-major 2000's filter
-multiple branching story paths
-utterly insane
-Panzer Dragoon stages
-large variety of weapons
-edgy protagonist obsessed over a woman

Babe this isn't your average Sonic game this is fucking Drakengard

After liking the first game a lot and enjoying the sequels, I don't know what to expect aside from 4 fresh, new and younger faces and a story trying to build what little to no plot the arcade game had.

But as soon as I got through half of the first level and the second story segment, I made a realization: This is basically a port aside from the graphics and redesigns. A remake disguised as a new sequel. I knew animations were the same but I honestly didn't think entire levels would be as well.
I wanna say I was disappointed but given how rare the series is as a whole (from what I imagine overseas) makes me think of a couple of reasons why that is:
1. Someone wanted to port the game to make up for the canceled dreamcast port of the original game now that they have a more powerful console in their hands.
And 2. Take advantage of online. In the Xbox's case you don't need an additional network adapter like the PS2 Phat model since the game is by enlarge, a multiplayer game.

As for the game itself, it's Spikeout but with that classic mid 2000s beat em up aesthetic (which somehow makes the game uglier than its arcade counterpart.) I joke but at the very least, some locales didn't transition too terribly. I do admire they went through the effort to redesign every playable character and bosses, even bosses that are clones/recolors.

I like the new playable characters, erm... gameplay wise.
Spike Jr. is.... well... Spike Jr. with a couple of small differences.
Jackal is by far the worst one. Some slow moves, really bad throws. He's sort of a combination of Jr. and Tenshin but worse.
Min Hua is pretty much Akira from Virtua Fighter. Same animations and all. She's probably the most combo friendly character to play as making her my favorite. Because she's so short, some high attacks will barely graze her. Unintentional, maybe, but I'll take it.
Fiona is a special case because her moveset was lifted from Alberto, a character from Spiker's Battle. Same with Void (a story unlockable) whose moveset was taken from Gorn from Spiker's.
You can unlock pretty much every boss and miniboss in the game which is stuff I always like. Special requirement is to be on normal/hard mode, do a 4 hit combo on the boss before death all without getting hit (but you can get hit by their mooks though. And trust me, the 4 hit combo thing is more generous than it might seem if you're good at grab attacks.

Just like the original game, it's hard. But fun. You can map all sorts of inputs which makes performing some of these moves more comfortable to pull off on a controller. And it's probably me, I think hits have more of an impact than the arcade game.

Battle Street mode is pretty much the arcade mode. You can turn on the oh-so unforgiving timer, continues and even friendly fire if you want and transitions to online play. You can even switch difficulties. Stages also unlock after doing the story mode so you can replay the entirety of one stage. So this is a nice way to experience the original game in this new coat of paint.

Now for the big cons...

The way story mode was handled is kind of horrendous lol
Thing is, there are no continues or checkpoints to be seen anywhere. You can switch on easy mode... but only if you die twice and you can't switch Story mode difficulty willingly. It's not so bad in a few story segments if you're decent at the game. Its those couple of two or three that sour the whole decision to not have continues. Story segment 3, and especially 7 suck major balls cuz they're one of the longer stages which makes dying really tiresome.
Health kits restore very little health as you'd expect unless you're playing easy mode. By the way, enemy AI is pretty much the same, even damage. Only difference is that health items restore more health and bosses don't have invincibility frames after getting knocked down.
You know you're unforgiving when even God Hand has more generous checkpoints. But at least there's no timer by default.

The story just.... exists... but it is pretty funny though. The story starts with Spike missing... nothing much happens.... then at the beginning of the final level, Spike comes out of nowhere. Spike Jr. is pretty much an asshole to everyone, especially the female characters. Lots of raised questions dropped. Game acts like its wrapped everything up. It's the high cheese levels only to come out of this era of games.

Can I just say that the game doesn't teach you how to actually play the game unlike the arcade demos. No even a character movelist. I would know given my experience with the series.

I imagine that's why this game got review bombed in the first place. Reviewing an entry to a relatively unknown series whilst going in not knowing how the game even works PLUS whatever I said during my story mode rambling.

I still enjoyed my time with it. If you want Spikeout with more characters, online co-op (if you can get it to work) then you might get a kick out of it. For newcomers, I'd just look up how to play on the web (Gamefaqs or the jp wiki) and play the story on easy mode. That's all I can say if you want the best experience possible.

Aint feeling this one and this isnt so much a review as it is a complaint list.

