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A violent (but solid) stealth game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 18 / 19
Date: May 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Overall, I found "Manhunt" to be a pretty enjoyable stealth game. It has very simple and reliable mechanics, and it's easy to pick up and play. Thus, it manages to be somewhat fun by avoiding a lot of the unsatisfying trial-and-error that accompanies most stealth games (like "Splinter Cell"). The game also throws in some token shooting sequences which aren't as well fleshed out, but also end up being kind of enjoyable as a change of pace, if nothing else.

Manhunt is a great setting for a stealth game. You are a death row inmate, being hunted on a great big movie set by gangters, lunatics, and other scum of the earth. All the while, a sick perverted director talks into your ear and eggs you on. He is constantly badgering you to kill, kill, kill. And when you do, it's not a pretty sight. The game is dripping with atmosphere. This is the most brilliantly atmospheric stealth game that I have played since System Shock 2. It's not really scary so much as disturbing. Especially one chapter that takes place in an old mental institution.

There's basically nothing extraordinary here as far as game mechanics goes. Manhunt has a simple formula that borrows heavily from other stealth games. You hide in shadows, and guards have three stages of alertness: clueless, suspicious, and fully aware. The behavior of the guards is pretty predictable, and the stealth routine is easy to learn. Everything works well here because of the setting. The hunters make for some really good fodder. Generally, they are lazy or just screwed up, which explains why they give up looking for you so soon after you alert them.

The visuals for the game are not spectacular or cutting edge, but they get the job done. What the game lacks in high-tech eye candy, it makes up for by throwing a large variety of environments and scenery at you. All of it fits in well with the dark and disturbing theme of the game. Still, the areas could have used more detail.

Where this game really excels is in the sound category. Sound is crucial for a stealth game, and here it is perfect. The music is dynamic. It is quiet when you are hidden, and it picks up when you step out of the shadows. When somebody spots you, it picks up in intensity again. The voice acting is top-notch, and there are tons and tons of great sound bites filled up with it. Some of them are disturbing, while others are just funny, like the radio stations in the "Grand Theft Auto" games. "Manhunt" shows the same attention to detail in the sound department that Rockstar's other games have shown. The guy who really steals the show is the voice actor for the main villain. The raving mad, wealthy genius, Starkweather is one of the best villains to show up in video gaming in a long, long time.

The biggest fault with this game as that it still gets repetitive about halfway through, despite attempts to give you different goals every level. You find yourself repeating the same few actions over and over - bang on wall, hide in shadows, wait for guard to pass by, sneak up on guard, kill guard, repeat. A few the levels are too loaded with enemies to use stealth, and end up being incredibly frustrating. The game also has essentially zero replay value, because of its linear nature.

"Manhunt" is a really good game. The excessive gore and violence enhance the experience, but they aren't the game's only features. Don't be put off by reviews saying that the game has nothing besides gore imagery. There is a good game here. If you like stealth-action games, or if you like Rockstar's other games, then you will like "Manhunt".

sick, twisted, brutal, but fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 17
Date: August 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is probably one of the best stealth based games made of recent years. But it is also one of the most brutal games I have ever played, it has some parts that are hard for even I to watch, which is saying a lot.

The basis of the game is that you are playing a bad man named cash, who was put to death for murder. But it turns out that he wasn't killed, he was put unconscious. When he wakes it turns out that he is being put into a form of a "snuff film". Where he is being filmed by some rich, eccentric, sicko that likes to see people murdered, and is going to make him a film star. You are put into preselected areas with gangs of various types that are trying to kill you, and you can't get out of the level until you either kill all of them or kill enough to open the door. Most of the levels are stealth, but there are some that are more traditional first person shooter apects of shooting and killing all enemies. Including some levels where stealth is tertiary to shooting skills. Unlike most first person shooters though, you never have access to body armor, and can't take many shots at all.

The weapons are more of a personal type. The first being plastic bags, shards of glass, and billyclubs. The first two are one use weapons, you kill someone and it is lost. Some are multi use, like the billy club, baseball bat, crowbar, machete, etc....... When you are doing a stealth kill you can be patient and quiet enough to sneak behind the target and wait until your target sign goes from white, to yellow, to red. The higher the color the more brutal the death and the more bonus points you can get. Creating a sick way to play the game harder. You can face them mano e mano, but this is harder since they are pretty tough and usually armed, and doesn't get you any bonus points. You also have the ability to throw various objects to get people to investigate, then you can sneak up on them while they are exploring the noise.

