The game takes place in Carcer City, which is the city right next door to Liberty City, the locale of Grand Theft Auto III (2001), and was also mentioned numerous times in that game.
When the triangle button on PS2 (Y on Xbox and space bar on PC) are held down at the main menu, a voice will speak in reverse saying the invincibility cheat and repeating the phrase "Daddy didn't see what would happen if she left me. Mommy's supposed to care but she was never there."
In September 2004, after having been available to buy in Australia for almost a year, Manhunt's rating was changed by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) from MA15+ to RC (Refused Classification) - in other words, the game was banned in Australia. The OFLC ordered that "any existing stocks of this game held by retailers must be removed from the shelves immediately". It is speculated that the decision came about because of the media uproar and subsequent political pressure - that resulted from the murder of British teenager Stefan Pakeerah in July 2004. Pakeerah's parents specifically blamed Manhunt for the murder of their son, which they claimed closely emulated killings portrayed in the game (although the link was later disproved - the motive was deemed to be robbery. It was also proven that it was actually the victim, and not the murderer who owned Manhunt, which explained why the mother knew so much about the game). Australia follows New Zealand in banning the game, where it was outlawed in March 2004. New Zealand's own OFLC interpreted the game as requiring players to "acquiesce in...and possibly tolerate, or even move towards enjoying [murder]", which was deemed "injurious to the public good".
Four gangs were created which didn't make it into the game: the Camheads, the Clowns, the Lost, and the Jury. The Camheads wore suits and had camera attached to their heads. The Clowns dressed as their name suggested, the Lost dressed in scavenged metal, and the Jury dressed in hockey masks. The hockey mask design eventually went to the Skinz gang. The Clowns were given a back story which gave them obvious similarities to serial killer John Wayne Gacy, including an advocate who shared Gacy's surname. The Lost motorcycle club from Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned (2009) served as a homage to the scrapped gang in Manhunt.
In 2004, after concerns from parents, the PlayStation 2 version was reviewed by the Ontario Film Review Board and the game was rated Restricted, legally prohibiting anyone under age eighteen from renting or purchasing it.