![]() The gameplay sticks pretty close to the series' previous entry, in that there's literally almost nothing to do but stalk and kill people. There's confident storytelling on display, and that deserves compliments, even if the story being told is one that very few people will ever want to hear. From the first moment he appears onscreen, players know exactly what Leo is, and that they're controlling a character with serious problems that extend well beyond the people trying to kill him. Especially because the character's status as a figment of the imagination isn't used as a twist or kicker. It's too bad, though, because the game's treatment of Daniel's deviant personality is among the best I've seen in a long time. Sadly, he just doesn't bring any gravitas to the role, and more importantly, just isn't scary enough for the part. From the moment the game begins, he's always there, urging the player forward to more gruesome and excessive acts of violence, taking on Brian Cox's role from the first title. The one problem in that respect is the actor playing Leo, the bad angel on the player's shoulder. Questions are raised, then answered in a satisfying manner, and it's all presented by extremely solid voice acting. It's nothing that's going to win any awards, but everything progresses in a clear and logical fashion. The game is helped immeasurably by the quality of story that occurs between (and sometimes during) all of these brutal slayings. So when Agent 47 snipes the Vice-President of the United States from the roof of the White House, it's not controversial because a government official being shot is completely fictional, while depicting someone's head being cut open with a rusty saw could be classified as instructional. Even his pistols and shotguns are ordinary, everyday items, if we're including American households in the count. While the Hitman slinks around garroting people to death with almost surgical precision, and Tenchu's ninja flit about supernaturally, leaving geysers of blood in their wake, for all intents and purposes, Daniel Lamb is Just Some Guy, and his weapons of choice, including baseball bats, ball-point pens, and battery-powered circular saws can be found in the average home. The thing that sets it apart from other notable highs and lows of the stealth genre is that the murders are more immediate, plausible, and yes, realistic. In that, Manhunt 2 differs very slightly from every other videogame available. The player is asked to accomplish this task primarily by murdering an awful lot of people. The player controls a doctor named Daniel Lamb who, along with his murderous alter-ego Leo, must avoid being killed by government assassins long enough to discover just how he wound up trapped in an insane asylum with a vicious killer playing timeshare with his body. ![]() This time the violence is framed in an entirely different manner instead of happening in what amounts to an elaborate film set, everything takes place in the ‘real world', or at least an extremely nihilistic interpretation thereof. Manhunt made a statement about voyeurism, suggesting that the player was every bit as deviant as the villainous ‘director' for enjoying the violence they caused onscreen. The most notable absence this time around is the first game's theme. Manhunt 2 is the rarest kind of videogame sequel, one that jettisons all plot elements from the first game, carrying over only play mechanics and tone from the first title. Unfortunately, there's a very good reason for this situation, since the game, as released, is quite obviously the product of a troubled development and compromised release, and most of the things wrong with it can be laid neatly at the feet of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. The press coverage of the game's AO rating, its near-cancellation, and eventual bowdlerized release has been so overpowering that it drowned out any discussion of the game's actual merits and flaws. I wish I could talk about Manhunt 2 without addressing the endless debacle over its censorship.
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