ManHunt Preview Preview

'ManHunt' is an interesting title from Rockstar North - the people behind the hugely successful 'Grand Theft Auto' series. Whilst we don't know a lot, what we do know is that there will be a lot of violence, but there is a reason for it, and it's a lot better explained than the casual killing we get in a lot of games. This looks to be an exploration of the darker side of contemporary life, a 'what if' scenario that could feasibly happen a few years down the road if society decides to take a wrong turn. A little like 'Escape From New York', 'The Running Man' and 'Clockwork Orange' if we're using reference points from likely sources of inspiration.<br><br>We doubt that the violence in 'ManHunt' will be as beautifully horrific as Kubrick's classic; more of a snuff movie feel is what we're expecting at this point. It's going to make you feel uneasy, well, perhaps, there is also every chance that you will be admiring your own skill at killing, a bit like the introductory sequence to 'Hitman 2'. It seems that there will be some surreal elements to go alongside the violence, and we hope there's a good dose of satire thrown in as well.<br><br>The game follows James Earl Nash, a convicted murderer, (which doesn't necessarily make him <i>guilty</i>), whose about to be put to death via lethal injection. At the last minute he is saved by the actions of the 'The Director', but don't think the dude is out to save you, he's out to kill you, but in a far more inventive manner than the boring, quiet, clean lethal injection.<br><br>If The Director had to dress up as a videogame character, it would probably be Voldo, you know the leather bound gimp from the 'Soul Calibur' games. That should give you a little hint as to what the fellow is in to, if you need another hint kids, "today's preview is brought to you by the letters 'S' and 'M'". <br><br>The Director happens to have a whole derelict city, called Carcer City, at his disposal, and he likes to get his, (we're assuming it's a man, a woman would have far better things to do with her time) kicks from watching criminals get hunted down by gangs. Such a quiet boy when he was young, is what they'll say when they find out what he's been up to. The criminals he throws into the city to fight for their lives are able to use weapons and objects lying around, in order to take out as many of the unbalanced individuals, who make up the disturbing population of this inefficient execution chamber as they can. The Director gets to watch the killing on his extensive network of closed circuit television. <br><br>Grainy, messy and dirty, that's how he likes his death; he probably likes his sex the same way. In gameplay terms the CCTV means that when you kill someone the view switches to what the director will be seeing. We hope that this will make the game rather more disturbing, giving you some interesting angles, and a certain sense of detachment from the killing, but allowing you to really see what you're doing.<br><br>The Director may be a bit of a masochist you might say, but a powerful masochist who can commander a whole city for his depraved, debased, debauched entertainment; we're looking forward to finding out who he is and exacting some revenge.<br><br>Enough of the scene setting you cry.<br><br>What about the game? <br><br>Well, from what we know so far ManHunt is going to be an interesting mishmash of genres, although it is going to play for the most part like a third person action adventure title. You wander around with a camera trailing you, and when you need to enter combat you can lock on to your target and strafe around them as you need to. We assume, and hopefully this isn't a silly assumption to make, that there will be a first person view when the weapon you have in your hands requires some more precise aiming, provided you've got the time to do this.<br><br>Given that you are drastically outnumbered you will, in the early stages at least, when all you have to hand are melee weapons, need to use the shadows for cover, and think about what you're treading on. Stealthy, stealthy is order of the day in the opening sections, especially as you have a stamina bar to compliment your health - can't be running around the whole time or you'll get tired and that could be deadly. <br><br>Your hunters are normally gang members, who are supposed to behave rather intelligently, well, as intelligent as overzealous, psychopathic-killers in a mad situation can be. In order to not have the odds impossibly stacked against you there will be an 'Aliens' style radar, which will bleep when the hunters make a noise. If they're silent and not moving then you won't be able to track them, so be careful of ambushes. You can cunningly use sound yourself though, throwing objects, hitting things and then running away, luring the hunters into your own ambush, huzzah! <br><br>Staying on the subject of sound for a second, we should mention that before they get a hold of you, the hunters, like a drunken lover, will tell you what they're going do to you, in excruciating, leg-crossing detail. This should send shivers down your spine, or make even more certain that as they creep past muttering about your neck, you'll carefully plant that hammer squarely to the back of their cranium.<br><br>Going back to The Director, he doesn't just sit around watching his private television channel for kicks, he has a radio that he can communicate to Nash with, offering hints and tips to keep him just on the right side of the line between alive and dead. Oh and it probably adds to the psychological kick The Director gets from totally confusing his pretty little plaything. <br><br>Apparently later in the game there will be some more surreal elements to fit alongside all of the depravity, the film 'Donnie Darko' might give you a hint at what you might encounter in the latter stages of 'Manhunt'. Interesting, perhaps some tripping out will be in order, along the lines of the blood-soaked platforming sections of 'Max Payne', although we trust that Rockstar North can come up with some even more surreal scenarios for themselves. Whether the surreal stuff is part of The Director's plan, or just James flipping out, is something we'll have do discover for ourselves.<br><br>Weapons will be among the most important things you will come across as you make your way through Carcer City, taking on the gangs as you go. There will be some single use weapons - plastic bags, garroting wire and glass shards - these will be messy and up close and personal, giving you a bloody introduction into The Directors world. The next stage is melee weapons, things such as crowbars, machetes, baseball bats, meat cleavers, blackjacks, hammers and handy hunting knives. These should allow you to kill silently and efficiently, but you'll still have to be rather close to your foe, which when they are in packs could be a problem.<br><br>What you need are some guns, now there won't be a huge supply of weaponry in the game, it would make things a little run of the mill perhaps, but here are some of the firearms you can expect to wield: 9mm Pistol, .38 Revolver, Pump-Action Shotgun, Sawed-Off Double-Barrel Shotgun. We hope there is a sniper rifle in there. Whilst you may think that guns are the best option, remember, they are noisy and are likely to bring the hunters running to your position. Bullets will have to be a last resort to get you out of a sticky situation, or part of a cunningly thought out plan where you storm an area and quickly blast your way through the bodies in your path. We really want rooftop sniping though, we will have to wait and see whether our little fantasy gets indulged.<br><br>'ManHunt' is sounding very interesting, we like the concept, we like what we've seen so far and we like what you have to do to survive. Whilst we are yet to play the game ourselves, we are trusting that the development team knows what they are doing and will not release a shoddy game. This pretty much sums up what we know about the game so far; we are looking forward to discovering more about the world of 'ManHunt' when we get our hands on the game to go through it ourselves.