The Controversial History of Gaming's Most Violent Franchise

[00:14] The never-ending violence in video  games discussion has revolved around   a select few experiences. Mortal Kombat,  Carmeggedon, and Grand Theft Auto count   among the most infamous. So, too, does the  murder-filled Rockstar Games staple, Manhunt.  

[00:30] Released in 2003 on the PlayStation 2, and then on  PC and Xbox in 2004, the first Manhunt captivated   players with its premise of a former death  row inmate who s coerced into killing at the   behest of a mystifying figure. Obscene violence  steeped in dizzying levels of gore made for what  

[00:47] some consider a murder simulator. Yet, others,  especially in retrospect, perceive a semblance   of depth that s long gone unappreciated. Everything that intrigued gamers and   countless critics about it didn t go over well  in other circles, however. Controversy enveloped  

[01:02] Manhunt soon after its arrival, manifested  in the outcries of parent-led organizations,   the violent video game-banning efforts of many  politicians, and the discourse surrounding   the psychological effects of such games. Arguably, the contempt that plagued Manhunt  

[01:16] harkened back to that which was leveled at  horror films throughout the 1980s. It even   became embroiled in rumors and conjecture  regarding a murder investigation. Despite   the tumultuous drama, which inevitably led to  Manhunt being banned in a number of countries,  

[01:29] Rockstar managed to secure approval for a sequel.  Unsurprisingly, the mere announcement of Manhunt   2 spawned a fair helping of controversy.  And, still, both adventures went on to   become beloved cult classics. This is the history of Manhunt.  

[02:00] By the time leading development team Rockstar  North began production on Manhunt around the   year 2000, a separate Rockstar team was well  on its way to causing a stir with Grand Theft   Auto III and Vice City. These seminal experiences  launched on the PlayStation 2 in 2001 and 2002,  

[02:17] respectively, resulting in backlash that  even unsettled some of the developers.   According to a 2007 blog post by former Rockstar  employee Jeff Williams, Manhunt s creation nearly   caused a mutiny within the company. It was too  controversial, specifically on the heels of GTA  

[02:34] III and Vice City, both of which featured a level  of violence that could be rationalized. Apart from   the standard bad guy, players were never forced  to kill anyone. Therefore, Williams argued,   it was possible to play the series with a degree  of moral fiber. Manhunt, on the other hand, lacked  

[02:50] similar nuance. The studio couldn t explain away  that game, Williams surmised, while expressing   his belief that they d crossed a line. Manhunt co-creator Christian Cantamessa,   who wrote the 200-page script with fellow  co-creator Alan Davidson and Vice City scribe  

[03:06] James Worrall, later explained that Manhunt wasn  t designed to incite so much contention. Rather,   especially in video games. During a Masterclass  discussion with Jeux Vid o Magazine in 2019,  

[03:20] Cantamessa called the project a contemplation of  violence, one wherein Rockstar aimed to explore   the player s role and that of game developers who  orchestrate said violence. Interestingly, this   was all born out of a relatively simple idea. In the Masterclass, Cantamessa divulged that  

[03:36] Manhunt s origins were cultivated within an  experimental phase for Rockstar. The core   idea was set in stone by studio President  Sam Houser s desire to produce a horror   game. Houser left Cantamessa to work out the  specifics with one key caveat no zombies,  

[03:51] vampires, or other monster-like creatures.  Just make it scary, Cantamessa was told.   With these instructions, Cantamessa and Davidson,  an illustrator with a graphic artstyle akin   to that of Frank Miller, set about conceiving a  narrative wherein the protagonist must hide while  

[04:07] being chased. The basic premise originated from  a piece of art drawn by Davidson, which depicted   a man running beneath an underpass. Only his  shadow and lower body were on display; meanwhile,   the shadows of unseen figures chasing him loomed  close behind. A Clockwork Orange immediately came  

[04:23] to mind for Cantamessa; he thought it would  be ingenious to have players assume the role   of a homeless man who s tormented by gangs. The creative team then began riffing off the   gang-centric angle, setting the foundation for  Cantamessa to script a serial killer backstory.  

