True

Indeed

What if the real horrors were the friends we murdered along the way?

Yeah, furthermore the making them all violent criminals points to something darker. This is just justifying some people's actual suffering. People born into tyranny and never escaped. It has happened. Children born with chronic illness that have painful lives and meaningless deaths, it happens. There is no joy to be found at times and perhaps we should admit it.

Agreed. It's unapologetic about it too

That’s the best description I’ve ever heard.. felt that too while playing it as a teenager. lol. At some points, I muted the games volume and had music playing in the background to get myself through the hellish music, enemies babbling, and the ambiance 😂😂 good times Always wanted a true manhunt sequel where you hunt down the main villain (Mr Nasty) but the sequel that we got was watered down and different characters and rockstar was already facing too much controversy over it all.

That's exactly it. It's in this world that kinda looks like ours but seems to have completely succumbed to all that is terrible about human beings. The book Blood Meridian has this same feeling. It references things in our material world but seems to be this nihilistic hellscape where nothing is good or happy.

I wish the game ended with Cash's death and then he wakes back up on his way to the execution chamber in the beginning. Making the game an endless loop.

Anyone else hates this type of stories, like "it never really happened" or "It was all a dream"

It's so wrong too. I'm a volunteer firefighter, I risk my life monthly to help people, and I don't get paied. Through my experience, people are in general far more brave and good than you give credit. People will offen run into blazes to try to save dogs, family, neighbors, friends, even random strangers. Ive also seen people light houses on fire intentionally. Humanity is capable of both great good, and great evil. And acknowledging both leads to a much more correct understanding of the world. Trust me kid, ive had some *really* bad days. But as long as you have good mental health support, friends, and family. You are not one joker step away from insanity.

@@thegrandnil764 I agree with that, saying that everything is horrible is just wrong, but what I'm saying is that not everyone has that comfort of a good family, a home, or support, and tipping them over the breaking point takes just one bad day and that's why it's important to just be nice to people, just to be nice in general or to at least be decent, one never knows what kind of day they're having

@@buttertool6211 That's a good lesson, and I think I would agree. One huge reason for that is the total lack of any mental health services. This country really needs to take a step back and consider what's really worth it. We spend more money per capita on healthcare than Switzerland, yet at the same time the cost of healthcare is the highest in the world.

There is some literature that explores Nazi soldiers during WW2 and how they could partake and commit atrocities. Most said they were just following orders, some said they couldn't muster up the courage to oppose/protest/resist. But sadly many, many, many grew into committing atrocities. You know Standford Prison experiment? Yeah, basically that: The overwhelming domination, power and supremacy they had and felt over their victims completely blinded them from the suffering of others. Why am I talking about this? Because those Nazis were normal people, like you and me. That could happen to you and me. We could've been Nazis. It's a very uncomfortable thought, that every single one of us has the cabability of evil, no matter how good we think we are... Periodically check yourself, that you're not dehumanizing someone or a group. That's the key these normal people were able to commit atrocities. Likewise, check your surroundings that if dehumanizing is happening. It might not be obvious, you might even find it difficult to humanize the groups and people you really hate. That's the "one bad day": It's not a bad day for you, but bad day for those you don't deem as human anymore.

@@jesustyronechrist2330 Just to add on a little bit. The hardest thing for you to fight is your own culture. It's a part of your identity. To reject your culture is to sever yourself from society. To reject your parents, friends, family, everyone you know. Even worse, to reject a violent culture is to die. Your betrayal will be your end. Rejecting like this is so against our nature it's absurd. On top of all of that, what's happening doesn't affect you or your family. Most people would die for their loved ones, friends, family, people they care about... but would you die for a stranger? for an idea? That's a much bigger ask. ... Even with all that staked against people, almost *~800,000 german people* were arrested by the Gestapo for resistance activities, with 10% of them being killed.

