Manhunt 2 heading to PS2, PSP, and Wii

[zeptron]

Thompson is going to explode when he sees this game, and the flash will be visible from mars.

 

[Shifty]

Thompson is going to explode when he sees this game, and the flash will be visible from mars.

May 25, 2007 - You can't say that there are no "mature" games on Wii. Since the console's release six months ago, we've already seen two M-rated titles in The Godfather: Blackhand Edition and Far Cry Vengeance. And in the next few months alone, several more are on the way, including Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition and Scarface: The World is Yours. However, none of them can compare to the blood-soaked effort that is Manhunt 2 from publishing powerhouse Rockstar. In fact, no game we have ever played or seen is as over-the-top violent or downright gross as this action-stealth splatter fest.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/792/792012p1.html

 

[Kritish]

The first Manhunt was awesome, that and I’m glad that Manhunt 2 will get the anti-game nuts off GTA’s back. I’m just pissed it won’t be out for the 360.

 

[Timstuff]

This game is completely tasteless, and I personally hope that the ESRB slaps it with an AO rating. It'd be so awesome if their lame attempt to ride controversy came back to bite them in their velvet-cushioned @$$es by making it only availible in certain shops. I can't imagine why anyone would want to physically act out castration fantasies unless they are demented.

 

[The Hill]

Manhunt was the most intense game I've ever played. Quite brilliant.

I hope Brian Cox returns as the voice of the guy who runs the game.

But Starkweather took a chainsaw to the face at the end. I doubt he's showing up again. Although he was funny at times. Although I do hope Cash and Robecca show up again.

 

[TheInfected]

The first was awesome...I like the way it actually made you feel the consequences of killing. Like even though the guys deserved it, it still made you feel like it was a big deal...not like most games where you blast away without a care. You actually thought about what you were doing.

I won't buy it for wii though...like wii needs yet another port

BTW the whole Pigsy level was awesome and reeked of Texas Chainsaw Massacre

 

[Shifty]

The first was awesome...I like the way it actually made you feel the consequences of killing. Like even though the guys deserved it, it still made you feel like it was a big deal...not like most games where you blast away without a care. You actually thought about what you were doing.

I won't buy it for wii though...like wii needs yet another port

BTW the whole Pigsy level was awesome and reeked of Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Manhunt 2 is set to hit Wii, PlayStation 2 and PSP on July 10. Representatives for Rockstar told us that the company never once considered releasing the Wii version at a later date, as is sometimes the trend with multiplatform games. They added that they don't consider the Wii build a port of any kind, but rather an affair catered specifically for the Wii audience. Call us sick, but we couldn't be more excited because Nintendo's console will be home to the definitive version.

Read the article in the link.

 

[TheInfected]

Read the article in the link.

LOL Yeah and they made Prince of Persia with wii specific controls too....

Bet you the actual content of the game does not vary at all...

 

[Shifty]

Trailers
http://www.rockstargames.com/manhunt2/index2.html

Gameplay

From the Manhunt 2 website:

* "With Manhunt 2 we have tried to create a game that stays close to the original concept of chilling suspense and stealth, whilst pushing the game design and story telling forward," said Sam Houser, Founder and Executive producer of Rockstar Games.

The UK's Official Playstation Magazine #84 (April 2007) revealed that:[1]

* Bag, glass shard, 'heavy handgun', nightstick and double barrel shotgun return, and are joined by the syringe and a pen.
* The Director, CCTV cameras and the protagonist James Earl Cash from the first Manhunt won't play a part.
* Manhunt 2's main character, scientist Dr Daniel Lamb, is locked in a private asylum by The Project - shady backers of a top secret drugs-based weapons program that Lamb was working on.
* After breaking out of the asylum, Daniel Lamb goes on the run with psychotic inmate Leo Kasper, who is happy to coach Lamb in the brutal art of violence.
* Like the first Manhunt, kills are executed in three deadly shades - Hasty, Violent and Gruesome.
* Environmental kills have been introduced (push an enemy face-first into a live fuse box, use telephone cords to strangle an enemy or you can drown an enemy in a toilet).
* Loud ambient noises can be exploited by Lamb to drown out his own crashing about.
* When hiding in shadows, if an enemy comes close the player will sometimes have to copy a button combo to regulate Lamb's breathing and ensure he remains undetected.
* Lamb can climb and crawl, two things James Earl Cash could not do in the original.
* Guns can be used for executions.
* Lamb can smash lights to create pockets of shadow.

