Manhunt 2 gets US go ahead

By Games Industry.biz Published 24 August, 2007

Rated and dated.

Rockstar has announced that Manhunt 2 has finally been given a M rating in the US, clearing the way for an October release, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

The ESRB has re-rated the game following Rockstar's submission of a modified version of the original product, which in June was branded with an Adults Only stamp.

"Manhunt 2 is important to us, and we're glad it can finally be appreciated as a gaming experience," said Sam Houser, founder of Rockstar Games.

"We love the horror genre. Manhunt 2 is a powerful piece of interactive story telling that is a unique video game experience. We think horror fans will love it."

After the game was given the AO rating in the US, Nintendo and Sony both refused to let the game appear on their consoles.

The game will now appear on October 31 in North America.

Manhunt 2 was also effectively banned in the UK by the BBFC after it refused to allow the game to go on sale.

Picture of Games.

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Comments (62) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • DanWhitehead #1 5 years ago

    Green blood saves the day!

  • AcidSnake #2 5 years ago

    Wonder what they had to cut out?
    The testical removal bit maybe?

  • Mick #3 5 years ago

    meh, it was all just a publicity stunt.

  • crazyhorse174 #4 5 years ago

    Ah well - ony a matter of time before its out here too!

    And it'll shoot straight to the top of the charts on the back of all this!

    Hooray for Rockstar! :S

  • RexRunti #5 5 years ago

    I'm assuming they'll resubmit it to the BBFC now.

  • GamesConnoisseur #6 5 years ago

    Worth importing PSP version?!

    Wii would be the best one though, immersion at slicing and dicing, what Jack Thompson gonna do though? I cant imagine him keeping quiet so there ll be shitstorm.

    Diffcult over here what with stabbing and shooting by Yobs taking headlines.

  • crazyhorse174 #7 5 years ago

    This might sound off-topic here, but I'd be interested to hear what games Jack Thompson played as a kid? Did he play cowboys and indians? Cops and Robbers? Commandos!?

    Those - although make believe - all have violent undertones to them. So it would be OK for that sort of thing, but playing games which aren't even physical things, is wrong?

    Or maybe he just sat and played with dolls all day!

  • jonsaan #8 5 years ago

    Manhunt is shit. Now it will sell more. Job done.

  • Arcadiian #9 5 years ago

    uh oh.

    "Banned Manhunt Released In UK - European Union To Blame".

    I love tabloid headlines.

  • SniperWolf #10 5 years ago

    Manhunt was a poor game at the end of the day, the stealth mechanics were just dull.

  • LFace #11 5 years ago

    Im interested in knowing what had to be cut to give this rating as well.

    Wonder if it'll now play like a Dario Argento film thats being aired on BBC1 at 8pm on a sunday

  • L0cky #12 5 years ago

    'I cant imagine him keeping quiet so there ll be shitstorm.'

    I'm not sure Jack Thompson is capable of creating a shitstorm any more.

  • Wrestlevania #13 5 years ago

    I'd be very interested to read about what they've changed, like for like.

  • SEVQA #14 5 years ago

    Wwwwwwwooohooooo! Get in!

    ‘Manhunt’ was not shit, which is why the subject matter is irrelevant, Manhunt 1 was one of the hardest games to complete and most satisfying to complete at that. I’m glad the ban has been lifted (in US at least!) for the sake of allowing games of this nature and quality to not have an impact on our civil rights.

    Well done to Rockstar for fighting and look forward to playing Manhunt 2.

  • Bumhug360 #15 5 years ago

    "This might sound off-topic here, but I'd be interested to hear what games Jack Thompson played as a kid? Did he play cowboys and indians? Cops and Robbers? Commandos!?"

    He didnt play games as a child, nobody liked him as they all thought he was a pretentious smug know it all. Most break times he would find himself hung by a wedgie on a coat peg, or with head constantly flushed down the toilet. His parents were too poor to buy him any games to play, his mum spent all her money on crack and would beat him at night when his dad wouldnt come home, and the reason his dad didnt come home was due to him visiting hotels with cheap hookers. Was tough growing up for him, with all the other kids laughing and making fun of him, at night he would just cry himself to sleep. As a teenager things went from bad to worse, girls just didnt want to go anywhere near him and questioned his sexuality. Most break times he would still spend his time suspended by a wedgie or with head down the toilet. His mum turned to prostitution and was arrested after a raid on the hotel, luck was with her though as turned out (unknown to his mum and dad) that it was with his dad she got caught so they couldnt press charges.

