Customer Reviews

Manhunt 2

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

To play Manhunt 2 uncensored you need CodeBreaker for PS2.

Enable Code:
B4336FA9 4DFEFB79
C104D6D4 BA6A4B94
E5A92D20 01C6E45A
0234F1AC 25867FFD

Clear Exacution
FAB20058 273DDCEA
BF55AFA9 BD3AE07C
11CE1592 C820FEC0
8F9A7A49 468BEAAF
657AE731 6D09347C

My life kinda sucks. I have a dead-end job even though I graduated valedictorian from college. I've never been lucky in love or good at making friends. I think about killing myself at least once a day. The only thing that keeps me going is art, looking forward to the next great horror movie or ultraviolent videogame. I loved manhunt the original and had been looking forward to a sequel ever since I beat it. I went to BestBuy on Halloween, paid my 29.99, and took what I expected to be an orgy of bloody beauty home with me. When I put it in and performed my first execution, however, I couldn't believe my eyes. What's with all this artistic bullspit, the bluriness and black and white and pixelation; I can't tell what the heck's even happening. I kept playing, hoping it would get better. I thought maybe once I injected myself with the drug Leo said would clear my head I would get to see the executions clearly. No such luck. So I went online to Amazon and read what other people were saying. CENSORED!? How? What? Rockstar would never do that, would they? Not the people who gave us GTA and Manhunt. Say it ain't so. But it was so. And so I thought, well, that's it. Time to run a bath and take the blade out of my box cutter from work. I figured I'd leave a note detailing how censorship led me to do myself in. I could see the news story. "A young man in Ohio killed himself when he discovered that the controversial videogame, Manhunt 2, was censored by its publisher. This senseless tragedy is causing many to wonder whether video games are violent enough. Several parent groups are demanding that Rockstar games release the original, uncensored version of the game for fear that others may be driven to suicide by the disappointment." I figured if my death could change the world, it would be greater than anything I could probably achieve in my life. But then I saw the post where someone was talking about a code that would uncensor it and something called codebreaker. I did some research and discovered that there was in fact such a product and code. I praised god, turned off the bath water, put my box cutter back together, and placed my order for codebreaker. It's three business days later now and I'm finally enjoying manhunt2 in all it's beautifully gory glory. Praise be to codebreaker and Skiller for saving my life.

When I played the first Manhunt (way back when), I thoroughly enjoyed it. That game, much like its successor, received lots of negative exposure because of its "subject matter content" and overall violence. I, like most others who waited patiently for the sequel, plowed through yet more negative publicity; watched RockStar cancel its original release date for the game, and waded through all sorts of internet gossip about what had been done to the content of the game.

Manhunt (the original) is a far better game than Manhunt 2--and not becaue its gore factor was untouched. It was a better game, guys, because it had "soul." The characters were way more interesting, the writing was better and more creative, and the last stages were absolutely some of the creepiest I've ever encountered! My personal favorites were the Smileys (a tongue-in-cheek answer to Insane Clown Posse). I got killed so many times because I was laughing my butt off at some of the lines, e.g. "passing out before the main course...REALLY;" "well, I look divine? Why, thank you so much; it was just something I threw together;" and "My God; they're dropping like flies!"

In Manhunt 2, you get NO interesting characters. Instead, you get caricatures. It seems two people are involved in some sort of mind-altering experiment; the inmates riot, people escape, others are killed, and you try to retrace your footsteps to see what it all means. Along the way, you are urinated on, have feces thrown on you, you puke a lot, and you kill a lot. And that's about it. The big difference in Manhunt 2, is that even though the killings are much more grotesque than in the first game, you can't see any of them because of what RockStar had to do in order to get the game released. A "filter" has been installed and all you really get in the ability to HEAR what is happening to your victims. The controls are used differently, which I also didn't care for.

I do not blame RockStar for what it did; it simply did what it had to do in order to sell its product. I would suggest, however, that if there is a Manhunt 3, you see if you can't create characters that are more memorable; a storyline that is more than just killing; and have a main character your playing audience can feel something for.

I loved the original manhunt, I have to admit it, I loved it. I though it was a sick and delightfully twisted game...no...art! It was spooky, gruesome, smart, intense, and totally enjoyable for someone like me. This one, like most sequels....sucks. It looks like the first, it plays like the first, it's in the same vein as the first, but it's the details where it falls apart, and I mean bad!

