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Manhunt - Rockstar's grimy, daring and macabre masterpiece

Chuck Berry

Gold Member
In 2003 Rockstar Games still had balls. They were still experimenting with ideas. What wound up as one of the most violent and controversial games of all time paved the way for them to continue pushing the boundaries of what a game could be with the cult classic The Warriors in 2005 (arguably the greatest movie based game in existence) and Bully in 2006.

This was Rockstar's first full attempt at a stealth driven title, something they had only really briefly experimented on in GTA San Andreas. Perhaps they were driven by the surging popularity of stealth action hits such as Metal Gear Solid 2 and Splinter Cell. Or maybe the guys at Rockstar North just wanted to create an unapologetic bludgeoning of game standards, creating a deteriorated, barren, bloody and yet darkly comic world that would make your violence desensitization meter hit meteoric levels. Whatever the case, at the time Rockstar was untouchable.

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This was a game that reveled in the levels of how dirty, disturbing and trippy it could reach. Taking place in the fictional Carcer City, the player takes control of James Earl Cash, a man on death row and set for execution. However on his death day he is only merely sedated, and wakes up later to a voice in his ear calling himself "The Director" and voiced by none other than the great Brian Cox. Cash is promised freedom, but only if he obeys The Director's orders to hunt down and murder various gang members throughout the night while he is recorded by closed circuit cameras placed around the city. What starts as a skin crawling hide and seek horror show slowly becomes more focused on brutal up close and personal gun battles which test your stop and pop cover skills (And you can decide which you find more squirmy: suffocating someone with a plastic bag and then beating them to death with your fists, or taking a sawn off shotgun and literally blowing a hole through the persons face). The storytelling is sparse, but intriguing specifically because of the sparseness. It ends with what I can only describe as perhaps the scariest, most disturbing end "boss" fight I've ever experienced.

Upon release it was banned in several countries and actually blamed for a time for the cause of an uptick in murders in the UK (this was later disproven but still interesting regardless). Another case of controversy fueling sales, despite only selling a fraction of GTA numbers, the reviews were still solid and Manhunt was even nominated for several awards at the end of the year.

"’It may sound surprising, but there was almost a mutiny at the company over that game. It was Rockstar North's pet project - most of us at Rockstar Games wanted no part of it. We'd already weathered plenty of controversy over GTA3 and Vice City - we were no strangers to it - but Manhunt felt different. With GTA, we always had the excuse that the gameplay was untethered - you never had to hurt anybody that wasn't a "bad guy" in one of the missions. You could play completely ethically if you wanted, and the game was parody anyway, so lighten up.’

‘Manhunt, though, 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.’”


-Former Rockstar employee Jeff Williams

Source: https://www.gamesradar.com/manhunt-nearly-caused-a-mutiny-at-rockstar/

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The original Manhunt has been in my top 10 since first playing it on the original Xbox 20+ years ago. Im a huge fan of 70s cinema, particularly the films that take place in the dirtiest, worst parts of NYC and this game delivers that energy and tone in spades. Like watching a favorite old movie, it's worth revisiting and holds up remarkably well to me despite having a bit of a learning curve with the controls. I urge all of you if you havent played it, to hunt down a copy and give it a shot, especially if you're well versed in stealth action games where a combo of cunning and taking it slow is the path to bloody freedom. Reviewers have referred to it as the "Clockwork Orange of videogames." That comparison couldnt be more apt.

So GAF, what's your history with the game? Have you played it? Have you only heard about it? Were you even alive when it released? And lastly, Fetish or Hardcore?
 
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AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
A true cult classic. I was 11 when it released (insane to think about now) but my parents were always easygoing on violent media so I managed to rent it from Blockbuster and get through most of it (very poorly and slowly) before I bought it myself later and finished it. Was absolutely obsessed with the viral marketing aspect, the fact that there was a fake website advertising the sale of the snuff movies made in the universe blew my mind. Truly a unique game in its aesthetic. Shame the sequel was such dross, but we can't have it all.
 

RagnarokIV

Battlebus imprisoning me \m/ >.< \m/
I love this game because with the color grading, film grain, plus the visuals and minimalist music score it's a JOHN CARPENTER GAME!
 

Chuck Berry

Gold Member
Also fun fact: the series actually takes place in the GTA universe. Carcer City is mentioned in the intro to GTA3 and the Liberty City chief of police who took bribes from Brian Cox's character is mentioned on one of the radio stations. Also the game includes some of the same car models and storefronts 🧐
 

RoboCain

Member
On the pantheon of Rockstar Games, and one of my personal favourite games of all time. The PC version of the second game, while is not on the same level, is also worth playing today.
 

engstra

Member
I remember being a kid and buying a pirated copy of Deff Jam from a toy shop but that game wouldn't work. When I went back to the shop to get it replaced he gave me a copy of Manhunt instead. Booted it up, played up until the point where you suffocate someone with a plastic bag and was left absolutely traumatized.

Came back to it a few years later as a teenager and absolutely loved it. Love the stealth gameplay and gritty snuff film style to it all. Have never made all the way through it. Should definitely do that one day. Does anyone know if the game is playable on ps5, or does it have the same issues as some of the other ps2 games on there?

Rockstar really were at their peak around this time. Made some really fantastic, risky and diverse games. Wish they would put something out that isn't GTA or Red Dead.
 

Chuck Berry

Gold Member
You can take a fiber wire and strangle someone to death so hard that the wire cuts through the neck and eventually takes the person's head off. You can then take said head and stick it into a bag and use it as a distraction tool to toss around.

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Mythoclast

Member
Is the version on PS5, XSX and Steam the same and uncensored? Also wondering where can I get the uncensored version of MH2 on PC?
 

amigastar

Member
Never really played it, i somehow always thought it was violence and nothing else but appearently this is not the case.
But i applaud Rockstar for the violence.
 
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K2D

Banned
There's a very muddy line between GTA violence and Manhunt violence.

Game violence can do very little negative that some sick persons wouldn't do and/or be influenced by in real life. For instance, the threshold for commiting violence against animals is very low, and still yields more feedback than commiting violence in video games.

In the cases you hear about mass shooters using video games as a tool and a springboard, their minds are already made up. They are not getting their impulses from the video games, but rather their own minds and self righteousness.

It is my opinion that video game violence can be truely cathartic.

My only lament, half-jokingly, is that I hope no-one is ever forced to work on games like these in fear of losing their job. (Being forced to choose between their mental health and their paycheck. PTSD from games doesn't sound too far fetched to me, reference The Last of Us developers)

I play Manhunt the first time it came out. Would like to know how a present day take on it would look like, but not sure I would like to play it myself.. haha.
 
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Chuck Berry

Gold Member
Is the version on PS5, XSX and Steam the same and uncensored? Also wondering where can I get the uncensored version of MH2 on PC?

The first game was never censored, just banned in several countries. However, the PS2 port that works fine on PS4 has visual issues on the 5 (just like The Warriors) so if you want to dive in I suggest PC or sticking with playing it on an older console.

Manhunt 2 is the one that’s heavily censored all around. The only way to play the true uncut beta version is through the PC. Enjoy ripping off peoples nuts with pliers 😁

Also great doc here

 
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