If their medium is "suck," Rockstar's certainly pushing the limits of it.

What a bunch of wusses first off, secondly any game can be reduced from any story it has by showing the most gruesome of its gameplay. We as gamers should...be aware that any media can be dumbed down to its most goriest moments and be villanized.

What if we reduce Gears of War purely to repeated chain saw killings, the view would become thats purely a Chainsaw Massacre game.

I think its somewhat ridiculous that you and everyone else can condemn the game in the same way that the mass media does it, which puts you guys on their level, which is sad.

I remember at one point that Rockstar called this game a "masterpiece". After watching this, it's abundantly clear that they're just trying to push buttons. I ultimately had to decide between this game and Fire Emblem, and I can't tell you how glad I am that I chose the latter.

I've seen this video several tines and theres something thats always seemed a bit odd to me. I've never hit someone upside the head with a flashlight but I'm pretty damn sure that unless you're the Goddamn Hulk you can't knock three quarters of their head off.

Also, as some who owns MH2, that even censored it is still a dark, gruesom game that should not be played by little children. And any parent who buys this game for their kids is a horrible human being.

@onomelon That last part I do agree with completely. As I am the Hulk I can attest to the possibility of knocking someones block off.

Games like these have a purpose (whether its intended by the developer or not): to show you that videogame violence does induce an emotional effect on players.

I'm not gonna say anymore, because from then on its opinion.
But you can't watch this and say it doesn't affect you at all. The sound effects and animations are realistic enough to have an effect on any 'normal' person. So Jim, while I pretty much agree with everything you've said, you seem to be extremely vengeful towards Rockstar for making this game. I hope its not because you defended their rights as a developer when trying to sell the game. If so, and im probably wrong, but if it is, then you should probably take a chill pill and realize that you knew what they were making when you were defending them.

Thats my two cents, now go crazy

Is there any gameplay at all to this? Just sitting through scripted events isn't what I would call fun, regardless of the content. When you've seen all these awesome cool executions, there can't be any value left in the game whatsoever (if there ever was). Reminds me of when I spent half an hour looking at all Mortal Kombat 3 fatalaties and then never touched the game again.

Also, the bit about not being able to NOT buy the game was the best thing I heard this week.

quoth the eurotuner: "...This game is sick and disgusting and should never have seen the light of day."

So basically a game that you find objectionable without ever having played it should be banned? Maybe Jack T. needs an intern. Hopefully he'll let that 'first class fuckwit' comment slide.

I have little sympathy for Rockstar if this game sells like trash. If their main selling points for their games are the controversy they generate, what's the point? Hint Rockstar: We bought GTA III because it was a fun game, not because our mommies told us not to.

I'm not against Manhunt 2 just because I find it objectionable, I've seen plenty of games that have questionable content. I can just imagine the sort of sick fucks that would enjoy this shit though. It's like animated snuff.

The shit shown in that clip was WAY over the top. I mean, the kind of fuckwit I know that likes that shit is a pasty white fuck where I work who also listens to 'hardcore death metal' and he looks like those stupid fucks that went on a school killing spree.

Clearly you're butthurt because you're a fan of the game, but whatever, I don't care man. You enjoy playing it won't you.

Thank you Jim, this needed to be said somewhere other than the 167th comment of an article somewhere. Well written and well said.

Again, I want to state that in no way do I think Manhunt 2 should have been banned. It certainly deserves to sit on store shelves. I certainly would never recommend a purchase to anyone though, especially after Rev's review and the shittiness of the first one.

I agree wholeheartedly with you Jim. We should be free to buy things like this if we want, but it doesn't really give us anything in return. It's just violence for the sake of violence, and the same reason I don't care for any of the Saw movies after the first one.

If the story makes up for it, if the experience somehow adds something, or if it does something new: fine. If the story sucks, and all the "shock material" is just there for the purpose of shocking and being shockingly stupid, I'll watch a Fox News political debate.

