The musical score in Manhunt is unique in that it is entirely interactive and constantly changing to suit the mood of the game. The music will change depending on the player's current standings and the hunter awareness to the presence of the player. Understanding how to follow the musical direction in Manhunt can be crucial to your survival.

There are five levels to the insanity of the music in Manhunt and they are; Very High, High, Medium, Low and Very Low.

It is entirely possible to understand the happening in the game through purely listening to the audio in the game. Generally speaking the music tends to be louder and more frantic when the player is spotted or being chased/confronted by a hunter. If the player is entirely hidden then the music will be comprised primarily of subtle ambient sounds.

There are three pillars to character movement in Manhunt, they are, sneaking, walking and running. In terms of speed they follow the natural progression with sneaking being the slowest, walking normal and running the fastest of the three options.

Sneaking is the least intrusive of the three and is advised for use when stalking a hunter or if you are walking over gravel as is causes no sound. Walking is faster than sneaking but slower than running, you will probably spend most of the game walking but watch out when approaching gravel as it can be heard by near by hunters and can give away your position. Running is advised when there are no hunters nearby or you have been spotted.

Within these three stances it is possible to strafe left and right. Strafing is particularly useful when stalking a hunter but being cautious about staying out of their line of vision or alerting them to your attention.

Additionally there is the option to peak left and right, this involves Cash leaning to his left or right and forcing the camera to reach from its usual position and lean heavily in the direction in which you are peaking. Peaking is particularly useful when hiding in shadows or around corners as it allows you get a better view of your position. If you peak out when hiding in a shadow Cash cannot be seen, even if his head pops out the boundaries of the safe zone.

There are three levels of execution for every weapon in the game with the exception of firearms. The severity of the execution is dependent on how long you hold the execute button down. The more extreme the execution the higher it ranks on your execution points at the end of the level, not to mention it pleases Starkweather.

The three levels of execution are represented by colour code:

	Hasty: Represented by three white reticles around the hunters head. Hasty executions can be achieved by simply taping the execute button. Hasty executions result in shorter less gruesome executions, perform too many of them and the director is likely to get a little peeved.
	Violent: Represented by three yellow reticles around the hunters head. Violent executions are achieved by keeping the execute button down for two seconds before releasing.
	Gruesome: Represented by three red reticles around the hunters head. Gruesome executions are the most severe of all three execution levels and can be achieved by holding the execution button down for three seconds before releasing. The executions tend to be more prolonged resulting in Cash striking the hunter several times before finishing them off. Gruesome executions are the director’s preferred method of kill.

The bottom right hand of the screen shows an image of the game character, James Earl Cash. This image changed depending on the situation and stance that Cash is in and is used to indicate any possible option available to the player.

The default caricature shown of Cash represents that the player is in the ‘walk’ state. In this state the player has the option to creep and walk. To creep all that is required is to slightly push the left analogue stick.

The stance of the player icon changes once the run button is held down in order to display to the player that once the left analogue stick is moved Cash will run rather than walk. When running Cash makes more noise, if there is a hunter near-by then they will become alerted to your position.

When pressed against a wall a similar icon pops up, but with the arrow pointing in the opposite direction. This symbolises that it is possible to pull off from the wall and return to free control.

When you walk over a dead hunter the player icon changes to show Cash hunched over with an arrow pointing up to the sky. This indicates that Cash can pick the dead hunter up and move his body. With the hunter over his shoulder the arrow flips and points down to the ground indicating that Cash can put the hunter’s body down.

The second icon is an environmental interaction. This icon pops up in instances when Cash must interact or manipulate the environment such as cutting rope or pulling switches.

At certain points in the game you will come across non-playable characters that you must direct. The objective during these scenes is to secure the safety of your partner. This is done through a simple two command system; the commands being wait and follow.

The colour of the player stance icon changes depending on the situation. When in the normal state, where the hunter’s aren’t alerted to your position the colour is light blue. When the icon is this colour it means that if a nearby hunter turns around he will be aware of your position.

As soon as you step into a shadow then the icon will turn to a dark blue indicating that you are out of enemy sight. As long as your player icon is dark blue you are safe from being spotted by a hunter.

If a hunter spots you then the player icon flashes red symbolising danger. Once you manage to evade the hunter then the icon returns to normal or if you are in a shadow then the icon turns dark blue.

Manhunt isn’t inventory heavy, but there are a few objects that you will stumble across in the game and undoubtedly wonder what purpose they serve.

Save Tape – These act as check points, this means that should you die you will restart from this point. If you pause the game and click save then the next time you load the game it will start you off as this point.

Pain Killers – You use pain killers in order to restore health. Each bottle of pain killers restores 50% of your health bar.

Padlock – Padlocks are used to contain the player in a specific location. Now and then you will be required to bust a padlock in order to enter the next area. Padlocks are busted open with a crowbar.

Gas Canister – On a few occasions you will be required to find gas canisters in order to advance in the game. When you have a gas canister in hand you are vulnerable to attack so always make sure to put the gas down if you are spotted.

Shadows act as ‘Safe Zones’, what this means is that when you are hidden within a shadow then the hunters cannot see you thus you are free from attack. Using shadows allows you to regain composure and think about your next move.

Whenever you enter a new area look for the nearest shadow and take the time to scope the area out. Become familiar with the location before deciding on how to eliminate the hunters.