    As a social outcast he decided to plot his revenge, due to having the balls of a small field mouse though he was too chicken to go out and get a gun so instead he locked himself in a library studying law. Now several years later he is getting his revenge and still acting a complete cock

    That could be another Jack Thompson though, unsure which one you are on about

  • crazyhorse174 #16 5 years ago

    Why do people keep banging on about civil rights?

    Its a fucking game! Its not infringing your right to vote or anything!

  • rashes #17 5 years ago

    Manhunt rocked.. .had an excellent tense atmosphere and a really good combat system (Rockstar should have ported the combat system to GTA!).

    I'm hope this is resubmitted in Ireland and that the didn't change too much.
    Edited by 1 at 24/08/07 @ 15:48

  • killyourtv #18 5 years ago

    now for the uk...

  • crazyhorse174 #19 5 years ago

    lol @ Bumhug360

    Brilliant mate - mate me laugh a lot there!

    +1

  • MrE26 #20 5 years ago

    I'll definitely be picking this one up. The original works as an amped up game of hide & seek, and i thought it created a great sense of genuine tension. Fingers crossed the EU release remains uncensored, after the awful hackjob the ESRB did on The Punisher.

  • The_Inquisitor #21 5 years ago

    They have to release it here now, otherwise it'll just be imported.

  • mattjohnston #22 5 years ago

    Jack Thompson can't say anything anymore about Take2 games, can he?

  • Mick #23 5 years ago

    "Im interested in knowing what had to be cut to give this rating as well. "

    Thats exactly why this game will sell bucket loads. hats off to the PR folks i say.

  • SEVQA #24 5 years ago

    @Crazyhorse174

    You obviously know nothing about civil rights as Rockstar pleaded their case on that very basis being the right to purchase an art form and future concerns for the industry! How anything to do with voting got into the topic I don’t know!

    Do your history homework lad!

    @Bumhug360

    Thanks for that, most informative, I hope he writes a biography!

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #25 5 years ago

    Well, I never!

    I thought this game was buried.

  • crazyhorse174 #26 5 years ago

    @SEVQA

    My point was, that voting is a civil liberty - being able to buy a game, in my opinion, isn't.

    And the only reason Rockstar argued that it was a civil liberty to be able to buy it, was because they were clutching at straws and trying to recoup some of the money they will lose if the game doesn't get released.

    So that, my friend, is why voting was mentioned! :D

  • Skeletor #27 5 years ago

    Awaiting AO-Rated Director's Cut for the PC...Liked the first, btw:-)

  • trooper6 #28 5 years ago

    @crazyhorse174

    Are you British? I'm not sure what Civil Rights are guarenteed under British Common Law, but the US Constituion outlines a whole bunch of them. Only one of which is the right to vote.

    The first line of the Preable of the Declaration of Independence is: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

    Equality, Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness is what we found most important to mention in our preable...nothing about voting. And The US Constitution has 27 Amendments...only 2 are about the right to vote and none of those are in the Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments, written by the founding fathers).

    The first first Amendment in the Bill of Rights?
    "Freedom of religion, speech, press, and peaceable assembly as well as the right to petition the government."

    And it is under freedom of speech that anti-censorship laws fall...and it is under freedom of speech that Rockstar argues. You so blithely say people don't have a civil right to buy a game...but the US Constitution, its Declaration of Independence, and numerous Judges who have overturned video game legislation would disagree. And that is the easy slam dunk legal argument for them to make...because it is so fundamental to US culture. There is a very long history of artists/producers making the case that they have civil right to produce art under the protection of freedom of speech. And it is something that the US tends to take seriously.

    And while I don't know the particulars and details of Great Britains legal code, I can't imagine it is all that different...I mean, all the US founding fathers were British and were very much influenced by British Common Law.

  • Ryze #29 5 years ago

    Hopefully it'll still appear in Europe uncut.

