Hold my Hand while I Hunt

My copy of Manhunt came yesterday from Rockstar. The FedEx guy who dropped it off joked, "Well, there goes your afternoon, right?"

"Oh, right, ha ha." I signed for the package.

The package, this morning, still sits unopened on the coffee table. I stare at it with trepidation. I'm home, alone. I've turned in my article assignments and I deserve a break. The fact is, I am scared to play this game. Scared to even take it out of the package.

Can someone come over? Just let me hide my eyes on your shoulder during the bad parts, and tell me it's going to be okay.

Comments

[madsax]

play it play it play it play it
You can always play it for 15 mins, then call a friend, then play for 15, play some Pokemon Pinball, play for 15, ... use some strategy to disperse the evil. ;)
tell us what you think! I've been meaning to take a look at it as well, perhaps I'll go grab that now.

[jane]

you don't understand. i am SUCH a fraidy-cat about horror movies and such. even playing Eternal Darkness freaked me out.

and i still have nightmares about Alien V. Predator.

but. okay. i WILL. just.... not now.

[Cog]

I wouldn't worry about the game scaring you. Granted, there are moments when guys make you jump, but that's rare. In fact, you may even find the game a little boring but you'll get hooked. I couldn't stop playing even with the mechanics constantly repeating themselves (make noise, hide, kill the NPC when turned around, repeat). I suggest you play it for awhile being its gathered so much attention. Let's us know what you think!

[B]

Play Mario & Luigi instead!

[pepito]

and to think i had the actual yellow puffy envelope in my hands, and yet resisted the urge to tear it open at dinner.

i should have been a better bad influence last night.

oh. and you aren't alone. you have cats. which is all the better, as their eyes illuminate eerily in a pitch black room with just the tv on.

[Zaius]

I love games like this. I sit in front of the TV in the dark with my girlfriend holding tightly to my arm. Sometimes I put the controller in her hands and she plays for 10 minutes or so before screaming and handing it back to me. Then she buries her face in my shoulder while I tell her, "Look, Honey! Your missing the best part!"

[Snowmit]

I don't know about Manhunt, I just don't know. I really like stealth-action games but I just can't get past the snuff-film part. I also found the Marine demo of AvP too frightening to finish and don't get me started on The Ring. On the other hand I have this pseudo-scholarly desire to see the game and see if it lives up to the hype. So I'm torn.

Luckily, I don't own a PS2 so the problem more or less solves itself.

[frankie]

I'm interested to hear what you think. I haven't played it yet. My prejudices:
sneaking around == fun
a world of surveilance cams == culturally resonant fun
bloodlessly killing someone with a gun == fun
killing someone with a plastic bag != fun
killing someone with a shard of glass != fun
killing someone with a baseball bat != fun

I'm a bit afraid I might find the last three fun after all...

[TitusByronicus]

i think daggerfall was the scariest game i have ever played. creeping around, lost, in endless dungeons filled with horrible things, at 3 in the morning with all the lights off... yeesh.

[BrainFromArous]

The most frightening game I've ever played was ULTIMA IX: ASCENSION.

Between the memory leak, crash-to-the-desktop bugs and corrupted save games, you literally never knew when you might be in the last minute of your character's life.

Scary.

[Bowler]

Manhunt's been banned in New Zealand.

http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/manhunt/news_6085503.html

[Gamegeek]

Ever try to uninstall Pool of Radiance? :)

[pepito]

as much as i like being terrified, it rarely happens. however, at an early age, i remember being absolutely chilled to the bone with the original castle wolfenstein on the C64.

"HALT!"

so good.

pepito pea

[eli]

I'll hold your hand if you'll hold my... uh, nevermind.

Wait, did I just violate the Terms of Use?

[jane]

well but then i don't have any hands free to work the controller.

[Gary]

I still laugh at myself when I think about the time I screamed out loud from the bathroom scene in Eternal Darkness....

Nothing like playing in complete darkness, a kicking home theater system pumping out the atmospheric spookiness.. and then BAM!

AHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

followed by my own laughter.. those bastards at Silicon Knights had got me... and somewhere in the valley I could here the game designers chuckling...

[plastic flower]

Stealth-action, graphic violence, and gore. It's not really a survival horror kind of game, so what's there to be afraid of? (Well, other than when you're spotted...) Zombies and ghosts are way worse. O_o

[kat hunter]

I am working through my first FPS on the PC, and am hooked actually, but was looking for shooter with more of a plot than Call of Duty. Thought about trying an old Hitman, but if you like Manhunt let me know...

[no]

imho the game isn't scary or brutal at all.. its
just good old GTA with a few extra's and sneaking
involved. it kinda let me down :\

Games that DO give me the creeps are silent hill,
fatal frame and the upcoming siren. They have that
kind of atmosphere i seem to be missing in manhunt.

Set for this weekend: fatal frame 2, cant wait! x_x

[Patrick]

Aliens vs. Predator 2 is STILL the scariest game I've ever played. At least, when I play as the measly human.

[nekozuki]

Scariest game ever for me? Thief I, any zombie level. The combination of unkillable undead and sneaking really creeped the hell out of me. I could only play for 15 min at a time.

After that it'd be Fatal Frame and Silent Hill 2.

[Brandy]

I can't play scary games. I was watching someone else play Resident Evil on the GameCube, I could never get past the play control, and I had to hide behind a pillow. When I was playing Eternal Darkness I had to shut the GameCube off and go for a walk every once in a while, it scared me half to death. The part where you hear some faint knocking in the distance, that did me in. I can't imagine playing a game like Fatal Frame or Silent Hill, I would probably have a heart attack and die. I've avoided scary games as a rule, but so many people told me I really oughta play these games, so I did. Lesson learned. Manhunt should be doable though. I think it's supposed to be more of an adrenaline rush than a pants wetting experience. It has radar, doesn't it?

Pool of Radiance had the hard drive wiping bug, didn't it? That is scary.

[DivideByZero]

OOOH! I am rather jealous to say the least...I can't wait to get hold of Manhunt. I always enjoy Rockstar's spin on adult entertainment and the absolute boundaries they push.

As far as "scary" games are concerned, I'm insanely envious of those who DO get scared beyond comprehension at the horror genre titles...the only game to have me whimpering like a little kid having just lost their mother in the supermarket was the Silent Hill series, and only because of the way that game affects you on the emotional level...making you associate so fully with the characters...Yay me, I got Silent Hill 3 yesterday (finally) and have stocked up on sleeping pills - I'm going to need them!

[BoringBot]

i like how this thread is us all just sayin ghost stories about video games. my scariest was when i was playin resident evil in ps1, a day after getting my wisdom teeth pulled, outta my mind on pain killers. man that was scary, i would kinda moan and just drool whenever something scary happened. i couldnt move too much tho, so i hadda play it all the way thru in that state. eternal darkness definietly gave me some weird feelings walking around at night in the dark in florida tho.

[Armaghetto]

Gamers this freaked out by a game? You'd think there was a member of the opposite sex in that package!

ahaha...uhhh...yeah, sory. Yet another instance when I should hit Back instead of Post.