Manhunt is Rockstar North's highly creative and controversial game for the Playstation 2 console in which you play as James Earl Cash, a death-sentenced criminal redeemed by the snuff film director Lionel Starkweather. You are his pawn, the star of his newest film. These films aren't your everyday movies, though. They are brutal reality films appealing to viewers who have a taste for excessive violence.
As James Earl Cash, you have to battle your way through streets, junkyards, malls and madhouses against gangs who have one goal -- to hunt you down. Your only advantage is stealth, your only weapon what you can steal off fallen hunters.
Starkweather communicates with you through a small earpiece, directing you from one objective to the next -- all designed to provide his audience with the most gore possible. He praises you when you kill often, and he gets angry when you spend too much time sneaking around. His bloodlust is almost as intolerable as his incessant bickering about your performance.
The game is solid in its gameplay. The controls are easy to learn and the system used for killing hunters is genius.
Cash makes his way through Starkweather's obstacle courses by staying out of sight and out of sound of the hunters. Whenever Cash hides in a shadow, an icon on screen turns blue indicating that any hunters who pass by can't see you. A small radar screen shows where nearby hunters are lurking, changing from idle yellow, to cautious orange, to aware red, displaying whether the hunter is unaware of your presence, cautious of your presence, or aware of your presence. The radar indicates how much noise you make when you take an action. If a hunter hears you, even while you are in the shadows, he may become aware of your presence.
The snuff kill is the main feature of Manhunt. It is brutal, it is controversial, but from a design perspective it is genius in its simplicity. Cash makes kills by sneaking up behind his opponent, locking on, and then waiting in suspense to make the kill. The mechanic works like this: while Cash is locked on and in range of an enemy a meter appears around the enemy. At first it is white, then turns yellow, then red. If Cash gets impatient and makes a kill while the meter is white, the kill is quick, efficient, and mildly bloody. If Cash waits until the meter turns yellow, the kill comes with more creative fervor. If Cash waits until the meter turns red, the kill is dramatic and brutal. This mechanic adds volumes to the stealth feel of the game, and builds suspense. The longer you wait behind an enemy, the better the chances of getting spotted by a nearby hunter, or making a mistake.
When snuff kills are accomplished, the game cuts to rough video view showing the kill as seen by viewers of Starkweather's gruesome film.
Cash uses a small arsenal of weapons to snuff out the hunters. There are four levels of weapons you can use, and you can only equip yourself with one weapon of each type at a time. Yellow weapons include whiskey bottles, cans, bricks, and severed enemy heads. You can't make a snuff kill with a yellow weapon, but it can be thrown to attract the attention of wandering hunters. Green weapons include grocery bags, shards of glass, wire, and wooden splinter. Green weapons can only be used once at which time you lose the weapon. Blue weapons include knives, cleavers, crowbars, and many other creative devices to slaughter your enemies. Firearms also enter into play at this point. Six-shooter revolver, handguns, and semi-automatic pistols fall under this category. Red weapons are the heaviest and most brutal weapons you can carry. They include metal bats, shotguns, tranquilizer rifles, and the infamous chainsaw. Firearms can't be used to make snuff kills, but create some interesting gameplay strategies.
The game has some interesting bonus features that can be unlocked as you win points for each level. Each level, or scene, can be awarded up to five stars. Three for style, one for time bonus, and the last for the difficulty setting. By winning three stars on consecutive scenes you can unlock concept art and bonus levels -- which are creative to say the least. By winning five stars on a scene, you unlock a portion of a cheat code. Win five stars on every scene to unlock all the cheat codes.
As hinted above, two difficulty settings are possible. Fetish is easy mode. Hardcore is difficult. The only real difference between the difficulty modes is that hardcore doesn't allow you to use your radar. Hardcore setting awards you an automatic star, the only way to make five stars is to get the style bonus and the time bonus on the hardcore setting. The game begins slow, with little motivation except survival. As the game progresses, though, Cash's resentment toward Starkweather grows. Motivations become multitudinous. By the end of the game, you sympathize with Cash and want to see him survive.
While the first run through the game may feel like a shift from stealth to shootout frenzy, experienced play brings the greatest enjoyment. With a been-there-done-that attitude, and a little confidence, the shootouts can be handled with greater stealth and create some very suspenseful moments.
This game isn't for everybody.
First, the violence is excessive. If you have issues with excessive violence, please refrain from playing this game. Whether moral sickness or stomach sickness, the gore is excessive and somewhat realistic.
Second, if you enjoy kill 'em all games, this game is not for you. This game is about patience and stealth. If you enjoy lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right opportunity to strike, this game is for you.
Third, be careful to keep the game from immature audiences. Use discretion when showing the game to friends, or playing it with youngsters nearby. This game is not for impressionable minds.
In summary, the game is excellent. The style is unique and harmonized with the gameplay. The gameplay itself is unique and harmonized with the style. Rockstar North can't keep away from controversy, and controversy can't keep away from attention. This game draws a lot of attention with solid game design and fun gameplay. So expect the controversy to stick around.