    I wouldn't mind getting it from The Netherlands.

    Surely they can release it in Holland without any edits?

  • afghan_jones #30 5 years ago

    @bumhug360

    he will most likely try to sue for that libellous/slanderous statement.

    (he wont win though because its all true)

  • smelly #31 5 years ago

    >Manhunt is shit. Now it will sell more. Job done.

    Thats funny.. every review i've read has given it 9/10.

    still, im happy .. if it IS that good, i get another good game to play on my wii this holiday
    Edited by 1 at 24/08/07 @ 18:29

  • doomboom #32 5 years ago

    >>Manhunt is shit. Now it will sell more. Job done.

    >Thats funny.. every review i've read has given it 9/10.

    jonsaan is entitled to their opinion though, did you not read trooper6's post? lol

    I think this is great news even if the content has had to be watered down slightly. Only problem is that I dont have a Wii so will miss out on that version, oh well, it gives me an excuse to dust off the PS2 :)

  • smelly #33 5 years ago

    >jonsaan is entitled to their opinion though

    Erm.. but apart from the reviewers, no-one has played this game yet.. so his opinion is based upon nothing (except for the first game, which as far as i've read bares little or no relation apart from the name)

  • DanC89 #34 5 years ago

    There is justice in the world. :)

  • Waldo #35 5 years ago

    Like there was ever any doubt it would get re-submitted and re-rated.

  • bioreit #36 5 years ago

    @ trooper6

    Just gonna go way off-topic here...


    You mean the US Constitution? The one that says all men are created equal? Unless, of course, you happen to be black, in which case you only count as two-thirds of a man, for voting and census purposes. What about their civil rights, because as far as I'm aware, that particular tidbit has never been repealed.

    And the whole "right to bear arms" bit; funny how the really important part - the fact that it is ONLY when the nation is in a state of 'legal' war that that is legal - seems to have been written out, without any Amendment changes. It just seems to have been removed silently to give trigger-happy Americans the excuse to keep on polishing their handguns lovingly.

    My point is that the US Constitution is so full of holes, has been so messed with and was only ever designed in the first place by rich, white landowners to benefit rich, white landowners, that I don't think it can ever be held up as a shining example of how a country should run its affairs.

  • livinglegend #37 5 years ago

    @ bioreit

    You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. You are spewing stupidity all over the internet.

    Fact: The 14th and 15th amendments of the US Constitution were passed in the 1800s (after the Civil War) to ensure that people of all races and creeds were guaranteed the same rights as everybody. When you say "as far as I'm aware, that particular tidbit has never been repealed." you make it clear that you are aware of squat.

    Fact: The 2nd amendment to the Constitution says ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about only being in effect during war. NOTHING. It says that armed civilians are a necessity in order to ensure the security of a free state, thus "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed."

    As to your last point, your opinion that the US Constitution was written by the rich for the rich is laughable. The Constitution was written to ensure the rights of all citizens and constrain the power of government. It has been in effect for over 200 years and is widely considered to be very successful and a very good model for a country.

    So basically, you are ignorant, and your ignorance fuels your dumb opinions. Please, for the sake of the world, educate yourself before spouting your ideas.

  • Monkey-Wizard-Ken #38 5 years ago

    Hurry, hurry, I feel the need to chop people up with my Wii knife!!!????
    ....sorry

  • Ravenboy #39 5 years ago

    Aah I love the controversy. Really, games are the source of all evil. I just bought Resident Evil 4, and I already want to shoot poor farmers with a shotgun. Too bad I don't live in a country where I can't get one for like 200 euro's. And don't blame the shotgun. Or me by the way. Blame the game. Yeah...

  • L0cky #40 5 years ago

    'OMGZ I THOUGHT GUN BANS WOULD STOP SHOOTINGS???'

    You do know how to count, right?

  • doomboom #41 5 years ago

    > Erm.. but apart from the reviewers, no-one has played this game yet.. so his opinion is based upon nothing (except for the first game, which as far as i've read bares little or no relation apart from the name)

    ERM.... thats exactly what he was talking about, thats why he said "Manhunt" and not "Manhunt 2."

