80

Gory fun

Stebsis | Feb. 1, 2013 | See all Stebsis's reviews »

Manhunt is definitely one of the goriest games ever, and it's so much fun as long as you don't take it too seriously. You play as Cash, a death row inmate who was supposedly executed, but now he's being kept as some kind of film star in a mad man's snuff film. You progress towards the game and kill lots of people, and it's all being filmed by cameras.

Manhunt isn't really an action game, the main focus is in stealth which is kind of weird considering previous Rockstar titles, but they pull it off really nicely even though it's not as deep as in Splinter Cell or other stealth focused games.

You sneak around in the shadows and try to dispatch the bad guys. Your stealth meter shows how hidden you are. You can also distract the bad guys or attract them to you by throwing stuff like cans or hitting the wall with your weapon. Enemy AI isn't the best, sometimes when you're hardly in the shadows but the stealth meter still says you are hidden, and the bad guys can't see you no matter how close they are. It's really easy to sneak up on enemy and kill him if there're no others around. The game is quite difficult though, there are some frustrating parts, but if you keep your head cool and kill your enemies calmly, you'll come through.

You get a variety of weapons to use, shivs, wires, bricks, plastic bags, sickles, even a chainsaw at the end and tons of other gruesome weapons. You also get variety of guns, but you're discouraged to use them. Many enemies have guns, and even if they don't, death comes quickly if you're not careful. The weakest link of the game are the shooting parts where you're forced to use guns, gladly there aren't many of them. You sometimes have to forcefully fight your way out and these moments can be frustrating and not that much fun.

Graphically the game is quite nice even today. Areas look different with lots of variety. Game is a bit too linear though, you don't get to really explore the nicely made environments.

Story is also very interesting as you try to get to the guy who's responsible for the situation you're put in. It has that, kind of Rockstar quality to it. It's not the reason to play the game, like in so many R* games, but it keeps you invested.

This is a game that any stealth fan should get if you also like pointlessly gruesome violence like in Bulletstorm for example. There's lots of variety to the game and it'll keep you intrigued for the first playthrough.

70

Titled Manhunt for a reason...

PM_DMNKLR | Jan. 30, 2013 | See all PM_DMNKLR's reviews »

Rockstar/R are the people behind some of the greatest games in the industry, that's undeniable. I'm not sure what psychotic masterminds came up with the concept of Manhunt, but there's something very, very depraved with them, lol. By far the most violent game in R's arsenal, it's still very intense and I mean IN-FREAKING-TENSE!!! Survival at all costs is the name of the game and it's somewhat in the sadistic style of the Saw movies. Prepare to kill or be killed, but either way it's gonna get messy, VERY messy.

The only thing that stops me from purchasing this right now, honestly, is that it won't work on any Windows OS past XP, which sucks because it came out during the XP era, so it should easily be adaptable by the programmers for future compatibility, but I digress. Having to use Capsule isn't a big burden either, it works very well, but that OS limitation is a killer.

76

Perhaps a little too far on the dark side

Cooberstooge | Sept. 7, 2012 | See all Cooberstooge's reviews »

I like Manhunt, and those amongst us who crave a little over the top, senseless violence every now and then probably will too. I have to admit, though, some parts of the game are more than a little unnerving.

It's not just a regular beat 'em up type of game either, and heavily focuses on interactive, yet heavily scripted kill scenes, where the faster you move your mouse and in the same direction over and over results in more pain for your unfortunate victim, for instance. There are a limited number of these sadistic interactions, though, and that fact is inevitably Manhunt's downfall - you'll play the game to completion for sure, but may never go back.

For the price it is, though, and for how decent it still looks despite the age of it, I recommend everybody give it a go to see what combat in the earlier GTA games could have ended up being - I for one am happy with the style they went with instead. I found Manhunt had a bizarre, humorous vibe all through it, even under the senseless violence, and that more than anything kept me playing.

71

Manhunt

maciej2601 | Aug. 30, 2012 | See all maciej2601's reviews »

The next three parts of the Grand Theft Auto series, Rockstar's brutal proposal. This includes the currently fashionable genre - stealth / action. However, at the outset should be strongly noted that the level of brutality which represents Manhunt far surpasses what is presented to us in the following scenes GTA, and thus, it is a game only for mature mentally.

60

unnecessarily gory

lightfellow | Oct. 16, 2011 | See all lightfellow's reviews »

From the same makers of the GTA series, you would already expect some unnecessary violence. What makes it different is the amount of detail put into the gore. With blood spraying everywhere, the sounds of others choking on their own blood, and the interactive execution sequences which make you emulate the actions with your mouse really puts into question if this game is crossing the line.

That aside, the game still produces a very thrilling story that will keep you on the edge of your chair. The killings however get very repetitive. You will find yourself using the same few extremely gory executions on your victims and this game loses its novelty fast. Overall it is a mediocre action game that relied too much on its excessive gore to carry it. It has zero replay value, and its first play through will entirely depend on your tolerance on repetitive gore.

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