Title Manhunt 2 Date 11.23.2007 Genre Action Platform Wii Developer Rockstar Games Publisher Take 2 Interactive

You know, I could start this review by going on a long-winded rant about the controversy this game has stirred up, and it would probably include quotes like:

“It's the parents fault that they allow little jimmy to be raised by television, movies and video games. This game is clearly not for him, and sellers make sure that they can't get a hold of it.”

“The ESRB is unfairly targeting Rockstar games, because there have been much more violent and mature games that they have let pass easily” (This is true, Killer7 for example is much more mature and violent)

“Jack Thompson is a poopy-head”

I could do that, but guess what: Manhunt 2 just isn't worth it. The follow-up to the 2003 sleeper hit was supposed to come out back in July, but the soccer moms whined and the ESRB branded it with an Adults Only rating, so Rockstar took a couple extra months to make some edits. The ESRB gave the edited version a “M' rating, and Manhunt 2 was released on Halloween of 2007 (in North America, European and Australian territories have outright banned Manhunt 2). Problem is that even if it had no edits, Manhunt 2 is nowhere near as good as its predecessor and has enough problems to make you say: “All the hubbub… over this??”

BRAIN-MATTER COVERED STORY
When a game opens up with shots of an insane asylum and its various residents, you know something not cool is about to go down. All of a sudden, the asylum's power goes down, and the crazies are released from their cells and start going on a rampage. The games main characters, Danny and Leo, are also inmates at this asylum, and decided to escape while everything is going to hell. Danny remember nothing about his past, other that Leo saying he was part of the “Project”. So Danny, with Leo in tow, decides to fight against the “Project” in an attempt to recover his past, an endeavor that will take him through a blood-soaked path through various sleazy and strange locations.

The Manchurian Candidate/Mind control story is something you've probably seen before, and isn't very interesting. All the plot twists can be seen coming form a mile away (it should take anybody half a second to figure out the relationship between Danny and Leo), and you don't get attached to the characters at all. The great thing about the first Manhunt's story was that James Earl Cash was forced to kill or be killed in a madman's game. It made you want to play to the very end to see if Cash gets his revenge. In Manhunt 2, Danny could disappear forever if he wants to, but chooses to become a killer in order to get his past back. Not the kind of guy I would root for. So, what's there to keep you interested in playing Manhunt 2 to the end? Let’s see…

BRAIN-MATTER COVERED GAMEPLAY
Manhunt 2 pretty much plays the same way as its predecessor. Stealth is the most important factor of the game, which has you sneaking through levels staying in the shadows and waiting for the precise moments in which to take out your enemies. Level designs for the most part are pretty good, with plenty of shadows and areas to hide in. New to Manhunt 2 is the ability to smash lights to create your own shadows, an aspect that may make this game easier than the first one. The radar system also makes a return, represented in the bottom-left corner of the screen. Hunters are represented by arrows that change color depending on their awareness. Green means they are following their predetermined path with no awareness of you, yellow means they have been alerted by something and are checking it out, and red means they've spotted you! Run for your life! In order to draw hunters toward you and split them up from groups, you'll have to make use of sound. Striking or throwing object can cause hunters to investigate the area where they heard the sound, allowing you to strike when their backs are turned. Hunters can also examine the shadows where you are hiding, which triggers a mini-game where you have to hold the Wii-mote perfectly still or risk being seen. I doubt anyone will have any trouble doing that, however.

Hunters themselves aren't nearly as terrifying as the roving, crazy-ass gangs that populated the first Manhunt. Unless you find stereotypical, bounty-hunting rednecks to be scary, none of the hunters should send shivers down your spine. Another thing that sees a major downgrade is the hunter AI. While pretty smart and aggressive in pursuing you in the first Manhunt, the hunters AI here range from decent to downright stupid. There were times where hunters would see me and give chase pretty well, even if I ducked into shadows. Most times, however, I would run into shadows no more than two feet away and the hunters would lose sight of me and give up looking. They would sometimes walk back and forth in the same 2 feet area for minutes at a time, for apparently no reason. There was one time I stood right in front of a hunter accidentally while trying to execute him, and HE DIDN'T SEE ME!! Hunters also find that the best course of action in a gunfight is to stand perfectly still while they get their heads blown off. It doesn't help that they are horrible shots. All in all, a disappointment in AI compared to the first one.

To the “good” stuff: executions. First you'll need your instruments of pain: Shivs: Check. Knives: Check. Sickles: Check. Hammers: Check. Circular Saws: Check. Clubs: Check. Razors: Check. Guns: Check. Anyway, you'll find quite a bit of murder weapons to end the lives of your enemies. Executions are done by targeting the victim with the “c” button on the nunchuck, and then waiting until their backs are turned to get right behind them without them knowing. You then hold down the “A” button on the Wii-mote, and like the first game, bring up three different levels of executions the longer you wait to strike: quick, violent, and gruesome. The kill animation you trigger will last longer depending on the execution level. New to Manhunt 2 are environmental kills, which are represented by skulls on your radar, which you can trigger when enemies walk close to them. These include bashing skulls in with manhole covers, hanging someone with a sharp hook, and throwing someone into a press machine. You can even perform gun executions as well.

