Manhunt

by Rockstar Games

Product Features

• ps2

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000A8VBZ
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches ; 1.6 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: November 18, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (202 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,083 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

They just killed Cash. Now, they want to kill him again. America is full of run down, broken rust-belt towns where nobody cares and anything goes. In Manhunt's Carcer City, nothing matters anymore and all that's left are cheap thrills. The ultimate rush is the power to grant life and take it away, for sport. This time, James Earl Cash, you are the sport. They gave you your life back. Now, they are going to hunt you down. You awake to the sound of your own panicked breath. You must run, hide, and fight to survive. If you can stay alive long enough, you may find out who did this to you. This is a brutal blood sport.

Continuing in Rockstar North's tradition of world-class gameplay with high production values and sardonic humor, Manhunt explores the depths of human depravity in a vicious, sadistic tale of urban horror.

Product Description

ps2

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From Somebody Who's Beaten the Game, February 1, 2004

By 

Robert Graves (Thompson Station, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Manhunt (Video Game)

I've seen far too many reviews of this game (and others) by people who played it for two days, got 1/10 the way into it, and felt that qualified them to write a review. It doesn't. Especially for a game like this.

First of all, and this must come right up front, this is *not* a game for children, or even teens. The game is rated for 17 year-olds and above. That might even be young. This is by far the most graphically violent and grotesque game ever , and it will gradually desensitize you from the first to the last level, until it feels perfectly normal to gut someone and hollow out their head with a chainsaw. Absolutely not for anyone under 17. Furthermore, later in Manhunt you will be killing cops - the one area of the game where I felt truly uneasy - so again, no kids.

The Story

Those people at Rockstar are disturbed if nothing else. From the makers of Grand Theft Auto comes Manhunt, a game that makes the aforementioned series look as tame as Super Mario Cart. You are Cash, a murderer on death row who receives a lethal injection. But something unexpected happens - you wake up, fully alive, in a strange place. You begin receiving messages from a strange voice in your ear, from a man named Starkweather - the voice of Brian Cox. Cox is an actor you would recognize if you saw him - the head trooper in Super Troopers, he was the father of the girl in "The Ring" - and he lends a large amount of credibility to the game.

You soon find out that Starkweather is a snuff film director. Snuff films are more commonly associated with hardcore pornography, but technically a snuff film is any movie where people die - I mean *really* die. Starkweather forces Cash - you - to act in these films in order to stay alive. He places you in a slum where he has cameras placed everywhere to capture the action, pitting you against different gangs that he employs.

From the first moment this game turns your stomach. It's the first game I've seen use the F-bomb and other profanity so liberally. In fact, about 20 seconds into the game you will come up behind a gang member and spraypainted on the wall with an arrow pointing at him are the words "kill this dumb ..." You are initially armed with a plastic bag - one of the many weapons in Manhunt - and you sneak up behind him and perform an execution, the signature move of Manhunt. You can kill people the old-fashioned way, fighting toe to toe, fist to fist, but the real way of Manhunt is the executions, of which there are 3 levels. You carefully sneak up behind an enemy, and when you are close enough (your hand will move, letting you know you are in execution range) you press and hold the x button. A target will lock onto his head and the longer you hold the button, the more gruesome the execution will be. Each weapon has only three levels of execution. When you perform an execution the game "takes over" and you simply watch it happen in low-fi video "security camera" mode.

With your first execution comes the uncomfortable feeling that this is very, very wrong. But you'll keep playing. Starkweather guides you through each level, "directing" you exactly where to go and what to do. The point of these levels? To be as gruesome as possible. You get rated at the end of each level by a star system and the more gruesome and violent your kills, the higher you score. So not only is Manhunt the most violent game ever made, the actual strategy of the game requires you to be violent to score well.

Each level gets harder and more weapons become available to you, including a crowbar, a glass shard, a knife, a machete, a bat, a blackjack - and then there's the guns - a sawed off, the sniper rifle, even machine guns, and yes - a chainsaw. Rockstar also gradually paces the gore so you are eased into it. After the initial shock of suffocating a man with a plastic bag and then snapping his neck, ripping someone's throat out with a crowbar has less impact on you than it otherwise would.

This is where most reviewers have played the game to. Many got bored after a few levels and assumed this is all there is to the game. Not true. After several levels of killing the gang members, Cash is able to escape from Starkweather's cycle. Starkweather sics the police on him, and Cash becomes a fugitive, eventually going after Starkweather himself. So the story does develop if you stick with it.

The Game

Gameplay is stealth based, similar to Splinter Cell. It's not a run and gun game - it's a hide in the shadows and sneak up behind people game. If you don't like stealth games, I'd recommend against Manhunt, since it epitomizes the genre.

The optional headset is incorporated. It's how you receive Starkweather's messages and you can also speak into the mic to attract hunters (the gang members). The game isn't all that intelligent. The hunters can't see you even if they are inches away from you (and you are in the shadows), though they do have less defined patrolling patterns than other games I've played.

Graphics

Great and bad. Most noticeably, the rain looks terrible. That's my biggest complaint. Otherwise, the incorporation of "security-camera" style footage is very cool.