This game was fun, but it was sick in the tradition of Grand Theft Auto, and above. Just the premise of being in a snuff film is enough, but the insane brutality of the games kills. You stab peoples eyes out, crack their heads with bats, or decaptitate them with machetes. You can even keep heads to throw and attact the enemy to the area. The only aspect that makes it even is that the people you are killing aren't good people. the first group you face are gangbangers dressed in hoods, the second group is white trash aryan white supremists, the third are mentally ill in halloween masks, crazed survivalists etc.... The conversations you can overhear shows that they are murderous hateful individuals. so it is redeaming morally in that point alone.

Definitely don't play this game if you have an impressionable mind or don't like violence or gore. This game is probably more graphic and violent that grand theft auto, which is saying a lot. But it was a well made game, with good mecahnics, a decent interface, and challenging aspects. hopefully this group will put something else out, but I shudder to think what they will have to do to push the envelope this time.

Awesome game but repetitive

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: May 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

First off - this game is not for children. It has the warning labels right on the box parents...so please parents do your job and PARENT!!! Don't complain that this game is violent or that Rockstar Games warped your childs brain. Just because you have children doesn't mean my day has to be spoiled or my rights have to be stepped on.

I have to say this game is quite original in concept. You are a prisoner that has to escape other scumbags.

You have to use your head, think in advance, lure them out for a sucker killing. And I do mean sucker killing with close up graphics of the whole gory event....sweet!

The learning curve is a bit rough. I recommend starting off on the easiest setting, getting the hang of it, learning to manipulate your environment, weapons and sneak attacks. Once you have it down, restart the game from the beginning and do your thing!!!

The graphics and environment are very nice, the AI is a bit on the stupid side at times. Your methods and gameplay levels do become a bit repetitive unfortunately. Also, the biggest let down is that you have to use the same method over and over...get a feel for where the bad guys are, sneak into a dark corner nearby to hide, slap the wall with my bat or corwbar to make noise to lure them close, then sneak up behind at the right time to execute them. You must do this over and over and it wears thin. That is why I gave it a 4 out of 5. I finished the game on the hardest setting and I was truly hoping for something more interesting to develop as I advanced but it was not to be.

The dialog is funny and sick, the mood is spooky!

I recommend playing this game at night with the lights off and the head phones on so you can hear and feel every detail the game offers.

Good Survival Horror/Stealth Game, Not For Everyone Though.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: May 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Bottom line if you do not like survival horror stealth games where you have to sneak around then you will probably not like this game.

If you do like these type of stealth games but are uncomfortable with extreme violence then you will probably not like this game either.

If you don't like hearing a lot of swearing then you aren't going to like this game either...the people who are hunting you cuss like sailors.

The game appropriately has an Mature rating for the excessive swearing, violence & gore. Its clearly labeled on the cover so you know what you are getting into.

It is stealth gaming at its best where you character slips into dark spots hidden from the hunters who are after you, you quietly wait for the right time sometimes tricking them to come over, sneak up when they are not looking....then...brutality at its best, the longer you wait to execute the more gruesome it is, this provides a nice payoff for us adult gamers who don't mind a bit of violence & gore with their gaming experience.

Obviously the execution scenes are where all the controversy is, yes they are pretty violent however by modern day standards it almost seems implied since they are all viewed through a
video camera and are generally kind of distorted and fuzzy (made to look intentionally like a bad snuff film), still extremely violent nevertheless. I read that New Zealand actually banned this game from being sold...that is ridiculous that adults over there have the option to buy this game taken away from them.

The game progression depends on your ability to maneuver in an undetected manner and kill the hunters. If you think you are just going to come out blazing with hand to hand combat on
every fight you are not going to last very long. The more action based weapons such as shotguns and chainsaws do not come until towards the end of the beginning/middle of the game.

Control-wise there is nothing special here, but again as mentioned this is not a combat/action fighting game so no need to let this deter from the gameplay.

The storyline is pretty creative & original with a very dark theme that combines the "Running Man" meets "8mm". If you have seen both of those movies then you will know what I mean.

