Manhunt 2! October 31, 2007! $33.99 From DeepDiscount! IGN: 7.7! 1-Up: 4.0!

Zen Davis

Zen Davis

Banned
Manhunt 2 Receives "M" Rating
ESRB rating assignment clears the way for October 2007 North American release



New York, NY - August 24, 2007 - Rockstar Games today announced it will release Manhunt 2 for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, and the Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo in North America on October 31, 2007. This announcement follows the submission of a modified version of Manhunt 2 to the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), who has now rated the title "M" for Mature for ages 17 and older.


In June, Take-Two was compelled to suspend the release of the horror title when the ESRB issued an AO (Adults Only) rating.


"Manhunt 2 is important to us, and we're glad it can finally be appreciated as a gaming experience," said Sam Houser, founder and executive producer of Rockstar Games. "We love the horror genre. Manhunt 2 is a powerful piece of interactive story telling that is a unique video game experience. We think horror fans will love it."


"Manhunt 2 is an extraordinary game, and we eagerly anticipate its release in North America," added Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two.
Manhunt 2 is the debut title from the newly formed Rockstar London studio, which is developing the game in conjunction with series creator Rockstar North. Early previews of Manhunt 2 have consistently praised the game's original design and creative use of narrative, tone, and atmosphere to evoke an experience many consider unmatched in video games. The Wii version is being developed by Rockstar Toronto.


Video games rated Mature are for consumers ages 17 and older and are not intended for children. Along with the Mature rating, the ESRB also assigned the following content descriptors to Manhunt 2: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content and Use of Drugs.
Rockstar Games is a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).
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I hope they didn't cut too much out.
 
Glad its coming out as I'd hate to see the ESRB/game companies block a game.

But I'll still be passing as I can't stomach uber violent games/movies.
 
I guarantee you that nothing intended for the game was cut. This whole thing reeks of a publicity stunt.
 
Not interested. I don't care for gruesome violence soley for the sake of gruesome violence.
 
[quote name='Cambot']Not interested. I don't care for gruesome violence soley for the sake of gruesome violence.[/quote]

Then obviously you haven't read much about Manhunt 2.
 
[quote name='Cambot']Not interested. I don't care for gruesome violence soley for the sake of gruesome violence.[/quote]

Then you're not a true man!


Hopefully the game wasnt watered down too much. I dont know why R* doesnt sell the AO title on their website. They'd make fat profit that way.
 
Finally, Rockstar gives us something. This is already than last gen when rockstar gave us nothing. Looks interesting, and it'll sell alot due to publicity. I MEAN alot.
 
[quote name='Magehart']Then you're not a true man!


Hopefully the game wasnt watered down too much. I dont know why R* doesnt sell the AO title on their website. They'd make fat profit that way.[/quote]Nintendo and Sony won't let it on their systems if its rated AO or unrated.

I've said from the beginning that this was a publicity stunt. I'd never be able to prove or disprove it, but I'm still certain that's what it was.
 
Wasn't interested before and I'm definitely still not interested.

[quote name='daroga']Nintendo and Sony won't let it on their systems if its rated AO or unrated.

I've said from the beginning that this was a publicity stunt. I'd never be able to prove or disprove it, but I'm still certain that's what it was.[/quote]
I'd agree with that sentiment, especially with Rockstar's experience with dealing with the ESRB over similar issues.

[quote name='Zen Davis']I hope they didn't cut too much out.[/quote]
Exclusive new screens of the M-rated version of the game:


 
I hope he doesn't get censored too much. I really wanted this game.
Granted as long as I can pull balls off with pliers using the wiimote I'm pretty much sold.
 
now we can all see how poorly it plays and wonder why we cared in the first place :)

jk, even if it sucks, it deserves to come out.
 
[quote name='Cambot']Not interested. I don't care for gruesome violence soley for the sake of gruesome violence.[/QUOTE]

Shouldnt you be posting in the "I love pictures of cats" thread?

Manhunt was a good time waster for a little bit. Not the best game ever but decent enough. Ill pick up the second one when the price is right.
 
