To make matters worse, just days after the US release, hackers were able to remove the blurring effect from executions, reinstating Rockstar's original, gory vision. Certain ways to execute enemies in the game were removed, including several ways to decapitate players as well as the use of pliers to castrate NPCs and perform other gruesome mutilations.Įven after Rockstar cut down on the game's most extreme forms of violence, it still had a really hard time publishing the game in the UK, where the title was banned until a year after its US release. Major changes include blurring out execution scenes so that the violence was only insinuated but not actually seen. Project Manhunt, a website devoted to the series, has chronicled all the different ways Manhunt 2 was censored before its release. In order to achieve an M rating, Rockstar had to go back and censor the game. A game about a convict trapped in a twisted director's snuff film, Manhunt sent shockwaves through the mainstream almost immediately, sparking renewed conversations over video game violence, and it was even the subject of proposed legislation in US Congress to fine those who sold 'adult-themed games to players younger than 17.' But while Rockstar was busy building up two of its biggest franchises, it was also working on another project, one that was far more controversial and gruesome than the stylized ultra-violence of GTA and Max Payne: Manhunt.ĭeveloped by Grand Theft Auto studio Rockstar North, Manhunt was released in 2003.

The publisher cranked out Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne in 20, respectively. With the success of both of these titles, Rockstar did what most entertainment companies would do: greenlight and release sequels. It was another critical success that further solidified Rockstar as a major player in the video game industry. That same year, Rockstar published Remedy Entertainment's Max Payne for consoles. In 2001, Rockstar put out Grand Theft Auto 3, which, at the time, was hailed as 'Rockstar's greatest achievement' by IGN.

The early 2000s was a golden age for Rockstar Games.

Manhunt 2 xbox