[04:37] Workshopped story ideas informed the snuff  movie aspect, resulting in a twisted version   of the 1987 film The Running Man. Thus, Manhunt  came to life, a game centered around someone   directing a snuff movie that showcases  the player-character s killing and being  

[04:52] killed. The security camera feature felt very  appropriate, Cantamessa remembered. Little did   the studio know during these incipient stages  of production that what did and did not pass   as appropriate would rule much of the discourse  surrounding their experimental horror project.  

[05:13] Manhunt first entered public  consciousness as Project Manhunt   in December of 2002. In an earnings  statement, Rockstar s parent company   Take-Two Interactive boasted of plans to  deliver multiple blockbusters in fall 2003,  

[05:26] including Project Manhunt a title Take-Two  had yet to announce. According to IGN,   Rockstar expressed an unwillingness to comment  further, considering it too early in development   to share details. Neither hide nor hair would  be heard of Manhunt again until the next summer,  

[05:41] once media outlets began previewing the title.  Within said previews were tales of a grisly   adventure that tasked players with surviving the  most sordid of circumstances as James Earl Cash.  

[05:53] As a death row inmate, Cash s in-game  introduction saw him entering a death   chamber before his execution by lethal  injection. The capital punishment didn t take,   though. Cash awoke sometime later in Carcer City,  a hellish ghost town mimicking urban decay. Lionel  

[06:11] Starkweather, an enigmatic figure known as the  Director, greeted Cash through an earpiece,   merely explaining that he d received another  roll of the dice. Of course, there existed a   catch a series of gangs, comprised of the worst  kind of criminals, were on the hunt for Cash,  

[06:27] all wanting to murder him. Because of Carcer  City s carefully guarded perimeter and the myriad   strategically placed cameras, every bit of the  action would be captured on tape for the Director   s reality TV-style snuff film. This premise alone  seemed daring for a video game at the time.  

[06:44] Previews in the months ahead of launch  spoke of the paradoxical sense of control,   whereby players represented both hunter and prey.  Many journalists described Manhunt as the perfect   stealth experience, drawing comparisons to  Splinter Cell. Stealthily slinking through  

[06:59] shadows was tense, with sight and sound proving  crucial to Cash s survival. Being spotted or   heard seemed a death sentence, then. And what  a death sentence these mistakes incited.   However, a number of previews hinted that Manhunt  s truly grim nature manifested in the executions  

[07:16] Cash performed on others. Successfully sneaking  behind an enemy triggered three different types   of kill animations, each assigned color-coded  indicators that came in hues of white, yellow,   and red. Immediate executions were marked by a  white arrow, allowing players to unleash a hasty  

[07:32] execution tamer than the rest. A yellow arrow  appeared when players waited a few seconds,   resulting in a violent execution that  was slower to unfold and notably gross.   Finally, the red indicator flashed after six  seconds, meaning Cash would perform a gruesome  

[07:48] execution an unsettling display of savagery  even by violent video game standards. The   camera s switch to security footage of Cash  s behavior accentuated the snuff film factor,   further proof the sadistic Director watched  and recorded every act of brutality.  

[08:04] Such talk of Manhunt s vicious gameplay circulated  like wildfire ahead of its November 2003 release   on the PS2. Suffice it to say, few were surprised  by the controversy that ignited post-release.  

[08:16] Manhunt reviewed favorably upon its PS2  launch. Though lackluster in places due to   subpar enemy AI behaviors, many critics found  the stealth mechanics impressive. Other core   gameplay mechanics failed to receive  similar praise. Combat, for example,  

[08:31] felt serviceable at best. Against three or  more enemies, shooting and melee efforts,   which functioned in a crude manner akin to  GTA, were fruitless. This especially held true   since Manhunt rewarded stealth above all else. A  faulty control scheme intensified frustrations,  

[08:47] specifically when the camera switched  perspectives for cinematic scenes.   The cinematic sections were worth the hassle,  though if one could stomach the brutal encounters.   Thanks to Rockstar s work with Renderware, the  game engine that powered previous GTA entries,  