An IGN hands on revealed that: [2]

* The Wii version will get 3 exclusive weapons, a Straight razor, Mace and a Broken Bottle.
* The ability to decapitate enemies and wear their severed heads on your belt, which can be used as both a weapon or a distraction.
* Rockstar has used the Wii's horsepower to "Up the Gore", such as realistic blood effects, bruising, gunshot wounds, gashes and head wounds. In addition, blood will also spray the screen during combat and executions.
* While most moves on PS2 will simply involve pressing a button, the Wii will have a "simon says" style involving motion controls.

Playstation 2 Magazine revealed that:

* Execution button has been refined to just holding down R1 button now, with no need for any additional buttons to be pressed.
* A flashback level called "Best Friends" can be played, where the player takes control of Leo Kasper, who is hunting down a man named Michael, who betrays him. The level takes place on a dockside warehouse. Which also contains a meat packing puzzle. The player kills Michael and escapes on his boat.
* New weapons are shown: uzi, baton/nightstick, magnum, scythe, a barrel of water, and a flare gun.
* There is the ability to turn "VCR-style static" on and off.
* Hunters are much more deadly and more powerful.

 

[The Hill]

New weapons are shown: uzi, baton/nightstick, magnum, scythe....

These are not new....

 

[Shifty]

Rockstar's Manhunt 2 rejected by UK ratings board

It is the duty of the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) to classify or rate any films or video games before they are released in the UK -- if they are indeed deemed fit for release. After spending some time strangling strangers and stabbing psychopaths in Rockstar's Manhunt 2, it seems the BBFC are none too pleased by the game's content, rejecting it for certification entirely. This means that Manhunt 2 may not be legally supplied anywhere in the UK.

MCV quotes the BBFC's director David Cooke as saying, "Rejecting a work is a very serious action and one which we do not take lightly. Where possible we try to consider cuts or, in the case of games, modifications which remove the material which contravenes the Board's published Guidelines." With the game already filled with all manner of cuts, slashes and eviscerations, the BBFC could simply not see a way around the game's "unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone" and its "sustained and cumulative casual sadism."

With Rockstar being no stranger to controversy, we half expect those quotes to show up on the back of the box. Then again, publisher Take-Two is unlikely to let an entire country of wallets just slip from its grasp, so there may yet be an appeal or a round of strict censorship. The Wii, PS2 and PSP game is still en route to America though and it shouldn't be long before we all learn whether UK gamers have been robbed... or rescued.

Yeah...

 

[Fried Gold]

Rockstar should use quotes from the BBFC in their adverts, but put exclamation marks at the end of the sentences

Manhunt 2 is distinguishable from recent high-end video games by its unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone in an overall game context which constantly encourages visceral killing with exceptionally little alleviation or distancing!

There is sustained and cumulative casual sadism in the way in which these killings are committed, and encouraged, in the game!

Although the difference should not be exaggerated, the fact of the game's unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying and the sheer lack of alternative pleasures on offer to the gamer, together with the different overall narrative context, contribute towards differentiating this submission from the original Manhunt game!

 

[Havok83]

I read that this is the first game to be released with the rating AO in North America

 

[Timstuff]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6172830.html?action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;0

When Take-Two Interactive yesterday confirmed that the Entertainment Software Rating Board handed down a rating of AO for Adults Only for Rockstar Games' Manhunt 2 on the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Nintendo Wii, the publisher said it was exploring its options.

GameSpot has confirmed with Nintendo and Sony that one of those options, which would be to accept the ESRB's judgment and release the game with the AO rating, isn't an option at all. Both companies forbid licensed third-party publishers from releasing games rated AO for Adults Only on their various hardware platforms. Though Manhunt 2 isn't slated for any of Microsoft's systems, the company has also confirmed that it does not allow AO-rated titles on the Xbox or Xbox 360.

The sole exception to this rule was in 2005 when the already released Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was retroactively rated AO, at which point retailers pulled it from shelves and Take-Two suspended production of the game.

