*Possible Spoilers* Manhunt, the latest from Rockstar North, creators of the notorious Grand Theft Auto games, have branched out into Manhunt. Manhunt is a stealth game, and a great one at that.
I will not mention the story, as you can simply look up into the Plot Summary to get your details. I will say that the cutscenes are few, and at first glance the story doesn't really develop at all. But that isn't so. Unlike most games, Manhunt's story is progressed IN THE LEVELS. If you watch the situations that James Earl Cash is put in frequently, you see how his, and even Starkweather's characters develop.
Cash turns from a menace to society to a tragic hero, and Starkweather is revealed as a pitiful creature, who can only feel worthwhile by watching others suffering. Especially the level where he takes some things VERY personal to Cash, if you play that level, and the subsequent cutscene, you'll really see when the story becomes more than graphic gratuity.
Now on to the Gameplay. It's wonderful. It's really not like much that has been out before it. The Director (Starkweather) has Cash hide in the shadows) and the only way he can get through the night is by killing several gang members in the corrupt, impoverished, ****hole Carcer City. These games were hired by Starkweather to play the cat and find the mouse in these Manhunts. The thing is, Starkweather also wants Cash to kill these gang members in a special way.
Executions with melee weapons are what he wants. This is done by trailing behind the would-be Cash killers with your weapon, locked on to the back of their head, waiting to power up three different levels of gruesome death. There are several weapons in the game, and Cash can carry one of each type at a time. 1 big weapon (like a baseball bat, Shotgun, etc.) 1 small weapon (machete, hammer, revolver, etc.) one single use item (like a plastic bag or wire) and one throwing item (like a bottle, a brick, or the decapitated head of a gang member.)
The executions are wonderful, and are seen from a security camera, in other words, what Starkweather films. It's hard to get tired of the executions, but right when it happens things get switched up with the introduction of firearms.
This leads us to Graphics. The graphics in this game are beautiful. They use the same graphics engine as Vice City and Grant Theft Auto 3, but it has been severely powered up for this game. All the buildings are a washed out, uncaring gray. The entire city reeks of corruption, crushed dreams, and death, there nary is a happy moment or colorful place in the whole city. The cutscenes are beautiful, however sometime rats crawl around on the ground, and they look rather bad. On the whole, the game is beautiful.
Sound. Sound, in a stealth game, needs to be one of the most important components, and in Manhunt, it is. The ambient, yet rather dark, score is reminiscent of John Carpenter's own, and there's a moment in one of the later levels, where I was in a deserted casino, holed up in the highest indoor room there, and fending off a legion of corrupt cops. Since only a few bullets will stop Cash, it was quite difficult, and the way it mixed with the score is a moment I shall not forget. Aside from the score, the sound of the game is wonderful as well. Gunshots ring loud and clear, hitting a wall makes a scarily clear thud, especially with a gang member breathing down your throat. It sets up tension like almost no game I've ever played, except probably Metroid Prime.
I give the game a 9.7 out of ten.
I will not mention the story, as you can simply look up into the Plot Summary to get your details. I will say that the cutscenes are few, and at first glance the story doesn't really develop at all. But that isn't so. Unlike most games, Manhunt's story is progressed IN THE LEVELS. If you watch the situations that James Earl Cash is put in frequently, you see how his, and even Starkweather's characters develop.
Cash turns from a menace to society to a tragic hero, and Starkweather is revealed as a pitiful creature, who can only feel worthwhile by watching others suffering. Especially the level where he takes some things VERY personal to Cash, if you play that level, and the subsequent cutscene, you'll really see when the story becomes more than graphic gratuity.
Now on to the Gameplay. It's wonderful. It's really not like much that has been out before it. The Director (Starkweather) has Cash hide in the shadows) and the only way he can get through the night is by killing several gang members in the corrupt, impoverished, ****hole Carcer City. These games were hired by Starkweather to play the cat and find the mouse in these Manhunts. The thing is, Starkweather also wants Cash to kill these gang members in a special way.
Executions with melee weapons are what he wants. This is done by trailing behind the would-be Cash killers with your weapon, locked on to the back of their head, waiting to power up three different levels of gruesome death. There are several weapons in the game, and Cash can carry one of each type at a time. 1 big weapon (like a baseball bat, Shotgun, etc.) 1 small weapon (machete, hammer, revolver, etc.) one single use item (like a plastic bag or wire) and one throwing item (like a bottle, a brick, or the decapitated head of a gang member.)
The executions are wonderful, and are seen from a security camera, in other words, what Starkweather films. It's hard to get tired of the executions, but right when it happens things get switched up with the introduction of firearms.
This leads us to Graphics. The graphics in this game are beautiful. They use the same graphics engine as Vice City and Grant Theft Auto 3, but it has been severely powered up for this game. All the buildings are a washed out, uncaring gray. The entire city reeks of corruption, crushed dreams, and death, there nary is a happy moment or colorful place in the whole city. The cutscenes are beautiful, however sometime rats crawl around on the ground, and they look rather bad. On the whole, the game is beautiful.
Sound. Sound, in a stealth game, needs to be one of the most important components, and in Manhunt, it is. The ambient, yet rather dark, score is reminiscent of John Carpenter's own, and there's a moment in one of the later levels, where I was in a deserted casino, holed up in the highest indoor room there, and fending off a legion of corrupt cops. Since only a few bullets will stop Cash, it was quite difficult, and the way it mixed with the score is a moment I shall not forget. Aside from the score, the sound of the game is wonderful as well. Gunshots ring loud and clear, hitting a wall makes a scarily clear thud, especially with a gang member breathing down your throat. It sets up tension like almost no game I've ever played, except probably Metroid Prime.
I give the game a 9.7 out of ten.