I played Manhunt back in 2010 when my state in Mexico was the most violent it had ever been. Honestly, it was like a toned down version of what happened in my hometown every weekend. 10/10

@@PhillKaggitz yeah, when the killing became such a daily thing. The war on drugs

Beacuse most video game violence is not violence, if you walk into a school and start killing kids you do not get a score on how stylish your kills are with neon lights appearing beside them as they explode into loot. Nobody goes on a rampage and says they had done that in Call of Duity and then they did it in real life it was just as fun.

I love Manhunt 2 a ton... But Manhunt? That game is a survival horror.

there's a quote from the liner notes of ok computer by radiohead that comes to mind, printed on top of a demographic bar chart; "you are a target market."

At least they'll have plenty of lawyers down there.

Angels were created first. Then Man.

​@@tonygalati2672 Johnnie Cochran

You would've 'hated' "Hatred" OLOLOLOLO

@@vxidwvlkxr Nah, I remember Hatred. Hatred was soulless and dumb and D-level compared to Manhunt.

Try out og postal your gonna love the loading screens

Same here it's still the only game I've ever had to take a break when I first played it bc it was so violent lol

Had this game, and I think it is one of the most messed up videogames I have ever played. Got rid of it a couple of years later, didn't wanted to sell it to anyone.

Someone else should do it... Like a Bluepoint, but for Rockstar remakes. Lol

It's us their best game , was a statement about graphic video games and the demand for em and how they would look of they was norm , you demand we supply,wouldn't get made now to "woke" one might say

@@ianthorpe1925 the question is, would it be allowed in todays climate? Got a feeling it would be canceled

@@Muramasa1794 Canceled like the development would stop? Or cancelled like whiny bitches on twitter? Because I dont think the whiny bitches on twitter would make much difference.

It is available on modern consoles.

This is also weirdly similar to the vibes that the manga/anime Berserk has. No matter what fucked up shit keeps happening to you, resist and live on.

I think the principal motivation to cash goes from living to revenge, a instinct survival sense to a human emotion. After the dead of his family he decides he has a score to settle whit the director. In the end of the game this is proven by being the end of the game/movie, the credit music represent the hell that cash has been through and even if he doesn't make it past this or destroy the snuff-ring he accomplished that human emotion, revenge. The second part of the credit music sounds "angelical" because he finished the only thing that is left for him, violence.

@@mkarg5012 With this I would have to agree but only partly as the 'revenge' part seemed to just be an addition on top of it. Remember the Director made it clear to Cash that he is supposed to die for the film and later he makes it clear that if left alive he would eventually hunt Cash down (cuz he did slaughter Cash's family for just being involved). In most circumstances Cash is in a position where life is only an option from ruthlessly murdering those that stand before him, and the Director put himself in Cash's cross-hairs by not only breaking his end of the deal, but also actively taking steps to try to kill Cash. In a messed up way, most of the killing Cash inflicts can be seen as retaliatory in nature. The only group of people in the game that appeared to be out of the loop and could be considered innocent casualties of the entire affair were Cash's family, who Starkweather had killed, and the police who where thrown into the situation ignorant of what was going on. They were murdered by Cash who was trying to escape, and in mass by Stark's men when they finally caught Cash.

@@Exile_Sky the fact that cash decided to go directly to Stark's home instead of keep running whit the reporter proves how he only thought of "settling things" whit him. The cops send to stop him could be innocent or corrupt since they came right after stark made the call to the chief, killing cash family after making him save/get them killed (depending on how you play) and sending those Cerberus to kill him at the prison are just one of the many things cash has against starkweather. More than the fight for living is the fight for revenge, after all even if cash escapes Carcer he will be hunted down to the end of days and in the ending of the game is never clear what happens to him, after all, he doesn't have a reason to live. Other thing to prove that maybe cash is dead are the credit song getting more "angelical", the fact that we are playing the movie and even not future mention of him by the reporter.

