Proudly powered by
TARATURcms
TARATURcms
PETAR.KOTEVSKI.NET
DISCLAIMER: The articles and commentary expressed on this site are personal and do not represent in any way the opinions of any companies that I work for (or have worked for) or represent (or have represented in the past). The program code and instruction on this page is provided "as-is". I am not responsible for any damage occurring from using that code or following any instructions as specified here.
Manhunt 2
Duration/Variety: 8
Gameplay: 5
Story/Pacing: 7
Visual Quality: 8
Sound Quality: 7
Impression: 7
6.6
Whoa, it's really hard to find a game I am actually interested in playing on the PSP these days.
When I saw Manhunt 2 at a Game Stop, I was relieved more than anything else - so there are still people developing mature titles for the PSP!
Of course, it's not a PSP exclusive (is anything anymore?), but I was not going to play it on the PS2.
I played the original Manhunt for a couple of hours before getting completely bored with it, but I really am intrigued by the premise, and there is a shriveled up piece of hope in the back of my mind that Rockstar may still do great things with this game, even though they didn't initially.
I have to say I liked the story progression and dynamic better in this game, and the technical limitations of the PSP made for some interesting trade-offs that they must have been making in terms of the visual quality, so the game looks that much grainier than the original. The dialogue is pretty good, and they do a decent job with throwing you into varied scenarios along the way to keep the game interesting. So everything was cool on those fronts.
However, the game fell flat again on the only thing it had to get right - which is the sneaking gameplay. It definitely feels like the protagonist is out of his depth and any head-on confrontation with the enemies will almost surely get you killed, but that's the only thing that feels right. The sneaking mechanic is totally broken and I beat the game really easy by just gaming the broken mechanic - run around like an idiot, get peoples' attention and get them on your tail. Turn a corner into a shadow.
You are safe - one times out of twenty you will have to play the infamous PlayStation "match the symbol" mini-game, but even that is dead easy. The enemies come after you, stand one meter away and somehow still can't see you, (it's because you are in the shade, see (!!??)). They turn around to go back to their patrols, at which point you just execute them. Regardless of whether other enemies are watching, since they can't do anything for the duration of the execution sequence, and afterwards you can just run away, behind a corner and into a shadow.
Rinse, repeat.
Broken.
The only saving grace is the somewhat interesting plot, and the interesting and varied locations and challenges - none of which are too challenging, but at least they kept me playing to see what happens next. Overall, this is not the game that will save the PSP from the terrible drought that it is in (for games). If anything, this represents a step backwards in this series, and I doubt there will be a lot of interest for further Manhunt games, at least for me- and it's a shame because this game had a lot of potential to be something as cool (or cooler) than GTA or even the Warriors.
I have to say I liked the story progression and dynamic better in this game, and the technical limitations of the PSP made for some interesting trade-offs that they must have been making in terms of the visual quality, so the game looks that much grainier than the original. The dialogue is pretty good, and they do a decent job with throwing you into varied scenarios along the way to keep the game interesting. So everything was cool on those fronts.
However, the game fell flat again on the only thing it had to get right - which is the sneaking gameplay. It definitely feels like the protagonist is out of his depth and any head-on confrontation with the enemies will almost surely get you killed, but that's the only thing that feels right. The sneaking mechanic is totally broken and I beat the game really easy by just gaming the broken mechanic - run around like an idiot, get peoples' attention and get them on your tail. Turn a corner into a shadow.
You are safe - one times out of twenty you will have to play the infamous PlayStation "match the symbol" mini-game, but even that is dead easy. The enemies come after you, stand one meter away and somehow still can't see you, (it's because you are in the shade, see (!!??)). They turn around to go back to their patrols, at which point you just execute them. Regardless of whether other enemies are watching, since they can't do anything for the duration of the execution sequence, and afterwards you can just run away, behind a corner and into a shadow.
Rinse, repeat.
Broken.
The only saving grace is the somewhat interesting plot, and the interesting and varied locations and challenges - none of which are too challenging, but at least they kept me playing to see what happens next. Overall, this is not the game that will save the PSP from the terrible drought that it is in (for games). If anything, this represents a step backwards in this series, and I doubt there will be a lot of interest for further Manhunt games, at least for me- and it's a shame because this game had a lot of potential to be something as cool (or cooler) than GTA or even the Warriors.