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In Manhunt,
your name is James Earl Cash and you're dead, or rather you're not. You were going to be executed by the
state but they gave you a reprieve by 'The Director' (voiced by actor Brian Cox) in return for
being hunted by weirdos and supercreeps in the dark streets of Carcer City, and all so this can be
filmed for the pleasure of the authorities. Make it out of there and you get your life back. Blimey - just
making it out of the first LEVEL alive is hard enough, initially.
It's like a cross between the violence of
Grand Theft Auto,
the stalking of
Hitman 2
and a little bit of the fear of
Thief 2,
but not a great deal as this is more of an arcade-style of experience.
As you set out on your task, one of the most important aides is the radar. As you move about or make
any noise, even like banging a wall on purpose to attract attention, when it flashes red at this point
it means you're in earshot. However, it'll handily tell you where the nearby baddies are and in what
direction they're facing in case you'd like to try stabbing them in the neck for a quick death.
What methods are on hand for disposing of them? There's a plastic bag, shards of glass, baseball bats,
crowbars - and that's just for starters, so you'll get more as you progress throughout the levels.
"Plastic bag?", you say. Well, yes. It may not seem as good as a bat or a piece of glass, but
if you sneak up behind someone you can suffocate them with it. This game is all about killing people
and zombies very violently - either by bagging them over the head, stabbing them in the neck with the
glass, or going for an old-fashioned beating with anything else, and as they near death, it's
disturbingly exciting to hear them plead for their life :)
But there is the element of stealth too, in finding somewhere to hide, but be careful as you'll outrun
one baddie, but you could head straight into the path of another, so I aim to get a few quick hits in
and then leg it before they have a chance to retaliate. Remember when hiding though, try not to make a
noise as this is easily done by crashing into bins and shopping trolleys lying about.
When you do come to take someone's life, if you want to do it with style, entice them in then strike when
they least expect it. By holding the left trigger, you'll see roughly how much health they have left (it
runs from green to yellow to red) but do this close-up and when you get the option, the arrows will
change to moving ones that indicate white, yellow and red finishers. The longer you wait, the worse it'll
be for them, but the more chance there is of you being spotted because these bad guys don't like to stand
still! However, if you get it right, the blood will flow aplenty and you'll see the glorious death played
from great camera-point-of-view shots that aren't FMV, but are created as you're playing it. Outstanding!
Graphically, this looks superb. Even when things are dark you can still clearly see where you're
going, which is handy when you're forced to run into unfamiliar terrority for your life. Everything
plays with great fluidity too. If there was any complaint it's just that nothing on view is particularly
originally, but the overall package more than makes up for that.
Sonically, the DD5.1 soundstage creates a great atmosphere whether it's running away from the enemy
or tiptoeing through dank and dark subways. I also love the sick comments they come out with, such as
"Coo-eee, come out wherever you are!" and "He's running away like a beat-up hooker!".
Sounds gross, but darkly amusing. Your footsteps sound exactly the same as the GTA games too - nothing
wrong with that, but just something I noticed instantly after many hours and days spent running in the
shoes of Tommy Vercetti.
Playability can be difficult with the camera angle if you misjudge trying to hide when the baddies
are after you and you need to lie low. It's fairly linear game in that overall you'll end up following a
set path in terms of going from one location to the next to kill the enemy, but doesn't feel that way too
often as you're playing because you can roam freely about each area.
At first when I played this for a while I thought it might start to become a little repetitive but that
didn't worry me as things went on and I hugely enjoyed it.
A couple of other points - there are sporadic save points in all the right places, once you've got to grips
with each new area, so prepare to die a lot! It also has a nice touch of the game loading in like a spool of
tape being fast-forwarded, and it loads them in quickly, which is essential for a game and most welcomed.
Now, Rockstar, let's see some of this violence added to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas? :)
GRAPHICS SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC PLAYABILITY ENJOYMENT
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This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.