​@@mkarg5012 Heading to the home was just the "most assured means of living*. Cash's natural response to a threat is violence (if you watch, it's beat out of him in the first couple of "abduction" scenes, only for it to return later). Stark has already shown he had massive resources so just running wasn't an option. Going after him and sending the reporter away was actually a fairly shrewd ploy. Since they would be hard pressed to deal with Cash and catch her at the same time. Especially with Cash grinding through their men like a blender set to frappe. As for whether he will be hunted or is dead, that's pure speculation with no support from the game itself. Mr. Nasty is still a thing, but that's taking information that isn't in the game proper and is only found on the box. Which as far as Cash is concerned, could be someone he will try to hunt down to secure his "reward" of "life" or could be someone that may as well not exist and never both Cash at all. As far as the world is concerned, Cash doesn't exist anymore. He died from lethal injection. An anonymous individual caused the death of multiple police officers with no description (remember, all the police that got a good look were killed). The reporter not mentioning him means he wasn't at the scene of the mansion, because they would mention a supposed dead man from a death row execution just days prior being at the scene (assuming Cash is as well known as they make him out to be). That would be big news and would be physical evidence of some kind of corruption in the state that could be used to turn the public opinion sharply against the chief of police. If he was there, I think she would have used it. Given her focus on making "my(her) career", I can't imagine she wouldn't. If we're using the music's "angelic" uptick, it may be that Cash went on to live a better life, or found freedom. Hell it could just be killing Stark, since that could be seen as an objectively good thing, even if done for wrong or selfish reasons. I'd rather take a view that can be inferred directly from the game and the little characterizations we get than jump to the idea of Cash being dead or 'on the run'. Neither really follows with what could be inferred from the games sparse ending. At least that's my take on it.

Well said and weirdest thing is people would blame Manhunt and whatnot being too violent and even causing deaths but yet we have Facebook where people literally share videos and pictures of people being killed or dying and no1 bats an eye to that purely because they use facebook themselfs. It's just hypocrite shit.

That is pretty true, this game is a very good reflection of The darkness within human society how we have this kind of idealistic belief that things are inherently good, actuality there’s a much darker underbelly to life but we are too afraid to think of the dark implications that it has on the ideal world that we want.

I don't think so. contemporary games don't treat violence seriously. it's always some kind of abstraction, a euphemism, having the outward appearance but none of the meaning.

well mankind in general, but there are many of us who at some point just think: "enough."

True but pointless ass violent media doesn't cause one to commit violent actions irl.

If I'm not mistaken, Manhunt OST was indeed influenced by John Carpenter soundtracks, such as Assault on Precinct 13 and Halloween.

Which version of Manhunt 2 was uncensored? I played the PSP version

@@marcoszavala8898 The PC version.

"You mean you have to use your hands?! That's like a baby's toy!" How about a VR Manhunt game?!

They'd probably make it open world considering Rock star these days. Maybe a third installment in that environment might be good, but could completely tarnish it.

To have a happy ending you need to have someone strong enough to defeat the evil forces that make up the terrible world you live in If you don't then nothing will change

Beautiful take. And I would just add in that, and maybe this is more of an absurd take, but it just seems more honest to me and maybe it is to all of us if we're more honest-that I think a story like this ironically, rather more metaphorically reflects our own world _to an extent._ And this could be something to really more contemplate on than a story that's not. And to try to head that warning like you said-to moves ourselves to change that in some way, in bettering the one we reside in through whatever means we can. And as a Christian myself, I believe that's mainly in embracing what Christ taught and becoming what God has made us to be through the human willed-spirit and utilizing the gifts He has given us. But sadly I don't believe many of us have chosen this & so that's why the world could be why it is as bleak as it is. _(But I understand not many will entertain this part of what I'm saying here, just something I pray you all may also consider)._ Anyway, although I don't believe our world is as redeemable or profusely hopeful as found in a typical story brimming with morality-the difference is that there is some good left in our world, and resolution that's possible-rather than that of Manhunt. (Even if I believe it is more closer to it still). It's all in the end worth seeking and fighting for-despite also of the vast amount of vapid meaninglessness and hedonistic nihilism that abounds in the one we find ourselves, at least from what I can tell. God be with you!

There is a happy ending, though. He escapes with his life, freedom, and a second chance at life since he's officially dead. Other Rockstar games set in the same timeline and universe imply he went on to have a son, and they started a construction company together. It's also pretty safe to assume he stopped killing since he seems to have gotten his life together and there was never any motive in the game for him to kill other than self defense.