[09:02] Manhunt s grisly cutscenes appeared stylish.  Overall, the visuals warranted praise across   the board. Noteworthy lighting effects  and detailed character models particularly   elevated the experience. This same attention  to detail surfaced in the game s environments,  

[09:16] which Rockstar achieved because of  Manhunt s comparably smaller spaces.   Audio design and music received a bulk of the  applause, as well. The soundtrack s synthesized   tunes were reminiscent of those that pervade  John Carpenter films. Carefully navigating  

[09:30] environments felt all the more tense due  to ambient sounds and enemy chatter. And   the Director s eerily gleeful commentary  ensured discomfort remained ever-present.   Despite Rockstar s storytelling efforts, Manhunt s  narrative didn t garner many compliments. In fact,  

[09:45] most agreed that while the premise stimulated  intrigue, the story itself failed to offer   any substance. Cash merely moved from  one level to the next with no payoff;   consequently, players would pass through several  sections without gleaning new information.  

[10:00] To a number of critics, though, even those outside  of the gaming press, Manhunt s highs and lows were   undermined by what was perceived as gratuitous  violence. It quickly earned the reputation of   the most violent game ever made. In turn, the  stunning visuals, detailed character models,  

[10:15] and exceptional audio design didn t do Rockstar  s venture into horror any favors. New Zealand   s ban on the title further increased Manhunt s  notoriety. So, too, did the harsh critiques from   U.S. politician Joe Baca. Though he hadn t played  it, the California state Representative referred  

[10:31] to Manhunt as a tool teaching children how to  kill. Regardless of the incessant negative press,   no one could ve anticipated the game s  implication in a murder investigation.  

[10:44] In February of 2004, 14-year-old Stefan  Pakeerah was lured to a park in Leicester,   England by a friend, 17-year-old Warren Leblanc.  Amid what s cited as a robbery gone wrong,  

[10:56] Leblanc stabbed Pakeerah to death numerous  times with a claw hammer and knife.   Following a July 2004 court hearing wherein  Leblanc pled guilty to murder, Pakeerah s mother   claimed she heard Leblanc s friends speaking  of how he d been obsessed with Manhunt prior  

[11:10] to enacting the heinous crime that took her son  s life. Having read promotional excerpts online,   Mrs. Pakeerah believed the game encouraged  brutal killing. As far as she was concerned,   if Leblanc was obsessed by it, it could well be  that the boundaries for him became quite hazy. The  

[11:25] victim s father agreed; before long, both parents  began advocating for the banning of Manhunt.   Print media, online publications, and TV  broadcasts latched on to the claims with   haste. British tabloids notoriously fueled  the fire at every opportunity. Moreover,  

[11:40] several retailers responded to the unsubstantiated  allegation by pulling Manhunt from store shelves.   The now-defunct Dixons famously ceased sales of  the game, conjecturing in a statement that it   had sparked the murder of Stefan Pakeerah.  Similarly, UK-based retailer Game promised  

[11:57] to no longer stock the product out of respect  for the victim. Rockstar and Take-Two responded   with a statement, sending condolences to the  Pakeerah family, but rejecting any connection   between Manhunt and the tragic killing. Instigation from since-disbarred U.S. attorney  

[12:11] Jack Thompson exacerbated the situation. Thompson  had been known for campaigning against the sale of   violent games to youth, considering such titles  murder simulators. Upon joining the Manhunt   discourse, Thompson claimed he sent a letter to  producers, warning of potential copycat murders.  

[12:26] The Pakeerah family hired him not too long  thereafter in an attempt to sue Rockstar and   Sony. But any intended lawsuit lasted a short  while, due to an unexpected turn of events.   the media falsely reported the game as  having been discovered in Warren Leblanc  

[12:44] s bedroom. By early August, however, the police  divulged that Manhunt was actually uncovered   among the belongings of the victim, Stefan  Pakeerah. Consequently, the Leicestershire   Constabulary insisted it could discern no link  between Manhunt and the murder; the motive,  

[12:59] a spokesperson confirmed, was robbery. This revelation did little to obstruct the tabloid   narrative, however. Within its report on Leblanc  s sentencing in September of 2004, one month after   police released the aforementioned statement,  Daily Mail referred to the Pakeerah case as the  

[13:14] Manhunt Murder in its headline. In an act reeking  of yellow journalism, the article later described   Leblanc s actions as those inspired by an apparent  obsession with a violent video game. Manhunt 2   inevitably inherited its predecessor s contrived  connection to this particular case.  

