MANHUNTER: NEW YORK

 MANHUNTER: NEW YORK is a one-of-a-kind game. Designed for Sierra On-Line by
Dave, Barry, and Dee Dee Murry (of the ANCIENT ART OF WAR series), it's an
amalgam of diverse game elements: part detective story, part tale of a lone
rebel bucking the odds, part arcade game. Add a post-holocaust setting and a
science fiction villain, and you have an idea of the range of concepts that
MANHUNTER covers. Clever and action-packed, MANHUNTER's not for the squeamish,
but it is an excellent game for everyone else. This review is based on the IBM
version; Atari ST version notes follow.

 It's 2004 A.D. and New York City (and, presumably, the rest of the world) has
been invaded by the Orbs. The Orbs are large, eyeball-shaped carnivores capable
of flying, thinking, and communicating. Having established the tyrannical Orb
Alliance, their will is carried out by robots and Manhunters. Manhunters are
humans conscripted by the Orbs to investigate human transgressions against the
Alliance. Most Manhunters are vicious, cruel madmen whose loyalties to humankind
obviously run thin. You, however, are not that kind of a Manhunter. There's an
underground effort to defeat the Orbs, and you're presented with the opportunity
to join the resistance and subvert the Alliance from within.

 As a Manhunter, you're given a new investigative assignment daily by the Orbs.
With the aid of an M.A.D. (Manhunter Assignment Device), you track the movements
of suspects around the time of their crimes; after a short while, though, the
trail goes cold. The tracking device doesn't give you the identity of the human;
you've got to deduce that from clues they've left behind. The M.A.D. also lets
you travel to locations that the humans have visited, and y can access the
Alliance's database to obtain specific information on the suspects once you've
determined their identities. In addition, an automatic "note-taking" circuit
preserves certain written information for your later reference.

 According to the game package, MANHUNTER allows you to "choose allegiance
between good or evil as the story progresses." This really isn't so. There is
only one scenario: The game very obviously wants you to be subversive. If, in
fact, you wanted to side with the Orbs, there wouldn't be much point to playing
the game; they've already got quite a stranglehold on the population.

 A few people who've seen or played MANHUNTER have expressed some concern over
the graphic violence. I find this reaction unfounded. If you're upset by the
sight of computer-generated blood, or by cartoonish corpses, then I can
understand an aversion to some of the scenes in MANHUNTER. But your onscreen
alter ego never kilbr[hone...as opposed to your average computer role-playing
game, in which you might easily murder hundreds of creatures without a thought.

 The gore in this game comes in two forms: as violence against you, and in the
depictions of violence recently committed (e.g., corpses in various states of
decay). Every mistake you make results in your dying some sort of unattractive
death. And there are a handful of corpses that are not at all pleasant. But the
deaths you die are usually so exaggerated as to be comical, and the
corpses...well, the corpses do make a point. Death is so common in computer
games as to have virtually no impact; in most games, when a character dies, it
vanishes neatly. Well, death just isn't like that. And if the deaths in
MANHUNTER are supposed to drive your character to react against the Orbs, they
must have some impact...and these corpses certainly do. None of them will cause
you to run screaming, however.

 As the story progresses, more and more of New York City becomes accessible to
you through the "travel" command. Many famous landmarks are duplicated
(including an extensive recreation of Central Park), most in a state of
disrepair reminiscent of "Escape from New York" or other future visions of the
City.

 Unlike most other graphic adventures, the emphasis here is not on collecting
items and determining their uses. Though there are such puzzles, the focus is on
collecting less tangible clues -- fragments of names, veiled messages, symbols
-- and deducing their meaning. At times, especially early in the game, you seem
to run out of options very quickly. If that happens, it simply means you either
haven't tracked everybody you ought to, haven't visited all the locations
available, or haven't deduced a name for which all the clues have been given. In
this way, it's very easy to tell when you've explored all you can for the time
being, and you can concentrate on assimilating the information you've gathered.

 Although the bulk of the game is spent tracking humans and exploring their
pathways, the game is dotted with arcade sequences. Most Sierra games have at
least a few of these; MANHUNTER's are plentiful and exceptionally clever. The
save-and-restore functions are very handy; you can save your position halfway
through an arcade sequence so that you never have to replay what you've already
conquered. Thus, an action sequence that might take days to perfect in an arcade
can be solved within minutes with the frequent use of the save command. When a
botched game results in your character's demise, the Murrys (in Manhunter garb)
pop on-screen to offer a hint or a bit of understated sarcasm.

