The game that got banned in Australia...MANHUNT!!!

Now this little game is sure to stir up a load of controversy the size of Texas! This game is the brain-child of RockStar (aka the makers of games such as the Grand Theft Auto series and also Max Payne). That being said you already know this game ain't going to be the next Crash Bandicoot.

Rockstar has a reputation for churning out games angry parents and anti gaming violence groups are sure to complain about. If they thought Grand Theft Auto was violent, well in the immortal words of Judas Priest, "You got another thing comin'". This game WILL set new standards for the word VIOLENCE.

In this soon to be banned title you play as James Earl Cash, a killer sentenced to death by fatal injection, only the execution is faked and Cash is order by the disturbed snuff film director, Lionel Starkweather, to basically "murder" your way out of this little mess. Starkweather will only grant you access of locked areas by brutally killing the gang members patrolling it. The story line isn't exactly as complex as, lets say, Final Fantasy, for instance, but it does give Cash enough reason to mindlessly slaughter whatever has a pulse.

Now the way you murder people in this games is what’s going to send critics into frenzy. For example decapitation with a baseball bat, severing heads with a butcher knife or maybe even gutting someone with a sickle. And not only is the concept gruesome, it actually looks convincing, you actually see the head shatter and litter the ground with pieces of skull, brain and a whole lot of blood when using a baseball bat.

But all this would be affected if the graphics, game play and sound weren't up to scratch. As far as the graphics go, they aren't a visual master piece like some other games out there, but it has a sort of dirty, rough look to it that suits the game well, and when the "executions" are performed the screen goes to this hand held video recorder view complete with minor static to give it this special effect that really works well in the games favor. Without good graphics, the extreme violence wouldn't of come across nearly as strong as it did. A testament to that, is that this game has been banned in Australia, and I'd be willing to bet that it isn't gracing many shelves anywhere else either.

The sound, you cant really fault it, the effects of the killing suit the death perfectly (when you hear the skull crack and splatter on a wall after using the baseball bat). And on top of that there is some very explicit dialogue. Sometimes you can get as much fun out of the game by letting the guards live and listen to their demented comments. The inocentz (a gang you'll encounter in the game) are particularly humorous to listen to. You will be in awe over the things they say.

And finally the game play, it runs like an updated version of the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City game engine. Its not nearly as sloppy as Vice City though and has plenty of new features thrown in. You have a auto aim feature for your fire arms plus the usual manual aim that you may expect. When in a fight with close range weapons ( crowbars, knives ect.) you use the square (heavy attack) and X (light attack) buttons, (also used for firing weapons). But hopefully you'll be able to avoid face to face fights, the main idea is to quietly take out you enemies with Cash's stealth kills (each kill differs with what weapon you have equipped). You execute these "stealth Kills" by sneaking up (not running or they'll try their best to take you down) on an your intended victim and holding down either X or square, it makes no difference, and these white colored arrows will appear, the longer you hold down the button the more gruesome kill that Cash will perform (kills are indicated by the color of the arrows, white being mild kill, yellow meaning violent & finally red meaning gruesome).

Manhunt hasn't got a very gripping story but it's solid enough to give Cash reason to murder everyone. This game is NOT for someone who is upset by insane amounts of violence, swearing & plain insanity in general, 'cause this game has more then it's fair share of in all of the above. Featuring 21 big levels which are challenging, 4 bonus levels to unlock, and several other challenges, Manhunt is a game truly in a league of its own, but sadly will be over looked by it's violence and other obscenities.