Hands-on with the game the world wasn't ready for

Can't stop the Hunt

People rose to their feet, the band began to play and there was much rejoicing: Rockstar triumphantly returned to our offices with its newest build of Manhunt 2. In case you've been laid out, coma-stricken under a rock with no electricity, you've probably heard tell about the drama surrounding Rockstar's latest survival horror nightmare. Cruelly stamped with an Adults Only rating by ESRB, the game brought down the wrath of moral crusaders everywhere, was effectively deemed unreleasable by Nintendo and Sony, and subsequently banned in Europe in its then current form.

But you can't keep a good game down. After a short trip back to the drawing board, Manhunt 2 has been retooled for a Mature rating and is set to strangle store shelves this Halloween. So what exactly do you wanna know?

What's missing, right? Thankfully, not much. Manhunt 2 is still the hyper-violent feat of stealthful brutality, with zero loss to its darker than dark tone. Protagonist Dr. Danny Lamb will still stab, cut, slice and pummel his way through multiple levels of lurid intrigue, with everything as it was before being slammed with gaming's scarlet letter. The main thing that had ratings boards' panties in a bunch were the contextual, environmental stealth executions. Thankfully, silently sneaking up behind a variety of thugs will still reveal a onscreen prompt, and depending on your timing, they'll still unleash varying methods of uber-graphic ill will.

With the exception of the infamous testicle/vertebrae displacement, we're told all of these executions will be intact come late October... albeit somewhat altered. Now, upon entering the execution scenes, there's a newly added visual layer of weirdness. Everything goes all Christmasy, as if through a dark red and green filter, with pulsating motion blurs of blinding white. You still get an idea of the mayhem occurring on screen, but it's far less obvious and over the top than before. At best, the ambiguity enhances the disturbingly macabre motif. At worst, it makes watching the exhilaratingly barbaric execution scenes a little like trying catch a glimpse of a scrambled, late-night tit on a HBO.

But before you mourn the loss of the nut removal, rest assured that Danny Lamb is still the enemy of balls everywhere. We witnessed him holding an enemy's leg and delivering a devastating punt to the yam-bag, and we're pretty sure we saw him run someone's crotch through with a sharp object. (Again, the new visual effect leaves some of that to the imagination.)

Murder stimulator

As bittersweet as the watered-down altercations make Manhunt 2's glorified forthcoming, it's comforting to know that the Wii controls are largely unchanged. Outside of the aforementioned "Testi-Kill," the tutorials proved capable of all manner of stab, gouge, swing, thrust and slice moves, while hinting at even more gruesome spectacles to come, such as impalement and a shudder-to-think sawing motion.

Both versions look nearly identical and unmistakably last-gen, but even Rockstar will admit that it's the Wii owners that will feel the full brunt of Manhunt 2's impact. By playing with the traditional control scheme, you won't miss out on any of the game's schizophrenic narrative, aggressively dark atmosphere or its ruthless onslaught of barbarism. But if you're merely watching the execution scenes, you'll undoubtedly be fuming with jealously at anyone capable of the fully interective, Wii-only, motion-bludgeon.

We're as grateful as anyone that we got to demo the Wii version, and we're happy to say that the controls offer all the visceral punch we were expecting. Moving is suitably carried out with the analog stick, C locks on targets and holding Z lets you sprint. But it's the swing and thrust of the remote that unleashes a majority of the abuse, with the A button used mostly as an activation tool.

The motion controls also play other nonviolent roles. Tilting the Nunchuk allows you to peer around corners, and you can hold both peripherals up to block incoming assaults with your formidable onscreen dukes. If a inquisitive foe comes upon you lurking in the darkness, a minigame of sorts is prompted where you must hold the Wii Remote absolutely still, keeping an onscreen reticle on the inside of quickly tightening circle. Try not to breathe. We did - without even realizing. Beats the hell outta choking down handfuls of Diazepam.

Blood red alert

The game we saw was just as deliciously horrific as our deviant minds were anticipating/dreading. In a seedy S&M club, we flattened a goon's mug up against the bathroom tile, shoved his head in the ol' piss-pot for a little swirly action, then topped the whole thing off by clobbering him over the head with the lid of a toilet tank like he was James Gandolfini in True Romance. (Ask your parents.)

The newly unveiled fourth level, Red Light, saw Danny in the rainy outdoors, adjacent to house of ill repute (Whorez!). Using the cover of shadows to our full advantage, we snuck up behind an unwitting soul and brought him to his knees. Then, in a primal feat of brute strength, we lifted up a manhole cover and introduced it to his face with all the grace of a ballerina. Once he crumpled to the ground, we struck a final blow to the back of his neck, shoved his lifeless body into the open sewer, and replaced the lid. Out of sight - out of mind.

It's important to remember: Manhunt 2 is, first and foremost, a game of stealth. Be it bricks, bottles or bats, you won't be at a loss for silent weaponry. (If you're the impatient type, fear not: the guns come out later.) But you've also got to watch that you don't leave dead bodies in plain sight, as they'll attract attention just as fast as clumsily clattering about. Danny walks softly by default, since running haphazardly produces a sound audible to anybody within earshot. Don't hesitate to use noise to your own advantage, though, since chucking a diversionary object or tapping a wall is great for both skating death and luring someone into a world of pain. In addtion to showing enemy movement, your radar will let you know exactly how big a ruckus you're causing by flashing with corresponding shades of crimson.

For the colorblind, this game ain't. Colors play a big part in how Danny reacts. In the lower right-hand corner the mace we were carrying showed blue in the inventory most of the time. While we had our backs pressed against the wall, it turned red, as helpful way of letting us know it's ready to swing around corners, potentially catching anyone emerging from the doorway extremely unaware. Even your health meter takes on a shade a blue when you're sufficiently hidden in the shadows.

Stunning execution

But most importantly, your execution command prompt has its very own pigment system. It goes from white to yellow to red, depending on how long you hold the A button. Aiming for the red-level execution, you run the risk of your opponent walking out of range, or more dangerously, turning around and calling his buddies over to turn your head into pudding. While no execution level is any more lethal than the next, they do vary in both length and grandeur. Trust us when we say that a higher level is much more satisfying and totally worth your patience.

Just as in the original game, predecessor to Manhunt 2 in name and spirit only, we got to see the notorious plastic bag execution. But this time... in all its brutal, "red" elegance. Not content to simply strangle someone from behind white-style, our hero spun his adversary around and savagely fist-kissed his already suffocating face, and even looked to break his neck before he hit the ground. (Again, it's hard to see.)

Don't believe the detractors. The game's violence isn't so much about glorifying violence as it islooking to elicit a response from the player. Certain aspects are effectively exploited for darkly comic purposes, such as severing a guy's head to trick a doorman into letting you through a vaulted door. But even the most desensitized miscreant can begin to recoil at Manhunt 2's explicit ferocity.

The blood you spill remains persistent on your clothing throughout the level, as a reminder of your past misdeeds. Things like mercilessly beating a police officer cowering in the fetal position will begin to affect you in ways far deeper than any ephemeral glee derived from general wrongdoing.

Manhunt 2 looks to be a deeply, horrifyingly unsettling experience, and we mean that as the highest possible compliment. The deeper you delve into the dystopic plot, involving twisted science, questionable advice and six years' worth lost memories set in an atmosphere so black it seems to almost bend time itself, you could very well begin to question your own morality. Speaking of which, we'd gladly pay handsomely to anyone out there with compromising pictures of Jack Thompson.

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