On the Wii, execution are initiated and followed through with various Wii-mote and nunchuck motions. To its credit, the game gives you a tutorial before you start the game on all the various motions you'll perform during executions, so you'll rarely never known what motion you'll have to perform. Each execution level with certain weapons will have a different initial motion control to perform that is shown at the top left of the screen. Once you perform this action, the execution animation begins, and different motions will be flashed at the top left of the screen that you'll have to perform to see the execution to its gruesome end. I found this to be a pretty cool use of motion control that immerses you in the action pretty well. There are a few annoyances though. The first being that if you fail any of the motions during the execution, the game cuts away from the animation, but your victim still ends up dead. So, let’s say you attempt a shotgun execution and fail to press the “B” trigger to see the entire animation. The game will cut away, but your victim will still end up on the ground with his head blown off. Lame. The other annoyance is an edit Rockstar had to make to get the game cleared: the removal of the execution scoring system that was present in the first game. Because only sick sons of ****** would give you points for killing people, right?

*Walks into an arcade full of light-gun games*

D’oh!

Anyway, without the scoring system that gives you more or less points depending on the levels of executions you perform, holding down the “A” button longer to do violet or gruesome kills is totally useless unless you want to see them for your sick pleasure. Those who want to blow through the game as fast as possible will simply execute hunters with a quick death, and not be penalized for it. This takes a LOT of the fun out of Manhunt 2 that the first Manhunt had.

Another thing that befalls Manhunt 2's gameplay is the same thing that befell the first one: Guns. Once you have access to firearms, the game basically turns from OK stealth game to typical run-and-gun shoot anything that moves game. With a gun equipped, you enter RE4-style aiming mode by holding the “c” button, use the Wii-mote to point at what you want dead, and press the “B” trigger to fire. One problem with aiming a gun is that is waaaaaaaay too sensitive, especially when aiming up or down, and the game has no option to adjust sensitivity. A few times the gun cursor got stuck in the corner of the screen, causing my character to turn wildly for a few seconds. At least the cursor semi-locks on to enemies heads when close enough to them, making gunfights that much easier. In Manhunt, you get guns towards the end of the game, making the last few levels run-and-gun affairs. In Manhunt 2, guns are obtained much earlier, around the third and fourth levels, making only the beginning of new levels where your inventory is reset stealth affairs until you obtain a firearm. It was very disappointing.

It also doesn't help that Danny and Leo both move and turn like tanks, making quick getaways annoying. Melee fighting face-to-face with hunters are done by targeting and the flicking the nunchuck and Wii-mote forward as fast as you can, which is as horrible as it sounds. Pressing up on the d-pad near walls and such will flatten your character against them, and you can peek around corners while flattened with the analogue stick. In a “smart” move by Rockstar, you can also peek around corners by tilting the nunchuck to the left or right. I couldn't count how many times I would be running, only to see my character pause in a leaning motion, making me think a glitch just occurred, when really I just accidentally leaned the nunchuck to the side. Good times indeed, especially when I got killed a couple times because of it.

BRAIN-MATTER COVERED GRAPHICS
Manhunt 2's graphics are a hit-and-miss bag. Levels and their designs are pretty good and well represent the places they depict. From Hostel-like torture clubs to typical suburbs, each level has a unique and visceral feel to it. The game also has a screen noise effect much like the Silent Hill games that only adds to the atmosphere of pain and misery (you can choose to turn it off if you don't like it). Exploding heads from gunshots are also pretty brutal, with brain-matter and blood spraying everywhere when they are done. Danny and Leo will also get progressively more blood-soaked when they take damage and perform kills, so that was a nice touch.

Now comes the misses, the first being the edits Rockstar had to do to the execution animations. When executions are done, a red, bleached out hue plays over them, making it pretty hard to see what's going on. There are also some obvious cut-aways that have been made, making it impossible to see what Danny or Leo do to their victims when using certain weapons. Don't get me wrong, you can still see what's happening and you can still see blood squirting out of victims (The circular saw gruesome execution and gun executions in particular are pretty brutal), but with the edits they are just don't have the impact they had in the first Manhunt. Character models also have the same blocky look to them that a lot of Rockstar game characters have. Cut-scenes aren't too impressive either. Widescreen display and 480p support is always good to have, though.

BRAIN-MATTER COVERED SOUND
Sound, on the other hand, is pretty impressive, especially if you have a surround-sound system. Music sounds like it came from a John Carpenter movie and can really up the tension, especially when hunters are chasing you. The use of sound effects to lure hunters is also pretty well done. Voice acting is also good, with hunters spouting some pretty funny phrases when they are looking for you. Lots of harsh language also appears un-edited. The various sound effects, from fire guns to chopping through flesh, also get the job done. Solid throughout.

BRAIN-MATTER BETTER SPENT ELSEWHERE
After beating the game, which should take 8-10 hours, you unlock a bonus level, which gives you an alternate ending after you beat it. After that you get…nothing. Not even a harder difficulty. You can go back and choose whatever level you want to play, but I see most gamers just playing this once and be done with it.

So there's the great Manhunt 2. A game that has some redeeming qualities, but is mostly just a mediocre stealth-action game. Some control issues coupled with dumb enemy AI, an uninteresting story and characters, and toned-down executions don't make this a better game than it's predecessor. Those who want too see if this game truly earned and deserved all the controversy it created should just rent it and blow through it over a weekend. Everyone else should just replay the first Manhunt if you want to satisfy that killer instinct inside you.

Pros
+ Scary levels, atmosphere, and environments.
+ Controls well for the most part
+ Executions, although edited, can still be pretty brutal
+ Blowing heads off is still gruesome
+ Sound is excellent
+ Some nice graphical touches

Cons
- Dumb enemy AI
- Uninteresting story and characters
- Edits that had to be made, including removal of the scoring system and executions, make the game less fun and less impactful
- Some motion controls (melee combat, leaning) are horrible
- Tank-like character movement
- Hunters aren't as scary as in the first Manhunt
- Gun aiming is way too sensitive
- No replay value, unless you are truly bloodthirsty

Game Score

C-

Reviewed By: Contributed