[13:36] Rockstar s Vice President of Production  Development, Jeronimo Barrera,   told GameSpot in a 2007 interview the company  did not hesitate to develop another Manhunt   when the opportunity arose. Apparently,  fans constituted a major motivating factor;  

[13:50] it performed well enough and gained quite the  cult following. The studio s love for horror   also made the decision a no-brainer. Therefore,  production on Manhunt 2 began in 2004; Rockstar  

[14:05] Vienna stepped in as lead developer, while  Rockstar North was hard at work on San Andreas.   Instead of a true sequel, Manhunt 2 functioned  akin to each GTA successor, expanding upon   the previous entry s narrative themes, style,  and gameplay mechanics. According to Barrera,  

[14:20] Rockstar wanted to thrust players into a situation  reminiscent of Manhunt, then present them with   more difficult survival choices borne out of  an emphasis on heavy psychology. Apart from   outlining these basic tenets, Rockstar initially  focused its efforts on fleshing out the story.  

[14:34] Writers were then able to work alongside game  designers, guaranteeing gameplay operated in   tandem with the carefully crafted world. Not every developer was able to see this   vision through to completion. Take-Two shuttered  Rockstar Vienna in May of 2006. Rockstar Vienna  

[14:50] Designer Jurie Horneman divulged in a blog post  that Take-Two s decision was reportedly based   new console generation. In terms of Take-Two s  wider business operations, these growing pains  

[15:03] paled in comparison to the deluge of obstacles  that emerged following the sequel s unveiling.   Take-Two announced Manhunt 2 on February  6, 2007 for the PS2, PSP, and Wii. Rockstar  

[15:18] London had taken over production for the  PlayStation versions after the Vienna studio   s closure. Meanwhile, Rockstar Toronto, known  for the beat em up The Warriors, was assigned   Rockstar preemptively addressed the forthcoming  backlash, telling MCV the sequel would only be  

[15:36] suitable for those old enough to purchase it.  The statement further acknowledged that certain   individuals continued to wrongfully link Manhunt  to the Pakeerah case, despite court transcripts   proving that no correlation existed. Pakeerah s mother issued a statement of  

[15:49] her own soon thereafter, calling Manhunt  2 s reveal an insult as it had come during   the anniversary month of her son s killing. Mrs.  Pakeerah went as far as to condemn violent games   in their totality. Game moguls, she called big  video game companies, steadily obtained wealth  

[16:04] from morally indecent products. As far as she was  concerned, there remained much work to be done.   Member of Parliament for Leicester Keith Vaz lent  his full support to the Pakeerah family s stance,   brought under control. Unbeknownst to Take-Two and  Rockstar, Vaz s comments would soon prove true.  

[16:25] Evidence of such a crusade first manifested in  the return of attorney Jack Thompson. The month   following Manhunt 2 s reveal, Thompson shared  a press release concerning his intention to sue   Take-Two in an attempt to prohibit the sale of  Manhunt 2 and GTA IV to anyone under the age of  

[16:40] 17. Because neither had received a rating from the  ESRB, Thompson s efforts seemed premature. Still,   his bravado served as a boon for Take-Two,  which preemptively filed a petition to   prevent Thompson from moving forward with his  objective. In a rather amusing countersuit,  

[16:55] Thompson accused Take-Two of partaking in a RICO  conspiracy, a racketeering scheme that he alleged   also involved various games media outlets,  including Joystiq, the ESA, and GameSpot.   Ultimately, the yearslong Take-Two and Jack  Thompson saga concluded with a settlement in  

[17:10] April of 2007, restricting Thompson from pursuing  further legal action against the publisher s   games. In turn, Take-Two dropped two lawsuits it  had filed against the attorney one stemmed from a   contempt of court issue during a case regarding  another controversial Rockstar project Bully.  

