The Mind of a Killer

The original game was bleak, brutal and brilliant. Now, having seemingly been swallowed up be controversy, it'd back.. This is Manhunt 2. Get ready to go insane.

Dr Daniel Lamb seems like a nice man. Softly spoken bespectacled, a bit shy - he probably shops at Waitrose and reads the independent. So when you see him locked up in an asylum at the start of Manhunt 2, it's a surprise. When you seem him strangle a female doctor, it makes your blood run cold. And when, by the end of the level, he's done a lot of bad things with a ballpoint pen... well, you're left traumatised.

Developer Rockstar doesn't flinch from a challenge. When it could have chosen to adapt almost any film licence in the wake of its all-conquering GTA series, it picked The Warriors, a cult movie from the 70's with a core fan base of students and insomniacs. When it could have simply knocked out a guts 'n' guns potboiler to test-run the graphics engine for GTAIV, it came up with its own spin on table tennis instead. And now, faced with choosing a PS2 swansong. Rockstar has decided to make a follow-up to it's most controversial game ever...and turn everything on it's head.

Due out on PS2 and PSP this spring, Manhunt 2 isn't a sequel or prequel. The Director from the first game, his psychotic gangs and the CCTV cameras he used to shoot snuff have all gone. So has convicted killer James Earl Cash the near -silent anti- hero of the original. Dr Lamb is a more complex character, a man of science, trapped in a nightmare situation. Six years prior to the start of Manhunt 2, he was working on a drugs-based weapons program and foolishly agreed to be the guinea pig for one of this own formulae. Inevitably things went wrong, and though the doctor didn't actually go crazy himself - well, so far as we know - the experiment's backers, known as 'The Project' decided to gag Lamb by locking him in their private asylum.

Clinically wrong

This is where the nightmare begins. An electric storm has shorted out the hospital's power, and the patients are on the loose. It's a familiar scenario - anyone who's played The Suffering or the latest Splinter Cell will get a flicker of deja vu watching inmates and guards go at it - but this being Rockstar, the intensity has been dialled up. As Daniel passes the first cell on his row, an inmate cackles and sprays him with urine. This is where you learn Manhunt 2's stealth system, which follows same rules as the last game, if you're in the shadows, you're hidden, if you run you risk being heard. If an enemy makes a noise he'll show up on the radar. If he doesn't, he won't. Get this right, and you'll make it past the next cell unmolested. Mess up, and you'll get the Multiple Miggs treatment - and handful of piping hot bum-fudge in - from a cackling fat man. As far as tutorial levels go it provides one hell of a strong motivation to get up to speed.

As Daniel explores the hospital, the hunted house vibe heightens, with set-pieces triggered as you move - bikes tumble down stairs, orderlies are killed by inmates, fractured pipes fire blasts on steam and bodies litter the floors. Daniel seems helpless, but he's got a guardian angel, psychotic inmate Leo Kasper, who stays one step ahead of him as the pair flee. There's a sort of Fight Club vibe to the relationship between the two - Leo's the cocky, self-assured Brad Pitt to Daniel's awkward Ed Norton, encouraging him to do things he's never even considered before. When Daniel's attacked by an inmate, he physicality can't even fight back at first - it's only when his health bar drops down below a certain point that Leo's taunting starts to take effect and he lashes out in self defence. It isn't long though, before Daniel's doing things that are much, much worse.

Thrill Kill

As before, kills come in three flavours - Hasty, Violent and Gruesome - each requiring you to stay within killing range of enemies for different lengths of time. 'Hastys' are instantaneous and functional. With the syringes that litter the hospital, this means a stab in the chest and a quick slump to the floor, 'Violents' turn up the intensity: a heel in the back of the knee and a needle in the neck, say. Getting a 'Gruesome' takes patience - stalk an orderly for five seconds before delivering the killing blow and Daniel kicks him to the ground, stamps on him and finishes him off with an injection in the eye. Other 'Gruesomes' are equally nasty: one guard gets a vicious flurry of biro-wounds in his stomach. Another gets slashed with a shard of glass. Later in the game a member of The Project has both his plums and a pair of vertebrae removed with a pair of pliers. It's nothing you wouldn't see in one of the current spate of 'gorenography' movies - Hotel, Saw etc, - but it's deeply disturbing. - Despite what you may have heard about the original Manhunt it's hero was motivated by a desire to survive, not dead-eyed bloodlust. To appease The Director, Starkweather, Cash was forced to kill, on film and on demand, as viciously as possible. The cameras are gone in Manhunt 2 but the brutality is undiminished. So it's currently harder to understand Daniel's motivation for grisly murder. Leo's goading goes some way to explain it, but not far enough. Manhunt 2's dark heart lies in unravelling Lamb's psyche.