Graphically the game looks really good on the PC (as most do) vs. what I have seen on the PS2.

I am running this with:
P4 (1.4 ghz)
640mb Ram
64mb video card.

Check it out!

Wonderful

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: July 19, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Manhunt is the kind of game that prides itself on atmosphere and gratutious violence. The makers of this game obviously have Seven in their DVD collections. The grit and grime of the urban landscape is in full effect, obviously their intent was to make this city seem like hell. THey succeeded. The voiceovers are ok, except for Brian Cox who is amazingly good as Starkweather. This game is one in which you can gather around the friends, break out the machete and show a brutal slaying to "oooooh's" and "aaaaaah's." My list of complaints: No unlimited saving, the shootout parts of this game are horrendously frustrating, and I just think the checkpoint system should be killed entirely from games. Its ok for a game to be hard, just not so hard that you break stuff. Anyway, if you want an atmospheric game that really just disturbs the hell out of you. You got it.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you James Earl Cash.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

By this point, it's safe to say that Rockstar Games in general -- and Rockstar North in particular -- will be known for all time as the makers of the hugely popular Grand Theft Auto games. Nothing wrong with that; I happen to love GTA, and I probably always will. But that doesn't mean they can't do something different every once in a while.

And believe me, friend, this is something COMPLETELY different.

James Earl Cash, a death row inmate, is set to be executed...and he is. No, wait; he isn't. He's tranquilized by the corrupt staff and his life bought by a man named Lionel Starkweather, to be the "star" of the latest MANHUNT, a lethal bloodsport/snuff film where Cash must fight to survive against murderous gangs out to kill him on sight. So while it has shades of survival horror games like RESIDENT EVIL, or stealth games like METAL GEAR SOLID, this is a whole different beast. You can't survive a fight against massed numbers; you have to be quick, quiet, and utterly ruthless, and strike from the shadows.

Weapons are like nothing you've ever seen, ranging from the conventional to the brutal to the inconsequential. They're arranged in four color-coded categories. GREEN weapons are completely silent, one-handed affairs, but they're used up after a single use, and they include such everyday items as a plastic bag or a glass shard. YELLOW weapons are more useful as lures; you throw them to draw a hunter into a trap, and they include such simple things as bricks, bottles, or cans. BLUE weapons aren't as quiet as greens, but can be reused, and are more varied; a hand axe, a scythe, a crowbar, handguns, etc. RED weapons are two-handed, and are the most powerful and brutal in the game; metal baseball bats, rifles, you get the idea. You can only carry one of each class of weapon, so you'll have to choose carefully, depending on the situation.

Carcer City itself is a very different animal from the other cities in the GTA games. I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be Detroit, but you can forget thinking you'll be on foot in a place similar to Liberty City. Carcer is a decaying metropolis; nearly every level takes place in a location that's been closed down and abandoned. City blocks, shopping malls, apartment complexes, you name it; they're all dark, shadowy, and rotting, sprayed with graffitti, festooned with garbage, but far from being empty. In fact, they're literally pulsing with menace and dread.

The gangs of hunters you'll face are psychotic in their own way, and barely human. Hoods, Skinz, Wardogs, Innocentz, Smileys...they're all more animal than man, and they need to be put down like the rabid dogs they are. Even the corrupt Carcer City police and Starkweather's personal guard, the Cerberus, will be lining up against you. And with the weapons you'll acquire, you'll be able to take them down in some very imaginative and gruesome ways.

That's not to say the game doesn't have its occasional flaws, however. One of the most glaring being: precisely what was it Cash did that got him on death row? Did he actually do it, or was he set up by Starkweather? Not knowing these things made it a little harder for me to be able to sympathize with him, unlike Tommy Vercetti or Carl Johnson. In fact, Cash is such a walking cypher that he's only a few steps above the mute protagonist of GTA3; he actually speaks, and you know his name, but that's about it. And while one mission introduces two men and two women identified as his family, they're never named, and we never learn just HOW they're related to him. Are they his brothers and sisters? Cousins? We never know.

