Manhunt, a.k.a. "The Running Man 2K3"

It's definitely one I'm looking forward to. Rockstar's ideas for it actually instilled me with faith they could pull off The Warriors game they have in development.

Although I'm starting to get burned out on stealth games. Hopefully it's more brutal approach will keep things fresh.

It sounds pretty horrific... like State of Emergency on crack... and with a story. I really like that Rockstar is making this a humorless, dark game. If feel like a real gamble... they've said the gore and the violence is going to shame GTA.

The whole idea behind "the Director" is so cool. A man who watches over you and controls you and delights in you killing people. This game shall rock.

You can do stealth kills with a plastic bag. God bless games.

I'm getting really hyped for this game.

The website's been up for a few weeks- check it out.

<a href="http://www.rockstargames.com/manhunt" target="_blank">http://www.rockstargames.com/manhunt</a>

The music is amazing. Fucking amazing. It sounds like they went back in time and got John Carpenter to put together a score in the early eighties.

That's funny, I was thinking the exact same thing, Bateman- it does sound like a Carpenter score.

Moody as all fuck. This has potential to be a dark and fucked up game.

"Over here."

"Come out to pla-ay"

Yeah this looks pretty damn cool. I don't have a PS2 yet, but I'll get one at the next price drop, for the sole purpose of Metal Gear 3.

Partial weapons list on IGN

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/440/440440p1.html

Pretty cool shot of a plastic bag kill also.

This game sounds cool.

I believe this came out today... anyone get it yet?

dying to play it, but I'm being strict with myself in not getting any new games until I finish RE Zero (had it for over a YEAR now), Silent Hill 3, The Getaway, Vice City, The Thing. etcetcetcetcetcetcetc

I was about to but held off. I had a State of Emergency flashback at the last second. After Rockstar burned me with that one I don't think I'll buy anything without Grand Theft in the title from them without a review first. Decided to go with FF, which is a "sure thing" for me.

but wasn't State of Emergency by some non-GTA team within Rockstar? so who is behind this one, GTA Rockstar or poor man's Rockstar?

Positive first review over at IGN, although I'm too lazy to find the link for you right now. Sounds pretty cool, though.

Sounds like it could be a bit to tedious for my taste. Going to have to give it a rental first.

This one beats out Mario Kart and Counter Strike for my video game dollars this week. Gonna pick it up before the weekend.

Let us know how it is. I dig the concept but I've heard it's difficult beyond the point of frustration, and I have enough of that in everyday life without playing videogames to get it too...

I picked it up. Go ahead and forget anything about GTA... while the game controls are very similar to our old car pinching game, the gameplay is very much akin to Metal Gear Solid. I'm in the first few levels... and, honestly, it's getting tedious and a tad boring already. I'll have to wait a little while before I can pass final judgement. Give this a rent before you buy.

Manhunt, my very early impressions

Just toyed around with this for about an hour last night.

The story, as you may have heard: you take the role of James Earl Cash in the game. The brief opening cinema of the game includes 1) a reporter investigating whether “executed” inmates are not being executed as sentenced, 2) a brief clip of your “execution”, and 3) you coming to, and being introduced to the “director.” You have been rescued from your execution. But with what the director has in store for you, your rescue may not be a good thing.

Apparently the director, Starkweather, is in the business of making a kind of reality show for video. A Running Man type thing. You have to fight to survive, and the director will lead you along. I don’t know how much he helps – but he does want a good film – so the better you do, the better his product will be. As you progress thru the game, you will encounter many different gangs – their job in the “film” is simply to kill you.

The presentation of the game is pretty cool. I like the game menu style. And the game manual is designed like an underground snuff-type film catalog. Kind of typical of Rockstar, when you look at the inventive manuals they put together for the GTA games.

With not much of an introduction (basically what I have described above) – you are dropped into the first level. This first “scene” as it is called in the game, is named “Born Again” - and acts as a tutorial.

This introductory level is as far as I got to play last night, but it does a pretty good job going over the controls. They are pretty good, though the camera is a bit awkward to manipulate at times. This may not be a big deal in most cases, since the pace of the game (as far as I am playing) is pretty slow. Maybe if I get into a situation later where I am trying to escape gangs quickly, I will have more of a complaint to make.

Graphically, no complaints to make. The game has a gritty look, intended to be representative of the low quality bootleg video / underground film genre. It is kind of like the filter used in Silent Hill 2, that’s the best way I can describe it. Anyway, I like the way it looks. Animation and environment on the first level was really impressive. The manual hints at some of the locations for later levels – and it seems like there will be some good variety.

This is a quiet game. As you creep along trying to hear enemies around you. And staying silent yourself is key. Walk into a garbage can? It will make the expected noise. Bad if you don’t mean to do it. Useful, if you are trying to lure a gang-member to his death. I don’t have a headset, but if you do, it is utilized in the game as well, in a creative manner.

