Back on 15 years of … Manhunt

Do you like to hurt others? This short, thought-provoking question concerns Hotline Miami more than anything else, but it's perfect for Manhunt. Published in the first years of the current millennium, the sinister title of rock star games We changed forever our perception of strong language and violence in video games.

Rockstar has always been infamous when it came to pushing the boundaries of violence. Modern games of the open world would not be the same without Grand Theft Auto 3and similarly, violence in video games might not be as prevalent without Manhunt. Despite the resistance of society and governing bodies, all this is the result of the developer's constant quest for the expression of his creativity, whether naked or brutal.

Running on the same RenderWare engine as the Grand Theft Auto games of the day, Rockstar's look and feel was inimitable. But instead of providing players with an open environment to explore, Manhunt focuses solely on the carnage. And to this day, very few games dare to reproduce his dark tone and his superabundant brutality.

In honor of Manhunt's 15 years on Xbox, let's take a look at what made the game so horrific, as well as the many controversies around it. And how, despite the backlash, this has become another bright and bloody gem in Rockstar's vast catalog of titles.

Welcome to the slaughterhouse

Carcer City: a ruthless and ungoverned urban environment existing in the same universe as the cities of the Grand Theft Auto Games. Manhunt has placed you in the role of a contradictory character, James Earl Cash: a convicted felon on death row. Rockstar rarely lets players take control of a "good guy", but James is singled out even among the worst.

Our protagonist has a second life after being saved by the mysterious director. But his intentions are far from being disinterested or noble; he wants James to participate in a movie that looks like reality TV. As the main star, James must cross Carcer City and kill local gang members as brutally as possible. To help him, the director orders surveillance cameras throughout the city and guides his actions to bring up a show.

The characters from GTA's previous games, like Claude and Tommy, were far from being exemplary citizens, but they were betrayed and, to a certain extent, you could not help but feel at least some empathy for their cause. . But from the beginning, James is already recognized as a murderer on death row and was saved so he could do more of the same thing: kill.

It could be argued that the elimination of local scum should not weigh down your consciousness. Among them were perverts, white supremacists and corrupt members of the army: nothing for which to shed a tear. However, it was not so much about who was supposed to kill James, but rather about how …

Do not just kill them; Boucher them

Unlike Grand Theft Auto 3 and Vice City before that, Manhunt encouraged stealth in face-to-face encounters. Instead of igniting, James hid in the shade and used mostly common tools: plastic bags, shards of glass, nail guns, and so on. There were no segments of conduct or theft, and no secondary missions to diversify the game. All you had to do was kill, so it had to be good and engaging. And that was.

When approaching an enemy without being detected, James can execute them with the currently equipped tool. He could smother them with a simple plastic bag, slit his throat with a burst of glass or break his head with a blunt weapon, like a bat. Depending on how long the player was holding the attack button, James will perform even more gorier execution.

For example, after putting a plastic bag on his head, he would hit him while they were suffocating to death. These killings were more risky, giving enemies more time to detect James, but also gave more "points" and often provoked a much more ecstatic reaction from the director.

To further enhance immersion, a USB microphone could be connected to the console. Players can take advantage of their own voice to attract attention and attract unsuspecting enemies. And if you, the player, play the pommel during the game, James will suffer the consequences.

Each level ranked your score based on the completion time and the brutality of the killings. This system encouraged players not only to kill their victims, but also to do so in a particularly graphic way. Largely because of its brutal nature, Manhunt has been criticized by many countries around the world.

For adult eyes only

In some countries, because of its controversial themes and graphic violence, Manhunt has been banned. Among them were Australia and New Zealand, which historically lacked clemency for violent and sexually expressive mediums. New Zealand banned Manhunt just weeks after its release, while it took nearly a year to Australia to do the same.

In Canada, particularly in the state of Ontario, Manhunt almost suffered the same fate, but managed to keep his mark. Even more radically, Germany banned the game in 2004 and confiscated all copies to retailers.

Here in the United Kingdom, the game was even briefly linked to a murder case, but its involvement was later denied by the authorities. Of course, when it comes to video games, series like Grand Theft Auto are often surrounded by similar charges, but Manhunt has reached a totally new level in this regard.

Slowly killing them

Personally, I did not like Manhunt during his first semester; I did not understand the call behind the killing of people. And I'm absolutely not against violence in video games (give me more), but it seemed useless. However, his simple but difficult progression, and his unexpected story, quite quickly changed my point of view.

In terms of gameplay, Manhunt was a radical departure from your typical GTA games. It was as if Rockstar's flagship franchise was, in some respects, totally different in many others. This came largely from the stealthy mechanics, although it was by no means as deep as Metal Gear Solid.

Under this appearance of violence, Rockstar Games has hidden a game surprisingly good, with a solid mechanics and history. Manhunt 2. Unfortunately, both games would have no chance in today's market because of the overly sensitive nature of the company.

Today, everything must be censored and downgraded to meet certain standards, to some people. And when censorship wins, we all lose.

Alas, Manhunt is currently not available on Xbox One. If you want to play it, dust off your original Xbox. With the constant extension of the backward compatibility library with Microsoft, it could happen on Xbox One in the next few years. Until then, consider testing it on a PC or Playstation 4.