Manhunt 2 reviewed: Why it was banned in the UK

Posted Jun 20, 2007 at 3:16AM by QJ Staff Listed in: Accessories, Reviews, Titles, Previews, Off Topic, Games Tags: Ngamer, Nunchuk, Wiimote

UK gaming magazine NGamer managed to review the highly controversial game Manhunt 2, and determined why it got hammered with a ban. But contrary to what you may think, they gave Manhunt 2 a very positive review: a crisp rating of 92%. They even referred to Manhunt 2 as "one of the best games on Wii".

And yes, it turned out to be the best in what it was meant to do: submerge players in what could be the most realistic splatterfest out to shock most weak-stomached people. The game is out to offend many people with its gratuitous violence and some sex scenes, and children finding themselves within a 500 mile radius of a copy of Manhunt 2 will be better off running away for dear life.

It's that awesome.

What made the Wii version so deliciously gruesome was its motion-controlled interface, which probably what made it stand out compared to other Manhunt 2 platforms. Reports NGamer: "An icon appears in the corner of the screen, showing a simple Nunchuk or remote motion, which you must copy to initiate the killing."

The immersive motion controls will also make players feel as if they're committing the murder with their own hands. Initiating a killing starts simple enough, by pressing the A button. Then it gets graphic.

Each execution has several stages, activated by a chopping motion, or a prod, or a slam to the floor, or a sawing movement...executions are much more physical with the Wii controls, and we found we felt more immersed in the game world in general thanks to them.

Manhunt 2 certainly delivers in the macabre atmosphere department. NGamer noted that players will eventually find themselves engaged in a bloodfest while a pornographic movie plays in the background, or wandering inside a torture chamber located just under a fetish-themed nightclub. The nicest place to do an execution while doing a sawing motion on your Wiimote, yes?

NGamer mentioned that what they have reported was just the tip of the iceberg. It's better to experience Manhunt 2 than to read about it, they said. Well UK gamers, there are lots of ways to know what they're talking about.

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Comments

# pretty.... — Guest 2007-06-19 22:22

does sound prettty messed up lol. still would of been good game

# SWEEEEET — Guest 2007-06-19 23:20

THAT SOUND F'ING SWEEET! HAHAHAHAHAH

(4 ADULTS ONLY CHILDREN)

im not suprised it got banned (if they blame GTA for deaths and stuff then they gonna strip this game off the face of the earth)

wish i had a wii (well oi got a psp) SWEET! (im in uk tho LOL)

# Wii version sounds awesome — Guest 2007-06-19 23:23

However, it is pretty much a murder simulator with the remote & nunchucks since you're actually acting it out.

# bbfc can kiss my arse — Guest 2007-06-19 23:37

The bbfc are a bunch of people who have been employed try and censor our freedom to free media.

20 years ago they wouldnt let grown adults see a naked nipple being sucked on tv . . . which is something most of us have done when we were babies.

Now we have british goverment sending soldiers to get secure oil in iraq and kill people whilst doing it....but adults in uk cant buy a horror game.

i read clive barker books growing up, this game cant possibly be worse than some of the legal material i have read.

if the aim of the game was to kill people and set up multinational franchises who want to lobby politicians in a corporate environment maybe we would have had more luck. . . .

The BBFC is out of date - its members have no right to decide we cannot look at something (after they watched it! They are not our owners, we are not slaves)

It is full of old farts who dont understand the complications of our modern society. They are old, christian, undersexed, frigid, pointless, arse suckers.

I am going to import this and send them videos of me killing on screen charecters with my wiimote.

***** the censors. Freedom of information is needed. No one was harmed during the making of this film it is not a video showing the death of princess diana - which was shown on TV - or anything remotely based on real life.

# training — Guest 2007-06-19 23:55

nah, this game would sooner or later end up on a teen wanker's hands, and those stupid *****ers don't know the difference between *****.. it would be the proper tool to train some wussies in stabbing their schoolmates *for a laugh*.

if there was any sort of garantee that stupid kids wouldn't play, then cool. but it always end up with some brainless doing ***** out there, so ***** it, better to ban it. see how many accidents are caused when ppl with no understanding of right or wrong can cause...

# ... — Guest 2007-06-20 00:54

Ban this game altogether please...we don't want this crap...

# sweet — Guest 2007-06-20 01:35

I bet R* planned this to be the most obscene game ever....because this is just free marketing for the game

and off the topic: What a game eh? 92% for a wii game? That hasnt happened since Super Paaper mario and Zelda....anyways I'm glad R* is proving that 3rd parties can do good on the Wii

# i agree — Guest 2007-06-20 01:38

there's a fine line between an action game and a murder simulator. rockstar seems to be crossing that line.

