Originally posted here: https://cultclassiccornervideogames.wordpress.com/2018/10/16/nsfw-manhunt-2-2007-wii-psp-ps2-pc-review/
After the controversy of the first Manhunt, you would think that Rockstar wouldn’t put the money and effort into making a sequel. Maybe a few ports of the first game to other consoles to help recoup some of it’s costs on the down low, but not a fully fledged sequel. But surprisingly, 4 years later, Manhunt 2 was announced and released to the public.
The PC and PS2 versions were developed by Rockstar London, the PSP version was developed by Rockstar Leeds, and the Wii version was developed by Rockstar Toronto, with the WII, PSP, and PS2 versions being released in 2007, an the PC version being released in an uncensored form in 2009.
Instead of being a direct sequel of the first game’s plot, Manhunt 2 instead goes in a different direction. Focusing on two inmates at the Dixmor Asylum for the criminally insane, Daniel and Leo, as a severe thunderstorm causes the security system to go offline, opening all of the cell doors in the facility, letting the people locked inside out to roam around.
In the chaos, Daniel, who is a partial amnesiac, unable to remember how he got into the asylum, with the help of Leo, escape. After this escape. Daniel tries it figure out why he can’t remember his past and how he got into the asylum in the first place. While you’re following the clues, a group of people called the Watchmen are hunting you down, trying to prevent you from finding the truth.
Manhunt 2 tries to do something slightly different with it’s main character in that it tries to make you feel at least some sympathy for the main character. Daniel seems to be just as disgusted with his actions as a lot of the people playing would be. He does get desensitized to it as the game goes along, but when you’re brutally killing people in the dozens like Daniel is, I’m pretty sure most people would get desensitized to it.
While the first game had a great 80’s horror movie vibe going, with a John Carpenter-esque synth soundtrack, and slasher style, Manhunt 2 goes for more of a conspiracy thriller vibe with it’s plot. It isn’t bad by any means, it just doesn’t have the same vibe the first game did, and just doesn’t capture the same vibe as the first game.
The first noticeable difference between this game and the first is that Manhunt 2 definitely cranks it’s mature content up to 11, where the first Manhunt only got the ESRB rating “Mature”, this one got an “Adults Only” rating, meaning it would be refused sale on store shelves for major chains in the US. The difference is that Manhunt 2 adds some sexual content and use of drugs on top of it’s high impact violence and strong language. I earlier asked why Rockstar would want to release a sequel to probably it’s most controversial game, but if you were going to release a sequel to Manhunt, upping everything that made people disgusted to the first one seems like you’re just making it worse.
As a result, the PSP, PlayStation 2, and WII version of the games were censored, with all of the executions having a filter applied to them, to the point of not being able to see whats going on in some of these versions of the game, with the WII version getting the worst of it. But strangely, a lot of the sexual content seems to be intact in these versions. And the Wii version seems to have the best quality video with the cutscenes. Weird.
The core gameplay is the same as the first one. You’ll be hiding in shadows, running from enemies if any of them see you, and be performing executions. Executions have more variety this time around. The instruments of violence you can pick up have a wider variety than the first game, making executions a little less tedious having to sit through the same animations over and over again.
A new addition to the execution system is that you can also use parts of the environment to perform executions, similar to the earlier Punisher game from 2005, which also had to get censored on consoles. You’d think that people would learn. These include electrocuting someone to death with a fuse box, freezing someones head in liquid nitrogen and smashing it to pieces, and even trapping someone in an iron maiden with spikes on the inside. Quite a few of these are level specific, so it never gets old as there is always something new to see.
The gun combat has significantly improved. It’s still not amazing by any stretch, but it’s now a viable option, especially since gun combat has a heavier focus than the last game. If actually running and gunning in this game isn’t your cup of tea, guns can now also be used for executions too, making them actually worth your time. The Melee combat is also better, but is still only viable as a last resort.
Surprisingly, the WII and even the PC version has motion based movements for it’s executions, requiring you you to use the Wiimote and nunchuck to re-enact the executions on screen to execute enemies, while the Wiimote even has noises coming out of it’s speaker when you perform these executions, adding another layer to the already disturbing nature of the game.
The PC version has a slightly gimped version that has you simply moving the mouse in a certain direction to complete the execution. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t feel as smooth as the Wii version, because you’re limited to the mouse. If you are annoyed by it, you can turn it off in the PC version. Because of this feature, both the PC and Wii versions come with a tutorial to show how these move based executions work.
Probably the most annoying part of Manhunt 2, for me at least, is that in the Wii and PC versions of the game, while you’re hiding in the shadows, someone hunting you can come over to the area that you’re hiding, and while they’re inspecting your hiding area, a circle pops up, and you have to hold your mouse/Wiimote in that circle as it moves around. It just feels like an unnecessary addition ontop of the motion controls. I get that it’s supposed to make the stealth part of the game more tense, but it just feels like an annoyance the further you get into the game.
Also, like the fist game, the PlayStation 2 version takes advantage of the PS2 headset, and in a similar fashion, you can hear Leo through the earpiece along with using your voice to attract nearby enemies.
Another feature that the PC and Wii versions also come with is an alternate ending that you can unlock if you do well enough during the game and get a high enough star rating in each level.
While Manhunt 2 isn’t a bad game, and in a lot of ways is much better than the first, it still feels like a step down from the first game purely because it cranks up the shocking content, going for violence and sexual content over the sense of atmosphere the original one. If you liked the first Manhunt, you would probably enjoy the second one, but for the people who don’t like extreme content in their video games, this game is a skip.
