After 17 years, the Manhunt games still reigns supreme as the most violent video games on home consoles. While most people think of Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat and Night Trap when they think of violent or controversial games, Manhunt took violence to the next level.
Manhunt's extremely brutal and grim nature shocked audiences when it first released in 2003. Rockstar Games even admitted that many members of its staff were disturbed by the level of violence found in the game. Manhunt 2 was so violent that Rockstar had to go back and edit most of the kill scenes just to get the game on store shelves. The series is now somewhat forgotten, but it still has a loyal fanbase despite the games' deranged legacy.
Manhunt is a survival-horror and stealth game in which players take control of a death row inmate named James Earl Cash, who is forced to participate in a snuff film in order to earn his freedom. Cash must tread through the city, killing off gang members in gruesome ways. A washed-up film producer, Lionel Starkweather, films Cash's every move as he makes his new cinema "masterpiece." The second game replaces the urban environment with a mental asylum as players roam the dark rooms and hallways in search of clues relating to their past, this time as new protagonist Daniel Lamb.
The Manhunt series is not for the faint of heart. Its depiction of violence separates Manhunt and its sequel from most other graphic video games. The kill scenes are extremely grizzly and realistic. Players use items such as plastic bags, broken bottles and gardening tools to eliminate enemies. The way foes squirm and struggle during the kills is horrifying, and the lack of emotion from the game's protagonist will send chills down even the most hardened of gamer's spine. Manhunt also has little to no music adding an extra layer of macabre to the game, not that it needs any.
Manhunt's sense of dread makes for an intense horror experience. Players are constantly on edge as they stalk their enemies from the shadows, waiting for the perfect time to strike. Manhunt targets a person's anxieties and triggers emotions usually not affected by video games. This is what makes the game so disturbing. It sometimes feels like you are doing something morally wrong when playing the game. Gamers can expect to feel a mix of despair, anguish, shock and anger while progressing through Manhunt.
Unsurprisingly, Manhunt ruffled more than a few feathers upon its release. The game series is still banned in multiple countries, and it sparked many legal cases all over the world. A lawyer in the UK blamed the first game for a murder in 2004. A few years later, an American attorney named Jack Thompson filed a lawsuit to block the sale of Manhunt 2. The game helped reignite the decade long debate surrounding violence in video games.
The ESRB originally gave the Manhunt 2 an Adults-Only rating, something many retailers refuse to sell. This would have severely limited the game's distribution, so Rockstar had to go back and heavily edit the game's executions in order to gain a Mature rating. However, the censorship outraged Manhunt fans, many of whom said the edits hindered the game's experience.
The Manhunt series pushed video game violence to its limit. Its hyper-realistic depiction of murder mixed with its extremely disturbing plot outraged people around the world. Still, the series has a small fanbase despite its unsettling nature. Rumors of a third Manhunt game have been floating around the internet for quite some time, but nothing has been confirmed. Regardless of its future, Manhunt's blood-soaked legacy will forever be a stain plastered on the video game industry.