This stuff has nothing to do with art, in the same way as those Faces of Death videos had nothing to do with art. Torture porn ftl..

What's the point of this sick f**king game? Acting out these sick killings is worse than watching these on a movie screen, I'm telling you.

Got bored with it before two minutes were up.

That's it?, they were crying about this shit?. It should haven't been banned, I've seen worse.

i pretty much felt the same way you did in this post after seeing the film hostile 2. i thought it was utter garbage torture porn crap with a stupid story. this game looks pretty boring to me. it reminds me so much of that game "the suffering" but with more emphasis on the killing part. it really doesnt do anything for me. id much rather play some metal gear or shadow of the colossus over crap like manhunt 2 but to each his own.

You'd think it'd take more than 15 seconds to strangle someone with a plastic bag.

As an adult gamer and U.K resident, all I ever wanted about this whole debacle was to understand why the BBFC banned the game here. Seeing that video sums it up for me, and while dark in tone and execution, but still compared to the stuff I've seen in films this is nothing and to be honest pretty bland.

Despite the uncut game being leaked on the net, some good has come of it, as we now know the truth of the original cut. Sometimes, all you want is the truth.

Realism doesn't make it fun. Suspension of disbelief people, that's why death scenes have to be very creative and original, so you don't see them coming (cue Final Destination trilogy), in film that is. They too have to be this way in games, but in time that may change too.

Suspension of disbelief is why I can brain zombies in Dead Rising or RE4, and have laughterous fun with it. I agree torturous drawn out death is dark and while I disagree with the tone of the game, I still think the game shouldn't have been banned over here. One rule for films and another for game doesn't wash at all. Its aimed at adults so we should have the right to choose, without fearmongering, double standards or persecution.

Meanwhile, real people are dying on the tv news in real war, so while this Manhunt 2 is dark adult horror game, it still isn't real and shouldn't be taken as such. Some priority perspective is a good thing we should all use, by switching on and off that console.

On last thing, this videos is again taking the violence in Manhunt 2 out of context of the game, so judging it on just that, is akin to judging other games via one fighter, car, level etc (yes, i know the reveiws have been luke warm). Its possible many gamers will switch off to the violence, as it will get tired after a while, just like other games.

We can put this to bed now. Game over. Roll on 08' and GTAIV.

Im letting people know that in both cases, it is something not everybody is exposed to in everyday life correct?

I will argue however that gears is just wanton violence for the sake of wanton violence.... the aliens could have bled green or yellow or glitter for that matter but its burgundy red for shock value... nevermind the fact that you decapitate and mutilate opponents online who have an overbearing human likeness... just as well as you can argue that manhunt is just a series of orchestrated cut scenes involving human torture...

I think of it as the tale of a man trying to escape being trapped and tortured, returning the pain given... I think people made a refference to gears being somewhat like an over the top tarantino flick yet I propose that with a back story, we even come to cheer for characters like kill bills beatrix kiddo when she hid and cut the mans aquilles tendon and proceeded to bludgening him with a hospital door and we cringed and gasped and loved every minute of it

I wanted to see vengeance wrought upon the captors within that video game universe, in the most grpahic, worst possible fashion, but closed minded people who head the media just can let it happen, these are the same people who in the same vein will not ever see video games as a means of expression, just because we cant take the same liberties.... and it is a shame

Wow. So, I do think that people should be able to play that if they want to, i know i wouldn't though. But...that as an M rating, comprared to other M rated games, well they do not fit into the same category. AO would be an appropriate rating, IF the big 3 would let AO games on their systems. And I belive that retailers, should not have to to carry that title if they didn't want to.

I'm also disappointed, I thought this game would give a horror feeling with some deep story line, here I can only see mindless slaughter without story behind it these kills... seem very random. kinda not what you'd expect from a "thrilling horror story"

I wholeheartedly agree with you, Nick. It's tasteless and devoid of any entertainment value.

Oh man, I feel sick... I shouldn't have kept eating pancakes once the syrup started oozing out of my nose.