Despite the filters, Manhunt 2 is a brutal, bloody game that is worth a look for fans of the original.
It's impossible to talk about Manhunt 2 without discussing the controversy surrounding it. Let's go ahead and get this out of the way. After playing through the game, I can see why it got slapped with an AO rating and has been banned in numerous countries for various reasons. It's extremely brutal and bloody and, had the filters not been in place, excessively graphic. Even so, I do not believe it should have received an AO or be banned. Yes, it's all of the above things and more, but it's still a work of art. It's made for the adult gaming crowd who shouldn't be told what they can and cannot play, which is essentially what has happened to the game. Plus, it's no worse than a splatter film such as Hostel. Violence needs to be taken in context. For example, Manhunt 2 doesn't necessarily glorify violence. After your first execution in the game, Daniel throws up at his own disgust at how he could ever do a thing such as murder somebody. Of course, that brings into question why there would be a need for the gruesome level kills if Daniel doesn't want to kill anybody. But by the end of the game (which I won't ruin here), you will understand why it makes sense in the context of the narrative. This type of thoughtful storytelling is contradictory to what movies like Hostel have to offer. Hostel more or less portrays killing as a hobby. People pay money and they get to kill an innocent person while they cry, beg, and plead for their life, all while the killer derives a sickening pleasure from it. Manhunt 2 gets much more graphic in terms of visuals, but taken in context, it isn't appealing and it makes sense. In short, Manhunt 2 never deserved to be banned or receive the dubious AO. If the ESRB actually, you know, played the games they would know that. But I digress.
Of course, due to the controversy and the AO rating, Rockstar unnecessarily had to blur out the kills using a weird filter. However, it flickers on and off during the executions, so you'll definitely know exactly what Daniel is doing to his unfortunate victim. My question is this: why, if we can see what is going on anyway, are the filters necessary? How does that make it any less brutal or detrimental to our mental being? Answer: it doesn't. Luckily, this effect only drags the game down slightly. Regardless of whether or not the filters are in place, the gameplay is exactly the same.
The gameplay should feel instantly familiar to fans of the first game. You are being hunted down and are forced to kill anyone in your path. By sneaking up behind somebody, you can initiate an execution. There are three levels of executions: hasty, violent, and gruesome. The longer you hold the button, the higher your execution will be and as the names imply, they get more violent the higher you go. Although the first game certainly had it's fair share of brutality, Manhunt 2 takes it to a whole new level. You can execute your targets with a glass shard, chainsaw, axe, pen, plastic bag, pistol, shotgun, and others. Each and every one is much more violent than anything found in the original game and video games in general. This is where the game succeeds the most. Being patient, studying your target, attacking when most appropriate, and dragging the body to a hidden area without being seen by anybody else is very gratifying.
This time, there are even environmental executions, all of which are just as gruesome and satisfying as the regular executions. By luring guards to a certain area, you can use the environment around you to dispatch them. You can push them through a grinder, electrocute them with a fuse box, and even bash their face in with a manhole cover before pushing them down the hole. These offer a nice change from the regular executions and force the player to be patient and resourceful.
However, very early in the game you will start receiving firearms to play with. If you played the original, you'll know that the guns were definitely not the highlight of the gameplay. But at least in that game, you didn't get them until at least halfway into the game. In this game, you get them very early on, after only 4 or 5 levels. Although there are a few sneaky levels interspersed between, most of the levels from there on out are basically shooting galleries. This gets pretty boring quickly. The Manhunt games thrive on sneakiness and silent executions, so it's odd that Rockstar would start throwing in the gun battles so early on. It plays fine, but it is still really disappointing.
Something has to be said about the AI. This has got to be the stupidest enemy AI I've seen in a long time. If an enemy spots you, all you have to do is run into the shadows and most of the time, they won't know where you are and just go on about their business. There is a hand to hand fighting mechanic, but you will never ever have to use it due to this. Needless to say, this makes the game fairly easy. Even if they find a dead body, they'll simply walk over it and keep patrolling rather than become more aware. There was even a few moments in the game where I was standing in the light directly in front of them, and they would walk right past me as if I weren't there. Usually, the enemies are as dumb as bricks.
The camera is another huge problem with the game. I found that the camera was far too close to my character and it limited my view of the surrounding area. It was very difficult to peak around corners or across the area because the camera wasn't helpful. The main reason for this is that you can't control it. The right analog stick, for some strange reason, does not control the camera and it really hurts the game in a large way.
Another thing that I think hurt the game is the lack of suspense or scares. The original Manhunt had an excellent premise, being video taped for a snuff film and forced to kill for the sick enjoyment of others. It also had a very creepy and excellent boss fight against a character named Piggsy. That one battle was so intense and terrifying that it was worth playing the entire game for. This game really has nothing like that. No good boss fights, no suspense, no scares. Despite the story being told in an intelligent manner, it's just not all that intriguing. The ambiance wasn't as dark or dreary as the first game and it hurt the overall effect.
If there is one thing that this game proves, it's that the next-gen systems are definitely more powerful in terms of graphical capabilities. It just doesn't look all that good. The environments have some terrible jagged lines and the characters move like they aren't even attached to the ground. It certainly isn't the worst looking game on the PS2, but after seeing how awesome the new systems look, it is very tough to go back to this.
The audio is usually very good. The voice acting is excellent. They deliver their lines with confidence and it really helps flesh out the story. In fact, it's because of the voice acting that the story is interesting in the least sense. Some of the dialogue even has a strange humor to it and I found myself laughing quite often (albeit sometimes unintentionally). The sound effects also sound very good. In particular, it just sounds awful (in a good way) when you execute someone. The only thing that never really stood out was the musical score. It was pretty boring and never helped create any type of suspense.
Despite all of the controversy surrounding this game and the unnecessary and disappointing filters added to the executions, it manages to be a fun game after all. It's not perfect, not even close. It needs a whole lot of polishing to be a truly remarkable game. But it's just a breath of fresh air to see a developer not back down to controversy and scrutiny and try to put a dark, mature game out for the adult gaming crowd. Sure, plenty of games are rated M, but few touch the subject matter that the Manhunt games have dared to go and for that, I commend Rockstar. Hopefully, this controversy will only spur them to push the boundaries even further rather than back down and bow to the pressures of the media. In short, if you can handle the sick, twisted, and sometimes off-putting subject matter, Manhunt 2 can be an enjoyable ride.