Bottom Line

If you liked GTA Vice City *and* Splinter Cell, my guess is you will like Manhunt. It's the next step in the evolution of video games, for better or worse. Rockstar just doesn't care. You probably haven't seen movies as disturbing as this game is. If you have the stomach for it, it's worth getting just to see where games are headed.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great if somewhat different game in my opinion, March 11, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Manhunt (Video Game)

The first I heard of this game was when I read that it had been banned in New Zealand. I figured so what - I'm no a big fan of games anyway? Most games don't hold my attentional span for me to complete them the whole way through. Manhunt is different. Firstly, don't fall for the whole "it's a stealth game" arguement. It's not a game that can be clearly placed into a single category, except maybe Survival Horror. By now you may have heard that the AI of enemies is a little weak. I don't agree in total with this arguement. Some times Enemies can't see you when they should be able to, but believe me, mastering this game isn't easy.
The story revolves around James Earl Cash who gets the death penalty (for what - is never told) but instead of a leathal injection he is given a strong sedative. He awakens to find that he has been appropirated by once famed director, Lionel Starkweather, to "star" in a series of snuff films. Each film (read: level) sees Cash pitted against different opponents (gangs) and situations. The director priases and taunts depending on the succes, speed and brutality of your killings. When you perform executions you are treated to a films' eye view of your exploits (IE cut scenes). There is a definant story here involving your characters family members, and other famed killers such as "Pigsy" a violent, semi-retarded killer in an outfit. The scenes take Cash across the different locals of Carcer city in his attempt to free himself from his predicament.
What sets Manhunt aprt is its sense of style. From the instruction manual/product catelogue for "Valiant Videos" - the snuff film company in the game, to having Brian Cox (Stryker from X-men 2) do the voice acting of the director Lionel Starkweather, this game has a sense of style found only in GTA Vice City.
Also, if you have the USB Headset, plug it in for some real laughs and more in-depth expereince of this game. I would describe this game as more of an expereince than a game, in that as a player you are given a choice as to how brutal you wish to be with opponents.
All up, having finished the game and unlocked all the bonus materials, I give it 5 stars as for me it was a unique, rewarding, and thoroughly entertaining expereince. But be forewarned if you can't deal with strong violence, or have aversions to certain subject matters, you may wish to avoid this - it is not everyone's cup of tea.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Its Murder!, December 10, 2003

By 

OverTheMoon ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Manhunt (Video Game)

How do you like your kills? Pick one - Extra Bloody Violent and Gory - Cranium Splitting Gut Spilling and Ripping - or how about just plain old Neck Breaking followed by Baseball Bat Swinging Decapitation? For what its worth, Manhunt is easily the most depraved and violent video game ever to be released on the general publics computer store shelves and who better to bring it to us that the developers of Grand Theft Auto.

The story is a simple one. You play a guy called Cash who has cheated a state execution because of a guy called the director (starkweather) who wants to see you hunted on the streets of Carson city by gangs of deranged hoodlums who he has hired to track you down for a live snuff film he is making. He directs you to murder the hoods as he films your every move. You better get violent quick if you want to make it out alive!

I have played and finished the game in three days. It was worth every minute! First of all let us address some issues just to get everything into perspective. Manhunt is a far cry from the terrible State of Emergency also released by Rockstar. The graphics are certainly not Silent Hill 3 or Metal Gear Solid 2, but they are better than Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - but not by much. However the character moves are certainly superior to Vice City in 3rd person mode but the button bashing moves are not a whole pile different................. but this is NOT a button bashing game! Many people will hate this game if they do not take the time to actually play along with the stealth involved in the games architecture. If you only go for button bashing then you will only end up playing a fraction of what this great game has to offer.

If you think that Manhunt is just a bloodier version of the street brawls in Vice City then you will be mistaken. Manhunt is everything that you could hope for! It is an ORIGINAL game! It is hyper-violent! It has a unique story, with lots of levels, weapons and death moves. It is a FULLY FLEDGED 3rd person beam em up / shoot em up with approx. 22 levels from what I can see.

The best way to equate this game is by comparing it to the graphics and gameplay seen in Shadowman 2, crossed with the stealth of Splinter Cell and Tencho with a dash of Hitman 2 along with loads of nasty weapons and lashing more blood and gore. It also boasts a very unique way of creating finishing moves. Out of the 20+ weapons there are 60 possible death moves and maybe even more. However this is all not just kill, kill and kill some more. You got to use stealth and you have got to use some tactics in splitting up the hunters so you can jump out from behind a dark alleyway and proceed to slowly follow them before setting up a finishing murder move. You can go into a street brawl if you want too but chances are that you will just end up trying to take on a gang who will turn you into pulp.

There is a steep learning curve involved. If you rent for one night you will hate it. It took me awhile to get INTO the game and when you do it becomes something else. You actually experience the advantage of stealth mode when inflicting your kills and the game becomes a CHALLENGE!

This is not such a simple beat em up and certainly not as fluid as Vice City but if you will spend time on it you will experience THE MOST BRUTAL game ever made. The game does have some cons - graphic detail is low, camera angles can sometimes be annoying, there is a linear story (but a good one!) and a lot of repetitive play but HELL this IS what everyone has been screaming out for! An ORIGINAL HYPER-VIOLENT game that actually has a half-decent storyline with some wicked sound effects to boot. The game is very funny in parts and the bad guys say hysterical things when you are hiding in the alley. It actually seems REAL at times! This just goes to show that graphics do not always make a game! The sound effects are top-notch and the cut scenes are vicious. When you compare this game to others of its type (Splinter Cell, Hitman, Shadowman 2) it ranks right up there with them! It is great ... ONCE YOU GET INTO IT! Give it time and wham! Instant pleasure in a sort of horrific way. If that is your thing then you will love it! All hail the surprise Rockstar xmas blockbuster! We didnt even see it coming.......... whack!

Pros:
- Originality
- Ultra-Violent!
- Lots of nasty surprises.
- Loads of weapons, bad guys and levels.
- Outstanding finishing death moves.
- You will play it again if you like it.

Cons:
- PC version will probably have a way better graphics.
- You may not like repeating scenes over and over again when you loose.
- Some parts can be too easy and others nearly impossible.
- Its not Grand Theft Auto 5.

***As a note this is a very ADULT orientated game with LOTS of VERY BAD language and LOTS of GORE. ABSOLUTELY NOT FOR KIDS!***