Yeah, the much talked about death scenes are pretty brutal. And that is just with the early level weapons I have seen, like the plastic bag and the glass shard. The different levels of executions make you want to experiment – though in the long run, you want the Gruesome level more than anything else, to improve ratings and rewards. The manual has a weapons list. There is going to be some really nasty things to come.

I hear this game gets hard, and can get tedious. So we’ll see what I think in the long run. I’ll tell you this, for me, this type of gameplay can be really unsettling. Any stealth game I have played, is one that can get my heart beating. This one is no exception. Just that uncertainty of what is going to be around the next corner.

Okay, I'm getting deeper into the thing... it starts to pick up. I think it's worth a purchase. Oh, and Brian Cox... Jesus... is creepy as all fucking hell.

If you have the SOCOM headset plugged he speaks into your ear.

The game is getting SLAP ME IN THE ASS I'M STUPID hard now. The thing is, it's not hard in that "Damn... this game sucks... this is too hard" way. It's hard in that "DAMN! I know how to do this but I keep fucking it up!" way.

Oh, and just so people know this...

YOU CAN CUT OFF PEOPLE'S HEADS, THEN PICK THE HEADS UP AND THROW THEM AT PEOPLE!

Is it a difficult game even on "normal" level?

Bought it today, loving it so far.

It is hard, though. Its like trying to play Metal Gear Solid with pretty much no radar. Enemies only appear on the radar when they are making noise (walking, yes, but they frequently rant or mumble to themselves as well).

I'm not very happy with the actual stealth-kill system, but thats probably because i'm not very good at it. You have to get behind them, within range, and when Cash's hand raises, hold down X until the cursor turns white (level 1 kill) yellow (level 2) or red (level 3).
Mostly i'm having trouble not being in range. If you press X when your out of range you just swing at empty air, the enemy hears you, and you fight or run.
The kills themselves are great, though, and well worth the effort (the level 3 kill with the baseball bat is my favorite so far).

I was really surprised that they dont set up the story hardly at all. If I hadnt been reading previews, and read the manual first, I wouldnt know WHAT the hell was going on. I was expecting a long cinema explaining how Cash is being put to death, showing the 'execution', him waking up, blah blah. But nope, nada.

The camera issues could have been solved if you could use the right stick to rotate around Cash, instead of it automatically going to first person. As it is i've found no way to rotate the camera without rotating Cash himself. Lame.

Is backing up against the wall useful, does anyone know? I havent found any reason to use it, since shadows conceal you completely, and you can see around corners without doing it.

Starkweather is CREEPY. I love how when your creeping in for a kill, he starts saying thing like "KILL HIM", then when you do he'll tell you that was "great stuff". Awsome.

The sound design is great. I've played all the big stealth games, and this is the first one that seems completely based on sound. It seems like im constantly straining to hear enemies walking around or talking.
Everything is so dead silent, that when I accidentally bump a trash-can or shopping cart is seems INCREDIBLY loud.

I love that its ok for games to say "fuck" and "shit" now..or its starting to be ok, anyway.

Game = good.

I've been messing around with this, trying to figure out how you can better manipulate the camera. This seems to be the case, after experimenting and based on the manual:

Left stick alone moves Cash
Right stick alone gives first person view
L2 alone strafe left
R2 alone strafe right

Right stick while moving with left stick - it seems while you are walking, if you move the right stick, it swings the camera, instead of giving you the first person view

L1 in conjunction with left stick - now, instead of lef/right on the stick turning Cash, he strafes

L1 in conjunction with right stick - I do this when standing near a corner, it seems to allow me to swing the camera around, instead of giving me the first person view

You're at the low part of the game. Soon, you'll be drugged and taken to an abandoned zoo to fight the Wardogs, the gang of war obsessed freaks... and you'll get all the guns you want. Keep playing... it's worth it.

Just remember to only shoot him in one foot so at least he can hobble to the hospital.

I don't have anything important to add, just wanted to say that you can't imagine just how violent this game is until you actually play it. Crazytown.

Call me a sick motherfucker, but I love this game. Aside from the obvious violence, Brian Cox as Starkweather ("Oh, darn. Forgot to tell you. Some doors are opened with a switch."), the gritty, Videodrome feel, the Carpenter-esque synthesizer soundtrack, and the funny-as-hell lines the gangs come up with (dunno which is best -- the way the Wardogs "relieve tension" or the guy with the skirt in the Smilies who repeatedly refers to Cash as "BAAH-REEEE") make it definitely worth playing -- and buying as it is a long-ass game, and patience is needed. But it's usually rewarded after a while. I'm in "Mouth of Madness" now, and although the hide-and-seek can wear you down, it's nonetheless a hoot to hear these wackos ramble on, and vent their frustrations as they try to find you. The only way to improve it would be a multiplayer online where groups could play as the different gangs, or create their own. The ultimate would be if one could create custom environments, and have a go in the Director's chair...

