Manhunt

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Manhunt (disambiguation) .

Manhunt ( English for " manhunt ", "criminal hunt"; literally " manhunt ") is a two-part computer game series by Rockstar Games , which has been the subject of controversy around the world because of its clear and extreme depictions of violence . In Germany, the 2003 published subject Manhunt and published in 2007 successor Manhunt 2 a distribution ban .

Manhunt

Manhunt
Studio	Rockstar North
Publisher	Rockstar Games
Erstveröffent- lichung	PlayStation 2: November 18, 2003 November 21, 2003 Xbox, Microsoft Windows: April 20, 2004 April 23, 2004 PlayStation 3: May 14, 2013 PlayStation 4: March 22, 2016
platform	PlayStation 2 , Xbox , Windows , PlayStation 3 , PlayStation 4
genre	Survival horror , stealth
Subject	Snuff movies
Game mode	Single player
control	Gamepad , keyboard , mouse
system advantages preconditions	1  GHz CPU , 192  MB RAM , 32 MB graphics card , sound card , DirectX 8.1, 2.3  GB hard disk space , 16 × CD / DVD-ROM drive
medium	DVD-ROM , CD-ROM , download
language	English with German subtitles
Age rating	PEGI
information	Indexed in Germany (List B) and confiscated nationwide since 2004.

The first part was in November 2003 for PlayStation 2 and in April 2004 for Xbox and Windows - PCs from Rockstar Games released. Was developed Manhunt by Rockstar North .

action

The player assumes the role of James Earl Cash, a convicted criminal , referring to his execution waits. However, a wealthy, influential former has Hollywood - director named Lionel Starkweather local judicial bribed so that the execution faked and cash the director is passed. He uses Cash to make snuff films with his help , in which Cash is supposed to kill the members of various gangs in the most brutal way possible in front of the camera.

The game is viewed by some as a parody and criticism of various aspects of the modern media landscape. It's seen as satire on the escalating reality shows . The reference to film and media is also made clear by the designation of the individual levels as "scenes".

controversy

The clear, brutal depiction of violence , especially the executions that take place after successfully sneaking in, caused some controversy. In almost all of Europe the game has been taken off the market.

By reporting the RTL telecast Stern TV on 2 June 2004 with Elke Monssen-Engberding , head of the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons (BPjM) that the game indicated , had made the game a sensation. According to industry experts, sales of the game then increased rapidly.

With a ruling of July 19, 2004, the Munich District Court ordered the nationwide confiscation of the title in accordance with Section 131 StGB ( glorification of violence ) for all systems. In the summer of 2005, a confiscation decision followed (also from the AG Munich). However, the confiscation order has only been listed in official communications since November 2005. The confiscation results in the destruction of the confiscated carriers.

As part of the PS2 emulation program for the PlayStation 4 presented by Sony in December 2015, Manhunt was digitally released in March 2016. A publication in countries in which Manhunt was not available before - such as Germany, Australia and New Zealand - was refrained from. Other USK-approved Rockstar games such as Grand Theft Auto III , Grand Theft Auto: Vice City , Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Canis Canem Edit are still available in Germany.

Manhunt 2

Manhunt 2
Studio	Rockstar London (PS2, PC) Rockstar North (PS2) Rockstar Leeds (PSP) Rockstar Toronto (Wii) Rockstar Vienna (prototype; unnamed)
Publisher	Rockstar Games
Erstveröffent- lichung	PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii: October 30, 2007 October 31, 2008 Microsoft Windows: November 6, 2009
platform	PlayStation 2 , PlayStation Portable , Wii , Windows
genre	Survival horror , stealth
Subject	Brainwashing
Game mode	Single player
control	Gamepad , Wiimote , keyboard , mouse
system advantages preconditions	Pentium4 1.8 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 128 MB 3D graphics card, DirectX 9.0c, 3.8 GB hard disk space
medium	DVD-ROM , UMD , download
Age rating	PEGI
information	The second game after Carmageddon to be denied an age classification by the BBFC . Manhunt 2 is indexed in Germany (List B) and has been confiscated nationwide since 2010.

