Manhunt (video game)

Manhunt is a 2003 stealth game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. The first entry in the Manhunt series, it was released for the PlayStation 2 in November 2003, followed by Microsoft Windows and Xbox releases in April 2004. Set within the fictional Carcer City, the story follows James Earl Cash, a death row prisoner who is forced to participate in a series of snuff films, earning his freedom by murdering criminal gang members sent to hunt him on camera. The game received positive reviews from critics and won several accolades, with particular praise directed at its dark, gritty tone and violent gameplay, although the combat and level design were criticized. Manhunt was subject to a significant video game controversy due to the level of graphic violence depicted, banned in several countries, and implicated in a murder by the UK media, although this accusation was later rejected by the police and courts. While not a commercial hit, Manhunt developed a substantial cult following and was followed by a stand-alone sequel, Manhunt 2, in 2007. Manhunt is a stealth game played from a third-person perspective. The game consists of twenty levels, called "scenes", as well as four unlockable bonus scenes. Players survive the scenes by dispatching enemy gang members, occasionally with firearms, but primarily by stealthily executing them. At the end of each scene, players are graded based on their performance, and awarded one to five stars. Unlockable content becomes available when the player achieves three or more stars on a certain number of levels. On normal difficulty (called "Fetish"), players can earn only four stars; one is awarded for completing the scene under a certain amount of time, and one to three stars are awarded based on the brutality of the executions carried out during the scene. On hard difficulty (called "Hardcore"), players are graded out of five stars; one for speed, one to three for brutality and one for completing the scene.