# nah — Guest 2007-06-20 02:13

a murder simulator? Thats taking it too far. I'm sure its like the godfather execution moves where you like swing both nun and wiimote to the left and your character flips the guy over and steps on his neck. After doing that move in godfather I can honestly say I do not know how to kill someone in real life.

# ya — Guest 2007-06-20 02:16

i agree. how do they have the right to watch this game if its sooo bad. I guess they consider themselves normal and won't go insane from a video game....like everyone else. They assume the public is dumber than they are and that we can handle it.

# Right... — Guest 2007-06-20 02:53

Your right, like Zelda, you learn to swing a sword, ban it, Eledees, you learn to shoot a gravity gun (oooohhhhh that is dangerous in the wrong hands) Godfather, you learn to hit ppl with baseball bats and shoot with guns, oh wait... lets ban TV, Video Games, Movies and let the Media wash our brains instead.

# I think this is over the top — Guest 2007-06-20 04:17

If this game is a murder-simulator, then it is out of line and should be banned.

What's next? R@PE simulators? You may think that's a ridiculous comparison, but R@PE and Murder are both crimes. In fact, R@pe has less severe jail sentences then murder...

# Don't Buy It... — Guest 2007-06-20 05:33

It's that simple people.

It dosen't matter if Manhunt 2 is banned, torrents will simply solve the problem. Kind of ironic, you ban a game, and you end up promoting piracy. Ha Ha Ha...

# Nothing new — Guest 2007-06-20 05:33

Rape simulator already done by japanese people (Biko 1,2 and 3)

. Why ban a game because its theme? Movies have ratings so does games. Rapes, murders, killing... its always been there, so you dont need a "murder simulator" to kill someone... anyway... its not a crime... BECAUSE YOU`RE NOT KILLING ANYONE.... if you see this game or any movie inspiring you to kill then you gotta problem.

# Uh. — Guest 2007-06-20 06:16

What's going to happen when we have actual virtual reality games? Of course there will be AMAZING FPS games and *****. Are they all going to be banned because it's too real?

# b — Guest 2007-06-20 07:00

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii

# Banners are morons — Guest 2007-06-20 08:18

Anyone who is advocating banning this is an idiot, where does one draw the line with censorship. John Hinkley Jr shot the president (Reagan) after watching Taxi Driver. The guy who shot John Lennon had a copy of catcher and the rye. Should we ban these too? Just ban anything that someone could possibly blame their pyschosis on.

Oh i played it mario kart and now im causing accidents all over the highway cause i cant drive, it must be Mario Kart, lets ban it

# sure — Guest 2007-06-20 08:45

dude, really... don't be silly. zelda or eledees are *fun* games, they don't try to be a kill-kill-kill simulator. now, godfather, fair enough, but it still is not about how sadic/violent/bloody something can be.

i think ppl could have the right to choose what to see or what to play, but when those things get in weak minds you see 30 deaths in a school shooting rampage, or someone swinging an axe a la manhunt in the streets against others.

honestly, you can be a psyco, but maybe -- just maybe -- not being exposed to ideas or ways to do stuff, you wouldn't do. just maybe...

i don't give a ***** about what you like to play or not, but i fear for those silly bastards who can't make decisions cos they're too stupid and end up causing harm to others who have nothing to do with it. i'm sure you know what i'm talking about.

# ... — Guest 2007-06-20 09:21

i'll send you a nstc copy

# Yea Seriously... — Guest 2007-06-20 09:33

They are morons, they are banning and blaming video games for the murder rate but yet movies like Hostile gets off scott free

# I've said it before, and I'll say it again — Guest 2007-06-20 10:59

*****ing Rockstar. For many years I've been defending the rights of videogames to have the same rights as films in regards to sex and violence. When I hear about people banning games like GTA, I get annoyed. The violence in GTA is nowhere near the level that we find in movies. I make a case for Rockstar's rights, and bam...out comes Manhunt 1. *****ing Rockstar, stop making it so hard for me to defend games as a whole. Then they release Bully, which is teen rated and not very violent at all. I had an easy time defending that game. Then Manhunt 2 for the Wii where you use the wiimote in a "sawing action", and "stabbing action". WTF Rockstar?!?! Sometimes you are the black eye in the videogame industry. The manhunt series is inexcusable. It's Rockstar trying to make the sickest looking game, and sell copies based on it being the sickest. I'm 100% for retailers adhering to a ratings system BTW. If a games Mature, don't *****ing sell it to kids. I worked at EB when vice city came out years ago. Half the people trying to buy the damn thing were under 14, and I wouldn't sell it to them(which was supposed to be company policy). But the problem is that a good chunk of the workforce at retailers like that are teenagers who have no problem with selling the most violent games to the youngest of kids. *****ing disgusting.