[17:26] This settlement rid Take-Two and Rockstar of  Thompson s interference for the most part. Yet,   within months the two companies found themselves  dodging slings and arrows from politicians,   ratings boards, and other entities hellbent  on ensuring Manhunt 2 hit stores shelves in  

[17:41] as restricted a manner as possible. Days after the Jack   Thompson situation s resolution, Take-Two  unleashed an official trailer for Manhunt   2. At the time, the sequel remained on  schedule for a summer 2007 release. These  

[17:58] launch plans were eventually derailed  by a series of ratings issues.   Two of the sequel s most significant pre-release  blows came from rulings by the BBFC, then the   UK games ratings board, and the ESRB. On June  19th, the BBFC refused to classify the sequel,  

[18:13] banning the title in one of the world  s leading markets. Board Director David   Cooke claimed the game encouraged visceral  killing that veered into a realm of casual   sadism. This marked the first time the BBFC  had banned a game since 1997 s Carmageddon.  

[18:28] Rockstar s horror venture didn t fare any better  across the pond, since the ESRB assigned Manhunt   2 an AO rating for Adults Only. An AO rating  meant the majority of American retailers wouldn   t stock the product Target, Walmart, Best  Buy, and GameStop among them. Worse still,  

[18:44] an Adults Only tag guaranteed a title could  launch on neither a PlayStation nor a Nintendo   platform. By June 23rd, Take-Two had no choice  but to temporarily suspend Manhunt 2 s release,   while Rockstar went about censoring the project. Rockstar completed its content edits rather  

[19:01] quickly, resubmitting the sequel for revised  ratings in August of 2007. The ESRB found the   changes sufficient enough to warrant a Mature  rating. As expected, this ruffled the feathers   of a few anti-violent video game activists, chief  among them California State Senator Leland Yee,  

[19:16] best known for his 2005 legislation that attempted  to ban the sale of violent games. Yee demanded the   ESRB disclose its reasoning for Manhunt 2  s downgrade to an M rating. ESRB President  

[19:28] Patricia Vance refused, noting that their  dealings with publishers were confidential.   Alongside the Campaign for a Commercial-Free  Childhood, Yee made another attempt to force   the board s hand by urging the Federal Trade  Commission to investigate the ESRB s rating  

[19:42] practices. This, too, proved fruitless. Efforts to reinstate Manhunt 2 s AO rating   cropped up once more post-launch, after  hackers managed to unlock the game s   uncensored version on PS2 and PSP. The Parents  Television Council and a handful of Senators,  

[19:58] Hillary Clinton included, implored the ESRB to  re-review its ruling. Again, the board refused,   arguing that neither Rockstar nor the ESRB were  responsible for the unauthorized use of software.  

[20:10] Take-Two and Rockstar had a harder time appeasing  the BBFC. Even after Manhunt 2 was censored,   the organization wouldn t budge. According to  Board Director David Cooke, the revisions were   insufficient, specifically with regards to a  number of execution kills that retained their  

[20:25] casually sadistic nature. Manhunt 2 finally  launched in Britain on Halloween in 2008,   following the Video Appeals Committee  s overturning of the BBFC ruling.   Naturally, such controversy spawned  from the game s original version. Thus,  

[20:43] the censoring of Manhunt 2 was  rather significant. Rockstar only   discussed a select number of alterations  publicly, but other details concerning   excised content surfaced courtesy of the  aforementioned hack on PlayStation systems.  