1984, T.G's Brazil, Surrogates, Idiocracy, Sword Art Online, Overlord, and Sword Art Online. One of the these will be our reality, some hopeful some bleak and some ongoing.

Yep. I was surprised after delving a bit more into his philosophy, that he is radically opposed to nihilism in his life affirmation. It's kinda weird how his words have been twisted so much. I guess it's those out-of-context quotes without explanation, or with a misinformed one.

I was looking for a comment talking about that. Imagine devoting your academic life writing works that warn the world about the dangers of nihilism and the degradation of the human spirit only to be labeled as a nihilist over a century later...

Exactly. Nietzsche's writing basically was that the Enlightenment and our progressing knowledge of the natural world has upended traditional Judeo-Christian morality and how the world needs of overcome both traditional morality and nihilism for the betterment of the humanity and the individual.

Thanks to his sister and the Nazis

It's true - he's really an existentialist, not a nihilist.

What

@@TheMagnificentGman He voices Lionel Starkweather, the snuff film guy who yells at you to be more depraved and violent in your killings and executions that are assigned of you by him. Besides Piggsy, he's maybe the worst person in that game.

@@dasuero7489 the astrophysicist?

Brian Cox is, in fact, the man.

@@TheMagnificentGman The actor. You'll know him from Braveheart, The Ring, The Bourne Trilogy, and as the first guy to play Hannibal Lector (in "Manhunter").

Pretty sure every single person you in the game is specifically trying to kill you, including Starkweather. After that, it's implied in other games set in the same universe that James Earl Cash stopped killing, had a son, and started a construction company with him. So it's pretty safe to say he didn't "live to kill".

at the end of the asylum lol

Well when we smash the Flame Clock, that’s when we stop fighting to live and living to fight

Check out the arcade game Chiller... It's the only video game that makes me wanna throw up from the premise alone

It's hard to play emotionally, and mechanically difficult to play on console. xD

Then you're just weak of heart tbh

@@AK-su3tz cringe xd

@@cppbear6115 How so?

I don't believe that being "unwittingly moral" is being moral at all. It's like when one cartel leader kills another cartel leader- even though the world is better off without them, you don't suddenly praise the other as a hero. Cash killed Starkweather simply to sate his bloodlust, he's killed numerous others to sate his bloodlust, and he'll likely continue killing people until he's finally put down.

@@nathanniesche6380 Fair point though Cash might have also gave up being a murderer and instead went on to do something else. After all we have no idea what he was even sent to death row for. Though plenty of theories point to him having been part of a criminal organization as a hitman. And while Cash certainly had bloodlust in regards to Starkweather, the cops, and any Cerebrus guards in his way. When it came to Pigsy that was more of a self-defense killing. Well as self defense as you can get sawing the arms off of a retarded cannibal snuff star and sending him plummeting to his death.

let's also add the score system it shows how much willing Cash is to go along with Lionels if he refuses to kill most of his enemies (yup even with the first guy you can give Starkweather the middle finger and not kill him the very later levels don't offer much freedom though) so yeah pissing of the antagonist is us not going along with his BS

you can also make an example with manhunt 2 how danny literally regrets his first kill and eventually grows into it because of his alt personality i like to think of cash simply growing into all of those murders since as shown you have to kill more and more and more per mission compared to the first few which are just some thugs that are literally the most sane then you eventually go into the smileys where some of them literally think your their abusive husband and will literally think of one of their own lying dead on the ground as nothing almost

Maybe the pain is a silver lining for you regaining your body functioning again. Maybe stem cell therapy could be a thing for you ( I have no idea if it could help but I’ve heard good things.)

the fact that you felt anything at all means you weren't really dead.

