Manhunt (video game)

This article is about the 2003 Rockstar game; for the two DOS adventure games by Sierra Online please see Manhunter: New York and Manhunter 2: San Francisco.

Manhunt
Developer(s)	Rockstar North
Publisher(s)	Rockstar Games
Engine	RenderWare
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, Xbox, Windows
Release	November 18, 2003 (PS2) April 20, 2004 (Xbox & PC) Download (Steam): January 4, 2008
Genre(s)	Action, Psychological horror, Stealth
Mode(s)	Single player

Manhunt is a controversial third-person video game released by Rockstar Games in November 2003. Although it was generally well received by critics , the game created a media frenzy on release, got banned in several countries and was implicated by media in a UK murder, although the police denied it. In October 2007 its sequel, Manhunt 2 was also released amidst controversy.

Gameplay

Manhunt is a third-person stealth action game. The game consists of twenty levels, and four bonus levels that can be unlocked; the levels are referred to as "Scenes". Players survive the Scenes by stealthily executing the gangs, armed forces and deviants they face in bloody over-the-top ways; the player's enemies are known as "Hunters".

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. 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 make the player literally invisible.

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 is running out of health, painkillers can be found which replenish health. The player can strike walls or throw items such as bottles, cans, bricks and severed heads to make noise to distract Hunters.

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 to distract in-game enemies. This in turn adds a new twist to the stealth elements, as the player has to refrain from noises such as talking or coughing or risk creating in-game noise.

Plot

Set in dilapidated Carcer City, the story opens with a female journalist reporting on the convict James Earl Cash, a 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 puts on the earpiece and the person, who refers to himself as "the Director", promises Cash his freedom before the night is over, but only if Cash follows the Director's instructions.

Released in a dingy neighbourhood, Cash is directed to slaughter his way through the streets, populated by a 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 Cerberus.

Despite the promise of freedom, Cash is forced to take part in another setting, this time the Scrap yard. The massive junk yard is under the control of the white supremacists gang called the skins. With no other choice, Cash is forced to undergo similar missions while evading the Skinz- who seem to have been tipped off of Cash's arrival. But, as Cash escapes the scrapyard, he is cornered by the Cerberus and subdued once more.

Dumped in the abandoned zoo, Cash is now pitted against the Wardogs- led by Ramirez, an ex-soldier (as well as the man responsible for organizing all of the street gangs. The Wardogs are a gang of army veterans and experienced hunters- employing camoflauge and military style tactics. Ultimately, Cas must rescue his family members from the Wardogs- who have orders to kill the hostages the moment they spot Cash. After releasing his captured family- including his parents and two siblings- Cash escapes the Zoo. The Cerberus are quick to capture him again.

The next leg of the journey takes Cash to an abandoned shopping centre. This location is under the control of the Innocentz, a latino gang obsessed with occultism. The Director instructs cash to find a VHS tape, and locate a working television and VCR. The video briefly reveals the murder of Cash's family- the director remarking that he's "all the family you'll ever need." The ordeal with the Innocentz soon takes Cash out of the mall and into nearby slums and later to the warehouse district of the City. Inside the warehouse, Cash is forced into pitched shootouts with the Innocentz, now allied with another gang called the Babyfaces (all of these men are physically imposing and mentally disturbed).

Cash escapes the Innocentz just in time to be recaptured by the Cerberus and left in the Darkwoods mental asylum. The Director informes Cash that this location has fallen under the control of the Smileys, all former inmates. Confrontations with the inmates quickly turn from timed executions to a full blown shootout near the end of the segment. A mad chase to get a key from a man dressed in a bunny suit (the entire level is the Director's sick version of Alice in Wonderland) takes Cash through wave and wave of armed Smileys. In the mess hall, Cash is informed that he's reached the end the film. "The fans will love you" the Director remarks, "but don't expect any residuals where you're going." he adds before springing a trap on Cash.

Here, Cash survives the ending to the snuff film as planned by the Director (killing the Rabbit and a squad of Cerberus in the process). As a result of the botched 'scene', the Director contacts Ramirez- "The dog's slipped his leash, put him down!" He orders. Ramirez gathers up his Wardogs and ambushes Cash just outside the asylum. The Wardogs elect to play a final manhunt with him and dump him in the courtyard of a rundown apartment complex. However, Cash manages to survive hunt and gets inside the building, fighting off swarms of Wardogs and killing Ramirez at the top floor.

Enraged at the failure to stop Cash, the Director forces the Chief of Police (the CCPD) to stop Cash. The Chief (who's controlled by the Director) reluctantly agrees and orders all patroling officers to stop Cash at all costs.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 corruption, and that Cash is vital for this important task; the journalist also reveals the Director's name is Starkweather. Protecting her from the police, Cash manages to take the journalist safely to her apartment. Cash is chased into the subway by the cops, where the SWAT Team is deployed to stop him. Ultimately, The Cerberus and their leader capture him just before the SWAT can gun him down.

Back at Starkweather's mansion, he is ordered to be killed by Cerberus. However, Piggsy, an insane, chainsaw-wielding man, who wears a pig's head as a mask and was kept chained up in Starkweather's attic, has broken free and slaughters the investigating Cerberus. This allows Cash to work his way through the sprawling gardens and into the mansion. The Mansion goes on lockdown and the only route to Starkweather (an elevator) is stopped by cutting the generator. Dozens of Cerberus flood the many floors of the mansion in an attempt to kill Cash, but he get the power back on and gets past them and reaches the security room- killing the Leader in the process for his key card.

