The most entertaining and scary game in years!
Game Name: Manhunt
Platforms Available: Playstation 2 , X-Box , Gamecube
Platform Played On: Playstation 2
Concept/Storyline: you are James Earl Cash A accused and convicted killer that was on death row for three years before finally
being killed by lethal injection last night so imagine your surprise when you wake up alone in an empty hospital bed with nothing but a voice echoing in the room telling you that you aren't dead and to put on the earpiece directly in front of you. you put on the earpiece and are told there are thousands of gangsters named "hoods" roaming the streets of a lowdown and lifeless city named Cancer City. Then to make things worse you are told they are all out to kill YOU and have been given instructions to do so by any means necessary. you are given nothing but your bare hands to work with to defend yourself so you find a glass shard and ice the first bad guy no problem while he is standing there looking stupid and are told that guy was set up just to give you the hang of things to come. you quickly realize that you will have to work with anything you can find because nothing is given to you and everything including your life is on the line. you finish off the first set of baddies and are informed that this is all part of a series of snuff films being released by the same guy shouting through the earpiece at you and that this isn't a joke at all. so settle in and find a weapon because its gonna be a long bumpy ride from hear on out. If your lucky you might survive long enough to find out who did this to you and why and that's the key to this whole thing survive and do so as quick and quiet as possible.
Graphics: The graphics of this game are nothing short of absolutely terrific in every way conceivable from watching a guy get his throat slit with a shard of glass from the ground to seeing yourself decapitated by a machete wielding Jason wannabe you will feel every bit of the pain that your character is feeling on screen. this game is a prime example of game graphics in there very finest and bloodiest mannerism.
Sound: the sound in this game really does well in shows a dark and gritty ghost town at its very creepiest by having the most quiet moments broken by the slightest noise that will send shivers up your spine and make you wonder who or what is around that next corner just waiting to surprise you with a knife or ball bat to the side of the head sending you crashing to the ground in a gore filled death for the ages. the quiet atmosphere mixed in with the lack of any sort of music will send chills up and down the spine just thinking about what horror awaits your next movement making you want to stick to the shadows and never move again leaving everybody to assume that you are dead.
Control: This game controls pretty good for its purpose. you have the Triangle button for actions such as kicking items across the ground throwing severed heads at enemies or making and suck noise to play with your victims mind. you have the X button for quick and effective attacks that may not do mush damage but will leaving the opponent down and out long enough to sneak off into some shadows to set up for a sneak attack execution. and finally you have the square button for strong one on one combat with an oncoming enemy. you also have the square or X button to set up an execution from behind but we will get more in depth with that in the gameplay section of this review. the last thing you should know is that X and Square together will grapple them enemy for some quick knockdown jabs and buy you some time to think out the strategy for the mission.
Gameplay: The gameplay relies heavily on Stealth but also throws in some minor gunplay and has the option to fight hand to hand if no other option is available to you which it usually is if you play the your cards right. however you may have to fight hand to hand in some instances and be given no other option in which case i look for quick hits to knock the opponent to the ground followed by backing out of oncoming attacks and quick jabbing some more followed by strong attacks to finish them off when they are down on the ground or floor to finish them off in style. while this does break the tension once in a while you will quickly learn that doing this in larger groups or even in groups of 2 will find you iced quicker than water in a freezer turned up to maximum chill. so in any event if you find yourself in deep find some shadows and single hunters out one by one until every last one of those suckers is sleeping permanently. you should stay in the shadows at all times unless you need to come out for an execution on an enemy or some such event. other than that you should always and I do mean ALWAYS hide a dead body in the shadows so as not to alert the other gang members / hunters in the area. If you do find yourself in red alert and have been caught hide in the shadows until they figure you are out of sight and stop looking for you. if you don't move they could be looking right at you and never even no it at all. as the game progresses you will realize the enemies only get smarter as you go along so settle in and don't expect a tea party from these guys because they can and will kill you on sight if you aren't quick and witty with your every move. the gameplay of the game gets even harder hen guns are brought in so aim carefully and hit the target because otherwise your gonna eat led and lots of it. and the key to gun fights is to always take cover and only come out to shoot or run for closer cover if the coast is clear and one final note NEVER WASTE BULLETS because those things are vital to your very survival in these levels so don't go in shooting all willy nilly expecting to hit someone because these guys will take you down quicker than the titanic. but remember the weapons in this game aren't normal weapons you get machete's , baseball bats, glass shards , and so much more. this game is by far the most original game you could pick up. always remeber also that executions are key to this game such as a bat to the side of the head cracking the skull of your foe or a knife to the back of the chest killing the opponent by slicing his heart up just to mention a few. so that's it for the gameplay section so lets move on shall we?
My Opinion: This game is quite possibly the best horror game I have ever played it has horror , suspense , violence , and who doesnt love the story of a bad guy turned into the hero of the event purely by circumstance. get this game it is a must have for any fan of horror games or even somebody looking for a challenge!
Final Score: 10/10
Extra Notes: This game is very challenging and you will die early and often so if you get this game be sure you have the patience , time , and most of all the stomach to play this game.
Other notes about the game
Manhunt is Rated M for Mature and i do not in any way condone the purchase or playing of this game by any individual under the legal age of purchase which is 18 years of age in the united states of America but may vary from country to country. And further more some Countries such as Germany , Canada , And the United Kingdom have completely banned this game to to the amount of graphic Violence seen in the game I however can play it because I am a citizen of the United States Of America and am 19 which is more than the legal age of purchase in this great and beloved country. I also would not condone the blaming of this game for any actions that you may commit no matter the age because in my firm belief the actions of one may lay solely on his and only his shoulders not the shoulders of a game or game designing or distribution company and should be recognized as so because if you are stupid enough to pick up a weapon and kill another human there is so much more wrong with you than just the average videogame causing you to want to commit such a crime. you should be locked up for life or if need be put in an insane asylum somewhere so I just felt I should make it clear off the bat that I have never nor will I ever sympathize with a murderer simply because he played a violent game and went out and killed somebody shortly thereafter. And to those parents who blame Videogames for the Violent actions of there children towards others I have only this to say. Whip that childs butt just a couple times and see what happens because no simple timeout or grounding will stop them. what these children need in a good spanking. so before you go blaming some game be aware that games are clearly labeled front and back for content. if you don't want the wrong game in there hands read the ESRB rating on the front of the game and the content labeled on the back of the game. Thank you for the time and that is it.