In the original, the levels were layed out where you were mostly stealth killing or getting into cover-based shootouts and sometimes a blend of the two, and the levels and AI were set up for that type of experience. This game has no clue what it wants to be! I tried to do mostly stealth kills, but sorry to say, you wind up just shooting most of em'. Speaking of AI though, the AI in this one is really bad!!! In the first one a hunter would inspect a brick, hitting a wall, or finding his dead buddy, but in Manhunt 2, they usually don't care, spoiling any opportunity to lure a hunter away from his friends to disfigure and break him. Thus, you will find it wayyy easier and much less frustrating to just snipe a guy from the shadows, turning a once great stealth platform into...a really lame shooter.

Another real problem, is the story. In place of a meager, bare bones type of plot, (Kill for sick director's pleasure and survival, then revenge) with a simple plot that has been made far too rushed and scattered. Gone is the simple and enjoyable kill from point A to point B plot, now, it's all twisted with "gotta find this guy, gotta find this chick, gotta figure this out....who am I, what happened" This doesn't directly affect the action, but somehow it makes for a very rushed and detached experience, hardly any of it worth remembering. Essentially they made a mountain out of a mole-hill, and it really just annoys more than anything. I had a hard time of following why I was at a place and found it much simpler in the original to just know I was on my way through to fight another type of gang for the director's joy, but now it's all finding out about a character I care nothing for in a story I care nothing for. Coupled with useless flashbacks and twists in the plot, I don't care enough to remember any of this game.

Even when the director in Manhunt bacame impatient, you were scolded by the talented Brian Cox, now an annoying nobody screeches at you which really disrupts the type of flow the first had. No velvety voice of a known and great actor, now your just getting bitched by some guy that kinda sounds like a cross between a bitchy girlfriend and Ray Liotta, but not nearly as cool as Ray Liotta, and almost as irritating as your ex-girlfriend.

Thinking about it, I doubt even if the stealth kill weren't blurred, this still wouldn't be anything nearly as fun as the first. When a you execute a hunter, at the point where you strike or shoot or stab or slash a guy, a fast and artsy blur jolts everything and the shade of everything goes negative for a bit. About 60% of the kill is plainly visible, but 40% is blurred. These kills are actually pretty good, and I especially like the firearm executions, but coupled with the filters and obstructions they had to program in, it really doesn't matter. Some of the environment kills are entertaining, but hardly worth the addition if they were at the cost of everything else I disliked.

In short people, everything in this game reminded me of Manhunt, it reminded me of how it's NOT...manhunt and certainly of how it's not as good as Manhunt. I will now sell this game, and fire up the original for the experience that this game failed miserably to acheive, and no doubt I will crack a sinister smile and bathe in the joy of hearing Brian Cox direct me to massacre a bunch of scumbags.

Maybe I'm sick, but I was really looking forward to this sequel; The first game, however violent and twisted it was(and it WAS!), it was also one of the most intense, heart-in-your-throat, challenging games I had played; There was dread around every corner; There was a feeling that your very own life was on the line; Plus, you actually cared about the story and fairly straight-forward premise: Escape w/your life and get the guy that did this to you. And you wanted to get him, too!!

Even though I had heard part 2 was unrelated character-wise, I put my faith in Rockstar; They rarely put out a bad title in my experience. The storyline sounded interesting and the settings/level ideas had some potential promise. I was excited to play, hoping for a game that was thrilling and tough. Instead it seems like a half-baked retread that is missing more than the violence it had to take out.

The lack of violence wasn't the troubling factor here; It was gruesome enough, although it's hard to believe anything could surpass the 1st one, which is still out there uncensored(as it should be...). It was more the horrible control scheme and poor camera angles that appeared during the most critical of times, like fights or flight. I died due more to not being able to tell where I was or which direction the punches were coming from than by lack of skill(not the best player, but not the worst either...). The story had some nice moments, some great cut scenes, and the interactive deaths were a nice touch. But too short and uninspired to me. I really didn't care about my character, what my goals were, the twist you see coming from a mile away, and the fact that I never really felt like I had to be fighting for my life. And w/so many great games out there to play, nowadays I have little patience for games that control poorly, esp. one from Rockstar. That just makes me sad.

They should have delayed this longer and made it right. I just expect more from them.