On February 6, 2007 the development of a second part was officially confirmed. Was announced Manhunt 2 for Sony's PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable and the Nintendo Wii and last appeared for PC . The game was originally developed by Rockstar Vienna. After the studio was closed, the game was developed by the London Rockstar studio in collaboration with Rockstar North. Rockstar Leeds and Rockstar Toronto are responsible for the PSP and Wii versions respectively.

The game was originally supposed to be released in the summer of 2007, but the release date has been postponed several times (see " Age ratings and prohibitions "), so that the game will not be available until October 29, 2007 in the USA and October 31, 2008 in the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom. appeared in other parts of Europe. In some countries, including Germany, the game was never officially released. A good two years after the US release of the console version, a PC version was released via IGN's Direct2Drive, although it is only accessible for the USA, Canada and Mexico.

action

In 2012, at Dixmor Asylum for the Criminally Insane, a severe thunderstorm caused the institution's security systems to fail temporarily, opening cell doors throughout the facility. The occupants now wander freely through the corridors. Two of these inmates are Daniel Lamb and Leo Kasper. Daniel is disoriented and amnesic, unable to remember how or why he got to Dixmor. Led by Leo, they manage to escape and make their way to the ruins of Daniel's old house. Once there, they look for a drug that Daniel, as Leo tells him, has placed there just in case. The drug helps clear his mind a little, and he begins to remember fragments from his previous life. He and Leo set out to unravel the secrets of Daniel's past, constantly pursued by bounty hunters and agents of a mysterious organization called The Pickman Project.

As the plot progresses, Daniel learns that he was once a top scientist serving the Pickman Project, a government-sponsored weapons program for brainwashing and mind control techniques. The project goal was to create the perfect assassin. To achieve this, the "Pickman Bridge" was developed, a brain implant that can implant the personality and skills of a trained assassin in any person. Activated on command, the second personality carries out each mission. In theory, the two personalities could coexist in the same spirit. They would have no idea about each other. The idea was to trigger the assassins remotely. After completing your mission, you can switch back to the original person at the push of a button. She has no memory of what she just did. This would make the assassin immune to any interrogation tactics.

As Daniel puts the clues together and begins to recall more of his past, Leo suggests that Dr. Whyte, a researcher on the project and one of Daniel's former collaborators. But before they reach them, they are ambushed and sedated. Daniel wakes up in a room with Whyte who reveals the truth to him. Six years earlier, Daniel agreed to test the Pickman Bridge in the hopes that the resulting bonus would allow him to pay off his family's debts and start over financially. However, the bridge failed shortly after the operation. Daniel, now suffering from dissociative personality disorder, was able to communicate directly with the implanted personality he perceived as a real person - Leo Kasper. Whyte explains to him that Leo is dangerous and unstable and that he worked against Daniel from the start.

She reveals to him that after the implant failed, Leo's personality suppressed his own. Well all Leo, he went on a rampage through town, murdering police officers and members of the project. In doing so, he also began deliberately destroying project documents about him and Daniel. Eventually, while trying to wipe Daniel out completely, he made his way to Daniel's house and killed his wife. His goal was to weaken Daniel's relationship to reality to the point where he was allowed to have complete and total control over his thoughts. However, he was found and taken into custody after the murder. After his memory was erased, he was referred to Dixmor to study the malfunction of the implant and seek a solution; without success. After Daniel learns the truth, he decides to defeat Leo once and for all, removing him from his mind. He goes into a state of deep hypnosis and faces Leo inside his own mind. He is finally ready to free himself from the guilt of his wife's death and can "kill" Leo, which allows him to regain full control of his mind.

He wakes up on a lonely road in San Andreas County, again with his memory erased. However, he is holding an envelope. Inside is a message telling him that his name is "David Joiner", followed by his new address: "526 Hope Street, Apartment B, San Fierro". Finally, good luck is wished him. Daniel hesitates for a moment before setting off on foot towards San Fierro.