[quote name='Monsta Mack']
Granted as long as I can pull balls off with pliers using the wiimote I'm pretty much sold.[/quote]

are you cereal this makes me not want this game
 
[quote name='monkeydeew']are you cereal this makes me not want this game[/QUOTE]

I keep reading this, thinking it'll eventually make sense.
 
[quote name='machoman_93']I bet you the content will still be on the disc like San Andreas[/QUOTE]


I don't think that will happen. Rock Star has a history of it and the ESRB knows this. I hope I'm wrong on it but I don't think I am. However I would like to know what they took out and if it was really worth it. This point I would rather have it out on the 360 or PS3 and not the PS2 and Wii. I would rather have the graphics upped to next gen or current gen that is. ESRB needs to change but too think this was just to sell the game.
 
You know the one thing we haven't heard about yet is if they changed the Wii controls or not? Like will you still have to move the Wiimote in order to slit someones throat or will you just hit the button and watch the cutscene like in the PS2 version.
 
I won't buy the M rating since I have played the original manhunt, M rating is nothing special. If the AO rating ever come out for PC, I'll buy it.
 
[quote name='WiiGame']i wonder what they took out to make it go down?[/quote]

The conspiracy theorists say nothing was taken out. They say it was just a ploy between Rockstar and the ESRB to show that they are really serious about game ratings. It's a win/win since the ESRB looks like it is actually doing its job, and Rockstar gets tons of extra publicity that it wouldn't have gotten under normal circumstances.

The Halloween release date is also extremely fishy.
 
‘The current law is based on the principle that every adult is considered capable of deciding for himself which games he wants to play, unless it contains illegal material.’
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Now that makes sense... wonder why the "land of the free" doesn't agree.
 
IGN: Come on man. Is the game still violent? Can you tell me that? How much did you guys have to cut? Did you have to take out SO much?

Rockstar: Hmmm.. I can tell you I'm sawing through a guy's head right now.
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Hehehe.
 
I'm definitely buying it. Maybe even at launch. I can't stand to see Nintendo go down as a kid-console again. I tried to explain SSBM to some kids on campus once and soon as I got to Mario eyes rolled and ears shut. [quote name='Magehart']Hopefully the game wasnt watered down too much. I dont know why R* doesnt sell the AO title on their website. They'd make fat profit that way.[/quote]as daroga said it's a console game. You have to get approval to make a disc to play on their system. This is one of the things wrong with the industry it should be more like the movie industry. There should never be a rating that completely bans a game and that's what A/O is effectivly. If a movie gets XXX sure it won't be in theaters but it'll plan on whatever VCR or DVD Player I have at home.

[quote name='monkeydeew']are you cereal this makes me not want this game[/quote]the man is so cereal we call him Kellogg's.
 
NFO(release notes):
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Manhunt 2 (Banned Uncut)
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
General Information
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Type.................: Game
Platform.............: PS2
Number of Parts......: 57 Including PARS
Image Format.........: Other (specify)
Image Created with...: CloneCD
Burn Tested..........: Yes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post Information
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by............: Team Slonik
Posted to............: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Parts per Day........: Dont Ask
Fills Policy.........: Other (specify)
Repost Policy........: Other (specify)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Release Notes
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Greetz to the scene. Here we have the kick ass game (Manhunt 2 Banned Uncut
Version) from Team Slonik.
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Install Notes
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Extract and Burn with CloneCD
Note: We believe this to be a BETA version, so no crying if it fucks up on you.
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Now to see what the big difference is... if anything.

Impressions.

All right. The first I noticed is that the game gave me motion sickness. The camera sways from side to side as you move down the hallway or even if you stand still. Since this was the Beta, I also didn't have full analog control of the camera which I expect to change in the final version. The camera has a grain FX filter over it like the first Manhunt that you can turn off. Otherwise there is static moving everywhere on the screen and it can get disorienting.

The game starts off with Daniel killing a female doctor as she injects him with something. The institute he is being held in has gone to hell with all varieties of inmates getting lose and killing each other. Another inmate lets him lose and tells Danny to follow him.

