Manhunt (series)
Encyclopedia
Manhunt is a stealth style video game series primarily developed by Scottish
company Rockstar North
, as well as several other Rockstar studios, and published by Rockstar Games
.
The gameplay
consists of a mixture of action
, stealth and psychological horror
elements and has gained controversy for its adult
nature and extreme violence
. The series focuses around two different protagonists who attempt to escape from some particularly dangerous and perverse situation they are left in from the beginning, although their motives for doing so vary in each game. The antagonist in each game is commonly a character who has betrayed them and has a great degree of control over impeding their progress.
The series began in 2003 and is currently composed of two installments. The name of the series and its games are derived from "manhunt
," a term referring to a search for a dangerous fugitive conducted by members of law enforcement, though in the games the protagonist's pursuers are not necessarily limited to law enforcers alone. As of 26 March 2008, the Manhunt franchise has sold 1.7 million copies according to Take-Two Interactive
.
, stages are called "scenes," in relation to the game's plotline being that of a snuff film
. In the second game
, stages are called "episodes," in relation to the mental state and experiences of the protagonist, and in the vein that it refers to gameplay as "treatment." Players survive the stages by dispatching enemy gangs and "hunters," occasionally with firearms but primarily by stealthily executing them in bloody over-the-top ways.
The first game provides a rating system at the end of each stage which 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. This rating system was cut for its sequel, Manhunt 2, in order to avoid the appearance of rewarding murder in Rockstar's efforts to get the game an M rating from the Entertainment Software Rating Board
. The games' 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 effectively invisible.
For each weapon in the game there are three different "executions" to be performed: hasty (characterized by the color white
), violent (characterized by the color yellow
) and gruesome (characterized by the color red
). The execution used is determined by how long the player holds the action button while creeping stealthily upon an unsuspecting enemy. Manhunt 2 added several improvements to the execution system, including the ability to execute using firearms
, perform "jump executions" from higher elevations, and environmental executions, such as pushing an enemy face-first into a live fuse box
, using telephone cords to strangle an enemy or beating an enemy to death in a toilet.
Certain stages also encourage the player to dispose of the bodies of their unfortunate foes, so as not to allow other Hunters in the area to glimpse the bodies and become suspicious. Suspicious enemies are more likely to discover the player even when hiding in a dark spot.
Over the course of the games, players use a wide variety of weapons, ranging from plastic bag
s, baseball bat
s, crowbar
s and all sorts of blade
d 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 bottle
s, can
s, brick
s and severed head
s to make noise to distract Hunters.
, the setting for Manhunt 2, which is based on New Orleans. Both cities are in the same fictional universe
as the Grand Theft Auto
series and Bully
. Both games take place in a particularly dangerous area of the city, sometimes to the extent that the area has been wholly abandoned, and subsequently populated only by criminals, while cordoned off from the rest of the city.
, based on the novel of the same name
. Although it was generally well received by critics, the game created a media frenzy
on release, was banned in several countries and was implicated by media in a UK murder, although the police denied it.
due to a rating rejection in the United Kingdom
and Ireland
and an AO rating in the United States
for being too violent. On 24 August, it was announced that Rockstar submitted a modified version of the game, which was re-rated with an M by the ESRB
and allowed for an 31 October 2007 release date in North America. It was, however, released in stores on 29 October 2007. This modified version was again rejected by the BBFC
resulting in a series of court appeals by Rockstar and the BBFC, eventually leading to the BBFC granting the game an 18+ certificate in March 2008. The game had a UK release date of 31 October 2008, exactly one year after its US release On 31 October 2009, Rockstar started taking pre-orders for a PC version of the game. The PC version was released on 6 November 2009, with an AO rating by the ESRB.
Aside from the sensitive subject matter of Manhunt, 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 usually get considerably more violent 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 suffocating a Hunter to death with a plastic bag. 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 and wiggling it in the skull. The game encourages players to execute enemies as brutally as possible, and awards players who do so with higher health rewards.
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. It was later discovered that Leblanc didn't actually own the game, but Pakeerah did. It was later found out that the game was not at fault, since Leblanc had previously seen a Child's Play
film at the cinema and it went unnoticed that the murder was identical to one seen in the film. When this became known, Manhunt was returned to retail shelves.
