At first Manhunt seems like a neat stealth game, but after a while it turns out to be just another average shooter.
Cash will be hunted by various gang members throughout different locations in the fictional Carcer City, where crime is on the rise and cops do little to prevent it. The only help he will get comes in the form of an ear-piece with a man calling himself “The Director” on the other side. He will guide Cash in the first moments of the game, and will occasionally warn him about incoming enemies or give advice on certain situations. The rest is up to you.
Cash can use pretty much anything to kill, maim or just cause harm. The arsenal ranges from a broken piece of glass to the all time favorite shotgun. The major gameplay element in Manhunt is the “stealth kills”. Just position Cash behind an unsuspecting gang member and hold down the attack button- the longer you hold it, the bloodier the kill. Once the stealth kill mechanism will kick into action, you will see the kill through what seems to be a surveillance camera, a nice touch that keeps you going and constantly reminding you of the gruesome themes in the game.
Manhunt starts out with a bang; the first few levels are awesome, the stealth gameplay works really well and the stealth kills are gruesome and entertaining.
There isn’t much else to the game, except the change of scenery. Most of the enemies in the game act pretty much the same: some will charge you, some will ambush you. And some will run away to get help, but if you stick to the shadows, you wont find any major difficulty in taking them out. The AI is not the best there is and sometimes you’ll find it way to easy to lure enemies into the darkness, where you can dispose of them easily.
The game takes a turn for the worse the moment cash gets his blood covered hands on a gun (around the zoo level). From there on (up until the last level) Manhunt changes its skin- from a neat stealth game to a run and gun shooting gallery. Head shots aren’t hard to pull off and most of the enemies will die from a single pistol shot to the head and you can probably kill 2 or 3 enemies in a row before they can even fire back a single round.
There are a few moments when you’ll need to relay on stealth to complete a certain objective, like escorting a reporter back to her apartment trough the cop-filled streets, but those moments will eventually disappear as you progress through the game.
It’s been mentioned before that Manhunt was developed by Rockstar games, and it shows. The graphics are really similar to those in the GTA series, only a bit more gritty. The third person view helps you locate enemies faster and sneak up to them will little difficulty. Character modals are a bit blocky and the blood doesn’t look real enough, but the quantity makes up for the quality.
The best looking part of Manhunt is the environments in Carcer city. Every location looks and feels menacing and unnerving, even with no enemies around, especially the outdoors levels.
Most of the voice acting is decent, except the two most important ones. Cash and the Director are both unrealistic and can be really annoying at times, especially Cash, which always comes off as a tough-guy with no remorse or feelings in general.
Every different gang has its own dialog and background noises. A certain gang will shout at you to come out of hiding and face them, while others really seem to enjoy the hunt and will taunt and laugh at you every time they’ll spot you.
Don’t expect Manhunt to satisfy your need for stealth, but if you are looking for a gory experience with loads of blood and decapitated bodies, then Manhunt is the game for you.