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The Differences Between the AO and M Versions of Manhunt 2
Via Kotaku, IGN had the chance to play both the AO- and M-rated versions of Manhunt 2, and they now have a piece up pointing out the differences in the re-rated game. If you've been curious about what is in that warez copy floating around online, they'll piece it together for you. Be forewarned: the stuff that got cut out is pretty gross. "The content may be too much for some to stomach, but the presentation is well done regardless. Manhunt 2's storyline is made more believable with realistic voice acting, atmospheric camera angles and pans, and moody transitional effects. There's even some comedy thrown in for good measure. Take, for example, a scene in which Danny decapitates a hunter and then uses his severed head to gain entry through a security door. A guard on the other side opens a peephole and sees the decapitated head staring back at him. 'Georgie Boy!' he exclaims. 'Come on in.'"
"Gamers can hold the A button down, at which point they will be given the option to pick from three different murder animations (on Wii, they get to act them out with Nintendo's motion-sensitive controllers)."
Awesome. I bet Nintendo loves this.
A guard on the other side opens a peephole and sees the decapitated head staring back at him. 'Georgie Boy!' he exclaims. 'Come on in.'"
If this is the funny part I'd hate to see the horrible bits.
He'll be disbarred before he is able to sue Rockstar for this game. But I'm sure there are plenty of other content police who will fill in for him.
It is a pity that the game console designers feel that they must censor games by withholding publication for AO ratings. They probably do it so that they won't be sued by people like Jack Thompson or railed on by politicians wanting to protect the children (*cough* *cough* Hillary *cough* *cough*).
'Yes, firefox is indeed greater than women. Can women block pops up for you? No. Can Firefox show you naked women? Yes.'
now does it have a good game in it? Reminds me of Hostel. Played up to be this gore fest. Excluding some excellent female nudity in the beginning the movie itself was horrible.
In the movie business, to get a rating of R for a previously rated NC17 you replace sex scenes with murder scenes.
You know, because killing people is less obscene than sex.
As far as I'm concerned, these edits have almost completely destroyed the gameplay design and artistic vision of what Manhunt 2 was originally intended to be. I agree with the IGN article in that the "pay-off" for players is gone. To say they're the same game is like saying the original Blade Runner and the Director's Cut are the same movie. Worst of all, for those of us who support Rockstar, either decision we make hurts them or the industry as a whole. If we buy the game, the ESRB will say, "See! The edits don't matter to the consumer." If we don't buy the game, the ESRB could care less, Rockstar will lose money, and future developers will refrain from attempting to produce similar products. ...This should've just come out on PC as an AO title.
Hey editors, can we scale back on the ManHunt Slashvertising a bit?
I really don't care about this game one way or another, and I think ManHunt's target audience is fully aware that it's now available for sale, coming soon, or whatever the goal of ManHunt's marketeers is at the moment.
("Oooh...it's so radical that it's an ADULT game. No, teen boys, it's not for you - WINK WINK.)
I was going to buy a Wii just to play Manhunt 2 but since the think of the children battle cry and the leak of the AO version for PS2 I've ordered a mod chip for that system and already have the AO version warezed.
You've both fucked yourselves out of a sale. Good move.
I had (half) hoped that IGN would man up and admit to trying that purported AO version of the game that's floating aroudn out there on the Internets somewheres.
Because it looks like almost everything's intact, just blurred and darkened. So the patch to unblur and brighten those sequences shouldn't be a problem. So the game as sold at retail conforms to some antiquated notions of what a game should be, and the patch lets those of us who are fully functioning adults make our own choices about which version to play. Everybody happy. I'm a male in my forties, who's raised a child to adulthood, held down a number of really shitty jobs, served in my country's armed forces, been trusted with a number of weapons and fully trained in their use. I've dealt with real death of close friends and relations, and the aftermath of same. What, exactly, do these fuckers think they're protecting me from? There are a number of things in my life that perhaps I wouldn't have minded being shielded from, but a video game is never going to make that list.
How do you get access to an area with such an archaic authentication system? I mean, if the door cannot be blown away more easily, but I'd assume this would probably cause more disturbance than a quick kill and cutting off the head.
And yes, cutting off the head does faciliate things a bit. Ever tried to haul a grown man around, into a very specific position, without being seen yourself? Just handling a head weighing 10 (insteat of about 150) pounds is way easier.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
I've been psyched about the sequel, and was hopeful things would work out. Now I read that you once had the ability to rip a guy's nuts off with a pair of plyers. Well I wish I never knew that! What milk-toast ESRB namby-pamby shook his limp-wristed finger at that and demanded, with effeminate indignation, that it be excised? I hope they take that weapon completely out of the game, otherwise I'm going to be thinking the whole time of just how much I wish I could neuter my victims with it. That just ain't right.
If the game doesn't interest you then good for you. Don't like these types of games? Vote with your wallet then. Don't think this sort of entertainment should be available at all? Where's your campaign to shutdown Fangoria magazine? Some people like gore. Didn't like the original Manhunt? Fine then. I did. I loved it and I've really been looking forward to the sequel. It was one of the reasons I bought a Wii. Look I'll play Mario Galaxy or Little Big Planet. I like cute too! But pardon me if I just want a little unabashed violence, a little balls in a game every once and a while. Mean, malicious and sweaty! While you're all out playing space marine in fluorescent green armor shooting each other in the fanny with guns like the Needler (oooh scandal!), ignoring the homoerotic undertones of the whole gay pageant you've for months been pining away for, I'll be wondering what might have been.
Yea go ahead. Take my karma!
I think that they ought to sell the AO-rated Manhunt 2 online and have the M-rated one in stores. They already have the AO-rated game done, and just because Nintendo doesn't allow AO rated games on their systems doesn't mean that it can't be published. The Action Replay, and the cheat devices before it have never been Nintendo-approved, but they are created and sold, anyway.
Or they could just release it in the Netherlands and include and English language option..
From TFA: "When Danny sneaks up on an enemy, gamers can hold the A button down, at which point they will be given the option to pick from three different murder animations (on Wii, they get to act them out with Nintendo's motion-sensitive controllers). "