[20:56] Though floored by the ratings debacle, Rockstar  focused on how best to retain its vision in having   to censor Manhunt 2, Jeronimo Barrera told MTV  News in a post-launch interview. Interestingly,   obscured execution kills served as the  more conspicuous changes. Rather than  

[21:11] depict bloody encounters in detail, execution  animations were blurred and altered with color   overlays. MTV News additionally noted it saw a  preview build earlier in 2007, which featured a  

[21:23] scoring system akin to the original Manhunt. The  final product included no such element. Barrera   explained the rating fiasco encouraged Rockstar to  reevaluate the system s effectiveness. Ultimately,   the team decided the sequel flowed better  without a score screen flashing between  

[21:38] levels. Other pre-release previews had  teased the notorious pliers execution,   in which male genitalia were gruesomely mutilated.  This landed on the cutting room floor, as well.   A whole host of other cuts to Rockstar s  uncensored build included unused weapons and  

[21:53] environmental kills. Some scrapped pieces of code  suggest a number of levels were cancelled, while   those that remained were shifted around in order  of appearance. Arguably, the most fascinating   of content cuts emerged via unused audio files. A  few files in particular revolve around the Sexual  

[22:09] Deviants level that s set in a dungeon beneath  a strip club. In the censored version, players   encountered a man being tortured near a dentist  s chair. Evidenced by the sound of a whirring   dentist s drill, uncensored audio clips indicate a  female was originally on the receiving end of the  

[22:24] torture scene. Other files imply players would  ve stumbled across female asylum patients, too.   In the end, fans and critics shared mixed opinions  about the effects of Manhunt 2 s myriad changes.  

[22:40] Narratively, Manhunt 2 centered on Daniel Lamb,  a scientist who once took part in a covert   neurological weapons program The Pickman Project.  Amid the discontinuation of the project s funding,   Lamb volunteered as a test subject. He awoke six  years later in Dixmor Asylum, mentally insane and  

[22:58] completely unaware of his identity. Luckily for  Lamb, a power outage gave him the opportunity   to learn about his past and The Pickman Project,  alongside his companion Leo Kasper. While Manhunt  

[23:10] 2 s core story wasn t as inherently controversial  as its predecessor s, the execution clearly   managed to kick up even more of a stir. The  sequel failed to garner Manhunt s praise, though.   Reviews for Manhunt 2 were middling. As  with the first entry, reviewers agreed that  

[23:26] Rockstar managed to craft an intriguing plot.  However, the overarching narrative failed to   feel engaging. Enemy AI hadn t improved  much either. Several critics mentioned   running into glitches, citing instances  of enemies getting stuck between objects,  

[23:40] failing to acknowledge Lamb s presence, or  patrolling areas for longer than necessary.   These issues were exacerbated by Quick Time  Events that triggered when foes prowled nearby.   Despite AI-related troubles, and rudimentary  combat controls, the game never presented  

[23:55] players with a true challenge. Unlike Cash  in Manhunt, Lamb hardly seemed as if he was   in any real danger. Players simply moved  from level to level, engaging in the same   monotonous actions. And once guns entered the  mix, the challenge only diminished further.  

[24:12] The censoring of executions represented another  downside; many argued that Rockstar s vision   seemed crippled or neutered. Stripping Manhunt  2 of the franchise s identity, then, reduced   it to a bland stealth game in some respects. We ll never know if Rockstar s uncensored vision  

[24:28] for Manhunt 2 would have culminated in a more  compelling sequel, especially given the change   in development teams partway through production.  Although, it s worth noting that in the wake   of Manhunt 2 s release, an ex-Rockstar  Vienna producer revealed over 50 former  

[24:41] staff members weren't credited. While Manhunt 2  received modifications after Vienna s two-year   tenure ended, the producer alleged that much  of Vienna s work made it to the final build.  

[25:05] Despite the controversy, time has been kind to  the Manhunt franchise, particularly the initial   installment the subject of many a celebratory  retrospective in recent years. During his 2019   Masterclass with Jeux Vid o, series co-creator  Christian Cantamessa posited that perhaps the  

[25:21] animosity was a product of the timing not  being right for an uncomfortable conversation   about society s relationship with violence. At a  combined 1.7 million copies sold as of March 2008,  

[25:33] a third Manhunt wouldn t be the most lucrative  option for Rockstar. And, apart from a recent   update to Manhunt 3 s website, nothing substantial  suggests that such an endeavor is on the studio s   radar. However, the zeitgeist has shifted in  favor of more mature games since the PS2 era,  

[25:49] so perhaps the time is right for a third trek  through Rockstar s sordid world of cruelty.