See, this is where we seem to have taken different things away from the trailer. I saw absolutely no humor at all. I saw something that felt like it wanted to be taken very seriously. There was nothing clever, no hint of parody or humor. It was just maladjusted. It’s a game clearly inspired by some very real and very terrible events like Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Sandy Hook. The protagonist, if this trailer accurately represents the game, has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. There’s no moral ambiguity. There’s no challenging of assumptions. This seems to exist only to offend and let people step into the shoes of the worst sort of sociopath.
Postal 2, which is the closest equivalent game among the three you listed, did at least have humor. Though the humor was often ham-handed and adolescent, it was clearly attempting to parody violent games and the anti-game movements that sprung up to try and censor games. I see nothing like that here.
If Hatred has anything to elevate it above a manifestation of maladjusted adolescent male fantasy, they chose not to include it in the trailer. I don’t want the game censored. I would like it ignored. But it won’t be ignored. This will be picked up by every kneejerk media voice in the country and given tons of free publicity.
Oh, well. I will not buy it and I do hope the creators spend a little time thinking and reflecting and making significant changes before releasing. But they won’t, because they’ll love the attention the kneejerk media and do-gooders of the world are poised to give them… because it’s exactly what they were after in the first place.