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SephJunior
Reviews
Manhunt (2003)
You'll love it if you have the stomach for it.
The PREMISE of this game is enough to give you the shivers: you're woken up from an alleged execution and dropped into a live snuff film/game/play, with you on one side and several gangs - each with different call-signs, mannerisms and personalities - on the other side, hell-bent on bringing you down. It may SEEM that cliched, but the difference is in the presentation:
This is one sick puppy. As the voice of The Director commands, your sole aim is to kill the people trying to find you. And not just kill, I mean **KILL**- there are 3 levels of kills you can make (quick, violent and gruesome), depending on how much time you have to execute them. And trust, me, gruesome means exactly that. Add a plethora of weapons (some unusual, most archetypal of a killer) and some (mostly) flawless camera-work, and it's quite a spectacle to see the work pay off. Just make sure you have a very strong stomach.
The villains in the game fit nicely under the "crazy, not stupid" tag- if anyone sees or hears you, they'll come running (and if they perceive the situation to be dangerous, they'll bring pals) and will stay alert for several minutes before they return to normal, if at all. You *can* hide in the shadows, but if you're seen doing so there's no point staying there.
Hand-to-hand combat is a bit of a pain to endure, which was probably made deliberate as the emphasis on your murderous journey is stealth.
All you have to help you besides the various weapons, painkillers and (on occasion) ammo are the shadows and a radar- but you can only tell where the goons are when they make noise themselves.
Unlike Rockstar North's hallmark series Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt has a linear storyline and play structure, but you can re-take any mission at any time. Your scores are rated in stars, and are scored out of style, speed and game difficulty- 5 being the best (and only available on the hardest level), and scoring at least 3 per level will net you some bonus artwork/concept artwork. Of course, that's not the ONLY thing you can unlock, but you'll have to see that for yourself.
The game music is in a class of its own- the sort of thing you'd find in 80's/90's horror movies. It's graded by what situation you're in, and seamlessly changes when you're close to the enemy.
The plot isn't labyrinthine (thankfully)- through most of the game The Director is there to help you through and make wisecracks when you screw up- helpful when you've got a trio of armed goons beating you into hell (!)
Sometimes being sneaky is not an option, so you will have to mix it with the enemy more regularly than you'd like. The game's armoury is impressive and realistic- depending on the gang you face you could take them on with anything from a piddly nail gun to an M16 assault rife. It would be cynically unfair to say that the game degenerates into a bullet-fest at points, because even in a shootout you will be hard-pressed to survive. And one point this game gleefully hammers home is that the aim, besides to kill, is to survive. And look good doing it.
There are some welcome plot twists at various points in the game, and though they don't appear to do that much to change the direction, it gives the player the proverbial light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel... and also some worrying tasters of what will be.
Altogether Manhunt is a very sick, slick, demented, polished, violent yet eminently playable game. If you're going game shopping this Christmas, KEEP THIS ONE FOR YOURSELF.
WWF in Your House: Badd Blood (1997)
Hell's Bells and Buckets o' Blood!
Aww, I don't even know where to begin here! The entire event is based around the Hell In A Cell match with Michaels and the 'Taker... and rightly so. The whole match was a hunter/hunted-affair with UT at his most dominant since 1991. Shawn got his kicks in though, but when he took out his frustrations on a cameraman, all hell broke loose as the pair went outside, up & over the menacing cell. On a related note, I hope to god those Spanish Announcers are insured, Aye Caramba!!! Not even the appearance of a MYSTERY GUEST was enough to put a damper on this excellent piece of storytelling and brutality. Buy this tape just for that ONE match, it's worth the money!!