It was in 2003 that ‘Manhunt’ was released. ‘Manhunt’ sent shockwaves almost immediately through the mainstream, sparking renewed conversations about video game violence. Despite all the controversies ‘Manhunt’ faced, will it get a season 3?
‘Manhunt’ is an American drama series based on the historical events of real crime. ‘Manhunt’ is now in talks for its upcoming third season. ‘Manhunt’ Season 1 and Season 2 were critically acclaimed and raised by fans for their visual and storytelling concepts. Visually aesthetic and well-designed ‘Manhunt’ series is a fictional screenplay of the real-life investigation of murder and crime. Fans have been waiting for a long time to watch ‘Manhunt’s’ third season, but they have to wait for it to be released.
Highlights:
- The last ‘Manhunt’ game faced a lot of controversies
- ‘Manhunt’ game and series review
The last ‘Manhunt’ game faced a lot of controversies
In 2007, Rockstar had a really hard time launching ‘Manhunt 2’. Because of the intense violence of the sequel, the studio hit a wall, causing the ESRB to give it an AO rating, making it impossible to sell the game in stores or publish it on any website.
In order to get an M rating, Rockstar had to go back and censor the game. All the various forms in which ‘Manhunt 2’ was censored before its release have been chronicled by Project Manhunt, a website dedicated to the story. Significant improvements include blurring execution scenes in order to not only insinuate but not actually see the violence. Certain ways to execute enemies in the game have been removed, including several ways to decapitate players, as well as the use of pliers to castrate NPCs and perform other cruel mutilations.
Even after Rockstar cut back on the most extreme forms of violence in the game, it still had a hard time publishing the game in the UK, where the title was banned, until, a year after, it was released in the US. Worse still, just days after the release in the US, hackers were able to remove the blurring effect from executions, reinstating Rockstar’s original, gory vision. Just a month after its release in the US, a group of senators, including Hillary Clinton, also sent a letter to the ESRB asking the rating board to restore the AO rating to the game. The point is that ‘Manhunt 2’ caused so much trouble to Rockstar that it’s unlikely that the company would ever revisit the series.
‘Manhunt’ game and series review
The cuts made to ‘Manhunt 2’ might have helped its troubled release, but a warm reception did not earn the game. The game currently holds a 67/100 Metacritic aggregate site review, indicating “mixed or average” reviews.
In their review, IGN noted that the sequel did not hit the heights of the original:
“Manhunt 2 isn’t the tour de force title that will grab your attention and keep you there like the first one did.”
“The game looks even worse than its predecessor. The locations and characters are just weirdly generic in comparison“, 1UP said in its even more critical review.
“Really, the game warrants a 4 because it’s technically playable and, despite its best efforts, probably won’t plunge the industry into a period of navel-gazing and political sanction. Everything else about it is largely forgettable.”
With a reception far weaker than its predecessor, ‘Manhunt 2’ could have destroyed the chances of the series ever having another instalment. In order to please the censors, Rockstar will definitely not want to risk bringing out another mediocre product.
Rockstar is not a company usually known for compromising its vision to satisfy a wider audience of gamers (or their parents). Since 2001, the company’s output has generally targeted adults, from the cold-blooded, open-world Western Red Dead Redemption, to all the street-level shootouts of Grand Theft Auto games, frequent trips to strip clubs, and other indulgences generally credited to movie gangsters.
That’s what makes the controversy about ‘Manhunt 2’ all the more remarkable. Unable to convince the ESRB to award the game with M rating, Rockstar saw itself compelled to censor ‘Manhunt 2’, thus straying from its original violent vision. To accommodate the additional work needed to earn an M rating, Rockstar had to delay the game from its original July 2007 release date to October.
So, what do you think? Will there be a ‘Manhunt’ Season 3 or not? Let us know your opinion in the comments below.
