Manhunt: Retrospective | MojoPlays

Brutal. Violent. Shocking. These are a few words many people use to describe “Manhunt”. The 2003 Rockstar title and it’s sequel has made quite a name for itself in the past decade and a half. Headlines have called the game “legendary”, “a masterpiece”, and allegedly “promoting vigilantism”. Some prominent critics ranged from company CEO’s, a certain now barred lawyer, and even various US Sentators including Hillary Clinton. Of course, for games as graphic and violent as this, “Manhunt 1 & 2” would be banned by several countries. Some nations even went so far as to make it a federal offense to possess a copy of the games! So, its fame and infamy will all depend on who you’re talking to. Given how long it’s been since the game launch, does the first “Manhunt” still retain its shock value? Does it still deserve the glowing praise critics have continued to give it? If you have never played or heard of “Manhunt”, it isn’t your typical Rockstar game. Despite being a post-”Grand Theft Auto III” game, “Manhunt” is a linear survival horror with stealth mechanics. You play as James Earl Cash, a prisoner placed on death row and executed by lethal injection. However, Cash wakes up to find himself at the mercy of a mysterious character known only as “the Director”, who promises Cash his freedom so long as Cash assists him in making the ultimate snuff film. To do this, Cash must traverse dark alleys and abandoned buildings while avoiding and killing gangs of Neo-Nazis, mercenaries, and murderous psychopaths. While it didn’t see the same lavish praise as the “Grand Theft Auto” games, “Manhunt” still garnered high acclaim. Many critics gave “Manhunt” high review scores for delivering an overall experience that was intense and entertaining...in a sadistic way. Back in 2014, we put “Manhunt” at #6 for the Top 10 Rockstar Games, noting its controversial violence and its “tense” and “exhilarating” gameplay. That isn’t to say everyone felt the same way, and out of curiosity, we’ve decided to revisit the supposed “murder simulator” via PlayStation 4 to see if its withstood the test of time. Surprisingly, the graphics aren’t too much of an eye sore. For a game that launched two years after the PlayStation 2, it looks alright. However, that’s as good as it gets. What really hinders us from enjoying the game is in the controls and gameplay. The camera is an absolute hassle to deal with! When you’re moving around, you see everything in third-person, but when standing still, the game cuts to first-person. It’s hard to tolerate this when you’re trying to adjust your positioning to avoid getting spotted. Then, there’s the gameplay, which tries to do something with its melee combat, but it quickly devolves into button-mashing and occasionally getting sucker-punched. To make matters worse, it’s incredibly easy to fail a takedown, and when that happens, you’re forced back into the button-mashing combat. Last, but not least, we have the violence, and boy, it does not hold up well. If you’re expecting the goriest deaths in video games, you’re going to be disappointed. The best executions don’t appear until the very end of the game, and every other execution quickly grows tiresome to pull off, leaving much to be desired. While we understand that this game was released in 2002, we’ve seen games that have been far more brutal and graphic. So, at this point, “Manhunt’s” shock factor is non-existent. This is what makes “Manhunt” so disappointing. We all talk about this game for being so controversial and shocking like it’s the most taboo game ever made. During the public’s struggle with “Manhunt”, media outlets and critics continuously discussed how “realistic” executions were. Some people even attempted linking crimes with the game, accusations many would deem absurd. Although, our biggest gripe with “Manhunt’s” supposed “controversial” violence stems from the many violent and gory games that came before it. Did the world forget about “Mortal Kombat” and “DOOM”? Both franchises launched in 1992, a whole decade before “Manhunt”, and they have been frequent subjects when discussing violence in video games. Dare we bring up movies and television? “Psycho” was made in 1960 and viewed, at the time, as incredibly violent. “Tom & Jerry” is often referenced when discussing insanely violent cartoons and is so widely-known that their parody counterparts, Itchy and Scratchy from “The Simpsons”, have become television icons alongside them. With all of this in mind, it begs to question if “Manhunt” was as shocking as people made it out to be or if the controversy was conjured out of exaggeration. In retrospect, Manhunt has not aged well, both in quality and controversy. While some may endear its juvenile behavior and mindless ultraviolence, it’s hard to see why the game received so much praise when there’s so much wrong with it. The camera can be infuriating, and the dumbed-down combat is lackluster. As for the violence, you can hear Alfred Hitchcock and Ed Boon laughing. If you’re looking for some video game junk food, maybe you wouldn’t mind “Manhunt”? Really, your enjoyment all depends on ignoring its reputation for being “shocking”, or if you’re looking for some cheap laughs.