Manhunt: What's the point?

[Kaladron]

I've been temporarily drafted into Leeds Uni this Friday to sit in on a students' presentation on Manhunt. I've been playing the game and reading up on it so that I can engage in converstation with the students and give feedback on the presentation but I'm struggling to balance my opinion.

I can't see a single positive thing about the game, whether it be in gameplay terms or moral value. Am I missing something obvious? Does Manhunt have any redeemable features at all?

[Kieran76]

Have you seen the huge article that someone on this site wrote? Tead that, it may help. As I said though, it was huge.

Edit - Here's the link

http://www.ntsc-uk.com/feature.php?fea=ManhuntIntro

My own viewpoint, it's not a very good game and remains mostly unplayed on my shelf.

[PeteBrant]

Aside from anything else, I'm not sure "moral value" has any relevance in gaming - in as much as it being a positive.

[Damrabbit]

manhunt drips atmosphere, and in that, it "works"

[Kaladron]

Aside from anything else, I'm not sure "moral value" has any relevance in gaming - in as much as it being a positive.

Well you could argue that Manhunt heightens sensitivity to violence rather than desensitises it. That would lend it a positive moral value. I'm just not sure that it does that though.

[Xephon]

It's perhaps from it's shock value that it gains it's reputation. It's a good game, as far as it goes, the graphics aren't outstanding but do the job that's asked of them. It's one of those 'marmite' games-you either like it or you don't...I enjoyed it for most of the time, but it's not one of my favourite games.

[peeveen]

There have to be better candidates for games to analyse at this level.
Seriously: Manhunt?
For my next trick, I will produce a thesis on Gran Turismo 4. You may THINK you are simply racing cars around a track, but I will show that the track is a representation of man's pointless struggle against his own mortality, and the car indicative of the state of the self (or whatever we choose to call the concept of the self) at a particular point in the lifeline. Struggling to avoid the inevitability of death (the finish line) is futile, and will only result in unfulfillment (a ****e lap time).

[themanwithapc]

Well it allows something that every videogame intends to do, take you into 'another world' and do something you wouldn't do in real life because it's impractical, illogical, immoral etc. Manhunt is a great example of this. From a psychological viewpoint, it alows us to inflict pain onto others without actually doing it in real life. It's probably the same reason why people watch fetish movies.

All IMO of course .

[Kaladron]

Well it allows something that every videogame intends to do, take you into 'another world' and do something you wouldn't do in real life because it's impractical, illogical, immoral etc. Manhunt is a great example of this. From a psychological viewpoint, it alows us to inflict pain onto others without actually doing it in real life. It's probably the same reason why people watch fetish movies.

All IMO of course .

That's a good point but it worries me a little. It's almost as if the desire to kill is already in the player and that the game encourages it.

These are all good comments, by the ways, keep em coming.

[Kaladron]

It's perhaps from it's shock value that it gains it's reputation. It's a good game, as far as it goes, the graphics aren't outstanding but do the job that's asked of them. It's one of those 'marmite' games-you either like it or you don't...I enjoyed it for most of the time, but it's not one of my favourite games.

You see as far as gameplay value goes, I really don't understand Manhunt. It just feels like a drawn-out version of Hide & Seek.

I almost understand the artistic value of the game: That it forces us to question our relationship with mediated violence BUT as a game itself it doesn't seem to do anything.

[Molloy]

I liked it quite alot. There's good atmosphere, voice acting. And as far as stealth games go I found it alot easier to get into than something like Metal Gear Solid. The gunplay towards the end is extremely fun as well.

It's one of those simple bread and butter games. Does what it does well. Couldn't give a toss about the moral issues mind you. To me it's just a game with gory deaths. Sure, it helps market the game to kids but I stopped noticing after 10 minutes.

[vertigo]

For my next trick, I will produce a thesis on Gran Turismo 4. You may THINK you are simply racing cars around a track, but I will show that the track is a representation of man's pointless struggle against his own mortality, and the car indicative of the state of the self (or whatever we choose to call the concept of the self) at a particular point in the lifeline. Struggling to avoid the inevitability of death (the finish line) is futile, and will only result in unfulfillment (a ****e lap time).

This reminds me of pulling apart Shakespeare at school. I've not read any since or even had the desire to, because of 4 years of crappy English lesson experience.
When asked at one point to explain why I thought Shakespeare had written what he had, what the political implications were along with commentary of the time, I replied that yes, of course there's contemporary (for the time) commentary on social events, but maybe he just thought it'd make an entertaining story. The teacher blew her lid and threw me out of the class and I got sent to the head of year and a letter was sent home to my mum. My mum when she read it laughed and agreed with me and didn't see why they had any reason to remove me from the class because I'd given a perfectly reasonable answer. I'd only been removed from the lesson because I didn't give the teacher-worshipping response that was 'required' of me.
If that's schools encouraging open debate in a lesson then I'd hate to see what happens in a dictatorship.
Probably didn't help that the teacher was one of those types that seemed to pemanently have a lemon stuck up her fanny.

[Zanza]

Manhunt is basicaly the same as any game from the Tenchu series, both focus on stealth, rewarding the players with gory cut scenes on the event of a perfect stealth kill. In my eyes it was just a game, and a damn fun game at that, but then I quite like my slow paced games.

[Lyris]

I thought Manhunt was another boring, dark Rockstar game with extremely brutal acts portrayed in a very unconvincing and disappointing way (and yes, I thought the same about GTA).

[gingerj]

I thought Manhunt was another boring, dark Rockstar game with extremely brutal acts portrayed in a very unconvincing and disappointing way (and yes, I thought the same about GTA).

Are you trying to insinuate that Rockstar can't actually produce a decent game and the only way they stay afloat is to create unnecessarily over violent games to create a hype machine that shifts units?