@@arsenii_yavorskyi Bro, ull see... You are avare that time is floating no more, yet you are still able to think, but its not with your body... i cant explain it... you can feel there but its not your body anymore you using to feel....the last time i was scared was when i relized i cant feel time no more then i started to feel soo much love , such an incredible love.. you cant find this kinda love anywhere but in death... ehm i dont want to argue, this is what i was able to remember

I know that feeling you're talking about. That feeling of total detachment, the overwhelming sense of relief. You feel an all-encompassing love because for the first time you are able to relate to and empathize with every living being. We are all born without consent and are doomed to die alone. Rich and poor, communist, nazi, gamer, smoker, health nut, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, atheist, smart or stupid, saints and serial killers -- everyone. It is the Nothing we all crave, that place of peace where we were before conception, where we return to when we die. Every birth is a tragedy, every death a miracle. The suffering of this world is only temporary, and we are all committing suicide by virtue of existing. Only you can decide how long to tolerate it. The power of self-destruction is immense; to be able in one second to end time forever. No immortal god could dream of such power. Thus do we regard it with such dread. The fear of "what if?" So we shamble from one day to the next, not wanting to exist but hesitant to confront the alternative. We are all murdered slowly by hope, hope that life will get better. It might. It might not. But what is certain is that it ends, and if it ends now rather than 50 years from now, it won't matter to you one way or the other whether it could have improved. For once it's done, it's like it never happened.

@@kucicek6313 Your brain is still functioning at that point. When that bad boy dies, you can't be revived.

I mean its much like real life don’t you think? Unfortunately

Good parallel!

This reminded me of a scene i saw in one documentary about the nazi concentration camps. One survivor mentioned that it took usually about 2 weeks for a new guard to become as abusive as the rest of the guards. Now some might say "i'd never do that" or "how morally lacking they were", but all i could think "that took surprisingly long". They saw first hand what the prisoners endured, and if their cruel boss would have thought they were jew sympathizers, they might have been right there among them. But still something within them was so not okay with that, that they couldn't immediately start adapting that kind of cruelty. But nevertheless, because of their situation, they became one of the monsters too. Whether they liked it or not, they weren't immune to that.

It is said that it only takes 9 days without food or water before your average person will lose all morality and act only on primal instinct, so I guess you could say most of us are just a simple 9 days from losing our humanity. That's reality, manhunt is just a video game, Rockstar was made popular by the uproar of gta, people were extremely offended by it, however this did not stop it from becoming a huge success in fact the backlash added to Rockstars success. So what did Rockstar do, like any money hungry developer they doubled down with manhunt, and it worked, everyone is still talking about it, it's nothing more than good marketing to a target audience. Everyone trying to find some meaning in this game through existentialism is a bit dramatic to say the least.

@nocf6597 Exactly. People are looking way too deeply into a videogame that was made for the sole purpose of pushing the envelope, shocking people, and getting publicity for Rockstar. The studio that thinks thing like 69 and things shaped like penises is comedy was not pondering any deep or meaningful topics while making a game where peoples heads completely explode like watermelons when hit by a bat. It's not even a realistic depiction of violence like people claim. It's over the top theatrics that you would see in something like Saw, or Hostel, or most slasher films. Theres no deep hidden meaning, and it doesn't say anything about the player. Just like it doesn't say anything about someone who chooses to play the Germans in a game like Battlefield 1942. It's a videogame, and not some serious life statement. Many games have deep meaning. This is not one of them.

I think the most disturbing part of the game was actually Cash having to watch his family get murdered. They were absolutely innocent. Even though there is no way Cash could have predicted it, and even though he made the effort to rescue them, the reason they died is because Cash got convinced from murder. He is basically partly quilty for their death, even though it was totally unintentional.

Same player here. This game is a masterpiece. Monkey see Monkey do was hard !!

and did they tell you why that is the case

Violence isn’t private and personal the way sex is supposed to be

In america it's like that but in Europe it's the opposite, sex is much more acceptable than violence

Right. Power doesn't corrupt, it just shows a person's true nature. And I wonder how many of us are like Cash and how many are like Starkweather.

Hell, there isnt even a need to give someone power to see humanity true face, just give them a chance to do what they want and they will reveal themselves, doesnt matter if at the end the chance means their death or failure they WILL take that chance

@@nathanalexander5598 "doesnt matter if at the end the chance means their death or failure they WILL take that chance" That reminds me of a quote I read recently: If humans were given utopia they would destroy it just to prove they have agency (which is why utopia is impossible).

