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    Manhunt

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    The controversial stealth action series that has an emphasis in gruesome ways of killing people that was developed by Rockstar.

    What are your feelings about the Manhunt series?

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    Rainbowkisses

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    #1  Edited By Rainbowkisses

    Recently I've been playing through the first Manhunt game and right now I'm about 2/3 of the way through. I'm not quite sure what I should think of this game. The gameplay is really simple, (make noise, wait for enemy to come, sneak up, kill) and is sometimes unpredictable because of the enemy AI. The shooting sections, while a nice break in pace, are below mediocre. All of this seems to be made up for though with the amazing atmosphere that the game has. The video has a grainy look and lens flares to make it look like a crappy VHS tape and an amazing John Carpenter style ambient soundtrack. Enemies taunt you while you hide in the shadows and have a great variety of dialogue that gives them a lot of personality.

    The most interesting thing I find about the game though is the snuff film angle. James Earle Cash is fighting for his life but unlike most games where you're killing off enemies at the loss of the main villain, instead you're killing them for his enjoyment. Your captor Starkweather (voiced brilliantly by Brian Cox) is sometimes even sexually aroused by the kills. Maybe he is to some extent supposed to represent the player. Whether this commentary on violence is hypocritical or not is up for debate but it definitely adds a lot to the game.

    In many ways, while not all of the ideas are fully realized they seem to foreshadow accomplishments in later video games. It uses a cover mechanic a month before Killswitch came out, has a low quality video look to it similar to Kane and Lynch 2, and the idea of a villainous voice that guides you through the game is somewhat reminiscent of Portal.

    tl;dr Good atmosphere, occasionally clunky and frustrating gameplay.

    Do you have any thoughts on the series? Is the sequel worth checking out? Would you want a Manhunt 3?

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    mandude

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    #2  Edited By mandude

    Agree with you, 100% pretty much. I played it with some cousins, and since gameplay wasn't the draw, we all took turns passing around the controller, either playing it or watching someone else play it. The setting and story we're pretty neat, but I remember the ending being kinda unsatisfying. Pretty enjoyable experience though. Never played the sequel. Wasn't even sure if it was ever released, actually.

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    falserelic

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    #3  Edited By falserelic

    I had alot of fun playing manhunt. I felt like an animal trying to survive, a beast out for blood. I loved choking people with a plastic bag. Hell I just love to kill people in such brutal beautiful ways in the game. It was like art it was extraordinary to watch them suffer. The game brought out the serial killer inside of me.

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    TaliciaDragonsong

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    #4  Edited By TaliciaDragonsong

    I really loved the game and the idea behind it, hope to see it again.
    You were pretty fucked once discovered so it was a nice challenge at times.

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    deactivated-5a00c029ab7c1

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    I liked the first one alot but not the second one that much kinda weird though my old ps2 would always freeze on the divided we fall level in the original game so I never really had the chance to beat it I hope some day they make a third one the smileys had the funniest lines ever in any game.

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    Rainbowkisses

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    #6  Edited By Rainbowkisses

    @TaliciaDragonsong said:

    I really loved the game and the idea behind it, hope to see it again. You were pretty fucked once discovered so it was a nice challenge at times.

    I find it odd that they seemed to have put some work into the combat with light attacks, heavy attacks, grabs, and some weapons you're able to block with, but then they made the entire melee combat system pretty much useless.

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    falserelic

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    #7  Edited By falserelic

    In all seriousness I hope they make a manhunt 3. I enjoyed both manhunt games. Part 2 was more gritty and had a more fucked up story. Even though I enjoyed it I had more fun with the original manhunt.

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    CaptainTightPants

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    #8  Edited By CaptainTightPants

    I never really loved the Manhunt games but I always enjoyed them.

    Manhunt 2 has more interesting environments and it forgoes the great atmosphere of the first for a more schizophrenic experience. It doesn't end as well as Mahunt and there is nothing as great as piggsy but I still enjoyed it.

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    cornbredx

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    #9  Edited By cornbredx

    I really liked it at the time it came out because it was different. It also allowed you to use the xbox headset to hear Brian Cox speak to you in your ear while you play, and that was awesome.

    I've never really played the second game- it's so censored to hell I didnt want to bother with it- but I really liked what they were going for with the first game. It is a tad mediocre, but it was a cool idea I guess.

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    bed

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    #10  Edited By bed

    i thought the first one was okay. the premise was totally fucked and made for an interesting story. there were times where it was scary, even. i haven't played the second one, though. that one looked like it was a bit much for me.

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    falserelic

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    #11  Edited By falserelic

    @Rainbowkisses said:

    @falserelic: Is Manhunt 2 worth a rent in your opinion?

    Manhunt 2 is worth checking out its just like the first 1. The only thing I really hated about manhunt 2. Is that every time you do a brutal kill they censor it. They make it hard to see by putting this red, white, black light on screen.

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    Orbitz89

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    #12  Edited By Orbitz89

    An old girlfriend of mine was really into the first game. She'd always try to get me to try it but I was never into stealth games.. excluding Metal Gear Solid.

    I have no opinion of the game because i haven't played it. I did try the 2nd one.. but it was the Wii version and I was almost immediately bored with it because I remember the controls on that version were pretty poor.

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    HarlechQuinn

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    #13  Edited By HarlechQuinn

    I really enjoyed Manhunt till the shooting sections, there the game fell apart for me and I never finished it... But it still has one of the best sound designs in video game history in my opinion.

    "Fun fact" is that this game was not that well known in Germany after it's initial release, but then the boulevard TV show "Stern TV" together with the BPjM decided to make a lurid article with a lot of video footage about it. The result was that sales rapidly increased after the airing of the show which finally led to the ban and confiscation of the title.

    Never played Manhunt 2 though...

