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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