Man Hunt and the murder of Stefan Pakeerah

Manhunt is a third-person stealth action game. The game consists of twenty levels, and four bonus levels that can be unlocked; the levels are referred to as "Scenes". Players survive the Scenes by stealthily executing the gangs, armed forces and deviants they face in bloody over-the-top ways; the player's enemies are known as "Hunters".

Over the course of the game, the player uses a wide variety of weapons, ranging from plastic bags, baseball bats, crowbarschainsaws and more, as well as all sorts of bladed items to firearms later on in the game such as revolvers, three types ofshotguns and Uzis. If the player is running out of health, painkillers can be found which replenish health. The player can strike walls or throw items (or the game refers to it as "bait items") such as bottles, cans, bricks and severed heads to make noise to distract Hunters.

The murder of Stefan Pakeerah

In the UK, the game was linked to the murder of Stefan Pakeerah, 14, by his friend Warren Leblanc, 17, on the 27th of February, 2004. Giselle Pakeerah, the victim's mother, claimed^[10] that Leblanc had been 'obsessed' with the game after the former pleaded guilty in court. During the subsequent media frenzy, the game was removed from sale by some vendors, such as the UK and international branches of GAMEand Dixons, leading to "significantly increased" demand^[11] both from retailers and on Internet auction sites. The police denied any such link between the game and the murder, citing drug-related robbery as the motive. The presiding judge also placed sole responsibility with Leblanc in his summing up after sentencing him to life. Oddly, the victim, not the killer was found to be the one in possession of the game.