If you turn to the relevant page in your dictionary you're likely to find the following definition:

Man-hunt (noun): An extensive search for a person, usually a criminal fugitive.

After spending four straight days in front of my computer playing this gem of a game however, I'd like to reword that definition:

Man-hunt (noun): An addictive, bloodthirsty game of stealth, strategy and gore-packed action that will glue you to your seat like a dog to a butcher shop window.

Produced by Rockstar Games (the good folks who brought you other gems like Max Payne and Grand Theft Auto), Manhunt is a gritty journey into the world of snuff films, taken from the viewpoint of the leading man, James Earl Cash. Cash is a condemned death-row inmate and at no time does the game suggest he doesn't deserve to be there. Saved from the lethal injection by a snuff-movie director, Cash is driven from scene to scene, ordered to kill (in a variety of gruesome ways) the "hunters" who are out to get him. An anti-hero who's all anti and no hero, Cash is a bloodthirsty murderer whose only morally saving grace is the fact that the people he kills are probably even scummier scum than he is.

At first glance, Manhunt appears to be a brainless kill fest, a foray into murder and destruction untainted by such impurities as plot and strategy. I was pleasantly surprised to find that on at least one of those two counts, I was wrong. Although the plot is weaker than an Espresso at a hospital cafeteria, strategy plays a considerably large role in the game. A direct front-on approach, taking on the hunters with fists swinging, is likely to get you killed very quickly. Cash is only capable of taking on one, perhaps two hunters at a time; any more will quickly overcome you and pound you to death. Using tactics such as throwing noisy objects to split hunters away from the group, where they are vulnerable by themselves, are absolutely essential.

Sneak attacks are Cash's forte. Armed with a makeshift melee weapon, Cash can stealthily approach a hunter from behind and execute a gruesome attack. When attacking from behind, the player's view changes to a grainy home video style picture, giving a sometimes-shocking view of the brutal execution Cash carries out on the hunter. Attacks can be powered up, depending on the duration the player holds the attack button down, from normal, to violent, to gruesome attacks. Weapons you can use include knives, axes, hammers, wires, machetes, crowbars and even plastic bags.

If these were "normal" people you were murdering, there is absolutely no way this game would have been released. The developers have been clever though and have given the hunters what can only be described as very surrealistic masks; pictures like smiley faces, doll faces, grinning skulls and other Stephen King-esque images adorn their visages. By taking away their normal faces and replacing them with these surreal masks, the humanity of the hunters is removed and for some reason it doesn't feel so bad to be stabbing their eyeballs out with a shard of glass, as Cash does on a number of occasions.

If you can look past the moral issues and distinct lack of taste that surround the game, you'll find an otherwise intelligent, witty and challenging title. The hunters talk to themselves frequently while on the lookout and some of their little self-conversations are quite hilarious. The scripting is realistic and very well done; with groups such as rednecks, psychos, Satanists and crooked police, there are a variety of characters to laugh at and, inevitably, murder horrifically.

The graphics are good, though not earth-shattering. Clever technique is used to provide views through hidden cameras, with grainy static distorting the picture and a tape counter down the bottom for that extra home movie feel. The close-ups of Cash's executions are at times quite brutal and the sound effects of cracking skulls and juicy innards leaking out are a nice, if squirm-inducing touch. Needless to say, this is not a game you should be buying for your kids.

There's no doubt this is an addictive and enjoyable game. Replay value is moderate, since although linear in nature, it's the kind of game that you can use different tactics each time you play it through. Being a console conversion, it also has the gimmick of unlocking features by getting the best times, so you can always challenge yourself to kill at an even greater pace.

With gameplay aimed more at the soldier-sim crowd than the first-person-gorefest, Manhunt's firsthand appearance may mislead potential buyers. If you like stealth oriented games that require more thought and patience than machine-gun mouse clicking, Manhunt is a strong contender for your games collection. If good-natured heroes and strong morals are important to you however, you'd probably be better off renting The Silence of the Lambs from the video store.

Reviewed by Steve Rosenthal for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).