A feature worth a mention is the USB headset support that is not advertised on the packaging at all! The only place it is mentioned is in the manual at an obscure point, yet it does add so much to the game. What it does is channel the voice of the director (used throughout) into the ear of the player and away from the TV (so a non player would not hear it), giving a personal and frightening relationship with the events. The voice feature is also used as you can shout/speak and alert enemies, to alter their patrols. Such a simple feature like this adds so much to the game that it is difficult to express in writing; you have to play the game to see. In fact, this is a game where atmosphere and isolation must be experienced first hand in order to show it. This is a good point as it means that you have to play it all the way through to get the most out of it (it is not too large, but is challenging when some of the 'tougher' gangs, with better AI, come into play).

Quite simply put, this game is one of the most original we have seen this year. Maybe not in terms of gameplay, but certainly in terms of story and style (even the manual keeps with the snuff movie style, and the character damage is realistic, as shown in one shot below); few games will scare you and give you the urge to play on to actually get even with what it is that's scaring you (in most scary games you aim to avoid the fears). If you like games that make you think but also have action then this could be a good choice, just don't expect it to be that varied (but who said killing was varied?).

Chris Barnett

Latest Images:

Review Scores:

Graphics:
Sound:
Gameplay:
Length:
Overall:
Click here for our Review Score Guidelines .

Review Summary:

A brutal and atmospheric game that is not afraid to show the seedy sides of society. Action packed and stealthy at the same time, though never compromising as either. Maybe too repetitve and linear for its own good, but on the whole (in short bursts) it is an experience that should not be missed.

Related Games:

Manhunt
for PlayStation 2

Screenshots

Review