My favorite line from the guards is "Jesus... I'm bored. I'm going to go find a dark corner to jack off in."

I love the crazy-fuckers in the asylum.

"Come out and playyyyy..."
"Fug mad. Fug go hurt things."
"Oh, dear... the wife's not going to appreciate me ripping this man's skull off."
"I like roses! You're a rose and you lost all your petals and I have to put them BACK!"

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/code/37050.html

Do the codes listed work for anyone?
Tried 'em, don't work.

The fucked-up-ness of this game knows no bounds.

One complaint...

SPOILERS
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When you escape from the Director's little world and get out into the real world and have to deal with cops... I'm getting bored. I miss the crazy bastards with knives and meat cleavers who ramble on about how their wives don't fuck them enough or about how the voices in their heads tell them to slaughter the innocent. I actually miss Fug. Screw the damn cops.



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END

Edit: Just to clarify... this is one of the damn hardest games I have ever played... and it keeps getting harder in a never ending swirl of pitch black evil.

This game sounds incredible. I'm thinking of checking out a copy today. You know, so I can be gouging thugs' eyes out in between eating turkey and pumpkin pie tomorrow....

Hard as shit, wish it had a quick death restart option. I spent more time looking at the load screen then I did playing the game last night.

So would you at least say it's worth a rental? I just took back True Crime and was going to pick this up, but it wasn't in at the video store. Does it stay repetitive or does it get better?

Definitely worth a rental. I'm not going to buy it, but I plan on keeping me rented copy around long after it's supposed to be returned.

I just played it for an hour and yes, this is one fucked-up game.

I think I truly realized how fucked up it was when I performed one of the ultra-executions with the crowbar. Yeah.

And Brian Cox's voiceovers RULE. I would almost buy a headset for this game...I bet it's cool as hell to hear him in your ear.

I've had this game now for a few days and it's the best PS2 game in my collection now. And the most graphic game in history as far as I'm concerned.

I'm on level 6 or 7. Not sure. But it's fun to play hide and go seek and then kill. And the kills sure are graphic. So far I've seen deaths by:

Shard of Glass
Baseball Bat
Crowbar
Wire
Plastic Bag
Machette
Knife
Gun
Shotgun

I can't wait to see what the chainsaw does.

And hopefully someone on this board will let us know what 100 stars on Hardcore does. Maybe it unlocks something special??

I'm playing on Fetish to get a handle on the game and then I'm on Hardcore and my hunt for 100 stars begins.

Yeah, when I get done (on "Kill the Rabbit" now), I'm gonna go back through the other scenes and get as many gruesome kills as I can, and see what happens.

I'd say it's worth a purchase if you enjoy stealth games. Though, there are a lot of levels were full out blasting occurs (later on when you start getting guns) and they're INSANELY fun. It changes from a steath game into a duck and cover game several times. You don't really run into rooms blasting... you have to find cover to hide behind. I'd say buy it if that peaks your interest as there's a LOT of replay value to the game with going back and perfecting each level to get bonus stuff. That and I'm having a hard time with the game on Fetish level... I can't imagine what Hardcore is like.

Oh, and you want to hear how smart the AI is?

So, I approach this building. I can tell from the radar (the radar is better called a sonar... as it picks up sound) that there are 4 or 5 hunters in the room. I'm armed with a shotgun and a pistol, but even still, I don't want to risk running in there. So, I stand outside in a shadow and knock on the wall, hoping some of them come out where I can pick them off one at a time... so I knock and...

... nothing happens. They all rush to the door... then they dissappear. There's nothing on my radar. I wait for like five minutes.... nothing. They're gone, as far as I know. So, I open the doors and walk inside.

There is about 8 hunters around the door with shotguns. They open fire and I fly back out the doors about 10 feet... dead as dead can fucking be.

That's the only time anything like that has ever happened. That AI in this game is SO damn unpredictable. You have NO clue what the hell it's going to do.

So i'm on "Fuelled By Hate" right now and after lugging that god-damn gas can through the level and dropping it to kill supremacists along the way, I finally get back to the fucking crane only to be killed while operating it. Fun, but frustrating. I hate how the save points are set up.

Anyway, I keep wishing I had a microphone. I would buy one for this game. It must add a ton of fun to an already fun game by being able to taunt them and have them actually respond to your voice.

Right where you're at Verbal is where the game gets tedious, but I love using the crane. I think this is the first game since Earthworm Jim that lets you kill enemies by slinging a refrigerator at them.

I FINALLY got past Ramirez and his trained Wardog goons, and out of that apartment building -- Jesus, but that took forever! It was frustrating as all hell, but fun too

I am definitely getting one of those USB headsets for this game. Gonna replay it, possibly on Hardcore (mebbe the extra sensitivity to sound will help)...