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    MikeGosot

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    #14  Edited By MikeGosot

    I only played Manhunt 2. I loved the atmosphere, it was way more scary than any horror game i've ever played. The gore was pretty amazing too, and i would love a sequel, or at least an HD Collection, but, remember when these games launched? People would freak out all over again.

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    onarum

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    #15  Edited By onarum

    they're stupid. 
     
    a subpar third person action game where the main draw is to go around pressing buttons at npcs backs to trigger crappy overly violent pre canned animations.

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    stonyman65

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    #16  Edited By stonyman65

    I think those games are a little fucked up. I played about half way through the first one until I got to the point where I was like "okay, that's enough"

    I'm not saying it's a bad game, but I think it was just one of those games where it was just "Lets make this as brutal as possible, because we can" for no other reason than creating controversy.

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    crazyleaves

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    #17  Edited By crazyleaves
    @onarum
    they're stupid. 
     
    a subpar third person action game where the main draw is to go around pressing buttons at npcs backs to trigger crappy overly violent pre canned animations.
    I guess you've never played a game before.

    The thing that freaked me out the most was the dialog. "I smell your blood.", somehow creepers me out more than it should've.
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    triviaman09

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    #18  Edited By triviaman09

    The Manhunt series is the only Rockstar property I don't enjoy. They're not good games.

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    onarum

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    #19  Edited By onarum
    @crazyleaves said:
    @onarum
    they're stupid. 
     
    a subpar third person action game where the main draw is to go around pressing buttons at npcs backs to trigger crappy overly violent pre canned animations.
    I guess you've never played a game before. The thing that freaked me out the most was the dialog. "I smell your blood.", somehow creepers me out more than it should've.
    quite on the contrary, i've played many superior games.
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    napalm

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    #20  Edited By napalm

    Manhunt is fucking unnerving.

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    sockemjetpack

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    #21  Edited By sockemjetpack

    I bought the original used back in the day. I knew that it was going to be graphic and stuff so it wasn't surprising when I started doing effed up things.

    However there was a point where I ripped a dudes head off with a wire and then hung it on my belt loop. Soon after I threw the head through a trailer window to get the attention of somebody that was pooping.

    Something inside of me changed at that point and I never played it again. One of those "Yeah that's about it" moments where you push yourself away from the table.

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    indiana_jenkins

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    #22  Edited By indiana_jenkins

    I really enjoyed the first Manhunt. Never got around to the second one.

    I wouldn't hold out for Manhunt 3. Manhunt 2 was a financial flop.

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    Rainbowkisses

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    #23  Edited By Rainbowkisses
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    ArtisanBreads

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    #24  Edited By ArtisanBreads

    I enjoyed a bit of the style and the executions but the basic stealth gameplay bored the hell out of me after a bit.

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    Undeadpool

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    #25  Edited By Undeadpool

    @Rainbowkisses: Do not BOTHER with Manhunt 2. It was made by people who were intrigued by the "edgy, in your face" attitude that the first one got sidled with by press, and it's a game based ONLY around that idea. Everything is DESIGNED TO OFFEND!(TM) and it comes off as utterly pathetic.

    But I do LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE that first game for it's frank, near-ironic, brutality and simplicity. The main character is an unrepentant scumbag, the people he kills are unrepentant scumbags, and the guy orchestrating it? Well he's the BIGGEST, MOST unrepentant scumbag of all. The ending is one of the most viciously satisfying in games and it's got a SPECTACULAR end boss. But I agree with your points, the stealth is obvious and easy and the shooting is half-assed at best, but the atmosphere definitely makes up for it.

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    Rainbowkisses

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    #26  Edited By Rainbowkisses

    @Undeadpool: Thanks for the suggestion. If I do have any interest I'll probably just watch a let's play of the second game since I already know what the gameplay is like and it would save me the frustration.

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    ShaggE

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    #27  Edited By ShaggE

    The stalking was disturbingly satisfying despite its simplicity, the shooting was godawful, and the story in the first game was deceptively thought-provoking. I'd say the good points heavily outweigh the terrible shooter sections (as well as the super-dumb story in the sequel), and I'll keep hoping for a Manhunt 3, as unlikely as that may be. There's a lot that can still be done with the franchise, and I'd like to see it break out of its image as a "torture porn" game. Manhunt 1 was a much smarter game than it is given credit for.

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    TheDudeOfGaming

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    #28  Edited By TheDudeOfGaming

    @Napalm said:

    Manhunt is fucking unnerving.

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    fugie7

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    #29  Edited By fugie7

    Manhunt was freaking cool.

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    Jrad

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    #30  Edited By Jrad

    I played some of... one of them, on PC. I'm not sure whether it was Manhunt 1 or 2, but the graphics were terrible and the content wholly unoffensive. I think I played it because of the hype and controversy, only to realize that it wasn't half as graphic or brutal as I was expecting. Crazy how the second one originally got an AO rating -- looking at uncensored videos of it, it's no worse than Max Payne 3, or dozens of other videogames.

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    Dimsey

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    #31  Edited By Dimsey

    I enjoyed the first one plenty, second one wasn't released here.

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    JTB123

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    #32  Edited By JTB123

    I really enjoyed the first one, simple but solid mechanics, pretty interesting story and a decent stealth game in its own right. I played the second one recently and didn't enjoy it, time hasn't been very nice to those games and the violence just looks kinda dumb now.

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    Rainbowkisses

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    #33  Edited By Rainbowkisses

    Right now I'm going through the scene "Divided They Fall" and it is incredibly tense. While I wouldn't call it a horror game it can get you paranoid and on edge. The most recent example I can think of is Max Payne 3 where you are always cautious as to whether someone will pop out or not and you make sure to scan every room before you enter.

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