' s announcement, attorney Jack Thompson promised to file suit to block the sale of Manhunt 2 and Rockstar
's Grand Theft Auto IV
. Take-Two
petitioned U.S. District Court, SD FL
to block Thompson's pending lawsuit. Thompson immediately filed a counter-suit, accusing Take-Two and various other prominent game media outlets of racketeering
. The dispute was later settled: Thompson agreed to not sue or threaten to sue to block sale or distribution of any game published by Take-Two. In turn, Take-Two agreed to drop a prior suit accusing Thompson of contempt-of-court in a previous suit over Take-Two's Bully
.
In a letter to Wendy's
CEO Kerrii Anderson, Thompson demanded that the restaurant drop an upcoming promotion featuring children's toys designed after the Wii
games Excite Truck
, Wii Sports
and Super Mario Galaxy
because Manhunt 2 was scheduled for release on the console. An excerpt from Thompson's letter states: "Dave Thomas
never would have tolerated the use of Wendy’s good name to promote Nintendo’s Wii, not with this game available on the Wii platform." Particular controversy was repeatedly heaped upon the Wii version of the game due to the console's highly immersive nature, with certain gaming sites that had a hands-on preview of the game reporting that Manhunt 2 used the Wii Remote
in an interactive manner; for instance, in order to stab someone in the game the player would have to flick the Wii Remote forward, in much the same fashion one would do when actually stabbing with a knife.
In January 2008, major gaming website RockstarWatch.net, reported that Manhunt 2 was never submitted into the OFLC for classification, following its pre-release controversies.
on 22 December 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 3 February 2004.
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.
. This is the first time a video game has been refused certification by the IFCO (although games do not normally require certification, if they do require it, they must receive a certificate to be released). A poll of 1000 people undertaken by the IFCO showed that 80% of respondents agreed with the ban.
described Manhunt 2 as, "cruel and sadistic, with a squalid environment and a continuous, insistent encouragement to violence and murder."
, despite a request by the Dutch parliament for the Ministry of Justice to intervene, as no legal mechanism is in place to ban its sale. This does not mean that the game will in fact see an unedited release in the Netherlands or any other territory with similarly open legal policies, however.
certificate if not for Take-Two's suspension.
certificate if not for Take-Two's suspension.
18 certificate, legally prohibiting its sale to anyone under that age. On 19 June 2007, the BBFC
refused to certify Manhunt 2, meaning that it would be illegal to sell the game in the United Kingdom
in its current state. On 1 August 2007, Rockstar confirmed that they had filed an appeal with the Video Appeals Committee
(VAC) in the UK to contest the BBFC decision.
On 14 March 2008 the Video Appeals Committee upheld an appeal by Rockstar games and advised the BBFC that they have no alternative but to issue an 18+ Certificate for the game, with Rockstar arguing successfully that there is no difference between the graphic violence in Manhunt 2 and that seen on other formats. The same day, the BBFC issued the 18 certificate.
, Sony
, and Microsoft
have policies prohibiting third-party AO rated titles from appearing on their consoles.
In response to the BBFC and ESRB's decisions, Take-Two has said that they would stand by the game and release it.
On 24 August 2007, Rockstar announced that a reworked version of the game had received an M rating from the ESRB, and would be released on 31 October in the United States. On 11 September 2007, IGN
released a comparison between the Adults Only-rated version of Manhunt 2 and the censored, Mature-rated version on the Wii
. Although most content has remained unchanged, a murder sequence in which the player castrate
s an enemy with pliers
had been removed, and major executions have had blur effects, hue filters and darkening applied to obscure the animation. The post-stage scoring screen carried over from the original Manhunt was also removed. Players were graded on speed of stage completion and number of "Gruesome" level kills, but the scoring system was cut in the final version.
In late 2009, Rockstar released an AO version of Manhunt 2 on the PC. The release is available only via download and features most of the cut content, no censors and a stereoscopic mode for Nvidia
graphic cards. The PC version was only released for people who live in the United States and has not been officially made available to other countries.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
company Rockstar North
Rockstar North
Rockstar North is a British video game developer based in Edinburgh, Scotland, best known for creating the Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings franchises in its earlier guise as DMA....
, as well as several other Rockstar studios, and published by Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games is a major video game developer and publisher based in New York City, owned by Take-Two Interactive following its purchase of UK video game publisher BMG Interactive. The brand is mostly known for Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, L.A...
.
The gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
consists of a mixture of action
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
, stealth and psychological horror
Psychological horror
Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror fiction that relies on character fears, guilt, beliefs, eerie sound effects, relevant music and emotional instability to build tension and further the plot...
elements and has gained controversy for its adult
Adult video game
An adult video game is a video game which has significant sexual content , and are therefore intended for an adult audience. Adult games can fall into many genres and have diverse gameplay.-PC and console:...
nature and extreme violence
Video game controversy
Violent video game debates often center on topics such as video game graphic violence, sex and sexism, violent and gory scenes, partial or full nudity, portrayal of criminal behavior, racism, and other provocative and objectionable material. Video games have been studied for links to addiction and...
. The series focuses around two different protagonists who attempt to escape from some particularly dangerous and perverse situation they are left in from the beginning, although their motives for doing so vary in each game. The antagonist in each game is commonly a character who has betrayed them and has a great degree of control over impeding their progress.
The series began in 2003 and is currently composed of two installments. The name of the series and its games are derived from "manhunt
Manhunt (law enforcement)
In law enforcement, a manhunt is a search for a dangerous fugitive involving the use of all available police units and technology and sometimes help from the public....
," a term referring to a search for a dangerous fugitive conducted by members of law enforcement, though in the games the protagonist's pursuers are not necessarily limited to law enforcers alone. As of 26 March 2008, the Manhunt franchise has sold 1.7 million copies according to Take-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a major American publisher, developer, and distributor of video games and video game peripherals. Take-Two wholly owns 2K Games and Rockstar Games. The company's headquarters are in New York City, with international headquarters in Windsor, United Kingdom...
.
Overview
The stages of each Manhunt installment are typically referred to in a way that relates to the game's plot. In the first gameManhunt (video game)
Manhunt is a stealth game developed by Rockstar Games. It was released to the public on November 18, 2003 for the PlayStation 2 console, and on April 20, 2004 for Xbox and PC. Although it was generally well-received by critics, Manhunt created a controversy due to the graphic violence the player...
, stages are called "scenes," in relation to the game's plotline being that of a snuff film
Snuff film
A snuff film is a motion picture genre that depicts the actual death or murder of a person or people, without the aid of special effects, for the express purpose of distribution and entertainment or financial exploitation. For-profit snuff films are generally regarded as an urban legend, whose...
. In the second game
Manhunt 2
Manhunt 2 is an action/adventure video game developed by Rockstar Games and the sequel to 2003's Manhunt. The game was released in North America for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Wii on October 29, 2007....
, stages are called "episodes," in relation to the mental state and experiences of the protagonist, and in the vein that it refers to gameplay as "treatment." Players survive the stages by dispatching enemy gangs and "hunters," occasionally with firearms but primarily by stealthily executing them in bloody over-the-top ways.
The first game provides a rating system at the end of each stage which 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. This rating system was cut for its sequel, Manhunt 2, in order to avoid the appearance of rewarding murder in Rockstar's efforts to get the game an M rating from the Entertainment Software Rating Board
Entertainment Software Rating Board
The Entertainment Software Rating Board is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings, enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines, and ensures responsible online privacy principles for computer and video games as well as entertainment software in Canada, Mexico and...
. The games' 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 effectively invisible.
For each weapon in the game there are three different "executions" to be performed: hasty (characterized by the color white
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
), violent (characterized by the color yellow
Yellow
Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...
) and gruesome (characterized by the color red
Red
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
). The execution used is determined by how long the player holds the action button while creeping stealthily upon an unsuspecting enemy. Manhunt 2 added several improvements to the execution system, including the ability to execute using firearms
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
, perform "jump executions" from higher elevations, and environmental executions, such as pushing an enemy face-first into a live fuse box
Distribution board
A distribution board is a component of an electricity supply system which divides an electrical power feed into subsidiary circuits, while providing a protective fuse or circuit breaker for each circuit, in a common enclosure...
, using telephone cords to strangle an enemy or beating an enemy to death in a toilet.
Certain stages also encourage the player to dispose of the bodies of their unfortunate foes, so as not to allow other Hunters in the area to glimpse the bodies and become suspicious. Suspicious enemies are more likely to discover the player even when hiding in a dark spot.
