The inherent flaw in this logic, however, is the reliance on predicting what another person will find offensive, particularly with respect to the gray boundaries of sex and violence.Īs an example, Martin Scorcese has stated that the scene in Casino in which Joe Pesci’s character tortures and kills a man by putting his head in a vice was intended to be cut by the MPAA, allowing him more flexibility in the rest of the film.

The idea is that if you take out what they’re sure to object to, something that you didn’t really want in the first place, you can get away with things that are as graphic as you intended, while appearing to have compromised your way to an R-rating. But does any of that really make a difference? Clearly the player understands what’s going on behind those filters.įilm directors have long filmed particularly graphic scenes never intended to make the final cut, as a form of misdirection for the MPAA. This is similar to the filters that were added to the most violent sections of THQ and Volition’s The Punisher to avoid an Adults Only rating. With the recent announcement that Target is refusing to carry the game, it bears investigating whether or not all this controversy is justified.Īpparently, what allowed Manhunt 2‘s rating to be dialed down to Mature was the blur and graphical filters applied to the grisly kill sequences. So it very well could be that Manhunt 2 was subject to more stringent scrutiny from the ESRB in the wake of those events. In fact, to my knowledge, Rockstar’s only flirtation with AO stemmed from the inadvertent inclusion of the infamous “Hot Coffee Mod” in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. It seems interesting to note that the first Manhunt title did not garner the dreaded Adults Only rating from the ESRB. The fact is they raise eyebrows, but they also happen to make very good games. Whether or not Rockstar sets out to offend is beside the point. Grand Theft Auto, State of Emergency, Bully and even the original Manhunt have all been the subject of scrutiny from the media and various organizations. Certainly Rockstar is no stranger to controversy.

It’s impossible to discuss Manhunt 2 without discussing the issues surrounding its rating and release.

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