But in spite of all that, this is still a harrowing, thrilling game. It's long been a habit of mine to compare a game to movies I find similar if I were to explain it to someone else. And in this case, I'd have to say if you took the blighted urban landscape of ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, the death-as-a-game-show aspect of THE RUNNING MAN, the gangs of human jackals from THE WARRIORS, the depths of human depravity you'd find in SAW, and combined it all with the absolute, inhuman garbage you'd find on most of today's reality TV game shows, you'd find MANHUNT staring right back at you just seconds before it plunges a glass shard into your eyes.

And blood?

Oh, yes. There will be blood.

Manhunt

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: September 10, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Overall a good game, got quite sick of sneaking around though and hiding in the shadows.

The attacks got quite repeditive and boring and the game was just a bit pyscho for my liking.

I am in New Zealand and this game is banned but I still managed to sneak it in through the post lol.

A mediocre steath game

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: March 11, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The premise of Manhunt seems fresh enough: protagonist gets off death row, is dropped in a dangerous part of town, and is hunted by thugs while the cameras are rolling. On the good side, the game has convincing atmosphere, the gameplay mechanics work well, the cutscenes are good, and the voice acting is appropriate for the theme. Bad side: very repetitive gameplay, cheap tactics can get you out of most tight spots, and you never really feel connected to the character or his story. This is too bad, given that the developer (Rockstar) has made some truly amazing games (like Grand Theft Auto 3) using similar mechanics and themes.

Manhunt is pure and simple a stealth game. Cash, the protagonist, can fight hand-to-hand, but the game is intended to be placed in stealth mode. Some of the stealth killings are indeed intense and gruesome, but after about 5 missions they become less shocking. The game primarily consists of distracting an enemy, finding a hiding place, sneaking up behind him, and executing him. Wash, rinse, repeat. Some people are going to like this, and I must admit that the brutality of the kills is morbidly fascinating, at least at first. However, this kind of gameplay has been done much better in games such as Hitman. If you can stand the very repetitive nature of the gameplay, this might be worth checking out. Otherwise, try something like Hitman: Blood Money or one of the Splinter Cell games instead.

Pros
+Good idea for a game
+Some truly over-the-top executions
+Good voice acting
+Typical controls for this sort of game

Cons
-extremely repetitive after a while
-merely decent graphics
-not enough tension
-little character development
-the checkpoint save-game system

Wicked, Depraved, Fun!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: April 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Be warned! This is NOT a children's game! Adults Only!

That being said, from the first moment I started playing this game, I was on the edge of my chair! Rockstar Games even recommends, "Turn down the lights" It is better to play in the dark. Why? Because the game is VERY dark. Dark in Theme and Dark on the screen. Your character spends practically the entire game skulking in dark corners, waiting to "execute" his next victim. I did say "Execute" You get Style Points for executing opponents instead of simply killing them.

And the style of killing, in a word, is "Grisly" Your very first killing involves a plastic shopping bag. You then graduate to glass shivs and then baseball bats & crowbars. At the time of this writing I was up to machetes. This is particularly grusome because you can decapitate your prey.

There was some uploading problems when I first loaded the game however Rockstar Games Customer Service is 24/7 and they helped me in under 10 minutes.

In summary, I would describe this game to be "Running Man meets The Warriors" (If you are not familiar with those two movies, I would recommend them for a fun distraction).

Not recommended for the faint at heart or easily offended. There is non-stop violence and plenty of blue language that would embarass a sailor. Truly a guilty pleasure to play, but like I said at the beginning, "Adults Only!"

Very slow paced and difficult

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 7
Date: April 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is deadly dull. It is mostly a stealth game that requires you to SLOWLY and quietly scope out your surroundings and note the locations of all of your enemies. Then you wait for them to walk by you and pounce on them from behind. The cut scene animation of your characters violently killing your enemy is the most graphic of any video game. They are cool to look at, but after you've seen the same one a couple of times they get boring. Another problem is that the cool from-behind killing sequences are only available with a few weapons, not all of them, so shooting someone in the back of the head with a pistol is less damaging than a plastic bag. It's also a really hard game. The developer's made the mistake of not allowing you to save at any point, just at designated save locations. There are only 2 or 3 or these per level, and since the game is so difficult and slow paced, you end up playing the same 20-minutes of game over and over again. Your character cannot duck, crawl, or jump, so you are basically limited to hiding in corners. The game is really gory and creepy, but not scary in a stuff-jumps-out-at-you kind of way.

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