Over the course of the games, players use a wide variety of weapons, ranging from plastic bag
Plastic bag
A plastic bag, polybag, or pouch is a type of packaging made of thin, flexible, plastic film, nonwoven fabric, or plastic textile. Plastic bags are used for containing and transporting goods such as foods, produce, powders, ice, magazines, comic books, chemicals and waste.Most plastic bags are...
s, baseball bat
Baseball bat
A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the game of baseball to hit the ball after the ball is thrown by the pitcher. It is no more than 2.75 inches in diameter at the thickest part and no more than 42 inches in length. It typically weighs no more than 33 ounces , but it...
s, crowbar
Crowbar (tool)
A crowbar, a wrecking bar, pry bar, or prybar, or sometimes a prise bar or prisebar, and more informally a jimmy, jimmy bar, jemmy or gooseneck is a tool consisting of a metal bar with a single curved end and flattened points, often with a small fissure on one or both ends for removing nails...
s and all sorts of blade
Blade
A blade is that portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with a cutting edge and/or a pointed tip that is designed to cut and/or puncture, stab, slash, chop, slice, thrust, or scrape animate or inanimate surfaces or materials...
d items to firearms
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
later on in the game. If the player is running out of health, painkillers
Analgesic
An analgesic is any member of the group of drugs used to relieve pain . The word analgesic derives from Greek an- and algos ....
can be found which replenish health. The player can strike walls or throw items such as bottle
Bottle
A bottle is a rigid container with a neck that is narrower than the body and a "mouth". By contrast, a jar has a relatively large mouth or opening. Bottles are often made of glass, clay, plastic, aluminum or other impervious materials, and typically used to store liquids such as water, milk, soft...
s, can
Tin can
A tin can, tin , steel can, or a can, is a sealed container for the distribution or storage of goods, composed of thin metal. Many cans require opening by cutting the "end" open; others have removable covers. Cans hold diverse contents: foods, beverages, oil, chemicals, etc."Tin" cans are made...
s, brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
s and severed head
Head
In anatomy, the head of an animal is the rostral part that usually comprises the brain, eyes, ears, nose and mouth . Some very simple animals may not have a head, but many bilaterally symmetric forms do....
s to make noise to distract Hunters.
Setting
There are two locations featured in the Manhunt series. There is Carcer City, the setting of Manhunt, which is based on Detroit, and CottonmouthCottonmouth
Cottonmouth may refer to:Snakes* Agkistrodon piscivorus, a.k.a. the water moccasin, a venomous and semiaquatic pitviper found in the US* Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen, a.k.a...
, the setting for Manhunt 2, which is based on New Orleans. Both cities are in the same fictional universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
as the Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto (series)
Grand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...
series and Bully
Bully (video game)
Bully, also known as Canis Canem Edit for the PAL PlayStation 2 version, is an open world video game released by Rockstar Vancouver for the PlayStation 2 on 17 October 2006 in North America, and 25 October 2006 in the United Kingdom...
. Both games take place in a particularly dangerous area of the city, sometimes to the extent that the area has been wholly abandoned, and subsequently populated only by criminals, while cordoned off from the rest of the city.
History
| Summary of titles | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Developer | Platforms | First Released |
| Manhunt Manhunt (video game) Manhunt is a stealth game developed by Rockstar Games. It was released to the public on November 18, 2003 for the PlayStation 2 console, and on April 20, 2004 for Xbox and PC. Although it was generally well-received by critics, Manhunt created a controversy due to the graphic violence the player... |
Rockstar North Rockstar North Rockstar North is a British video game developer based in Edinburgh, Scotland, best known for creating the Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings franchises in its earlier guise as DMA.... |
PlayStation 2 PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan... , Xbox Xbox The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console... , Microsoft Windows Microsoft Windows Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal... |
18 November 2003 |
| Manhunt 2 Manhunt 2 Manhunt 2 is an action/adventure video game developed by Rockstar Games and the sequel to 2003's Manhunt. The game was released in North America for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Wii on October 29, 2007.... |
Rockstar North, Rockstar London Rockstar London Rockstar London is an English video game developer, and in 2005 was the second newest studio to join the Rockstar Games family. Notable productions include Manhunt 2 for the PlayStation 2.... , Rockstar Leeds Rockstar Leeds Rockstar Leeds is a British video game developer. Based in the eponymous city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, Rockstar Leeds has primarily published handheld games for Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance , as well as developing Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition and the Grand Theft Auto Stories games for the... , Rockstar Toronto Rockstar Toronto Rockstar Toronto is an in-house game development team for Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive, located in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, a town located approximately thirty-five kilometres west of Toronto... , Rockstar Vienna Rockstar Vienna Rockstar Vienna was a Vienna, Austria-based developer of video games, and a sub-division of Rockstar Games. Rockstar Vienna was founded on January 4, 1993, joined Take-Two Interactive in February 2001, and was announced to join Rockstar Games during the tenth anniversary of the company in 2003... |
PlayStation 2 PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan... , PlayStation Portable PlayStation Portable The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004... , Wii Wii The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others... , Microsoft Windows Microsoft Windows Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal... |
29 October 2007 |
Manhunt
Manhunt, the first title in the Manhunt series, was inspired by the 1987 film The Running ManThe Running Man (film)
The Running Man is a 1987 American action film loosely based on Stephen King's 1982 novel of the same name. Directed by Paul Michael Glaser, the film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, María Conchita Alonso, Jesse Ventura, Jim Brown, and Richard Dawson....
