
- "Disturbingly Enjoyable."
- — The Guardian
- "The Clockwork Orange of video games."
- — The Chicago Tribune
Manhunt, sometimes called "Manhunt 1 " by fans, is a stealth psychological horror video game published by Rockstar North and released by Rockstar Games in November 2003 for the PlayStation 2, with the Xbox, and Microsoft Windows the following year. Although it was generally well-received by critics for its story and dark atmosphere ,[1][2] the game created a large amount of controversy before and after its release due to graphic violence, especially its Executions mechanic, enough that it was even banned outright in several countries, making itself one of the most notorious games ever made on-par with the Mortal Kombat fighting game series, and was implicated by the media in a UK murder, although the police denied it.[3] Other criticisms include its combat gameplay, challenging enemy AI, and level design.
In October 2007, a sequel, Manhunt 2, was also released amidst controversy, although its plot is completely unrelated to this game, which was met with criticism. As of March 26, 2008, the Manhunt series has sold 1.7 million copies according to Take-Two Interactive.[4]
The game was re-released through the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3 in 2013 and PlayStation 4 in 2016.
Manhunt is also related to the Grand Theft Auto franchise, as it shares the same universe and development team.
Gameplay[]

Gameplay screenshot of Born Again, the game's first level
Manhunt is a third-person stealth action game. The game consists of twenty levels, and four bonus levels that can be unlocked;[5] the levels are referred to as "Scenes". Players survive the Scenes by dispatching enemy gangs called "Hunters", occasionally with firearms or primarily by stealthily executing them in bloody over-the-top ways.[6]
The rating at the end of each level is largely affected by the gruesomeness of the killings and the speed of completion. Executions are preferred in order to gain a higher score, thus encouraging players to play as viscerally as possible.[6] The game's locales are full of 'dark spots' and shadows where the player can hide while being chased by the Hunters; hiding in these dark areas makes the player generally invisible.[7]
Over the course of the game, the player uses a wide variety of weapons, ranging from Plastic Bags, Baseball Bats, Crowbars, and all sorts of bladed items to firearms later on in the game. If the player takes a beating, Painkillers can be found which replenish health.[7] The player can strike walls or throw items such as bottles, cans, bricks, and even severed heads to make noise to distract Hunters.[6]
Manhunt also makes use of the PlayStation 2's optional USB Microphone and the Xbox Live microphone feature on the Xbox version of the game. When such a device is connected, the player can use the sound of his or her own voice (with care) to distract in-game enemies.
Plot[]

Carcer City, the setting of Manhunt
Manhunt takes place in the gritty crime-infested Carcer City. The story opens with a female journalist reporting on a mysterious convict named James Earl Cash, a professional career criminal on death row who has supposedly been executed by lethal injection. Cash is awoken to the voice of a person coming from an earpiece, revealing that Cash was only sedated. Cash himself puts on the earpiece and the person, who refers to himself as "The Director", promises the death row immate his freedom before the night is over, but only if Cash follows the Director's instructions.

James Earl Cash, the protagonist of the game
Released in a dingy neighborhood, Cash is directed to slaughter his way through the streets, populated by a street gang calling themselves "The Hoods", while the Director, watching through security cameras scattered throughout the city, repeatedly mentions the need to please the audiences, revealing his occupation as a snuff film director. However, despite the Director's promise of freedom, Cash is beaten and thrown into the back of a van by a group of mercenaries known as the Cerberus.
After his battle against the Hoods, he is also hunted by other increasingly violent gangs in various locations across the city. The gangs are organized by Ramirez, an ex-soldier and leader of the Wardogs, itself another gang of army veterans and experienced hunters. First, Cash is pitted against a gang of white supremacists known as "The Skinz" in a scrap yard. After that, he faces off against Ramirez's Wardogs in an abandoned zoo where Cash has to save kidnapped members of his own family. Following the zoo encounter, Cash is forced to battle with a gang of Hispanic devil worshipers and perverts known as the Innocentz in an abandoned mall. After retrieving a videotape in the mall and finding a VCR player, Cash witnesses the final family member being slaughtered by an Innocentz member, in orders of the Director, who proclaims to be the only family Cash needs.

