Manhunt

In Europe, Manhunt created quite some controversy. In the UK, it was briefly removed from the shelves after 17 year old Warren LeBlanc stabbed his 14 year old friend Stefan Pakeerah on 2004-02-27 with a claw hammer, one of the execution methods found in the game. When it was found that while Stefan owned the game, Warren did not, and the method of the murder was inspired by a movie, not the game, the scandal ebbed down, and the game returned to the shelves.

On 2004-07-19, the Amtsgericht 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 was the first game since the Mortal Kombat series that was confiscated for violence and not for the display of Nazi symbols.

Characters and Gangs

The following two lists were part of the quite extensive Wikipedia article about the game. For some reason, they were repeatedly removed as crufty. I think it's a pity that they should be lost, so here they are:

Characters

James Earl Cash

A vicious criminal who was sent to death row, but instead of a lethal injection, he was only tranquilized due to the work of Starkweather, who bribed the police and prison officials. After waking up, Cash is forced by Starkweather to participate in his "manhunt" snuff films, promising that "it will all be over before the night is out."

Lionel Starkweather

The twisted mastermind behind the whole scenario, the Director communicates to you through an earpiece until after the asylum. According to bonus material, he was once a prominent director who fell out of favor in Hollywood due to some unknown indiscretion and went insane, turning to slasher films and underground pornography to rebuild his funds and using it to turn his enemies into "extras." He tells Cash where to go and sometimes gives special instructions on murdering certain people. Dialog at certain points indicate that he is possibly masturbating to Cash's murder spree. He hides up in the top of his mansion, although some fans debate that Starkweather at the end of the game is actually a decoy, due to the slightly different sounding voice (though as his voice throughout the game is heard through a speaker, the difference may be nothing more than hearing him talk face-to-face), and how his appearance differs from that of the pictures in his mansion (though given Starkweather's pompous attitude, the idea that he would embellish his appearance isn't unthinkable). His voice was provided by the British actor Brian Cox who played Hannibal Lecter in the movie Manhunter.

Ramirez

An enormous military-type with one eye and leader of the Wardogs, Ramirez is seen giving orders to various gangs throughout the game. Cash himself encounters Ramirez at the apartment building with the Wardogs. Ramirez has orders to make sure that Cash is killed, and by the end of the scene only one will be left alive. Ramirez is later killed by Cash as he attempts request reinforcements.

Piggsy

Found dwelling in Starkweather's attic, this fat insane man believes he's a pig and wears the skin of a pig over his head and upper body. Other than that he is naked (his penis is rendered as part of the character model, shadowed out in the game but it can still be seen). Piggsy attacks with a chainsaw that will kill Cash in two hits. Piggsy is a take-off on the famous fictional character "Leatherface," the villain of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, although one might refer to Vincent Smith in Motel Hell, in which Smith wears a pig's head in the final scene and wields a chainsaw. It takes three executions before Cash can go in for the final kill, which takes place just outside Starkweather's room.

The Tramp

In one scene Cash must lead the tramp through the city to the cemetery, protecting him from gang members along the way. He is an alcoholic homeless man and is constantly swigging liquor. He seems oblivious to the danger he is in. Bonus material in the game suggests that he is Kenneth Jesperson, the former leader of the Smileys who has the secret identity of Scarecrow. The character Scarecrow was not used in the game.

The Reporter

A reporter who has been researching Starkweather's activities for some time; Cash must lead back to her apartment so she can collect evidence on the snuff ring, protecting her from the police force along the way. If she is left on her own too long she will come running to find Cash, which puts them both in danger. Her name begins with (or is) "Rob."

The White Rabbit

Found at the end of the asylum, he is a man in a white rabbit suit that Cash hunts. The rabbit is a homage to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The Rabbit is supposed to be the end of the line for Cash, and after he is killed, Starkweather stops giving Cash directions, as he is finished with him.

Gangs

The Hoods

Street thugs (and from what can be gleaned from in-game conversation, off-duty police officers) that usually use baseball bats and clubs as weapons. They wear hoods, or tights, to cover their faces. The Hoods are the first gang Cash encounters. Some appear to be average men, far less disturbing than the gangs encountered later in the game.