, based on the novel of the same name
The Running Man
The Running Man is a science fiction novel by Stephen King, first published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman in 1982 as a paperback original. It was collected in 1985 in the hardcover omnibus The Bachman Books...
. Although it was generally well received by critics, the game created a media frenzy
Media circus
Media circus is a colloquial metaphor, or idiom, describing a news event where the media coverage is perceived to be out of proportion to the event being covered, such as the number of reporters at the scene, the amount of news media published or broadcast, and the level of media hype...
on release, was banned in several countries and was implicated by media in a UK murder, although the police denied it.
Manhunt 2
Manhunt 2, the second title in the Manhunt series, was released on 29 October 2007. It was originally scheduled for release in July, but it was suspended by Take-TwoTake-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a major American publisher, developer, and distributor of video games and video game peripherals. Take-Two wholly owns 2K Games and Rockstar Games. The company's headquarters are in New York City, with international headquarters in Windsor, United Kingdom...
due to a rating rejection in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
and an AO rating in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for being too violent. On 24 August, it was announced that Rockstar submitted a modified version of the game, which was re-rated with an M by the ESRB
Entertainment Software Rating Board
The Entertainment Software Rating Board is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings, enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines, and ensures responsible online privacy principles for computer and video games as well as entertainment software in Canada, Mexico and...
and allowed for an 31 October 2007 release date in North America. It was, however, released in stores on 29 October 2007. This modified version was again rejected by the BBFC
British Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification , originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom...
resulting in a series of court appeals by Rockstar and the BBFC, eventually leading to the BBFC granting the game an 18+ certificate in March 2008. The game had a UK release date of 31 October 2008, exactly one year after its US release On 31 October 2009, Rockstar started taking pre-orders for a PC version of the game. The PC version was released on 6 November 2009, with an AO rating by the ESRB.
Controversy
The Manhunt series has been a source of considerable controversy since even before the release of the first title.Aside from the sensitive subject matter of Manhunt, 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 usually get considerably more violent 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 suffocating a Hunter to death with a plastic bag. A Level 2 execution might feature severing a Hunter's testicles
Testicle
The testicle is the male gonad in animals. Like the ovaries to which they are homologous, testes are components of both the reproductive system and the endocrine system...
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 and wiggling it in the skull. The game encourages players to execute enemies as brutally as possible, and awards players who do so with higher health rewards.
The murder of Stefan Pakeerah
In the UK, Manhunt was linked to the murder of Stefan Pakeerah, 14, by his friend Warren Leblanc, 17, on 27 February 2004. Giselle Pakeerah, the victim's mother, claimed 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 UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and international branches of GAME
GAME (retailer)
The Game Group plc is a British video games retail company. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index....
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. It was later discovered that Leblanc didn't actually own the game, but Pakeerah did. It was later found out that the game was not at fault, since Leblanc had previously seen a Child's Play
Child's Play (film series)
Child's Play is a horror film franchise created by Don Mancini, with its first installment, Child's Play, being released on November 9, 1988. The film has so far spawned four sequels and has gone into other media, such as comic books. The films all feature Chucky, a killer Good Guys doll with the...
film at the cinema and it went unnoticed that the murder was identical to one seen in the film. When this became known, Manhunt was returned to retail shelves.
Jack Thompson lawsuits
Following Manhunt 2Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games is a major video game developer and publisher based in New York City, owned by Take-Two Interactive following its purchase of UK video game publisher BMG Interactive. The brand is mostly known for Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, L.A...
's Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
. Take-Two
Take-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a major American publisher, developer, and distributor of video games and video game peripherals. Take-Two wholly owns 2K Games and Rockstar Games. The company's headquarters are in New York City, with international headquarters in Windsor, United Kingdom...
petitioned U.S. District Court, SD FL
United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida is the federal United States district court with jurisdiction over the southern part of the state of Florida....
to block Thompson's pending lawsuit. Thompson immediately filed a counter-suit, accusing Take-Two and various other prominent game media outlets of racketeering
Racket (crime)
A racket is an illegal business, usually run as part of organized crime. Engaging in a racket is called racketeering.Several forms of racket exist. The best-known is the protection racket, in which criminals demand money from businesses in exchange for the service of "protection" against crimes...
. The dispute was later settled: Thompson agreed to not sue or threaten to sue to block sale or distribution of any game published by Take-Two. In turn, Take-Two agreed to drop a prior suit accusing Thompson of contempt-of-court in a previous suit over Take-Two's Bully
Bully (video game)
Bully, also known as Canis Canem Edit for the PAL PlayStation 2 version, is an open world video game released by Rockstar Vancouver for the PlayStation 2 on 17 October 2006 in North America, and 25 October 2006 in the United Kingdom...
.
In a letter to Wendy's
Wendy's
Wendy's is an international fast food chain restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company decided to move its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. It has been owned by Triarc since 2008...
CEO Kerrii Anderson, Thompson demanded that the restaurant drop an upcoming promotion featuring children's toys designed after the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
games Excite Truck
Excite Truck
is a video game published by Nintendo and developed by Monster Games for the Wii video game system. It features malleable environments and tilt-based controls. The game was one of the Wii launch titles in North America. It is a spiritual successor to the Excitebike series...
, Wii Sports
Wii Sports
is a sports game developed and published by Nintendo as a launch title for the Wii video game console , and part of the Touch! Generations. The game was first released in North America along with the Wii on November 19, 2006, and was released in Japan, Australia, and Europe the following month...
and Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy
is a 3D platform game developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was released in most regions in November 2007, and is the third 3D original platformer in the Mario series, after Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. The game follows the protagonist, Mario, on a...
because Manhunt 2 was scheduled for release on the console. An excerpt from Thompson's letter states: "Dave Thomas
Dave Thomas (American businessman)
David "Dave" Thomas was an American fast-food entrepreneur and philanthropist. Thomas was the founder and chief executive officer of Wendy's, a fast-food restaurant chain specializing in hamburgers...
never would have tolerated the use of Wendy’s good name to promote Nintendo’s Wii, not with this game available on the Wii platform." Particular controversy was repeatedly heaped upon the Wii version of the game due to the console's highly immersive nature, with certain gaming sites that had a hands-on preview of the game reporting that Manhunt 2 used the Wii Remote
Wii Remote
The , also known as the Wiimote, is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and...
in an interactive manner; for instance, in order to stab someone in the game the player would have to flick the Wii Remote forward, in much the same fashion one would do when actually stabbing with a knife.
Australia
Manhunt was refused classification (and effectively banned) on 28 September 2004 by the Classification Review Board after having earlier received a classification allowing it to be purchased by those aged 15 years or older.In January 2008, major gaming website RockstarWatch.net, reported that Manhunt 2 was never submitted into the OFLC for classification, following its pre-release controversies.
Canada
Following a meeting in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
on 22 December 2003 between Bill Hastings
Bill Hastings
His Honour Judge William Kenneth Hastings was New Zealand's tenth Chief Censor, from October 1999 to July 2010. He is currently a District Court Judge and Chair of the Immigration and Protection Tribunal.-Biography:...
, the Chief Censor of New Zealand, and officials from the Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
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 3 February 2004.
Germany
On 19 July 2004, the AmtsgerichtAmtsgericht
Amtsgericht is German for Local District Court, situated in Germany in almost every larger capital of a rural district.It mainly acts in Civil and Criminal law affairs. It forms the lowest level of the so-called ordinary jurisdiction of the German judiciary , which is responsible for most criminal...
Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
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
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
, which they considered harmful per se.
