Manhunt Review

What Rock Star has done in this regard is successfully create a perfect ambience for the violence with some truly top-notch and eerily realistic sound effects (I bet they were hitting sides of beef with a machete to get the right head severing sound ... or they simply chopped some heads off next to a mic), good voice acting (if you can call it that), gritty appearance of the game world with excellently animated models, grainy picture a-la Silent Hill 3, and some very sharp textures that are nothing like the garbage we're used to seeing in PS 2 games. The controls are perfectly intuitive and easy to use, and for a multiplatform title, Rock Star North has really gone well beyond just creating a successful port.

Damn, the stains just won't come off!

You can't beat cable TV! It's top-notch entertainment!

Technically speaking, this is a quality PC game that looks significantly moodier and better than GTA: Vice City, even though it doesn't use a radically improved 3D technology (it's important to note here that the grainy effect really messes up the screenshots, so they're not exactly indicative of the overall quality of the visuals), and it boast some very effective enemy AI that reacts naturally to most situations and employs teamwork, consequently creating the illusion of a consistent virtual environment.

If we consider that the over-the-top violence is a matter of taste, then the only real gripe that I have with Manhunt is that it gets kind of tedious at times. It simply takes too long before you get to some really spectacular parts, and you'll spend a lot of time killing thugs that don't differ that much from one another in settings that, though harsh, detailed and perfectly suited for the game, really start to look all alike after a while. Don't get me wrong; eventually, you'll get some nice twists and breaks from the usual routine (and twists and breaks of the other kind) that are, well, simply even more disturbing than the "regular" disturbing stuff you'll come across frequently. This means I guess that if you're up for some honest to goodness sick violence, Manhunt will be the right game for you. I guess if you're really pissed off at someone and clenching your fists so that your nails are leaving bloody marks on your palms, you'll probably feel good after venting out some of that excess anger in Manhunt. But there I go yapping about the undue violence again. (Wow! This game is EXACTLY what I need! - Six)

It's really hard for me to accurately score this game, as I'm pretty sure people's feelings about it will vary greatly depending on their personal affinities; much more so than it is the case with other games. From a technical standpoint, this is a good game, and you can't really deny the fact that Manhunt, although extremely vulgar has a certain unique, creepy style to it that makes it simply stylish no matter what some might say. Then again, this is something Rock Star is well known for as they've practically made this their trademark in the GTA series.

Even so, I can't neglect the repetitive nature of some of the scenery and characters and the fact that once the initial effect of overstated violence wears off, every so often, you'll feel bored with Manhunt. Again, this is just one reviewer's subjective opinion, but hell, it's why I write reviews in the first place - to tell you what I think about games.