@@deanchur That and humans would just invent dumb reasons to NOT live in a utopia "We need violence cause peace makes us weak" "It wasnt perfect by anymeans" "We simply didnt like it" Ad infinitum, humanity is just horrible

"Power attracts the corruptibile." -Frank Herbert

And they all pretty much say the same thing, I don't get the point of them. You'd think if you were going to make a video essay on a topic you'd check to see if others have done it already, especially if you've got nothing new to bring to the conversation. Complete global saturation.

@@Alice-Cullen-Fan I mean... I wasn't criticizing it, just pointing out that this game has finally got renewed attention after all these years..🙂

With the world going so soft, u wind right back up to this masterpiece

To be fair, even if the game did force you to kill the police all of them are canonically corrupt.

@@komradekradles8731 yep, basically the game show you are every single one of them deserve the dies, except for the Journalist and James' families

Cash is doing it for his own survival, he doesn't care about the bigger picture considering he himself is jo different to those he's killing. He wasn't innocent, he was just as much a monster as Starkweather

@@SamuelBlack84 Its never explained what cash did to earn the death penalty, its also never outright said he enjoys the killing being more up to player interpretation, the fact he's willing to help people like the journalist and his family (who he is said to not have the best relationship with) proves he is nowhere near the monster that Starkweather was.

@@komradekradles8731 Then, the true monster must be me because I do so enjoy the killing

Manhunt is more realistic than silent hills series

@@BhaskarGhosh9379 well yeah, I mean I wouldn't argue with that dude!

Light needs a void to exist, but the void needs no light

I see this a lot too, I was talking to someone the other day about psychological thrillers and he said they disliked psychological movies because they "try to be too deep". A lot of people also on the internet look at movies that have deeper meaning and bring up memes like 2deep4u as if its trying too hard.

horror movies are great because they're cheap, desperate affairs. by the time a director has moved on to the stuff theyre calling "psychological thrillers" theyre treading water, doesnt matter the socioeconomic background

@@117neither But not all directors famous for psychological thrillers started with horror, so i'm not sure what you're trying to say when suggesting directing a psychological thriller is just treading water. There is plenty of good material as well like Seven, Silence of the Lambs, Cape Fear, Mystic River or The Usual Suspects from just the top of my head.

The word "pretentious" has ironically become a very pretentious thing to say on the internet

Yeah, we think these people are pretentious because they're just trying to sound smart as a way of saying "you're fucking retarded, I'm better than you"

I actually plan on doing a video on the Suffering in October. :)

@@maxderrat you are the best

By earlier you mean 1 to 4?

@@morkgin2459 I do indeed.

@@JohnDWJ Glad you said 4.

@@morkgin2459 4 is my personal favorite actually. I think 2 is objectively the best story and presentation, but 4 (wrinkles and all) still delights me to no end. It's the one that got me hooked on the series.

It's amazing how the "s" at the end of "Silent Hill" stuck out despite that game never actually getting off the ground!

@Mister Majestic it doesn't matter to the universe, and thank goodness for that, if we had a meaning we wouldn't have freedom. The beauty of the game is that you can pick your meaning, may it be in service of some higher goal or just survival. Heck, even thinking that all is meaningless is a sort of meaning in itself.

Exactly

I think the whole game is a kind of subversion of society as a whole. Most of us are like Lionel Starkweather in the sense that we enjoy watching violence and get a rush from watching the action hero shoot hundreds of people. Another thing to consider is that Starkweather hides in his mansion never doing any of the dirty work, so he's also like us in the sense that he's built his life on the foundation of the exploitation and suffering of other people. He fully embraces that fact, however, while most of us either ignore or deny it.

@@nathanniesche6380 That doesn't change the fact that the vast majority of people can tell the difference between fictional violence and real violence. In general, a person who enjoys fictional violent content usually enjoys it as part of a larger narrative, even if that narrative is something like revenge, such as in the movie John Wick. However, when faced with real violence, such as when hearing about the war currently ongoing between Ukraine and Russia, or when a mass shooting happens, the same person is horrified because it's real. In short, unless someone has issues recognizing the difference between reality and fiction, real violence tends to horrify them.