Several hours later. we find Daniel and Leo on the run, looking for a woman named Judy who they think can help them. They've tracked her to a brothel called 'The Honey Pot' - actually a front for The Project's recruitment drive - but the pimp on the door's being difficult. He wonders into a back room to check out Daniel's ID. There are no weapons in sight. The pimp's a big lad. What are you going to do? Simple, use an environmental kill. Next to the pimp's position on the radar there's a white cross denoting this new feature in Manhunt 2. Tiptoeing into the room. Daniel sees it - a telephone - and one fierce garrotting/bludgeoning later, the coast is clear. The next member of the bordello's staff falls victim to a fuse box - yes face-first - but then Daniel hits a problem. There's only one way into the next area - through a window - and even though the room beyond it is empty, smashing the window will bring the Project employees running. It looks as though Daniel's going to have to plough in, arms swinging, but then he hears a moan next door. Hey, it's a brothel.

This is our introduction to the first major change to the stealth system: excess noise. If someone's making a racket, it's audible range and the people within it will turn blue on the radar. As long as the sound continues enemies won't be able to hear other noises - so you can be louder without raising the alarm. In this case, the rhythmic moans in the next room enable Daniel to break the window without detection. Once inside, the next guard he comes across is standing at a toilet and none the wiser to the good doctor's approach. Another environmental kills beckons.

Lurking in the Shadows

Not everything goes Daniel's way, though, and before long his over zealousness with a barbed wire-spiked bat has triggered an alert. He finds himself hiding again, but there's an important difference now, in the first Manhunt, shadows meant absolute safety. As long as you could make it to a patch of darkness unseen, you could put down the pad and make a cup of tea while you waited for your pursuers' heightened state of alert to drop. Manhunt 2's system is broadly the same, with one important difference: If an enemy comes to the edge of the shadows looking for Daniel, there's a chance you'll will be prompted to tap in a quick button combination to 'regulate your breathing' and remain unseen. According to the tension, the effect is completely random: sometimes it'll kick in straight away, at other times the mini-game will only start after an enemy’s been peering into the gloom for five or ten seconds. Mostly, it won't happen at all - but there's always that chance. The realism is questionable, but the effect is undeniable. If the psychos are on the alert, you can't afford to let your guard down for a second.

There are other, subtler changes to Manhunt 2 to discover, too. Daniel can climb and crawl, enabling him to access areas that would've been out of bounds for Cash. Bringing up a weapon-select menu now freezes the action - a nod to Metal Gear Solid - meaning no fumbling for the barbed-wire bat before a crucial kill. Shooting has also been made slightly easier thanks to a free aim-mode, and you can now use guns for stealth kills too. With these skills, Daniel and Leo and reunited out on the roof...but Judy's gone, leaving more questions than ever. What sort of experiment was doctor Dan involved in, and exactly how has it affected him? What exactly is the relationship between Daniel and Leo? Can Manhunt 2 top the first game for disturbing thrills? For now the answers to the first two questions remain tantalisingly elusive. As far as the last question, don't bet against it - Rockstar isn't in the habit of pulling its punches.

Rockstars speaks!!

Talking Manhunt, Piggsy and phychotic headset whispers with Rockstar London's studio head, Mark Washbrook.

OPM: The original Manhunt was a very self-contained game. Was a sequel always planned?

Mark Washbrook: You're right, at the end of the original Manhunt you felt a real sense of closure. Manhunt 2 is a new story from the Manhunt universe which significantly enhances the core gameplay and aesthetics that made the original Manhunt such a compelling experience. No title has satisfied the fierely loyal Manhunt fan base since it's release and there was no question we could leave them hanging any longer!