The game also includes an alternate final level where you play the final battle from Leo's point of view. Completed successfully, Daniel's personality is destroyed and Leo wakes up with full control over Daniel's body and mind. Whyte, believing it was Daniel she was talking to, asks him if everything is okay. Daniel / Leo replies that he wants to get back to work on the bridge as soon as possible. Finally he looks in the mirror and it's Leo's reflection that smiles at him.

Age ratings and prohibitions

In the UK , the game was denied an age classification by the BBFC even before it was released . This is tantamount to a ban, as a medium without a BBFC approval cannot be distributed in the UK. Although Rockstar Games would have the opportunity to cut critical parts of the game, the BBFC cannot make a recommendation. Sales bans have also been issued in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Even in Switzerland, which is otherwise considered tolerant of video games, video game retailers have voluntarily stopped selling them. Italian Telecommunications Minister Paolo Gentiloni asked Take 2 not to publish Manhunt 2 . Since games cannot be banned in Italy, the request will probably remain.

Almost at the same time as the BBFC, the US ESRB decided to give the game an “adults only” classification. This does not mean that the game cannot be distributed in the US as the ESRB ratings are not binding. However, many large retail chains (e.g. Wal-Mart ) refuse to include "Ao" -rated games in their range, so that marketing the original, uncut version will be very difficult. In addition, neither Sony nor Nintendo want to publish games on their consoles that carry the "Ao" seal. Take 2 / Rockstar announced that they could take action against the decisions of the BBFC and the ESRB or address their concerns. In response to this, a modified version was presented to both bodies. On August 24, 2007, Take 2 / Rockstar announced that this version of the game had received a "Mature" rating from the ESRB. The BBFC refused to release this version again. The developers of Rockstar then repeatedly objected and with success. The BBFC's Video Appeals Committee endorsed Rockstar's opinion by four to three votes and determined that the auditing authorities cannot withhold an age rating from the game. After some back and forth, Manhunt 2 was released in a modified version on October 31, 2008, but also in Europe.

At the beginning of November 2009 a PC version of Manhunt 2 was published by the download provider Direct2Drive . In contrast to the console version, which was classified as “Mature”, the ESRB gave it “Adults only” approval. However, the purchase is only possible with a Mexican, US or Canadian IP.

In Germany, Manhunt 2 was provisionally indexed on List B on November 13, 2008 ; this indexing was confirmed on January 15, 2009. Almost a year later, on March 10, 2010, the game was confiscated by the Munich District Court for glorifying violence . It is therefore subject to a distribution ban in Germany and may no longer be sold.

Web links

• Official website of the game (English)
• Official website of the successor (English)
• Manhunt (VG) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• "The Most Dangerous Game" - Article on Telepolis

Individual evidence

1. ^ Intelligent Artifice, November 1, 2007: Rockstar Vienna's missing credits for Manhunt 2
2. ↑ computerbild.de, April 15, 2010: Manhunt 2: Action game confiscated
3. ↑ GamesIndustry.biz, June 19, 2007: Manhunt 2 banned from sale in UK
4. ↑ ^{a b} GamesIndustry.biz, June 20, 2007: Manhunt 2 rated Adults Only in US
5. ↑ GamesIndustry.biz, June 19, 2007: Rockstar “disappointed” at Manhunt 2 ban
6. ↑ GamesIndustry.biz, August 24, 2007: Manhunt 2 given M rating in US
7. ↑ GamesIndustry.biz, October 8, 2007: BBFC rejects latest Manhunt 2
8. ↑ GamesIndustry.biz, March 14, 2008: Manhunt 2 receives UK release
9. ↑ GamesIndustry.biz, October 6, 2008: Manhunt 2 finally gets UK release date
10. ↑ theNEWguy: Manhunt 2 was confiscated. In: schnittberichte.com . April 15, 2010, archived from the original on April 15, 2010 ; Retrieved April 15, 2010 .