Pretty much since you dont see cash exactly become a mad man like piggsy he was simply doing what he could to survive and if anyone else was thrown into it theyd either do the same thing cash would or theyd go with the journalist but i do like to say cash did probably grow into it and im sure any other person in that situation would have started to grow into it too

@@kahns411 I don't think most people would be able to grow into it. Most people aren't suited for the type of survival game that Manhunt basically is. They would likely freeze with inaction in horror and fear and die because of it, rather than being able to fight. Cash had two environmental advantages that made killing easier for him: he was a death row inmate, and the death penalty is almost exclusively used for murders, so he had already killed people outside Carcer City; and because he was in prison, he was in a cutthroat environment already, which would have basically trained his fight-flight-freeze into almost exclusively fight. Cash is a statistical minority; his unique life experiences made him suited for the snuff film/survival game.

James Earl Cash was John Wick before John Wick was John Wick

Are Cannibal Corpse albums still banned there too?

It’s safer to assume that a person who mentions Nietzsche _hasn’t_ read, let alone understood, his books, than the reverse.

I also often heard that. People confuse prescription with description. That said who knows for sure what Nietzche recommended the readers of his writings. Maybe he himself was not sure what his position in this was. Especially since he died from an std that ruins a person’s mind. I don’t remember whether it was Syphilis. He is claimed to have hugged a horse and cried about the horse’s suffering.

He's on death row, which has some serious implications about what he did before he was caught. Then there's the brutality of his killing- sure, stabbing someone in the neck could be seen as necessary in this context, but stabbing them in the back and then gouging out their eyes is too far. He's cruel and violent, and he's too controlled to be motivated solely by anger or fear. He's not a remotely sympathetic character and he's not meant to be- he's a subversion of the stereotypical action hero, the fearless badass that kills hundreds of baddies without a second thought.

@@nathanniesche6380 bad people can be sympathetic too.

@@nathanniesche6380 well his backstory says he was a contract killer which landed him on death row certain enemies refer to him as an ex-military then there is him escorting a hobo even though he gains nothing from it lastly is the score that shows how willing you the player want cash to really be (you can spare the very first guy even)!

@@selemanecu He escorts the hobo because Starkweather forces him to. And I don't see how the score proves anything about his secret sympathetic personality- he shows no hesitation or remorse for killing people in such brutal and painful ways. He doesn't even show any sign of anger in his killing. I get that you want Cash to be an unsung hero, but he was clearly designed to be a murderous psychopath. Having a history of being a contract killer (which I'm not even sure is something that was ever confirmed, it's just a theory) only serves to prove that further.

@@nathanniesche6380 according to lore he financed his family that way working for the mob put the law on his tail and him on the run before they got him. Most of the people he has the "option of killing" are not exactly saints themselves (they will try to kill him on sight) and he obivously has experience the Wardogs refer to him as "Sneaky Pete"! The point is there is nothing to gain for him he knows it thats why he (as you the player) has the option of not doing what Starkweather says! Starkweather and Leo in the sequel represent the darkest psyche of the player (your mirror) and you piss them off by not doing what they want you to do. He actually wants to get out but as soon as Starkweather kills his family he goes after him. I never said he is a hero.

Taken from the well known American term "incarcerated" which means to be imprisoned. It has a wonderful duality with Rockstar's other location people were loving at the time: Liberty City! I love how both games are represented by their cities: Liberty City is an open sandbox where you can do whatever you like (including not killing people if you're not on a mission). Carcer City is a very enclosed city with little to no freedoms and a very linear path through. It gives you that feeling of imprisonment.

Good point! I think the initials for Carcer City, "CC", line up well with Starkweather's use of "CC"TV cameras. :)

@@maxderrat Reminds me that they intended to have a gang called camera heads that literally wore cameras on their heads or even had cameras as their actual heads, being robots.

@@maxderrat Might be looking too much into this but Carcer also sounds a lot like "cancer" and well, it describes the city rather well.