Cash facing against Ramirez, both armed with SPAS-12 Shotguns
Betrayed, Cash is forced to endure the humiliating task of escorting a drunken hobo through the hostile streets of East Los Albos. After finishing off the Innocentz in a derelict chemical factory, Cash takes on a gang of psychotics, known as "The Smileys", who have taken over a mental asylum. Here, Cash survives the ending to the snuff film as planned by the Director, including wiping out a man in a bunny suit. Consequently, the remaining Wardogs and Ramirez are quickly hired to kill Cash. However, Ramirez and his gang are finally killed by Cash, as he quickly turns on the Director. At this point, Cash is on the run.
The Director or Lionel Starkweather, the main antagonist of the game
The corrupt Carcer City Police Department (CCPD), are also working for the Director; the CCPD are ordered by the Director to re-capture Cash. However, the journalist seen at the game's beginning encounters Cash and imparts that she is on a mission to expose the Director's snuff film industry and CCPD's corruption, and that Cash is vital for this important task. The journalist also reveals to the death row inmate that the Director's name is Lionel Starkweather.
Protecting her from the police, Cash manages to take the journalist safely to her apartment, Cash goes on his way towards Starkweather's Estate through a Stockyard but is captured and almost summarily executed by the S.W.A.T. However, he himself was seemingly rescued and re-captured by Cerberus. Back at Starkweather's mansion, the wicked director orders the Cerberus to execute Cash. However, an insane, chainsaw-wielding man, who wears a bloody pig's head as a mask and was kept chained up in Starkweather's attic, named Piggsy (who is actually Cash's snuff film predecessor), has broken free before slaughtering the investigating Cerberus members. This allows James Earl Cash to work his way through the garden and mansion, killing many Cerberus guards and even their leader along the way.

Cash fighting against Piggsy at the final level of the game
Cash finally reaches the upper levels of the mansion, where he and Piggsy stalk one another. With the two lethal snuff film stars clashing against each other, Cash soon triumphs after luring Piggsy onto a trapdoor twice that collapses, and, as he tries to hold on, Cash ultimately chainsaws Piggsy's hands off, sending the deranged man falling to his death. After hacking his way through the last few of the Cerberus, Cash finally confronts Starkweather in person and despite his pleas, brutally disembowels and decapitates him with the chainsaw. With James Earl Cash ultimately victorious and free at last, he then leaves the mansion. Soon, the press turns up at the mansion with the journalist exposing Starkweather's snuff ring and the police's involvement in Starkweather's operations. Cash himself is nowhere to be found.
Hunters[]
|
Weapons[]
- Knife
- Blackjack
- Crowbar
- Hammer
- Heavy Handgun
- Light Handgun
- Machete
- Meat Cleaver
- Nail Gun
- Nightstick
- Revolver
- Sickle
- Sub-Machine Gun
- Axe
Other
Reception[]
Publication | Score |
---|---|
GameSpot | 8.4/10[7] |
Game Informer | 9.25/10[8] |
IGN | 8.5/10[5] |
GameSpy | 4/5 |
1UP | 8/10[9] |
Eurogamer | 8.5/10 |
Edge Magazine | 8/10 |
Critique[]
Upon its release, Manhunt received generally favorable reviews. Review aggregate sites Game Rankings and Metacritic gave the game averages of 77 and 76 respectively.[1][10]
The game's dark and highly violent nature, along with its technical aptitude, were singled out by critics. Gamespot concluded that "Like it or not, the game (Manhunt) pushes the envelope of video game violence and shows you countless scenes of wholly uncensored, heavily stylized carnage."[7] Game Informer praised the game's audacity and competent technical capabilities, stating that "It’s a frightening premise that places gamers in a psychological impasse. The crimes that you commit are unspeakable, yet the gameplay that leads to these horrendous acts is so polished and fierce that it’s thrilling."[8] IGN complimented the game's overall challenge, calling it a "solid, deep experience for seasoned gamers pining for some hardcore, challenging games."[5]
Certain gameplay elements, such as the game's shooting mechanics, were called "frustrating" by Eurogamer, where "more than half the time the targeting reticule refuses to acknowledge an oncoming enemy until they're virtually in front of you". Gamespot concurred, further noting that the "AI is much worse in the more action-oriented levels". 1UP.com was less positive overall, asserting that it quickly became "tired of its violence ... AI quirks ... (and) repetitive level design."[9]
Controversy[]

