A different kind of horror altogether, Rockstar’s controversial Manhunt series became infamous for its grisly executions.
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What do you get when you take Rockstar’s infamous Grand Theft Auto series, strip down the free roam for cramped and shadowy corridors, infuse the gameplay with violent stealth mechanics, and turn the gore meter to 11? You get the Manhuntseries, of course.
I thought that the original Manhuntwas a little bit hit or miss at times, but Rockstar really sealed the deal in 2007 with their gruesome sequel. There have been very few games that truly pushed the boundaries of censorship more in recent years than Manhunt 2, and Daniel Lamb’s story of revenge following his escape from the Dixmor Aslyum for the Criminally Insane still strikes a strong horror chord from somewhere deep under the skin.
While Manhunt 2 may not be the first game that comes to mind when you think of the horror genre, I think there is certainly something to be said for the absolutely frightening, horrifying, and in some cases, downright sickening content that pours from this game like a plague. Manhunt 2 features monsters of an entirely different kind, the dark side of humanity, and in a way, I think it is exactly this sense of realism that makes the game so scary (and so wonderful, as it turns out).
The true terror of Manhunt 2 has a lot to do with the game’s executions. Daniel can murder his enemies in a number of ways throughout the game, but it is in the stealth-based, up close and personal executions with everyday items that really send a shiver down your spine. From smothering someone with a plastic bag, to cutting someone’s throat with a piece of glass, Rockstar holds nothing back with these bloody and visceral scenarios that make up the bulk of Manhunt 2. In fact, the executions cut scenes themselves were considered so gruesome that the game almost didn’t make its release in many regions until Rockstar offered edited depictions of the murders themselves.
Perhaps even more surprising than the executions in Manhunt 2 (censored or not) was the fact that the controversial game had also been released on the Nintendo Wii, one of the most family-friendly consoles of all time. This inadvertently led to one of my most favorite moments surrounding the world of Manhunt 2: a fan-made joke commercial that spoofed Nintendo’s line of “Wii Would Like to Play” TV ads, only intercut with grisly footage of Manhunt 2 gameplay. So you would see a family smiling and laughing around the TV as Dad swung the Wii Remote, directly followed by an on-screen Daniel upper-cutting an enemy’s face with a baseball bat. You can watch the fake promo in all of its glory right over here.
Will the world ever get a Manhunt 3? I think an idea like that could definitely be possible one day, especially given the fact that extreme violence has seemingly become a bit more acceptable in games since the days of 2007. But in either case, if a future sequel is anywhere near as horrific as Manhunt 2 was, I can only imagine the darkness we’ll see.
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