  • smelly #42 5 years ago

    @Doomboom
    "ERM.... thats exactly what he was talking about, thats why he said "Manhunt" and not "Manhunt 2.""


    right.. i quote:

    "Manhunt is shit. Now it will sell more. Job done."


    So by your definition, he's talking about the first one. So therefor by your reckoning the first one is going to sell more because of this decision?

    So I laugh at that statement too.

  • doomboom #43 5 years ago

    @smelly

    Ok, calm down lad, my first post wasn’t intended to be taken so seriously anyway. Certainly not to the point where I want to begin arguing over what was said, how it was said etc.

    The way I see it he was on about Manhunt 1 when he said "Manhunt is shit" and Manhunt 2 when he said "Now it will sell more," the 'it' in the sentence referring to the topic of the thread and not the topic of his first sentence.

    It isn’t written too well (as is the nature of most internet discussion forums) and it is open to interpretation. My interpretation this time differing from your own.

    So please laugh away as much as you want at any of the statements I have made, I didn't want to start an argument in the first place anyway.

    And now I must get back to Bioshock....
    Edited by 1 at 25/08/07 @ 19:52

  • smelly #44 5 years ago

    >I didn't want to start an argument in the first place anyway.

    But yet you did! :-)

  • smelly #45 5 years ago

    +1 to what JSPOOLE said.. but without all the unnecessary aggressiveness (probably caused by playing too many violent games)

  • Psychotext #46 5 years ago

    @JSPOOLE: It's actually far higher per capita... just thought I'd clear that up for you.

  • DanWhitehead #47 5 years ago

    Plus, most of them are just as likely to be burglars or criminals getting what they deserve, and Im not one of those nancy boys whos gonna cry over them.

    There were 29,569 gun deaths in the US in 2004 (source: CDC National Center for Health Statistics mortality report online, 2007) of which only 311 were self defense. A gun in the house is therefore statistically more likely to kill a family member by accident than to be used to repel an intruder. It's also more likely to be used by an intruder to kill the occupants, than for the occupants to use it against an intruder.

    But, hey, facts should never get in the way of sociopathic vigilante fantasies.

    Edited by 1 at 27/08/07 @ 08:47

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #48 5 years ago

    No shit man- they are about ten times our size for god's sake

    Only about 5 times, actually, by population (60 mil UK, 300 mil US). People often seem to overestimate how much bigger America seems.

    And we've had two people shot to death in two weeks. If you multiply that number by the difference in pupulation, it'll still be an order of magnitude lower than the US. In this country, fatal shootings are still unusual enough that they make the national news!

  • TheUnionFrag #49 5 years ago

    What does gun crime and differences between the UK and the US have to do with the heinous decision to release such a shitty game upon a nation?

    I feel kind of sorry for the US in this instance . . . you guys have to put up with such a turd of a game as Manhunt 2 - soiling the shelves of your local games store that could easily be used to house a more worthy title, say, Bioshock?

  • HelloWorld #50 5 years ago

    I don't really want the game (it's a bit scary for me), and i suspect they're courting controversy, but i feel obliged to buy it and stand up against censorship. :S indeed.

  • smelly #51 5 years ago

    >release such a shitty game upon a nation?

    erm

    1. You havent played it
    2. The reviewers that HAVE played it have given it 9/10 scores
    3. So therefor your argument is slightly retarded.

  • doomboom #52 5 years ago

    Yeah! You tell him smelly ;-) lol

  • bioreit #53 5 years ago

    Hey Dan,

    You should join in the off-thread debate me and trooper6 are having.

    It's brilliant fun, mentally-engaging and we get to leave all these guys behind!

    Although it has swung round more to talk of politics, rather than the US Constitution and gun-crime....

  • smelly #54 5 years ago

    >It's also a fact that under a liberal government,

    Since when has labour been liberal?

    >we entered an illegal war,

    No, we joined an illegal war started by a right wing american party, of which a vast number of labour politicians voted against.

    But england cant really not do what america asks them to do (not without shafting the economy). Look what happened to france - before the war, america and france best friends, once france said "we're not doing that" americans stopped buying french produce, going on holiday to france, etc etc.

    >violent crime has sky rocketed and illegal immigration is through the roof.


    You're a daily mail reader arent you?

