Manhunt (PS2)

You play as James Earl Cash, a mass murderer sentanced to death. On his way to excecuted he falls unconsious. He wakes up to a strange voice talking to him via a earpiece. This Man calls himself the "Director", his aim is to make the goriest Reality show ever, and your the star. He's bribed the authorities and bought a deserted city, then he's put hunter in the city to, If you cant guess, hunt you down. The direstor isn't your enemy though, he's your only hope of surviving the night. He watchs you via security cameras and guides you to your next kill. The nastier the kill the more he likes it.

The Gameplay

This aspect of the game works extremely well thanks to the superb graphics and sound, which create an intense level of tension, so that when you mistakenly knock into an abandoned shopping trolley and alert a hunter, it's really quite terrifying. The combat is very well tweaked, the main emphasis is to sneak up on your victim and do a silent slash, but some times hand to hand combat is unavoidable. When you do have to face a foe like this it gets quite messy, the only thing you really can do keep hitting the attack button or run like a woman, i'd suggest the latter. In gameplay terms the only real fault with Manhunt is a lack of variety, unlike GTA you only really have two aspects to this game - stealth and shooting, both a joy to do but some sniping or driving levels would of been appreciated. This game is definately not for anyone who doesn't like blood, you're hacking off heads every 5minutes, but it adds so much to the game. In other games killing isn't a major thing you aim, you fire and he's dead! But in Manhunt you really get a sense of what it would be like to kill someone, with a gruesome close up shot of the final kill. The Daily Mail is gonna hate this but aslong as you know whats real and whats not this game wont affect you.

The Graphics

Nothing about this game is pretty, The walls are covered in blood, Sweat, and various other parts of the body. This makes the game very atmospheric. It does look like GTA but thats not nessarcarly a bad thing. The game goes through one night so Rockstar have been able to spend all of their time on Lighting and shadow effects. It's very helpful to be able to pick out shadows to hide in easily.

The Lifespan

I played this on normal difficulty and completed it in under 5 days. Thats just going through the game doing the minimal, if you want to unlock cheats, extra videos and other cool stuff you'll have to put alot of effort in. To earn this stuff you have to complete levels with a five star rating - killing all the hunters, doing it quickly, and doing it in a stylish way.

Overall

This game takes gaming a step further, By using atmospheric surroundings, gore, and a good, original story Rockstar have made another must have. If you like stealth, Action, and blood this is for you!

94%

Basically, the plot of this game is that you play a criminal by the name of Cash, who had been sentenced to death for his crimes. After a wait on death row, he was taken to be killed, but unbeknown to him and the entire world, his lethal injection had be changed with a strong sedative, by the mysterious Director.

Cash wakes up sometime later, surprised to be alive, and with everyone thinking he's dead. However, it isn't all good news, as he finds himself in a strange place - a place called Carcer City. The city is littered with thousands of CCTV cameras, controlled by the Director, and the city is also home to many dangerous and violent gangs, each with their own unique style and weapons.

The Director, in return for saving your life, has decided to use you for his own perverse pleasure, by forcing you to star in his very own movies, where the gangs stalk Cash, and Cash is forced to either kill everyone, or die himself. Whatever the final outcome, a death is guaranteed, and this pleases The Director, since his film will sell well.

In order to survive, Cash must use stealth, and a plethora of unique weapons, such as plastic bags, glass shards (which you can create by smashing glass windows), and a whole host of extremely violent weapons such as chainsaws, meat cleavers, scythes, and a range of guns. Cash must please the Director by killing gang members in as brutal way as possible (each weapon can be used to kill people in 2-3 ways, ranging between Level 1 kills and Level 3 kills. Level 3 is exteme violent, whereas Level 1 is fairly violent). Only by pleasing the Director will Cash ever leave this city.

The kills in the game are breath taking in their detail and violence. For example, using certain weapons, you can actually rip off the head of a gang member, and throw the severed head to create noise, which attracts other gang members, allowing you to isolate them, making kills easier. You also need to dump the dead bodies in the shadows, so that the alive gang members dont get suspicious.

All in all, this game is a masterpiece in making you feel extremely tense, just like you would if it was a real situation. You cannot fail to be shocked by the kills, and even my hardened 18 year old brother winced as the hammer decapitated a gang member.

The game also features some unique touches, such as the ability to connect a USB headset, and whisper into it to attract the attention of gang members, so that isolating them and killing them becomes easier, and also it adds a sense of realism. Imagine sneaking round a corner, creeping up behind a heavily armed gang member, with you only armed with a plastic bag, and accidentally saying something. The USB headset will make the gang member hear this, and turn round, leading to your untimely demise. Excellent realism.

As with all Rockstar games, it is easy to control, although some of the more technical aspects of the hand to hand combat sections take time to master, although this is not neccessarily a bad thing. Easy to pick up and play, and also easy to become unhealthily engrossed in, this game now sits as #1 on my pile. The weapons become increasingly more powerful (with the kills becoming increasingly awe-inspiringly graphic) as the game progresses, and the levels are nicely split between stealth and silent kills with quiet weapons, and all out gun blazing warfare.

Graphically, its stunning, and I honestly cannot think of a single criticism.

All in all, a hugely enjoyable game, and a masterpiece that everyone (over 18) should play.