Manhunt was formally announced at E3
2003. In the press release for Manhunt, Rockstar said to expect
the following from the game:
• World-class gameplay.
• Incredible production values.
• Rockstar North's traditional sardonic sense of humour.
• Manhunt will explore the depths of human depravity in
a vicious, sadistic tale of urban horror.
For months after the announcement of Manhunt, Rockstar played on
the mystery surrounding the game. Only giving out little pieces
of information at the time, many guessed what the game was –
unsuccessfully. Knowing that the gaming media and general public
alike were intrigued by the game Rockstar instead put its eminent
attention on explaining the inspiration behind the game rather than
flat-out giving the game away.
Inspiration behind the development of Manhunt included such literature
as Richard Connell's ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ and Steven
King’s ‘The Running Man’. Films such as 8MM, Jacob’s
Ladder, Marathon Man, Romper Stomper, Surviving the Game and reality
television shows all served as visual and stylistic research. Despite
taking reference from many sources of media, the main form of influence
on the game lays in moods, scenes, tension and mass market voyeurism.
As the months wore on previews for the game started to appear in
magazines and on online publications. For the most part all of which
were highly positive with Manhunt receiving much praise for its
highly innovative use of sound, excellent enemy AI, murky themes
and expertly created level design.
Manhunt was released in November 2003 to both critical and commercial
success. The Chicago Tribune named Manhunt as being the ‘most
important video game of the last five years.’
On the surface Manhunt appears to be a pretty simple game. The
truth is that the game is anything but. Manhunt is an expertly crafted
gaming experience with high production values and incredibly polished
game play.
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"They just killed Cash. Now, they want
to kill him again."
America is full of run down, broken rust-belt
towns where nobody cares and anything goes. In Carcer City,
nothing matters anymore and all that's left are cheap thrills.
The ultimate rush is the power to grant life and take it
away, for sport. This time James Earl Cash, you are the
sport. They gave you your life back. Now, they are going
to hunt you down.
You awake to the sound of your own panicked
breath. You must run, hide and fight to survive. If you
can stay alive long enough, you may find out who did this
to you.
This is a brutal blood sport.
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• Third-person stealth action game.
• Two levels of difficulty, fetish (normal) and hardcore
(hard).
• Eerie atmosphere and setting.
• 25+ plus hours of game play.
• 20 scenes with 4 bonus scenes, plus unlockables.
• Unpredictable hunter AI with five levels of awareness.
• Dolby Pro Logic II sound.
• Dynamically layered soundtrack.
• USB headset support.
• 520 page script with over 8000 lines of dialogue.
• 16X9 widescreen display.
• 9 packs of hunters.
• Motion captured animations.
• Over 25 weapons.
• Three levels of execution per weapon.
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PS2 Box Art
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| Release Date: |
| PlayStation 2: |
• North America: November 19,
2003
• Europe: November 21, 2003
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| PC & Xbox: |
• North America: April 20, 2004
• Europe: April 23, 2004
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| Platform(s): |
PS2, PC, X-Box |
| Developer: |
Rockstar North |
| Publisher: |
Rockstar Games |
| Rating: |
Europe: 18, US: Mature |
| Descriptor
Warning: |
Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong
Language
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| PC Specifications: |
• Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
• 1GHz Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon processor
• 192MB RAM
• 32MB Video Card
with DirectX 8.1 drivers (GeForce 2 or better)
• 2.3GB Disk Space Hard Disk space
•
DirectX 8.1 compatible Sound Card
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16x CD/DVD-ROM Drive
• Keyboard and
Mouse |
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