    I'll hold off replying to any more of your post as it seems like your politics are ever so slightly screwed up. And i cant possibly reply without pages and pages of replies showing you where you're wrong - which you wont read anyhow as you probably believe your opinion is the "correct one" and everyone else is wrong.


  • smelly #55 5 years ago

    "The americans at least have a right to defend themselves against burglers and criminals with leathal force"


    So you think all burglars should be dealt the death penalty?

  • bioreit #56 5 years ago

    @ JSPOOLE

    Hey, if you ever want to see if my liberal politics have removed my spine, feel free to PM me and arrange a time to meet up face-to-face. I can pretty much travel anywhere in the UK - you can even choose the time and place :-)

    That is, of course, if your mum let's you out on your own after 7?

    Edit 1: Oh yes, felt I should add, my politics are way more complicated than just being a 'liberal'. I suppose I'd best be described as a staunch liberal-democrat-conservative-republican-monarchist, with a dash of good ol' fashioned irreverent revolution thrown in for good measure.
    Edited by 1 at 28/08/07 @ 09:51

  • DanWhitehead #57 5 years ago

    30,000 gun deaths compared to a million ownership...well, if you are telling me that means that gun owners all are silly yahoos who kill anything that moves, you are gonna have to do better than that. 30,000 isn't even a tenth of that.

    Well, since I'm not telling you that gun owners are silly yahoos who kill anything that moves I'm going to stop your little tangent right there.

    You said that the majority of gun deaths in the US were probably "burglars and people who deserved it". I just offered up some facts that prove, as always, that your angry little tabloid headline assumptions are spectacularly wrong.

    The vast majority of US gun deaths are suicides and murders. Law abiding citizens killing criminals in self defense is, in fact, the least common cause of gun fatality. But if you're happy for 30,000 people to die, provided 300 of them were burglars who deserved their fate, then good luck to you.

  • orakio #58 5 years ago

    @ JSPOOLE

    I don't think you should consider gun deaths as opposed to owned guns as a statistical value. This is not a try-out of an analytical method, or a study about demography. You're talking about life and death here, and without those guns, it's more than likely that about 15.000 people would still be enjoying life and who knows, might be commenting on a -gun/no gun- thread on eurogamer like you and me.

    Not that anything can be changed anymore. A ban now wouldn't solve things. To change the culture and mentality of a population you need a war or a natural disaster and two generations in years.

    So, the game then?

  • DanWhitehead #59 5 years ago

    Also...

    OMGZ I THOUGHT GUN BANS WOULD STOP SHOOTINGS???

    Laws are not designed to stop crimes outright, but to reduce them. Britain doesn't have a "gun ban" because domestic gun ownership was never commonplace. It's still perfectly possible to buy a gun in the UK, there are just far stricter regulations as to how and where they can be legally used.

    The americans at least have a right to defend themselves against burglers and criminals with leathal force

    Once again, those pesky facts are tripping you up. Britons and Americans have almost the exact same rights with regard to self defense. That is, you are allowed to defend yourself using "reasonable force". Americans do NOT have the automatic right to use lethal force. You're also confusing protection of self and protection of property. It's perfectly possible to kill someone while defending yourself from their attack and not go to prison. Killing someone to protect your TV is not afforded the same leniency.

  • bioreit #60 5 years ago

    @ DanWhitehead

    "Laws are not designed to stop crimes outright, but to reduce them"

    Exactly. If a law exists that aims to prevent some crime from occurring, but that crime still happens, does it automatically mean that the law is useless? No.

    Even if the particular incidence of that crime increases, it still does not mean that the law is useless or ineffective, as it could very well be the case that the incidence of that crime would be far, far higher without the so-called useless law.

  • DanWhitehead #61 5 years ago

    There's also the fallacy that if gun crime is rising, then the solution is to make guns easier to get hold of. As has been pointed out, rather than making the public safer, having more guns in circulation simply means more gun murders and fatal gun accidents.

  • bioreit #62 5 years ago

    Damn straight.

    And making legitimate guns so hard to get hold of means that if used in accidents and crimes, tracking them is much, much easier. And the task of trying to find and halt the illegal flow of weapons is made easier, because you don't have so many legitimate ones to worry about.