Cash finally reaches the upper levels of the mansion, where he and Piggsy stalk one another in the burned out fourth floor. Cash triumphs after luring Piggsy onto a trapdoor that collapses, and as Piggsy tries to hold on, Cash saws Piggsy's hands off with the same chainsaw he had used, sending Piggsy falling to his death. After hacking his way through the last of the Cerberus, Cash finally confronts Starkweather and despite Starkweather's pleas, brutally disembowels and decapitates him with the chainsaw.

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 is nowhere to be found.

Reception

Reviews

Publication	Score
GameSpot	8.4/10
Game Informer	9.25/10
IGN	8.5/10
GameSpy	4/5
1UP	8/10
Eurogamer	8.5/10
Edge Magazine	8/10

Critique

Upon its release, Manhunt was received generally favorable reviews. Review aggregate sites Game Rankings and Metacritic gave the game averages of 77 and 76 respectively.

The game's dark and highly violent nature and 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." 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." IGN complimented the game's overall challenge, calling it a "solid, deep experience for seasoned gamers pining for some hardcore, challenging games."

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 postive overall, asserting that it quickly became "tired of its violence ... AI quirks ... (and) repetitive level design."

Characters

James Cash

James Cash is the main character of the game as well as the character that the player controls. Cash wakes up after a near-death experience but actually puts him into a long-time coma. When he awakens he wakes to Starkweather and his commands to kill for not only the pride of him murdering his disliked gangs and enemies but also for Starkweather to capture it all on film. James later in the game turns against Starkweather after he meets with The Reporter.

Lionel Starkweather

Lionel Starkweather is a millionaire filmmaker who awakens Cash and puts him in the the series of murders that what starts at beginning of the game. During the first half of the game, Starkweather converses with Cash about many things, many revealing his perverse and sadistic views on death and violence. Through his large underground film industry, he's become very rich and effectively controls the police and all the street gangs. The Cerberus are his personal bodyguards and security force, and they are all heavily armed and well trained.

Starkweather is voiced by actor Ryan Cox.

The Reporter

The Reporter is a nameless female character that works as a journalist for a news team that is strongly important to the plot as she turns the story around for Cash. She is seen in a brief amount of time in the beginning prologue in the game as her saying that "James Cash has been executed" in news segment-like clip.

Piggsy

Piggsy is a hybrid of a human and swine and wields his signature chainsaw. He first appears in the game as few Cerberus team member approaches Piggsy in the prologue for one of the levels and says "Give him some fucking food!". Piggsy is also seen in the final level of the game as he ambushes Cash in the beginning and the player must discover a way to fight him and then finish him off.

Piggsy's escape is the only reason that Cash survives his execution at the hands of the Cerberus. Piggsy later confronts Cash towards the end of the game, trying to kill him for unknown reasons.

Ramirez

Ramirez is seen in three of the levels he is the leader of the gang War Dogs which are a team of soldier-based hunters that are destined to kill Cash. Ramirez dies as Cash chases after him in-game and the player has to figure out a quick way how to kill him.

Controversy

File:Manhunt1.jpg

Cash electrocuting an inmate at the asylum

Aside from the sensitive subject matter of Manhunt (snuff films), the controversy surrounding the game stems from the extremely graphic manner in which the player executes enemies, who are known as Hunters in the game. The game has three 'levels' of executions, and the executions get bloodier as the levels of execution progress. Level 1 executions are quick and the least bloody of the three, while Level 2 executions are considerably more gory, and gruesome kills are over-the-top fatalities. An example of a Level 1 execution would be choking a Hunter to death with a baseball bat. A Level 2 execution might feature severing a Hunter's testicles by pulling a sickle between his legs. A Level 3 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 who do so with higher scores.

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 that Leblanc had been 'obsessed' with the game after the former 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 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. Oddly, the victim, not the killer was found to be the one in possession of the game.

Legal status

• New Zealand: The game was declared objectionable on December 11 2003. Possession is an offence.
• 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 and 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) 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.
• United Kingdom: The game received a 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 § 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.

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.

References to other Rockstar games

Rockstar, the developers of Manhunt, have included a number of references to their previous games in Manhunt:

• The setting of the game, Carcer City, was supposed to be a neighboring city in Grand Theft Auto III.
• The Maibatsu Monstrosity, a motorcycle in Manhunt, was advertised in Grand Theft Auto III as a very fuel-inefficient SUV.
• Also mentioned on the radio in Grand Theft Auto III are police reports regarding Gary Schaeffer, the corrupt Police Chief who is found not guilty following the disappearances of key witnesses.
• The shop Ryton Aide, which appears in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, appears as an abandoned shop in Manhunt.
• "Sprunk", the fictional soft drink advertised on the radio and sold in the soda machines all over San Andreas and Vice City in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, is on the soda machines in Manhunt. An advertisement for "Sprunk" can also be seen in the trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV.
• Manhunt action figures can be seen in Zero's RC shop in San Fierro in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
• Shopping bags for 'The Gash' (a play on "The Gap"), a clothing shop in GTA games can be seen a few times in the game.
• A number of vehicles from the Grand Theft Auto (series) appear during scenes in Manhunt, including a burnt-out Stallion and images of a Virgo in Starkweather's mansion. The Stallion vehicle continues a prominent place in Rockstar North's work since Grand Theft Auto III's release; appearing in every Grand Theft Auto game since, as well as appearing in the "Shop Class" cutscene in Rockstar's Bully.

External links

• Official Manhunt website
• Valiant Video Enterprises - Manhunt tie-in website
• NTSC-uk dissects Manhunt
• Full report of decision to ban Manhunt, New Zealand
• Manhunt at MobyGames