Manhunt
 |
This article might not be relevant enough for this wiki Please either improve the article to make it more relevant, or discuss whether this page should be deleted on the talk page. |
| Manhunt | |
| |
| Developer(s) | Rockstar North |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | Rockstar Games |
| Release date(s) | November 18, 2003 |
| Genre(s) | Action |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Mature
|
| Platform(s) | PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox |
| Media | |
Manhunt is a violent and controversial video game released by Rockstar Games in November 2003.
Plot
The story revolves around a man on death row named James Earl Cash, sentenced to death by lethal injection due to a grievous crime, the nature of which never explained. An exceedingly wealthy former Hollywood director, who runs a seedy community in an impoverished town named Carcer City, bribes the doctors to inject Cash with a powerful sedative instead. The Director, as he likes to call himself, creates and distributes snuff films through a company named Valiant Video Enterprises. He sets up Cash as his latest star using the corrupt Carcer City police force, as well as his personal "Cerberus" guards, to corral Cash into butchering Carcer's local gangs on camera for the purpose of sexual gratification. Cash escapes The Director's final trap and begins a gore-soaked quest for revenge on his "savior." After rescuing a local reporter who was investigating the Director's activities, Cash learns his tormentor's location, as well as his real name: Lionel Starkweather. After a bloody rampage, Cash finally corners Starkweather, a rumbling chainsaw in hand...
Gameplay
Manhunt is a third-person stealth action game. The game consists of twenty levels, and four bonus levels that can be unlocked; the levels are referred to as "Scenes". Players survive the Scenes by dispatching enemy gang members know as "Hunters", occasionally with firearms but primarily by stealthily executing them in gruesome over-the-top ways. Executions are preferred in order to gain a higher score, thus encouraging players to play as viscerally as possible. The game's locales are full of 'dark spots' and shadows where the player can hide while being chased by the Hunters; hiding in these dark areas makes the player invisible to opponents.Over the course of the game, the player uses a wide variety of weapons, ranging from plastic bags, baseball bats, crowbars and all sorts of bladed items to firearms later on in the game. If the player is running out of health, painkillers can be found which replenish health. The player can strike walls or throw items such as bottles, cans, bricks and severed heads to make noise to distract Hunters.
References in the Grand Theft Auto series
- In Grand Theft Auto III, another Rockstar North game, a news segment on the in-game radio station, Lips 106, reports, "in nearby Carcer City, police chief Gary Schaeffer was cleared of corruption charges. Let's hope those missing witnesses turn up safe and sound." This is an obvious allusion to a prominent character in this game, even though GTA III precedes Manhunt's release date by two years.
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas contains numerous references to Manhunt:
- Manhunt action figures can be found in Zero's RC shop, and also various Manhunt artwork on the walls of bar interiors, most notably a Cerberus in Ten Green Bottles.
- During the missions in which the Carl Johnson must find and photograph the blueprints to Caligula's Casino, one of the other blueprints found in another room happens to be of Starkweather's mansion.
- The Skins carjunk arena can be seen when the player drives past the rural district of Flint County towards San Fierro.
- The playable character can use a knife to perform "execution kills" similar to Manhunt. After a stealth kill, the pose of lying on the floor is same as Manhunt.
- In any bar bar interior (namely Ten Green Bottles) there is a Cerberus guard painted on the wall.
- Sprunk, featured in San Andreas as a drink players can buy for regaining health, is also featured in many levels of Manhunt.
- A bulletin board in the Las Venturas police station has photos of Cash and a Hoods member tacked to it.
- Certain radio station(s) in San Andreas mention Carcer City by name.
- An abandoned shop named Ryton Aide appears on the first mission of Manhunt. In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City there is a similarly named store known as Ryton Aide. Also in GTA Vice City, Phil Cassidy lives in a trailer in a junkyard, much like one of the Skinz members, with the Interiors of both trailers having a near identical layout.
External Links
- Official Manhunt Site
- NTSC-uk dissects Manhunt.
- The Manhunt Fiasco - timeline of a related lawsuit