Manhunt

When I first played Manhunt, I head previously beaten all the main GTA games and Bully and decided to give it a go since I had it on my PSN for about a year and it was a game I wanted to play for a bit. I heard many things about the game and mainly the controversy surrounding it since apparently some kid murdered his friend in the same way the main character in this game performs his executions, not to mention I heard the final boss was a naked fat guy in a pig costume. I was surprised I enjoyed this as much, its a huge step away from the GTA series and more focused on stealth, you have to hide in shadows and stalk murderers and then step out and kill them when they aren't looking. There is some repetition since many levels feel similar in atmosphere and a lot of the game is just hiding in shadows and waiting. But there is some variety, there are some levels where you are given guns and have to shoot enemies down like an action game and there are a few somewhat annoying escort missions. The best thing about the game is the atmosphere, and there are some really well designed levels in this. But at the same time there are some really poorly designed and frustrating ones as well, there is one level where its almost impossible to sneak and you have to face tough enemies with guns who will destroy you really fast, and its frustrating, I died probably 20 or so times, and there are a few other missions near the end of the game that are similarly frustrating. But most of the missions in this are pretty fun, and the atmosphere of the game really makes this worth something. The story is also pretty lame and minimal, but I think this is pretty good overall, and well not one of the best Rockstar games, definitely one worth playing, especially for survival horror fans.

There's a certain power to Manhunt, Every artery of the game is clogged with a nightmarish, sadistic atmosphere framed with sound design, graphical aesthetic and voice acting. The infamous violence of the game has a genuine sense of brutality that's exciting and enjoyable enough to warrant serious self-reflection.

The best parts of the game consist of being dropped into levels to utilize the tried and true stealth mechanics of shadows, sound lure etc. Here it is specifically your goal to systematically kill your opponents. It's competent. Combined with the excellently articulated sense of tone, the game is surprisingly effective.

The primary problem with this game occurs when it tries to be a third person shooter, which thankfully doesn't kick into gear until the latter half of the game. Put simply, it's clunky. The aiming and cover mechanics feel stiff and a tad difficult. As such, many of the later levels involving shootouts with multiple enemies with assault rifles can be frustrating.

The game can also get repetitive. After a period, everything starts to feel formulaic. There are three varieties of stealth executions available for each weapon, all of which eventually become familiar enough to lose impact. There are a decent number of weapons available throughout the game, and finding a new weapon with all new executions to see helps maintain the forward momentum.