OPM: What were your main aims starting development on the sequel?

MW: The aims were to try and push the game into new areas whilst retaining elements of the critically acclamed, unique mood and feel of the original. We wanted the narritive to explore new themes and to add things to feel new and challenging. It was also important to create a game where it wasn't necessary to have played the original Manhunt in order for them to enjoy or relate to it. I think we've succeeded on all levels.

OPM: Why no PS3 version?

MW: We're dedicated to bringing AAA Rockstar games to the PS2 and PSP. PS3 is a fantastic machine, and we are developing plenty of content for that console as well. However we can't overlook the fact that the PS2 is still the most widely played console on which many of our fans still actively play videogames. There are still such great title being made for the format and Manhunt 2 is an example of that.

OPM: It seemed to us like the big difference on the original was exploitation horror films - early John Carpenter, that kind of thing. What are the main reference points for the new game?

MW: I would agree in that the atmosphere and sense of claustrophobia that was so prevalent in the original definitely made a nod in the direction of Carpenter and other films of that time. In Manhunt 2 the story is definitely more complex. It explores themes of institutionalisation, medical experimentation and psychosis into the very real fears many of us have.

OPM: Is there a temptation to try and out-do yourselves when it comes to the gore this time?

MW: Althought there's no denying that Manhunt contained violence and gore it would be missing the point if people thought those elements were what made Manhunt as great as it was. As i mentioned before the main aim was to make a game that has a compelling enough storyline that the violence withing it felt like a necessery evil. The first game asked questions of the player and Manhunt 2 will pose more. It goes without sayiong that we wanted to try and impliment new, creative and original ways of dispatching your adversaries but it was never a case of upping the gore factor for shock effect. We've used some new camera tricks to maximise impact, and in Rockstar North we have the benifit of probably the most talented audio team in the industry, that can utilise the power of sound with incredible results. Often it's what you don't see in movies and other media that leaves the longest lasting impression. We are not underestimating the power of player imaginations.

OPM: Speech played a big part in creating the atmosphere of the last Manhunt. Do you think audio is overlooked in games when it comes to creating believable characters?

MW: The audio as a whole, as in the first game will play an integral part in Manhunt 2. From the smallest of ambient sound effects, through to the dialogue and speech of all the characters in the game and the music score, all play their part building a sense of unease and atmosphere that is inherent in a Manhunt game. I can't say other people overlook good character and in-game audio but I can say it's something that everyone at Rockstar thinks is vital if we are going to succeed in creating believable and compelling game experiences that dramatically affect the player. We spend inordinate amounts of time perfecting this aspect of our games.

OPM: The Director talking to you through a USB headset in the original helped create a really sinister mood. Are you surprised that other games haven't ripped the concept off?

MW: Yes you're right, not many other games have explored that particular mechanic. That might be because there haven't been many other games that were as reliant on an in-game character speaking directly to the player. With Manhunt it really helped to draw the player into the whole experience by shutting out any ambient sounds form the real world and making the ordeal fell even more focused and unnerving.

OPM: Last time, the role of The Director brought out how complicit players were in the actions they preformed on-screen. Is that something you're exploring further in the sequel?

MW: Things are slightly different this time around. The story focuses on Dr. Daniel Lamb, scientist on the run with a dark accomplice seeking the individuals responsible for ruining his life. Danny is not being instructed by a director but instead his fellow escapee. That escapee is naturally more prone to violent behaviour than Danny and therefore he finds himself reluctantly relying on the escapee's instruction and advice. There's more of course but that's all i can speak about now.

OPM: Rockstar is famous for GTA's free-roaming sandbox game play - was Manhunt's linear structure implemented to make the player feel trapped?

MW: Yes. A free-roaming environment wouldn't have provided the same feel of claustrophobia or tension that was so important in Manhunt. The game play and story revolved around taking the freedom of choice away from the player and putting them in a situation and environment where the player's objectives may be fewer and more focused but they are far more consequential in a critical sense.

OPM: Any chance we'll see Piggsy again?

MW: Ah, we'll see.

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