The executions, 90% of what made the original great, are completely censored. They put a heavy red and blue blur over the screen whenever you perform an execution and move the camera repeatedly. The end result is you can only see the outline of your character and victim, and not what he's doing. This game is pointless now. Thanks a lot to the ESRB, censorship advocates, and gutless retailers who won't sell AO rated games for making sure this 31 year old couldn't play a gory video game. You've saved the world, and cheated me out of $30. This is the worst gutting of a game since the original Mortal Kombat on the SNES where there were no fatalities. BTW, the graphics are awful by modern standards. Not even worth a rental.

so my 360 finally gave me the dredded red ring of death and as i'm waiting for it to get repaired, i have my trusty ps2 to keep me busy. right now i'm re-playing manhunt 2.

i love it.

much better than the first installment.

i know that i'm definitely in the minority here and that's fine, but here are my reasons:

1. the story. daniel lamb has escaped from a mental institution, and is trying to piece together his life and his reality. this subject matter makes me want to keep playing until the end in order to find out what happens. in the first manhunt, even though i played it through to the end, i really couldn't care less about the character james earl jones- errr, i mean cash.

2. i LOVE the filters!!!! i agree that censorship sucks, but i have to give rockstar some props here: they took the dreaded AO rating and dealt with it in the most creative way possible. many people say, that you cannot see anything when a kill happens- i say, if you are having trouble figuring out what is going on, you are blind! the filters ADD to the gruesome violence as it puts you in lambs mind as the killings are taking place. this is how he's seeing the violence in his mind! imo, i've seen unedited/unfiltered manhunt 2 kills on youtube, and i gotta say, that they don't look nearly as good.

3. area specific kills are genius! and also jumping through the air from on top of a roof or trash can with a crowbar in hand and landing right on top of a specific enemy is totally rewarding to see!

4. no frustrating moments. i'm re-playing the game on "insane" difficulty, and while harder than i remember manhunt 2 being, it is still a pleasure to play. i remember parts of manhunt 1 where there was a gigantic learning curve simply because of spawn points, bad a.i., or bad level design. manhunt 2 has none of these problems.

i know that a lot of people are probably going to write hate letters, or at least say that they feel differently, and as i said before, that's fine. but really read what i'm saying, and take another look at the game before you judge.

If you liked the first Manhunt game, you should like this one too. No other game series out there like this one. Combined stealth, shooter and morbid killing, with a wild story-line that mixes serious, heroic, comic and insanity all into one. Being the second game in the series, and from all the hype, my expectations were really high. Well, it didnt live up to what I expected, but it was still a great game and a lot of fun to play. I hope they come out with a P3 version...and I hope Rockstar takes it up a notch (to the next level) to meet the higher expectations!

*Keep in mind this is a review for the PS2 version only*

I had been following this game since I heard it was in production. The first Manhunt was very entertaining, and the level of gore was very surprising, especially in this day and age where everyone insists on whining their way into our homes through censoring what the rest of us can see and play.

The scenery and sounds are definitely way creepier than the first game, and it seems to control a bit better. The environment is a whole lot more interactive than the first game as well. The executions are still divided into 3 different levels, the highest being the most brutal, but taking the longest amount of time to charge up.

The major gripe I have with this game is that some of the kills have been censored to the point where you don't know what's going on. Others remain very visible, with the black and white warping almost adding to the severity of the kill. Overall, the first Manhunt was way more visually brutal with the executions, or at least from what I've seen so far.

All in all, it's about the most fun you're going to have murdering people legally for $30. I just wish it could have been released the way Rockstar intended.

Well, of course, the first Manhunt was gruesome and excellent, so the sequal needed to be a watered down rendition of the first. And why? If the first game was alright (as far as gore) then why add some filter which masks the executions? This is my biggest gripe. Sure, I think some games are violent and gruesome, like the original Manhunt, but that's why it has a mature rating. The game experience is very bland and any sense of adventure becomes plagued by so-so graphics and somewhat boring characters. The objectives seem all too passive and the back-story altogether generic. I don't think the sequel was made by the same folks behind the original, because it just doesn't have the same feel to it. When I first played Manhunt, I was actually nervous for my character. And it was a challenge not to get caught and killed by the maniacs faced. In this one, there is something all too robotic about the enemies that kills any intelligent stealth required to kill them. The executions are dulled by the red and blue filtered screen and again, I'm not sure why, when in the original you got a complete taste of the kill. Despite it's price tag, Manhunt 2 doesn't compare to the original at all. Instead, you'll get a helping of violence censorship, a lack of true grit and an overall bland gaming experience.