Split-Screen :: The Game-Geek’s Daily Read

Okay, so a couple of days back I read that Manhunt 2 is finally being released in the UK. Which means that the ten people who hadn’t already got the game through other means can now go and buy it from the stores over there. Everyone else who wanted the game, either because of the huge wave of free publicity it got because of the ban or because they’re curious to see just how much graphic violence can be packed in to one video game or because they’re just sick bastards who get off on this stuff, probably knows by now what the *game* is about. But in case any of you are curious, and don’t know the creepy kid next door well enough to ask him about the game, then read on for a re-review of Manhunt 2!

The problem with a game like Manhunt is that the moment a reviewer talks about how gory, gross and outright violent it is, the first thing that happens in your hormonally unbalanced minds is this: “Damn boy, lets get a copy of it and see what the fuss is about!” Now how do I know this? Because that’s exactly what happened in my mind.

But I’d been busy, and so when Manhunt had come out, I’d let the madness wash by me, and only played it for the first time three weeks ago… It was a learning experience, that’s for certain. With their excessive use of any number of phrases that have to do with limp dicks, over-the-top usage of the word fuck in all possible tenses and forms, symbols resembling swastikas, trailer trash skin heads, ‘militant brothers from the hood’ and of course lots of head chopping, spine breaking, limb severing, slaughtering, mutilation… (whew… pause for breath) the only thing that Rockstar could have been hoping for was to stir up controversy. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

I don’t oppose video game violence. I just like to see it put in some kind of context. Violence that serves no other particular purpose than to simply create that shock-jock effect is not really something I find terribly appealing.

Even so, Manhunt is no Postal. And What I mean to say is that it’s not a bad game. Actually, you can’t really expect a game from Rockstar to be altogether bad, can you?

To its advantage, Manhunt - however gory and violent it may be - does have a certain unique sinisterly cool way about it, a moody manner, which just shows that Rockstar managed to successfully convey whatever effect they were looking to communicate to the player.

If anything, this game doesn’t make any compromises. You’re thrown into the action as an inmate on death row who cheats the chair by becoming part of an elaborate reality show where your only goal is to get through the course alive to win back your already forfeit life. The way you’re introduced to the game world is sharp, gritty and brutal - just like the gameplay. The dialogue and the overall philosophy of the designers was to put all the segments of this game in the service of making you feel like you’ve stepped in some warped version of a maximum security prison and you’re chatting with a group of convicted rapists in the shower.

The actual mechanics of the gameplay work in such a way that this is very much a stealth-based action game. Stealth is the key here, much as it is in Splinter Cell. I don’t want to take this comparison too far, but just like in SC, the gloomy appearance of the game world, littered with shadows and strategically placed light sources, is actually a completely functional piece of the gameplay. What Rockstar did very right was manage to balance the gameplay in such a way that getting through the level by slugging it out with the bad guys is an exercise in futility. You will simply have to use stealth because if the thugs gang up on you, you stand absolutely no chance of surviving.Technically speaking, this is a quality 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 boasts 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.

Though I must throw in a few words of caution now at the end. The game gets more than a little repetitive, and the gore is exceedingly gory. It’s a well crafted game though, in true Rockstar fashion, but don’t just buy it if the only reason you’re going to do so is because of all the controversy the game created.