Manhunter 2: San Francisco

In the year 2004 we're going to be invaded by eyeball-like aliens called Orbs, who pollute the environment, experiment on humans and hire manhunters. The Manhunters are human employees of the Orbs who have the job of tracking down, capturing and handing over people conducting anti-Orb activities. The game action is broken up in four ways. First, there are close up views of your immediate area which allow you to interact with the objects and characters around you. Next is the transport screen, which is basically a map of 'Cisco showing all the locations you can visit. Third are the arcade sequences which include shoot 'em ups, and a maze-like game similar to that found in the hospital section of It Came From The Desert. Finally there are animated sequences which help break up the action and add to the atmosphere of the game. There are no text commands; everything is entered via the mouse and the return key, so you don't have to worry about ambiguous transatlantic gibberish. The graphics are technically poor and clumsy, but some of the animated sequences are superb. The accompanying soundtrack, however, is totally inadequate and spoils the effect. Overall, Manhunter: San Francisco is an exciting sequel. Don't expect a Leisure Suit Larry clone, it's nothing like it, rather Manhunter has a style all its own.