"It's currently our policy not to allow the playback of AO-rated content on our systems," a Sony spokesperson told GameSpot.

Nintendo's official line was much the same. "Games made for Nintendo systems enjoy a broad variety of styles, genres, and ratings," a representative told GameSpot. "These are some of the reasons our Wii and Nintendo DS systems appeal to such a broad range of people. But as with books, television, and movies, different content is meant for different audiences. That's why the ESRB provides ratings to help consumers understand the content of a game before they purchase it. As stated on Nintendo.com, Nintendo does not allow any AO-rated content on its systems."

Take-Two's most readily available alternatives are to appeal the ESRB's AO rating or to modify the game. As of press time, a Rockstar Games representative had not responded to GameSpot's inquiry about how either move would impact the game's scheduled July 10 release date.

There's no way this game will get released on consoles unless Rockstar edits it.

 

[Havok83]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6172830.html?action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;0



There's no way this game will get released on consoles unless Rockstar edits it.

I expect some delays then bc its supposed to come out within the next 2 weeks

 

[zeptron]

The ultra-violent videogame Manhunt 2 allows you to rape a woman shortly after you beheaded her in the brothel level called Honey Pot. Members of the ESRB were shocked when Daniel Lamb used his male reproduction organ and simulated a penetration in the bloody hole. Other gruesome parts include microwaving a living cat to death and being a witness of necrophilia in a cemetery in one of the later stage of the game.

If this is true then I'm not surprised. Rockstar sure went out on this one.

Then again I don't know why the market is so against AO-rated games, the age difference between that and an M-rated game is just one year. Sell it as it is, screw censorship and screw parents who are stupid enough to buy it for their 12-year-olds.

 

[Timstuff]

The difference is that you cannot air commercials for AO rated games, and many retailers will not stock them. It's the difference between an R rating and NC-17 or straight up porn.

 

[Shifty]

The world isn't going to end if Sony or Nintendo sell an AO game. Boycotts won't bankrupt them. The majority of gamers today are 18+, just keep the game out of display cases and don't advertise in magazines.

ADULTS ONLY
Titles rated AO (Adults Only) have content that should only be played by persons 18 years and older. Titles in this category may include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity.

MATURE
Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Manhunt 2's release has been suspended.

 

[Timstuff]

Looks like when MH2 is released, it'll be without some of it's most controversial elements... And what will be left is a mediocre stealth game, because it was depending on controversy to sell before it got pwned.

 

[zeptron]

How come Manhunt 2 is evil, but movies like Hostel and Hostel 2 are fine? This world doesn't make any sense.

 

[A.J.Rimmer(BSC)]

I their view, because in the Hostels you WATCH the action, whereas in videogames, you ARE the action, increasingn personal investment within the videogaem environment..

 

[zeptron]

OK then... by that logic, Eli Roth, controlled who died. Therefore shouldn't it be illegal to direct a film that is violent?

In the Hostel movies there are REAL people.. in the game there are only polygons. I know some people who can't even bare to watch movies like Hostel or any other over the top gory stuff, it just looks so much more real, video games do not look real in the slightest, there's no way a game could make a person unsensitized to real life violence. Also the participation side of the argument is very poor too, pressing buttons to shoot guns at polygons and whatever is hardly participating in brutal murder. I find it sad when people have to blame other avenues of media for senseless crimes acted out by disturbed individuals.

It's pathetic. Movies are just the same, only this is polygons and I agree with some people, consoles are not just for kids anyway, there have been numerous 18 rates games, even the wrestling series has a 16+ rating in the UK, think the BBFC are just looking for attention, muppets.

Anyone whose seen Hostel 2 will know how much rubbish the BBFC are talking.

There is needless amounts of gore, and to top it all of, right at the end

Spoiler

some kids kick around a decapitated womans head, playing football.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

How come Manhunt 2 is evil, but movies like Hostel and Hostel 2 are fine? This world doesn't make any sense.

You make a good point imo. It doesnt matter tho, as movies like Hostel are on the decline and Manhunt wont sell well because of its small audience.

 

[hippie_hunter]

How come Manhunt 2 is evil, but movies like Hostel and Hostel 2 are fine? This world doesn't make any sense.

Neither are evil, they just deserve the AO/R that they got.