Manhunt (PC) - Ahead of its time?

Unfriendly character Image © Rockstar

Towards the end of 2003, Rockstar North snuck a game to market. A game that if heavily-publicized, would face blistering reactions from parent groups and knee-jerk bans encouraged by politicians. In April 2004, it came to the PC.

The game is Manhunt - A violent stealth-action game featuring brutal executions and a none-too-cheery plot: You're Cash, a convicted criminal about to die by lethal injection who is mysteriously kidnapped and taken to a run-down American city. Given an earpiece, Cash is told by "The Director" that he is being hunted by gangs. In order to survive, Cash must sneak his way around various locations, performing murder on camera for the Director's snuff films.

Manhunt is clearly a game for adults, not children. On the surface, some may think that it glorifies violence - that it is simply trash that should be pulled from the market. I believe that such a dismissal would be wrong and unjustified. The scenario is a no-win situation with no "good guys". It's made certain that the player is "bad". And that to achieve survival/escape, the player must bring justice upon another horrible person (the Director) by performing awful, murderous deeds on other terrible people (the gangs).

There are many books with challenging themes and despicable imagery/concepts, yet would a public library be pressured to remove all Stephen King books if they also carried J.K. Rowling's works? No. But that is the sort of treatment that video games get.

Comic books suffered a similar intellectual shunning in the past, in that it was impossible for any comic to be taken seriously. Any comics featuring art or stories not appropriate for kids were banned - and stores refused to sell them. (For more information, see the documentary Comic Book Confidential.) To an extent, this problem still exists, but over the last decade or so a certain portion of the market has finally been allowed to be perceived as having grown up. The Comics Code Authority no longer has absolute censorious power over Marvel and DC.

The video game industry needs an educated, high-profile group to be its champion. A group that could respond to critics with a unified front, to support the artists that push the medium and challenge the players. In the current tense North American atmosphere, it is easy to imagine a scenario that could instigate legislation that would set the industry back decades.

In short - the industry is vulnerable, and needs your support.