Manhunt 2

Reviewed by:
Scott Jones

The much-maligned Manhunt 2 finally limps into game stores in a half-neutered state. The first Manhunt—unapologetically violent, morbid, and featured a delightful creature named "Piggsy"—gave the game-censoring Jack Thompson and his ilk big stiffies. Manhunt 2 was supposed to be another how-low-can-we-go product, and function more as a fuck-you political statement than a bona fide video game. Funny thing: En route to offending people, Rockstar inadvertently made a decent game. Whoops! The game stars the meek-looking Dr. Daniel Lamb, who clearly purchased his eyeglasses from the LensCrafters "Gordon Freeman" Collection. Doc Lamb, locked in an insane asylum, must deal with all sorts of insane baddies in the only way he knows how: by creeping up on them and violently murdering them. The Wii version—which we'd previously peeped at Rockstar's offices—had us lopping off heads by swinging the Wiimote through the air. It's all been reeled in a bit—those kills, once so explicitly rendered, now are kind of blurred out. Happy now, ESRB? The game is certainly creepy, but we still wish Rockstar had hung balls in the wind and kept the violence in the game, and taken their adults-only rating like a man.

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