Ireland
The Irish Film Censor's Office announced that Manhunt 2 would not be available for sale in the Republic of IrelandRepublic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. This is the first time a video game has been refused certification by the IFCO (although games do not normally require certification, if they do require it, they must receive a certificate to be released). A poll of 1000 people undertaken by the IFCO showed that 80% of respondents agreed with the ban.
Italy
Italian Communications Minister Paolo GentiloniPaolo Gentiloni
Paolo Gentiloni is an Italian politician, member of the Daisy—Democracy is Freedom party and currently the Italian Minister of Communications.-Biography:He is a professional journalist and has a degree in political sciences....
described Manhunt 2 as, "cruel and sadistic, with a squalid environment and a continuous, insistent encouragement to violence and murder."
Netherlands
It was announced that Manhunt 2 can be released in uncut form in the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, despite a request by the Dutch parliament for the Ministry of Justice to intervene, as no legal mechanism is in place to ban its sale. This does not mean that the game will in fact see an unedited release in the Netherlands or any other territory with similarly open legal policies, however.
New Zealand
Manhunt was declared objectionable on 11 December 2003. Possession is an offence.Portugal
Manhunt 2 would have been released uncut in Portugal with an 18+ PEGIPan European Game Information
Pan European Game Information is a European video game content rating system established to help European parents make informed decisions on buying computer games with logos on games boxes. It was developed by the Interactive Software Federation of Europe and came into use in April 2003; it...
certificate if not for Take-Two's suspension.
Scandinavia
Manhunt 2 would have also been released uncut in Scandinavia with an 18+ PEGIPan European Game Information
Pan European Game Information is a European video game content rating system established to help European parents make informed decisions on buying computer games with logos on games boxes. It was developed by the Interactive Software Federation of Europe and came into use in April 2003; it...
certificate if not for Take-Two's suspension.
United Kingdom
Manhunt received a BBFCBritish Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification , originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom...
18 certificate, legally prohibiting its sale to anyone under that age. On 19 June 2007, the BBFC
British Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification , originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom...
refused to certify Manhunt 2, meaning that it would be illegal to sell the game in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in its current state. On 1 August 2007, Rockstar confirmed that they had filed an appeal with the Video Appeals Committee
Video Appeals Committee
The Video Appeals Committee was a body set up by the United Kingdom's Video Recordings Act. If a video or video-game distributor's work is rejected by the British Board of Film Classification , preventing it from being legally sold in the UK, the distributor can appeal to the VAC, which has the...
(VAC) in the UK to contest the BBFC decision.
On 14 March 2008 the Video Appeals Committee upheld an appeal by Rockstar games and advised the BBFC that they have no alternative but to issue an 18+ Certificate for the game, with Rockstar arguing successfully that there is no difference between the graphic violence in Manhunt 2 and that seen on other formats. The same day, the BBFC issued the 18 certificate.
United States
Manhunt 2 initially received an Adults Only rating from the ESRB. AO is the most restrictive rating given by the ratings body; many American retailers will not carry AO rated titles and NintendoNintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, and Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
have policies prohibiting third-party AO rated titles from appearing on their consoles.
In response to the BBFC and ESRB's decisions, Take-Two has said that they would stand by the game and release it.
On 24 August 2007, Rockstar announced that a reworked version of the game had received an M rating from the ESRB, and would be released on 31 October in the United States. On 11 September 2007, IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
released a comparison between the Adults Only-rated version of Manhunt 2 and the censored, Mature-rated version on the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
. Although most content has remained unchanged, a murder sequence in which the player castrate
Castration
Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses the functions of the testicles or a female loses the functions of the ovaries.-Humans:...
s an enemy with pliers
Pliers
Pliers are a hand tool used to hold objects firmly, for bending, or physical compression. Generally, pliers consist of a pair of metal first-class levers joined at a fulcrum positioned closer to one end of the levers, creating short jaws on one side of the fulcrum, and longer handles on the other...
had been removed, and major executions have had blur effects, hue filters and darkening applied to obscure the animation. The post-stage scoring screen carried over from the original Manhunt was also removed. Players were graded on speed of stage completion and number of "Gruesome" level kills, but the scoring system was cut in the final version.
In late 2009, Rockstar released an AO version of Manhunt 2 on the PC. The release is available only via download and features most of the cut content, no censors and a stereoscopic mode for Nvidia
NVIDIA
Nvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
graphic cards. The PC version was only released for people who live in the United States and has not been officially made available to other countries.