The Skins

A gang comprised of white supremacists, they are out to get Cash because he is of mixed race (possibly Mexican-American), although Starkweather may have told them that so they will attack him with more hatred. They are armed with knives, nail guns and metal baseball bats and are found through out the junkyard. The Skins wear goalie masks and are covered in tattoos. Their inclusion may have been a response to the controversial game Ethnic Cleansing which features a white supremacist killing minorities (as the levels in Manhunt require a non-white to kill white supremacists). Ethnic Cleansing was released a year prior to Manhunt.

The Wardogs

A group of military veterans, or wannabes. They are outfitted in camouflage and carry tranquilizer rifles, machetes and knives. They are found throughout the zoo, and later in the game armed with shotguns and sniper rifles in the apartment building. They hold Cash's family hostage in the zoo. Their leader is one of Starkweather's top lieutenants, the one eyed Ramirez.

The Innocentz

A gang of hoodlums (some apparently Satanists) located in the shopping mall and various other parts of the city. They are the first gang encountered who use guns (particularly revolvers and double-barreled shotguns), but are also armed with knives, hatchets, and sickles. The Innocentz have two different types of gang members: the Skullz, a group of latino-style goths who wear skull masks and hoodies, and the Baby Faces, who are fat and wear creepy, doll-like masks. The Skulls seem to be high on drugs, and can be heard to mention peyote. They also pretend to be mad. The Baby Faces are actually insane, and they ramble on crazily and are rumored to be pedophiles.

The Smileys

Truly insane psychotics. They wear yellow smiley face masks, usually with things such as "kill" and "please stop me" scrawled messily across them. They are covered in tattoos and sometimes wear blouses and dresses. Many of them can be heard mimicking women. Perhaps they think that they are female, or maybe they are just repeating their victims' last words. The Smileys appropriately occupy the Darkwoods Penitentiary mental asylum. They could be a reference to an earlier Rockstar North title Grand Theft Auto 2, where the first "island" had an insane asylum with the gang called "The Loonies," who had yellow smiley faces as their logo. They are armed with meat cleavers, revolvers, handguns, sawed-off shotguns and SPAS-12 shotguns.

The Cerberus

A group of ex-spooks and mercenaries on Starkweather's payroll, they are the most dangerous enemy in the game. The Cerberus are equipped with Desert Eagles, SPAS-12 shotguns and M16 rifles, and will make short work of Cash. They usually work in groups, which makes it very hard to take them out. Over the course of the game, they ambush Cash and bring him to a new area, taking his weapons when they do so. They guard Starkweather's mansion and the surrounding grounds, and also make an appearance at the end of the asylum. Unlike the other gangs, who look upon Cash either with disdain, greed, hatred, or due to mental instability do not seem to care much, the Cerberus know what he is capable of (having watched him repeatedly and gruesomely kill many people in the course of a night) and some express fear or admiration of his abilities. Thus, they are much more careful than the gangs and even the police, and will use team tactics and excessive firepower to take him down if necessary.

Carcer City Police Department

The cops in Carcer City are following the orders of the corrupt police chief Gary Schaeffer, who is working for Starkweather. The police are patrolling around the reporter's apartment, in the subway and at the railroad yard. They are armed with nightsticks, revolvers, handguns, SPAS-12 shotguns and sniper rifles. Normally they will chase after the player, but if they find one of their own dead, they will shoot on sight.

SWAT Team

The SWAT Team is called in at the subway and the railroad yard. Armed with Desert Eagles, MAC-10s and SPAS-12 shotguns, they can take care of Cash fast. They also wear body armor and can take more bullets than the average cop.

The Monkeys

A maniac group of men in monkey suits appearing in the zoo in a bonus game, "Monkey See, Monkey Die." The story has it that they are indeed real monkeys and have an appetite for death due to banana shortage. They are extremely fearful, carry shotguns, and go berserk upon spotting the player or hearing noise.

Links

• Project Manhunt
• Wikipedia