After the controversy of the first Manhunt, you would think that Rockstar wouldn’t put the money and effort into making a sequel. Maybe a few ports of the first game to other consoles to help recoup some of it’s costs on the down low, but not a fully fledged sequel. But surprisingly, 4 years later, Manhunt 2 was announced and released to the public.
The PC and PS2 versions were developed by Rockstar London, the PSP version was developed by Rockstar Leeds, and the Wii version was developed by Rockstar Toronto, with the WII, PSP, and PS2 versions being released in 2007, an the PC version being released in an uncensored form in 2009.
Instead of being a direct sequel of the first game’s plot, Manhunt 2 instead goes in a different direction. Focusing on two inmates at the Dixmor Asylum for the criminally insane, Daniel and Leo, as a severe thunderstorm causes the security system to go offline, opening all of the cell doors in the facility, letting the people locked inside out to roam around.
In the chaos, Daniel, who is a partial amnesiac, unable to remember how he got into the asylum, with the help of Leo, escape. After this escape. Daniel tries it figure out why he can’t remember his past and how he got into the asylum in the first place. While you’re following the clues, a group of people called the Watchmen are hunting you down, trying to prevent you from finding the truth.
Manhunt 2 tries to do something slightly different with it’s main character in that it tries to make you feel at least some sympathy for the main character. Daniel seems to be just as disgusted with his actions as a lot of the people playing would be. He does get desensitized to it as the game goes along, but when you’re brutally killing people in the dozens like Daniel is, I’m pretty sure most people would get desensitized to it.
While the first game had a great 80’s horror movie vibe going, with a John Carpenter-esque synth soundtrack, and slasher style, Manhunt 2 goes for more of a conspiracy thriller vibe with it’s plot. It isn’t bad by any means, it just doesn’t have the same vibe the first game did, and just doesn’t capture the same vibe as the first game.
The first noticeable difference between this game and the first is that Manhunt 2 definitely cranks it’s mature content up to 11, where the first Manhunt only got the ESRB rating “Mature”, this one got an “Adults Only” rating, meaning it would be refused sale on store shelves for major chains in the US. The difference is that Manhunt 2 adds some sexual content and use of drugs on top of it’s high impact violence and strong language. I earlier asked why Rockstar would want to release a sequel to probably it’s most controversial game, but if you were going to release a sequel to Manhunt, upping everything that made people disgusted to the first one seems like you’re just making it worse.
As a result, the PSP, PlayStation 2, and WII version of the games were censored, with all of the executions having a filter applied to them, to the point of not being able to see whats going on in some of these versions of the game, with the WII version getting the worst of it. But strangely, a lot of the sexual content seems to be intact in these versions. And the Wii version seems to have the best quality video with the cutscenes. Weird.
The core gameplay is the same as the first one. You’ll be hiding in shadows, running from enemies if any of them see you, and be performing executions. Executions have more variety this time around. The instruments of violence you can pick up have a wider variety than the first game, making executions a little less tedious having to sit through the same animations over and over again.
A new addition to the execution system is that you can also use parts of the environment to perform executions, similar to the earlier Punisher game from 2005, which also had to get censored on consoles. You’d think that people would learn. These include electrocuting someone to death with a fuse box, freezing someones head in liquid nitrogen and smashing it to pieces, and even trapping someone in an iron maiden with spikes on the inside. Quite a few of these are level specific, so it never gets old as there is always something new to see.
The gun combat has significantly improved. It’s still not amazing by any stretch, but it’s now a viable option, especially since gun combat has a heavier focus than the last game. If actually running and gunning in this game isn’t your cup of tea, guns can now also be used for executions too, making them actually worth your time. The Melee combat is also better, but is still only viable as a last resort.
Surprisingly, the WII and even the PC version has motion based movements for it’s executions, requiring you you to use the Wiimote and nunchuck to re-enact the executions on screen to execute enemies, while the Wiimote even has noises coming out of it’s speaker when you perform these executions, adding another layer to the already disturbing nature of the game.
The PC version has a slightly gimped version that has you simply moving the mouse in a certain direction to complete the execution. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t feel as smooth as the Wii version, because you’re limited to the mouse. If you are annoyed by it, you can turn it off in the PC version. Because of this feature, both the PC and Wii versions come with a tutorial to show how these move based executions work.
Probably the most annoying part of Manhunt 2, for me at least, is that in the Wii and PC versions of the game, while you’re hiding in the shadows, someone hunting you can come over to the area that you’re hiding, and while they’re inspecting your hiding area, a circle pops up, and you have to hold your mouse/Wiimote in that circle as it moves around. It just feels like an unnecessary addition ontop of the motion controls. I get that it’s supposed to make the stealth part of the game more tense, but it just feels like an annoyance the further you get into the game.
Also, like the fist game, the PlayStation 2 version takes advantage of the PS2 headset, and in a similar fashion, you can hear Leo through the earpiece along with using your voice to attract nearby enemies.
Another feature that the PC and Wii versions also come with is an alternate ending that you can unlock if you do well enough during the game and get a high enough star rating in each level.
While Manhunt 2 isn’t a bad game, and in a lot of ways is much better than the first, it still feels like a step down from the first game purely because it cranks up the shocking content, going for violence and sexual content over the sense of atmosphere the original one. If you liked the first Manhunt, you would probably enjoy the second one, but for the people who don’t like extreme content in their video games, this game is a skip.