You can tell when you are hidden in a shadow by looking at the colour and stance of Cash. If hidden then Cash will slouch over and go dark blue. The hud icon of Cash on the right hand side of the screen will also turn blue.

If a hunter sees you running into a shadow then the shadow is useless, immediately run out of sight of the hunter and hide in the nearest shadow.

When moving in shadows with a hunter in front of you it is best to keep movement to a minimal as on occasion a hunter will spot you even when in a shadow.

On occasion hunters will walk into shadows unprovoked so always make sure you keep ample distance from a hunter while he is looking into the shadow you are positioned in.

If a hunter bumps into you while you are a shadow then he will get startled and be aware of your position, once started you have a brief second to run for it.

Lure objects are used to attract a hunter into a position where it is safe to take them out. Items such as a brick, can, bottle and a severed hunter head can be used as throwing lures. Use throwing lures to bring a hunter close to you and separate them from the pack.

You can also lure a hunter by banging on the nearest wall. The object that you have in your hand determines how loud the noise is, so if you have a baseball bat in your hand it is going to create a larger noise radius than say a shard of glass.

Make sure to be aware of what you want to achieve when luring a hunter in. If there is a pack of hunters then it is best to make just enough noise to attract a single hunter, make too much noise and the whole pack will come to inspect the noise.

There are boxes and litter bags scattered around the environment that can also be used to lure a hunter in, when near one of these objects push the action button and Cash will kick the bag or box.

It is best to wait until the hunter is not suspicious of you before luring them in as indicated by them showing as yellow arrows on the radar. If a hunter is nearby and is aware of you then making a noise could alert him to your exact position.

Always be aware of your surroundings before targeting a hunter. If another hunter spots you then your target will become aware of your presence. If a hunter is in an alerted state then it is best to leave him until he is unaware of your presence.

Always come at a hunter from behind, some hunters have bigger fields of view. Select packs of hunter can be approached from the side as they have a far denser field of vision.

Some surfaces such as gravel give off a sound when walked over alerting the hunters to your presence. If you are sneaking up behind a hunter and he walks over gravel then make sure to tread lightly.

Whenever you are about to execute a hunter it is always advised to target them beforehand. It makes the whole execution process a lot easier as it keeps you semi-attached to the hunter and reduces the chance of inadvertently making a noise such as swinging a punch thus alerting the hunter and forcing them to turn around and spot you.

Once you have a hunter targeted you can then push or hold the execution button down to initiate the process of killing the hunter.

As they do when used to lure a hunter some weapons are louder when executing. The noise is determined by the size of the weapon and severity of the execution, longer executions will give off larger sounds due to the hunters screaming or wheezing. If you are in a populated area it might be better to explore alternate means of execution, i.e. quieter executions such as those made with the plastic bag or fibre wire.

If you are looking to achieve a five-star rating on levels then you are going to have to mix it up, using a mixture of weapons and execution levels of severity.

The hand to hand combat breaks down to strong and weak strikes. Strong attacks are more powerful and consume more of a hunter’s health but they are also slower and open you up to attack yourself. As you can imagine weaker attacks are faster but take off less of the hunter’s health.

For maximum effect it is best to use a combination of the both when fighting a hunter in hand to hand combat.

Combinations

Both strong and weak attacks can be used to perform 3 hit combinations. At first performing combinations may be difficult to perform as they have to be timed just right.

If you miss the first swing then it is best to retreat as on the second swing the hunter will take advantage of the fact that you are open for attack.

Blocking

It is possible to block hunter attacks by moving backwards. You will know if you are successfully in the blocking state as Cash raises both hands and covers his face from attack. While blocking the amount of damage you take is minimalized. Once the hunter breaks into combo if you time it just right you can take advance of him being open to attack.

Grapple

You can also grapple a hunter by pushing both the weak and strong buttons at the same time, while in a grapple it is possible to perform a 3 hit combo. You can also grapple a hunter when you have a weapon in hand.

Downed Enemy

After you have weakened the enemy they will fall to the ground and beg for mercy, while they are down make sure to continue kicking them or else they will get back up and attack you again. After 2 or 3 kicks the hunter will die as shown by the aiming reticle no longer being around their head and the lack or noise and movement.

• Are there any hunters near by? If so it might be best to wait until the area has cleared or at least have an escape path planned out.

• What weapon is the hunter carrying? If they have a shotgun or a rapid fire gun then it might not be worth the risk of getting to close to them as at close range you stand no chance should they manage to make you.

The best approach is to come at the hunter from behind just as you would when thinking about executing a hunter. If you must come at a hunter face on then it is best to charge at them and when close enough the aiming reticle will rotate around their head indicating that a headshot is possible.

Using Explosive Barrels

Some levels have oil drums laying around that can be blown up by shooting at them with any firearm including the nail gun. In these instances a good piece of advice would be to lure multiple hunters around the barrel then blow it up thus taking out a few with one single shot!

When dealing with locations populated by many hunters it is advised to hide the dead hunter’s body. The process of hiding a dead hunter is as simple as picking up the dead body and placing it in a shadowed location.

The perks of hiding dead hunters include avoiding alerting other hunters. If a hunter notices a dead member of his squad then he will run over to the body and call in backup forcing the entire pack into an extended alerted state making it difficult to execute the hunters and separate them off from one another thus risking the chances of being spotted.

Also make sure to hide severed heads, if a hunter stumbles across a severed head then he will react similarly to how he would if it was a dead body.