Down the hall you see a big black security guard beating an inmate to death. The other inmate goads you into killing him and so I commenced with my first kill. The setup seems clunkier than the original, but again I believe that its because this was a beta. I have to reason to believe that this was not the uncut version because the death scene happens entirely off screen. The guard falls out of frame and you climb over him and stab him with a syringe and it has nowhere near the effect the first Manhunt had or perhaps its because the game is made for PAL and I'm playing it on a NTSC tv. I'll have to check again.

The world is a lot more lively in the same manner as Doom 3 and Half Life 2. There's a whole bunch of crap going on around you at the start. Like people hanging themselves, other inmates killing the guards, and various other things.

I only got a ten minutes in before the game froze but overall the game design seems to be better than the first Manhunt but it's not nearly as mean-spirited. It makes a big difference when you have Brian Cox in your ear yelling for you to kill someone and then talking about how he's getting off on it vs. someone telling you to kill someone for your own survival. The game is pure violence and bloodshed but not in the way as the first Manhunt. The violence is more laughable in this and big budget horror movie than the insanely sickening documentary/snuff film feel of the first.
 
After playing it some more, yeah, the game isn't nearly as disturbing as the original. I won't say it's a worse game for it because for The Director really turned off a lot of people in the first game since he made everything seem so damn seedy. The lack of The Director makes everything less fucked up in a way and more laughable in a B Horror movie way with way too much excess blood. Now it's a kind of game you can play with your friends and they'll watch and laugh at the violence instead of the first one where your friends would watch you playing it and ask what the fuck was wrong with you.

The first two levels are pretty run of the mill. The third level is an S&M club right out of Hostel. I'll leave it at that.

Where the first one seemed to be about survival through murder, this one is more about Daniel Lamb trying to find the answers he is looking for while killing off the evil henchmen looking for him. Basically it's like a bloodier Arnold movie where he is disposing off bad guys left and right aka The Running Man.

I've come to grips with the controls and haven't died anymore since moving to my big screen. Basically the gameplay is like classic Manhunt except it moves at a very, very brisk pace. It's taken me roughly 2 hours to clear the first three levels and generally thus far it seems a whole lot easier than the first Manhunt.

Perhaps because this is just the beta, but whenever you execute a kill on someone, depending on the level of kill, your health will restore itself. This moves the game a lot more forgiving than the first one and allows you to keep into it for longer periods of time without getting frustrated.
 
I'm considering downloading this, but seeing that I have never played the first one and I'm really not interested in the sequel...
 
I think they're both good games. The thing is that a lot of people skipped out on the the first one.

Manhunt 2 is based more around the actual concept of a Manhunt rather than the snuff film aspect of the first one. It also looks like they used a whole new graphics engine compared to the first because the lighting system appears to be completely different.

Keep in mind the reason why people play games is for the fun and I have a feeling people will have more fun with Manhunt 2 than they would have had with the original. The violence is hardcore but it isn't as off putting as the first one. It's hard to explain... the kills in the first one were very methodical. You felt like you were role-playing as a murderer. In this one it's more frantic but you actually feel like you're playing a video game. The dialogue of the NPCs isn't quite as hostile as it was in the previous game either. Again this was a beta so I can't be sure if all that will be the same.

All the levels are also smaller.

I haven't gotten any pliers yet. The lock-on system is kind of weak thus far. I have my feelings that this is the edited version because the majority of kills are either from behind Daniel so that you can't see what he is doing or is just out of frame. I did however slice some testicles in half before stabbing the guy in the head.

It is also buggy as fuck.
 
[quote name='VipFREAK']If I ever feel like becoming a serial killer I'll check this game out...[/quote]

Jack, is that you?

[quote name='Callandor']IGN has updated impressions of the M-rated build.

Highlights (or lowlights, if you will) include no more testicle ripping, and blurred out death strikes.[/quote]

It sounds like they completely neutered the core gameplay in the new version. Maybe it will still be worth a rental.
 
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