Search casts you as James Earl Cash, a death row inmate. You are brought down a corridor where you will be given a deadly injection. The needle is inserted, and you awaken some hours later. An unknown voice instructs you to insert the adjacent earphone, explaining that the “lethal” injection was a strong sedative. The individual, eventually identified as Starkweather, is a director of snuff films in which people are slain. He explains that you will win your freedom if you obey his orders, kill people, and live. This is the start of James Earl Cash’s adventure.
You’ll have to navigate several locations, such as a city and a mall, while killing gangs throughout the game. You’ll fight various units, ranging from The Hoods and The Skins to harsher groups like The Innocent. Gang members carry a variety of weapons, including handguns, shotguns, knives, and glass shards.
Search is, first and foremost, a stealth game. To avoid drawing attention, you’ll have to hide behind walls, flatten yourself against walls, crouch, hide behind items, and walk. You can also hurl glass bottles to create a commotion, hit things, and yell to attract gangs.
You can choose weaponry, ranging from the classic (shotgun and Uzi) to the repulsive (sickle and plastic bag). Depending on how long you hold the button, each weapon has three different ways of attacking. A short attack will suffice, a medium attack will be bloody, but a high attack will give you the most points and allow you to view your kill in a dramatic format, with blood splattering on the camera and gurgling noises.
Search also supports using a USB headset, such as the one provided with SOCOM: US Navy Seals. With the headset, you will hear Starkweather speak directly into your ears rather than through your speakers, and you will be able to attract gangs by shouting into the microphone rather than pushing a button.