# try it — Guest 2007-06-20 11:09

have you ever played this game? I tried it once on the pc and it is truly addicting. it is more involved than it looks, at least on a grusome level

# blah — Guest 2007-06-20 13:14

' However, it is pretty much a murder simulator '

hi Jack!

# This game shouldn't get banned — Guest 2007-06-20 14:59

I think if ur scared about ur kids or little brothers or sisters are gonna become freaks that just wanna kill people, then u must be crazy. Hey i just noticed i'm 18 and ive got manhunt 1, all the gta's and mortal kombat and heaps of other violent games and i havent killed 1 guy. If ur still afraid then just dont let ur kids get the game or dont let him/her go anywhere where there could be Manhunt 2. The people that want to play the gruesomest games out *just for fun* should be able to play them and surely i bet every single person over the age of 5 has seen something violent or rude. Im sure that if u play this game once u wont start stabbing ppl and if u havent played any violent games b4 then u should atleast just try 1 because if have alot of stress you can take it out on the characters in the game and thats why games like this are made, they're made to take out any of ur anger on the characters in the game and not real people. So my point being just dont let ur kids get their hands on the game and if u have some teenager that gets it from their friend then tell them to give it back but if ur kid steals it then its not the games fault if he does something crazy because he's/she's already in the world of crime because they stole the game in the first place. THAN YOU

# well... — Guest 2007-06-20 16:52

it doesn't matter that these games are f._ucking disgusting. I don't care how brutal these things are. My opinion is that they are FU.CIng fake. they are a FU..CING video game. Its not going to do sh_it. what i do in my own home is my business as long as it does not hurt others/myself

# this is fu... — Guest 2007-06-20 19:07

cking shiiiiiiit! im literally watching alias and it is too graphic. yet, millions of people including my younger friends who are just 5 and 7 have easy access to it. but with games, parents have control.

# DANG!!! — Guest 2007-06-20 19:15

Just now i saw a woman strapped to a bomb and was blown to bits. you could see her. AND THAtS not bad?! man, lighten up. its just a bunch of freakin pixels! we get worse from tv damn it!

# Censors — Guest 2007-06-20 19:53

Why is the second manhunt banned. if the first one is not banned in Uk. Now that sucks to the evil gay bbfc. BBFC stands for big bastards f***ing crap

# nah — Guest 2007-06-20 20:01

watching doesn't actually make you "do" it..

check what all new need for speed games say in the opening: this is a game, what you do stay in the game. why is that? cos morons can't differentiate a damn game form the reality. should movies be banned too? honestly, kind of. it should be banned from idiots and psycos, and that is where the main problem lies: dumb as kids are all psyco idiots. don't worry, i've been a kid, i know how it is.. and the good news, you will grow up!

# yeh — Guest 2007-06-20 20:08

but how many other retards go out there and mimmic the game? how many dumb kids have jumped off a building thinking they were superman? imagine if you give those idiots the opportunity to pretend to stab someone, what will they do to their little brother? i think banning is bad, but honestly, use some common sense.

# what — Guest 2007-06-20 20:11

what if their neighboor lends it? pwned!!!

# Wow — Guest 2007-06-20 23:52

That game sounds messed up... I think I'll stick to Surf's Up and Lemmings.

# F_U_C_K_ RATINGS!! — Guest 2007-06-21 07:25

Lets get the party started...

# Cool — Guest 2007-06-22 00:15

Oh, hi. I'm a Dinerdash and Super Pocket Tennis fan and I think this game should be banned. Because.. LOL. I AM A DINERDASH FAN!

# F_U_C_K_ Debating — Guest 2007-06-22 01:15

I hope by "Party" you mean Manhunt 2 and not some Shag fest..

# regardless — Guest 2007-06-22 02:46

though sony and nintendo definitley have the right to say what can and can not be sold on their consoles the majority of their buyers are adults except for nintendo maybe,but i think the companies should let their games just be rated and then leave it up to the consumer to decide whether they want to purchase it or not,you can sensor kids but stop trying to censor adults.Also people have been doing crazy sh_it since man started walking and they will continue to due so"Reality".Let us play are games and just leave us the fu_ck alone.

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