No ability to save so the whole game needs to be beaten in a single run and everything you got from levels to items is reset as well.
You can't even fucking jump or grab and the dodge can't be used to cancel animations.
Cooldowns in a beat em up, you're better off spamming items than your actual abilities and single combo string.
Very much not balanced for single player with how much abuse normal enemies take, especially on the last stage, and those ai followers you find are too stupid to be useful. If multiplayer was the intended use then the release should have been delayed to when the online was functional.
Good lucking luck getting any charge reliant ability out if an enemy is within 50 feet of you, you will be hit out of it cuz you can't move while charging it.
Death is loss of all coins, followers and being sent back to the "checkpoint", so the boss is midway through the 5th part of the stage you go back to stage 3. However since you're starting from the midway you miss out on getting coins and followers from the first 2 parts of the stage
Enhance is too expensive to just be a "chance" of it to work.
Too much RNG with the gear.

I have now beaten a run and my earlier complaints remain except I said upgrade when I meant enhance initially. The beat em up parts still need a lot of work

A game you’ll want to like more than you can

The subject matter of Manhunt is one I’m enthralled with. Mock found footage snuff films such as August Underground are not good films whatsoever, but they are quite peculiar. I’ve always been morbidly curious in such things and I can’t quite put a finger on why. Maybe it’s a fascination with death, maybe it’s just a desire to see how far the gore can go. Either way, these low quality amateur films have an indescribable atmosphere. It’s quaint, yet menacing. They are without polish, but that’s what makes it so raw and intense. There’s no expert cinematography or editing to create a coherent film. It’s just vile acts and you’re witnessing it. Manhunt, through its expert sound design and brilliant aesthetic, captures this atmosphere flawlessly.

It all starts with the manual. It reads like a magazine for a snuff film site, complete with accurate pseudonyms such as “Mr. nasty”. Then there’s the main menu. It looks and functions like a VHS tape, and the haunting score sets up Manhunt’s dismal aura.

The gore in Manhunt has been topped twice over, but the context of the gore has not. You’ve seen ridiculous fatalities in Mortal Kombat way gorier than anything found in Manhunt, but Manhunt’s snuff film design makes the player feel it even more. The sound design ensure you feel every bone break, every decapitation, and every gargle of blood. The atmosphere creates a melancholic sensation in the player. It’s not a celebration of how far violence can be pushed, although pushing limits is part of its appeal. Manhunt is more of grim reminder of the depravity that goes on in this world.

The banter the Hunters have in this game is great. Each gang is very distinct. There’s white supremacists, mental hospital patients, and those that continually repeat lines of domestic abuse. They all add a ton of personality to each section and help with the variety. Starkweather, the director behind the twisted snuff films the player is participating in, also has lines that hint towards his debauchery. He’s the type of guy to get his rocks off to these brutal murders. There’s tons of lines in this game. Each playthrough you’re likely to hear something new.

The gameplay in Manhunt however isn’t amazing. What starts as an intense game of hide and seek turns into a bad third-person shooter filled with trial and error.

The stealth in Manhunt is fairly well constructed, but unfortunately has simple exploits that dampen its impact. Manhunt has a clear indications of how quiet and shrouded in darkness you are. The game will never lie to you. Finding pockets of darkness makes you invisible unless an enemy runs right into you which can only happen when they’re on alert. The mini map shows enemies you have a sight line on or who are making noise. Making a loud noise will alert enemies to your position. This is where the exploit is. It’s way too powerful to alert enemies while hiding in the dark. Through this mechanic, it doesn’t even matter how the game designers set up the patrols for the hunters. They’ll always come running, and as soon as they turn around you execute them. Sometimes more than one will come and you’ll have to think on the fly, but generally, Manhunt is a exploitable and simple game.

The levels have some nice open design throughout. Some levels are completely linear which is disappointing, but a few such as White Trash or Mouth of Madness have open areas with many enemies. This is where the game is at its best because it isn’t easy and it’s engaging to figure out the best way to tackle the challenge.

Then there’s the third-person shooting. Good lord. Now, I want to preface this by saying I’m not against the third-person shooting in theory. Manhunt is a fairly long game. If it was all slow-paced stealth, it would have suffered. However in practice, it’s terrible. The shooting sections keep what makes Manhunt memorable. The soundtrack and intensity is still there through these sections, but the shooting is bad. You die in very few shots, so shooting without cover is usually suicide. It feels like the only way to succeed in these sections is to use exploits or go through the motion of trial and error. It’s boring and tiring. Enemies stop following the rules and just stand behind cover. A lot of sections feel like the only way to win is to shoot one guy and then run to darkness, rinse and repeat. It’s not engaging or fun.

Manhunt means a lot to me. It’s the only game I can think of that fits this niche of horror. But when it’s all said and done, I’m able to look past the my nostalgia and fondness of the subject matter to tell you that the gameplay is below average. Manhunt is a chore to get through at times. The second half has the worst dip in quality I’ve seen outside of Resident Evil 7. But the atmosphere is peak. It’s one of my favorite aesthetics ever in a video game. It kept me playing until the conclusion, once again.

6/10