In a scenario of getting something I didn’t even really want in the first place, an anonymous from London mailed me what seems to be the final build of a game steeped in so much controversy, that it was banned in not one, not two, but THREE countries. You heard right, folks. Manhunt 2 for the PS2, on my lap.

And, lo and behold, ladies and gents, it’s just as repetitious as the first one.

To its credit, the game is presented in a video camera style, complete with a little static disorientating the screen. Little details from an audio perspective (screams, creaks and other oddities) add to the already intense experience. Although the actual graphics are reminiscent of a touched-up GTA 3, the attention to detail, from the dead bodies littered around while the strobe lights are pulsating in the game’s more decadent areas, to the character movements of the psychos, is astounding. Even the bits of dialogue and the self-ramblings of the wardens and hunters are wickedly humorous. As far as presentation go, Manhunt 2 is ace (for a PS2 title).

You control Danny, a resident of the asylum who seems to be a fish out of water when all hell broke lose. He is being guided by a voice by the name of Leo. Yes, you will be doing a lot of bloody deeds to advance the plot. Injecting syringes into crazed convicts, sneaking your way through S & M clubs and red light districts, jump a burly hunter with a crowbar with explosive results; surely a game fun for the whole family. But the shortcomings from the first game will become apparent; once you get past the initial shock factor, the game becomes an exercise in repetition.

The game is built so that you make use of the stealth elements and ways to off someone in a quiet fashion. You can also just walk upright and beat them up silly with the tapping of the Square or R1 button. I just do a little of both, only to see what kills I can get. Again, aces on the presentation. Rockstar however should make use of the right thumbstick for controlling camera angles, because if their sole intent in this game is to give players a headache when moving around, then they have accomplished that feat with flying colors. Moving Danny around is a chore in itself. Much like a drugged-up ex-convict coming out of the asylum for the first time in so many years, he turns and does things pretty sluggishly (with the camera adding the pain). It’s not the worst, I mean, the strafing helps a little, but that’s not saying much.

If you liked the first Manhunt for its rather chilling take on how far the human psyche can go to unleash his hidden id of violence, and if you want to find out how Danny tries to uncover his obviously shady past, then you will like how Rockstar outdone itself in Manhunt 2. People are going to lap this game up just on the controversy alone, only to discover that it is more of the same, for better or for worst. If the mechanics were any more simplistic than it is, this would be filed under “interactive entertainment” ala Dragon’s Lair or Night Trap rather than an actual game.

Oh, and please, dear parents. Don’t let your kids anywhere near this game. We gamers wouldn’t want a certain lawyer to make such a ruckus to curb our liberties, now, would we?

Technorati : manhunt, manhunt 2, murder simulator, rockstar, stealth