An example of a Hasty execution with the Plastic Bag, itself one of the first possible kills in the game
Although rated Mature (M) by the ESRB, aside from the sensitive subject matter of Manhunt, the controversy surrounding the game mainly stems from the highly graphic manner in which the player executes enemies, who are known as Hunters in the game. The game has three 'levels' of executions (Hasty, Violent, and Gruesome), and the executions get bloodier as the levels of execution progress. Hasty are quick and the least bloody of the three, while Violent are considerably gorier, and Gruesome kills are over-the-top fatalities. An example of a Hasty execution would be suffocating a Hunter to death with a plastic bag. A Violent execution might feature severing a Hunter's testicles by pulling a sickle between his legs. A Gruesome execution can involve stabbing a Hunter in the back with a crowbar, following it up by jamming it into the Hunter's head, wiggling it in the skull, and finally prying the head off from the spine. The game encourages players to execute enemies as brutally as possible, and awards players such as cheats who do so with higher scores, specifically on the Hardcore difficulty.[9][11][12]
The murder of Stefan Pakeerah[]
In the UK, the game was linked to the murder of Stefan Pakeerah, 14, by his friend Warren Leblanc, 17, on the 27th of February 2004. Giselle Pakeerah, the victim's mother, claimed[13] that Leblanc had been "obsessed" with the game after he pleaded guilty in court. During the subsequent media frenzy, the game was removed from sale by some vendors, such as the UK and international branches of GAME and Dixons, leading to "significantly increased" demand[14] both from retailers and on Internet auction sites. The police denied any such link between the game and the murder, citing drug-related robbery as the motive. The presiding judge also placed sole responsibility with Leblanc in his summing up after sentencing him to life. It was later discovered that Leblanc didn't actually own the game, but Pakeerah did.
Legal status[]
- New Zealand: The game was declared objectionable on December 11 2003.[9][15] Possession is an offence.[16]
- Canada: Following a meeting in Toronto on December 22, 2003 between Bill Hastings, the Chief Censor of New Zealand, and officials from the Ontario Ministry of Consumer & Business Services, Manhunt became the first computer game in Ontario to be classified as a film and was restricted to adults on February 3, 2004.
- Australia: It was refused classification (and effectively banned for ALL ages) on September 28 2004 by the Classification Review Board, after having earlier received a classification allowing it to be purchased by those aged 15 years or older.[17]
- United Kingdom: The game received a British Board of Film Classification|BBFC 18 certificate, legally prohibiting its sale to anyone under that age.
- Germany: On 2004-07-19, the Amtsgericht Munich confiscated all versions of Manhunt for violation of StGB#§ 131: Representation of violence|§ 131 StGB (representation of violence). The game, the court said, portrays the killing of humans as fun, and the more fun, the more violent the killing is. They also sensed a glorification of vigilantism, which they considered harmful per se.[18]
- Israel in 2004 (when the game was released in that country) It was banned by the prime minister: Ariel Sharon. He believed it glorified genocide and made it normal in a child's life.
However, apart from Ontario, Manhunt had little or no controversy elsewhere in North America. The British Columbia Film Classification Office reviewed the game after the controversy in Ontario and believed it to be appropriately rated Mature by the ESRB and comparable to an 18A film rather than an R rated one.[19]
Trivia[]
- Manhunt runs on a heavily modified version of Grand Theft Auto III's engine.
- The original PlayStation 2 version is Manhunt's best-selling port.
- It is strongly implied the game takes place in a single night.
- Although Lionel Starkweather is Manhunt's main antagonist, some players have considered Piggsy the game's actual Final Boss, due to the latter being James Earl Cash's final major opponent and cannot be harmed by normal means.
- In recent years, Manhunt has gained a cult-following among fans of Rockstar Games and is considered one of the best games by the company. Despite the series' community wanting a third game or remaster to be possible, Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar, has currently denied any plans to continue the Manhunt series, due to the troubled development and high controversy by both its titles.
- Despite Rockstar Games being no stranger to controversial or violent content, as primarily seen in its flagship series Grand Theft Auto, as well as Max Payne, The Warriors, and this continues on to more modern titles such as Red Dead or L.A. Noire, Manhunt in particular is known as the company's most infamous game; Former Rockstar North employee Jeff Williams (who served as a member of the production team), in a 2007 retrospective review of this title, confirmed that even the developers were rather uncomfortable designing the game, especially the executions, due to the intense level of violence, and it nearly tarnished Rockstar Games as a whole; He stated "There was almost a mutiny at the company over that game. It just made us all feel icky. It was all about the violence, and it was realistic violence. We all knew there was no way we could explain away that game. There was no way to rationalize it. We were crossing a line." Williams also explains that after previously making Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City, the GTA series had the excuse that their gameplay were untethered, saying the player does not have to hurt anyone that wasn't a "bad guy" and could play completely ethically if wanted, but Manhunt felt different, in addition to "the game was a parody anyway, so lighten up".
See Also[]
- Manhunt/Gallery
- References to other Rockstar Games
External links[]
- Official Manhunt website
- Manhunt on Wikipedia
- Manhunt Fansite
- Full report of decision to ban Manhunt, New Zealand
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Template:Documentation subpage Template:AWB standard installation Template:Csdoc Template:Csdoc
- ↑ http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps2/manhunt?q=Manhunt Metacritic's aggregation of Manhunt reviews
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- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Template:Documentation subpage Template:AWB standard installation Template:Csdoc Template:Csdoc
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Template:Documentation subpage Template:AWB standard installation Template:Csdoc Template:Csdoc
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- ↑ Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993, 131
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