Manhunt (PC)

The bit where you first have to involve yourself in firefights is extreamly fustrating, not least because the manual does not explain the "firefight" system, which means you'll either get massacred or run out of ammo very fast. Once you know how the system works it's actually quite good as it automatically allows you to pop out, fire, and then duck back behind cover with ease. You still tend to take damage though unless you're lucky. Unfortunately towards the end of the game (last 2 levels in particular) it becomes very fustrating as the firefight system is rather erratic. It doesn't always aim correctly which can result in you being killed quite easily if you don't manage to kill a guy with an assault rifle on the first shot. Also if you are hiding in a shadow and you wait for an enemy to come right up close it has a rather idiotic habbit of hitting the enemy with your gun rather than firing it, which also tends to result in you getting killed. This has happened to me a 2 key points when I was playing a section for ages, which resulted in me wishing to practice some of these execution techniques on the idiot who wrote that particular peice of code.

The AI is definately a bit weak. Some of the enemys act like morons and others like tactical geniuses, with no steady progression as the game goes on. The storyline is interesting, the graphics and sound are outstanding, as is the excellent atmosphere created by the game, but ultimately the game itself is just a bit too fustrating.

The first half of the game is quite entertaining and the violence is novel but this wears off quickly, once you look past the violence there isn't much to look forward to. The stealth is weak at best, you can run around alerting as many enemies as you can find simply to round a corner, step into some shadows and have them completely unable to find you unless they blindly walk directly into you. It's this simplistic gameplay that is used throughout the entire game and the only variation is the level you're playing.

The gameplay is just a case of luring enemies to you so you can step out of your hiding place and perform an "execution", a small clip of you butchering your victim in a variety of ways determined by how long you hold down the attack button. They try to introduce aspects to change the gameplay but they fail to have any effect, as an example, you are given a tramp and later a reporter who follow you and you need to keep alive, this is simply a case of dumping them in a shadowy spot and forgetting about them until everything is clear and it's safe for them to follow you.

This game is weak at best and I found myself getting annoyed having to repeat sections of a level numerous times because of the "trial and error" approach of the game, it uses typical linear progression through a level with "checkpoint" style saves, if you die, which can happen very frequently in some spots, you'll find yourself returning to the last checkpoint to repeat it ad nauseum. Probably the most annoying aspect of repeating a section is that you might have to watch an uninterruptable video clip before you can even try again. I resorted to using an infinite ammo cheat to alleviate some of the boredom and would have welcomed an invincibility cheat. I can't imagine what it would have been like without the cheat as it sped up my progress vastly and made the whole experience more enjoyable.

The combat feels inconsistent based on what weapons you have available to you, if you only have melee weapons then you will be entirely dependent on using stealth and executions to stay alive. As soon as you get ahold of a gun, particularly the shotgun or the assault rifle, then the game becomes laughably easy, anybody with some first person shooter experience should have no problem dispatching as many enemies as the game throws at you, this might not be the case without the ammo cheat I used but there is still an enormous difference.

Having cleared the game the only reason I can see to play Manhunt again is to try out all the combinations of weapons and executions. You're unable to roam and explore due to the fact that anybody who sees you will try and kill you meaning you have to keep your eyes on your enemies and not on your surroundings. Manhunt does look good and the production quality is very high it simply doesn't have the gameplay and substance to back it up.

I feel the Hitman series does a far better job of stealth and is more entertaining overall, if you are looking for a new game of this genre I would recommend "Hitman: Contracts" rather than this. If you just want to try it out because of the novelty of the violence then I suggest you either try to borrow it before purchasing it or wait for a demo.