 The ending is downright exciting. Your last task involves one of those arcade
sequences, a frustrating, edge-of-your-seat bombing mission complicated by the
close pursuit of the Alliance's Head Manhunter. If you accomplish your mission,
an amusing -- and surprising -- sequence of events unfolds, that leads straight
into the announcement of a sequel.

 MANHUNTER's interface is very unusual: no vocabulary, no parser. All the
functions you need to control the game can be found in menus. Except for a few
names, no typing is required at all. Because the interface bears no resemblance
to any you've seen before, it takes a little practice to get used to.

 Along with your game disks, MANHUNTER comes with a "Manhunter's Field Guide," a
quick reference card, and a wonderful map of New York City that's amazingly
accurate. The map calls out many locations that become important in the game, as
well as quite a few red-herring locations you'll never see. Included with the
map are depictions of several mazes you'll encounter -- none especially
difficult -- and one of the maps even does double duty (though no indication of
its second application is given).

 The graphics are excellent, the best of any Sierra graphic adventure so far.
MANHUNTER is one of the last Sierra games to use the "AGI" graphics: medium
resolution used to its greatest advantage. There are closeups, first-person
views, aerial shots, long pans...altogether a very cinematic game. The music,
too, is effectively atmospheric.

 To play MANHUNTER on an IBM, you'll need 256K and an IBM, IBM compatible, or
Tandy computer. A joystick is optional. The game includes both disk formats:
five 5-1/4" disks and two 3-1/2" disks. Neither version has disk-based
protection (contrary to the outdated MS-DOS reference card enclosed with the
game), but the game requires that you enter a word from the manual before you
can begin.

 Since the game isn't disk-protected, it can be installed easily on a hard drive
using the included installation program (or you can simply copy all the files to
the subdirectory of your choice). Similarly, you can back up the master floppies
and play from your backups using regular DOS copy commands.

 The program supports many graphics routines: VGA, MCGA, EGA, CGA, Tandy, and
PCjr modes are all included. Obviously, the game is far more enjoyable in any of
the 16-color modes than in CGA. And given the exceptional graphics of all the
Sierra games, and the low price of EGA, I certainly recommend the small
investment in an EGA, which can be used with a regular RGB monitor.
Alternatively, some CGAs will produce a 16-color image with a composite monitor
(TV set); check your CGA manual for the details. A Hercules version of the game
is being released, but was not available at the time this review was written.

 As mentioned above, very little typing is required. Most commands are entered
via function keys as explained in the quick reference card, which details the
keystrokes for all versions of MANHUNTER yet to come. Note that this reference
card is separate from the outdated MS-DOS reference card that is also included.

 The save/restore functions are quick and easy. Up to twelve saved games may be
placed on a single disk or in any given subdirectory; additional saves may be
stored in different subdirectories. The ESC key lets you use a pull-down menu
system for most functions if you forget the assigned function key; the TAB key
displays your inventory.

 I consider MANHUNTER to be the finest graphic adventure of the year. With
puzzles that run the gamut from simple to agonizing, a generous variety of
arcade diversions, and delightful, gritty graphics, MANHUNTER has it all. Not
that there aren't a few faults: At least one of the puzzles (in the form of a
painting that supposedly "communicates" a code number) seems grossly unfair, and
the Central Park sequence was a bit too long and repetitive. But overall,
MANHUNTER is a compelling and highly unusual game. With MANHUNTER, Sierra
continues to break new ground in computer gaming. I look forward to -- and
expect a great deal from -- the sequel.

 ATARI ST VERSION NOTES

 The Atari ST version of MANHUNTER: NEW YORK is, simply put, one excellent piece
of work. It's lurid, exciting, violent, cinematic, and as much a pleasure to
stare at as it is to play.

 Although the package notes that MANHUNTER will work on either monochrome or
color monitors, I confess that I didn't even think of viewing it in black and
white: The Edgar Allan Poe colors give the game an atmosphere that can't
possibly be matched by monochrome.

 Either the keyboard, a joystick, or the mouse can be used to control gameplay.
Most facets of play are covered when using the mouse; typing is minimal, usually
a "Return" or the name of a suspect. Function keys bring up a help screen,
toggle sound, invoke Travel, and save and restore game positions. Up to 12 games
can be saved (you'll have to format save disks from the desktop), and you
needn't use the usual "filename.ext" method of entry: You can save a position
with whatever words will serve as an exact reminder.

 Both Sierra and the Murrys understand film devices, and they use them in
MANHUNTER to create a great overall effect; sometimes melodramatic, sometimes
outrageous, but always worthy of admiration. All I can recommend to ST users is
immediate purchase.

 MANHUNTER: NEW YORK is published and distributed by Sierra On-Line, Inc.

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