8Bit/Digi

A Game of Death

Like many, I enjoy this spooky period of the year, but the time for straight-up scares, goblins, ghouls, and other monsters feels like something meant for a bit closer to Halloween. In contrast, the first part of the season gives off a different vibe. Late September, early October, that’s when tensions start to rise, when the night comes earlier, and we begin second-guessing our overactive imaginations. People become a little less brave when it comes time to check the shadows. That’s the kind of setting that reminds me of Manhunt. The air is a little cooler (even though one NPC keeps complaining about the AC), danger keeps getting closer, and the murders, well, they’re just getting started.  

That’s why we’re diving back into a familiar game for this year’s Gamers Nightmare, looking at a complex title a second time with a little more inspection on its more atmospheric qualities. It’d be easy to write an entire piece just on Piggsy, or how depraved Starkweather truly is, but this is more to establish the overall vibe and get some new people to try a title that has very little chance of ever being remastered or remade. There are many reasons it’s worth talking about again, but some may not be aware of Manhunt’s reputation. 

This is a game that’s violent, atmospheric, and extremely raw. Most people know it for the controversy, calling it a video game-nasty, referring to this title as a snuff film simulator, or saying that it was never anything special, simply benefitting from the hype, but Manhunt had something to say, and in the process, it would remind its players that we all have a sick side, that the violence is hard to look away from, even a bit sexy in a way, because while bearing down on the sickos, when the scum is hunting us, the killing gets easier and a little more familiar with each stacked body.

The things that were considered controversial years ago often become ‘old hat’ quickly, with people decrying the piece of media as overreactions or questioning how anything could be thought of as worrisome with that level of graphics. Manhunt did make waves, however, being banned in several countries and blamed for a murder in the U.K. after police said the killer owned a copy of the game. Manhunt was critically praised by many, and referred to as just a violence simulator, promoting ritualistic slaughter, by others. In this case, however, even some of the people who worked on the title thought it was too much, to the point that it reportedly almost caused a ‘mutiny’ within Rockstar.

Surviving the Game

Talk and press are cheap. What matters is if the game is any good, right? Manhunt is, and it still feels somewhat unique. It’s a stealth game that doesn’t let players get too brash, where each new area needs to be treated like a puzzle. The adventure is difficult, but dying often feels like a tactical mistake or user error over the few times it genuinely screws with us. This type of action requires patience and determination, while coming across as a nurturing challenge as we get better at each scene, learning our prey. There are a few gimmicks along the way to switch things up, facing doors that require certain keys or tools, like having to escort a bum – voiced by Mark Margolis from Breaking Bad, strangely – around, saving innocent people, or even being forced to make gruesome enough kills before we can proceed. This is not a place for pacifists.

Manhunt’s story is simple, pulled back to let the carnage do most of the speaking, while still being quite solid. A man named Lionel Starkweather (voiced by the spectacular Brian Cox) wants to make a movie—art through violence, some call it snuff, others will say it’s a masterpiece. For that, he needs a new leading man, someone who won’t be missed and can meet the grueling requirements of the role—a stone-cold killer named James Earl Cash (Stephen Wilfong). Set to be executed, Cash’s lethal injection didn’t finish the job, but rather acted as a rebirth, with the former death row inmate now set loose on the city while The Director, Starkweather, barks orders and encourages the massacre in his ear while filming every disgusting moment. Here we have a mixture of The Most Dangerous Game (Richard Connell) meets The Running Man (Stephen King), with a little gang inspiration from The Warriors (1979). What we get is a Rockstar title that has a sense of style, interesting mechanics, and a focused sense of violence that’s less cartoonish, while still managing to be over the top without screaming satire in the way their other titles have.

Battle Royale

That’s all excellent, and I love that Manhunt feels different, but what helps cement it as a game I enjoy revisiting (even when I suck at it), especially this time of year, is the atmosphere. This story takes place in Carcer City, over one extremely long and painful night with a chill in the air and the smell of blood permeating the streets (and I’m sure some of these guys we killed had to have shit themselves too). It’s dark, which is good for us, and it also adds to the looming fear, making us feel a little more uncomfortable when we’re under the fluorescent lights or near a fire. This area is in economic distress; everything appears used and broken. Many places we’ve turned into killing fields, like the zoo, prison, and local mall, look abandoned, covered in grime and sadness. We’re seeing some of this through Starkweather’s cameras, marring the sights with bad tracking, grainy footage, and eerie seclusion. The only people we meet here are all trying to kill us, or are in even more danger than us.

Only the chains on the doors and the cameras that record us on every corner look new, reminding us that we’re the star, but this movie’s climax is likely to end with Cash becoming the victim for the elite, a selection of depraved viewers. There is blood sprayed across the checkered floors, rats scurry around unimpeded, the furniture is beyond repair, and it all reminds me of pictures from a war zone. Makeshift weapons litter the pavement until we can find something sturdier. I try not to use the guns until the game forces me to, wanting to be that silent assassin. The environments are excellently crafted, playing with the light, blurring textures overtaken by rust and decay, and creating a sickly dreamlike feeling, bombarding us with colorful characters against a sea of browns, greens, and grays. Through the nightmare, as we dive deeper into Hell, the locations get a little nicer, as the enemies we face get worse.

Manhunter

We kill our way through gangs with names like the Hoods, Skinz, Wardogs, Innocentz, and Smileys, groups of deranged psychopaths full of criminals, rogue law enforcement, killers, cannibals, pedophiles, and even occultists. They’re all decked out and ready to fight, wearing hoods, camouflage, creepy smiling masks, body armor, and mohawks, to make sure we know who to stab. If they weren’t bad enough, there is Starkweather’s personal guard he calls Cerberus. They’re all a little different with tiny bits of personality, but ready to go violent at a moment’s notice. These future sidewalk stains will puff their chests out, make animal noises, and hurl taunts, insults, and bad words when they think they have Cash on the run, even trying to trick the players at times, saying they’ve lost us, setting a trap. So, we sneak up, listen to them chit-chat, whistle, or talk to themselves as they walk their predetermined paths. Later on, they learn to be more complex in their movement, stick together, and even shoot some of the dark patches they can’t see into. It’s hunter versus those who think they are, and the prey is part of that rich environment.

This is all made so much better by the excellent soundtrack and effects. There’s some wonderful voice acting as well, even if Cash himself doesn’t always sound convincing. I also just learned from researching the game this time around that Jon Bernthal, the Punisher himself, did some motion capture work for the Cerberus soldiers in Manhunt. That’s nuts.Manhunt isn’t perfect; the controls are a little difficult, and the camera we use to look around can be jarring at first. Cash moves slowly, and there is certainly a bit of a learning curve, but for anyone willing to give this title a little time and who has the patience to become that stalker in the shadows that Starkweather wants, it still feels unique and enjoyable. Manhunt brings me back to a certain time of the year, a feeling of more grounded horror just before the supernatural is let loose, and for those who are just craving a scary slasher, well, that’s what the Piggsy fight is for.

Did you ever play Manhunt and what are your thoughts on it? Let us know in the comments section.

8Bit/Digi is an independent media outlet that provides insight into the video game community and industry of the San Francisco Bay Area.