Manhunt 2 Offically announced for Wii, PS2, & PSP

[*NormalGamer*]

ir.take2games.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=228854

Rockstar Games announces Manhunt 2 for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, and the Wii™


New York, NY – February 6, 2007 – Rockstar Games, the world-renowned publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), is proud to announce Manhunt 2 for the PlayStation 2 system, PSP system, and Nintendo's Wii™. Manhunt 2 is the debut title from the newly formed Rockstar London studio, which is developing the game in conjunction with series creator Rockstar North. The Wii™ version is being developed by Rockstar Toronto. Manhunt 2 will be available this summer.
 
"With Manhunt 2 we have tried to create a game that stays close to the original concept of chilling suspense and stealth, whilst pushing the game design and storytelling forward," said Sam Houser, founder and executive producer of Rockstar Games. "We are also excited to have our newest development team, Rockstar London, working on the title alongside our two established UK studios, Rockstar North and Leeds."
 
For more information on Manhunt 2 please visit www.rockstargames.com.

*NG*: And thus, Rockstar is 'offically' supporting the Wii.

I have heard that Manhunt is controversial for it's violence. Still, it's nice to see more "M" rated games coming to Wii to broaden and diverse part of the Wii library.

[Pilgrim John]

*shakes head*

[*NormalGamer*]

@ *Pilgrim John*

Well, if it will make you feel better John, i'm honestly dissipointed that Rockstar didn't make "Table Tennis" as their first game to support Wii, instead.

[Dan-RN]

I didn't expect Rockstar to bring something violent to the Wii. Heck, you'd expect Table Tennis or something. Manhunt was supposedly pretty good, I'd check out the second one sometime if it got similar reviews. They need to implement good Wii controls and not just "stab with the remote to stab!" That's just asking for every Jack Thompson wannabe to come out of the woodwork.

[*NormalGamer*]

herooftime07 said:

They need to implement good Wii controls and not just "stab with the remote to stab!" That's just asking for every Jack Thompson wannabe to come out of the woodwork.

If Rockstar does impliment good controls for the Wii version, then the ESRB better rate this game for the Wii version correctly to make parents be more responsible(using and reading the ESRB discriptors on the back) for what games they buy for their children.

[Pilgrim John]

• 1. You can't "make" someone be responsible. Parents often buy M-rated material for their kids, even against discretion by the sales clerk. Still, if it does implement such material, the ESRB ought to give it an AO rating. (Stab the controller to stab, eh?)
  
• 2. I didn't want Table Tennis on Wii. As a matter of fact, I didn't want RockStar on the Wii, period. You can call me biased or close-minded all you want, but consider the following first: RockStar is well-known for its "pushing the envelope" on terms of content. Putting that on Wii will have J. Thompson and H. Clinton attacking one of the better consoles ever made, and that's something that's definitely going to happen, just because it's RockStar. And me, I could easily do without the ensuing headaches of frivolous lawsuits against Wii gamers and all that.
  
• 3. The first Manhunt was terrible, the first being the entire concept: The main point of the game is to kill everybody in the most gruesome fashion available. The longer you stalk the victim, the more gruesome the death.
  I ask this of you: does that really sound at all fun? No. In most games I play, killing an enemy is simply a method used to reach a higher goal (i.e., clear the room to unlock the door, stop those guys from killing that person, etc.). When a developer strips away everything except killing an enemy--a method usually reserved for "a means for the end"--you have, essentially, a skeleton game. Stripped until only the bonework is showing, Manhunt's gameplay comes up severely limited, and tires quickly. Oh, and don't forget not to eat anything before you play this game, because the death scenes will ensure that some vomiting might ensue.
  Let's also not skip over the fact that the main character plays like a drunk cow, with the targeting system being even worse. It was hard to stay alive after you were spotted, especially since you can't aim a gun worth peanut husks or even run in a straight line. After a while, it dawned on me: RockStar tried to make up for poor design with gory effects. (because people like watching others getting ripped to shreds in all those Jason Voorhees flicks, right?) That kind of idea for a game doesn't qualify as "good," "excellent"," or "creative": it only serves to make the game absurd, boring, and unnecessarily gruesome.
  Maybe some folks prefer adult material to gameplay that's actually fun (I'm lookin' at you, Game Informer), but as for this humble gamer, I'll take cutesy Animal Crossing instead. Because, unlike Manhunt, Animal Crossing doesn't get old, and is very fun.
  

[Richard-RN]

This is good news for Nintendo in my eyes. Though some are concerned about it giving Wii a bad image in the media, I think it will more than make up for it by diversifying the Wii's game portfolio. First the Godfather, then Scarface, and now Manhunt...the Wii is getting a lot of cool games (though the first two are admittedly ports) and I'm glad that older players will at least have the option to try these games out, something they didn't have on the Gamecube because of its perceived limited userbase. As for Hilary Clinton and J. Thompson...I'm not going to change what I think because of their silly and ignorant opinions.

[Pilgrim John]

M-rated games are important to consumers, true enough. But I think that gameplay is far more important than content. For me, No More Heroes is likely going to be one of the only M-rated games I'm going to buy.

[benwayshouse]

It's nice that it's there, but I'm not very excited. I guess it doesn't help that I never had the desire to play a Rockstar game..

Nippon Ichi, PLEASE make something for Wii!

[*NormalGamer*]

richardrn said:

This is good news for Nintendo in my eyes. Though some are concerned about it giving Wii a bad image in the media, I think it will more than make up for it by diversifying the Wii's game portfolio. First the Godfather, then Scarface, and now Manhunt...the Wii is getting a lot of cool games (though the first two are admittedly ports) and I'm glad that older players will at least have the option to try these games out, something they didn't have on the Gamecube because of its perceived limited userbase. As for Hilary Clinton and J. Thompson...I'm not going to change what I think because of their silly and ignorant opinions.

@ *referring to bold*

Well, as I said, I believe parents should put their responsibility skills to the test(using the parental controls on Wii and taking responsibility for what their children play) when games like this will come to Wii.

ESRB should do the same by rating games like this more accordingly(with more warnings on the box for parents to look at, for example) with no censorship whatsoever. I know that's probably not enough to work, but the ESRB(and parents) need to try hard enough to do so over and over again till it sticks to make it work.

[Pilgrim John]

....You know something? Maybe the ESRB should make it mandatory for publishers to just not feature any boxart. Instead, the front of the game should just have the title of the game, and the rest of it be ONE HUGE WARNING LABEL.
If that doesn't work, congratulations: modern parenting has officially hit the skids.

[benwayshouse]

Maybe they could try to put out another sticker to advertise it, like Nintendo did for some games, like Conker's BFD itself, or the 'BEST SELLER!!!' 'stickers' that were on some of their other games.

[*NormalGamer*]

www.mcvuk.com/Rockstar-defends-Manhunt-2

Rockstar defends Manhunt 2
16:15, Feb 7th by Lisa Foster

Rockstar Games remains resolute on its decision to create a sequel to controversial slasher Manhunt, telling MCV that it hopes industry watchers will react sensibly to the announcement.

The GTA publisher announced last night that Manhunt 2 will be heading to PS2, PSP and Wii formats this summer. And, given the media furore that surrounded the original, the firm has highlighted the fact that the new game will again be an adult-rated title and that it will be classified through the appropriate channels.

"We believe Manhunt 2 is a great entertainment experience for fans of psychological thrillers and urban horror," a spokesperson told MCV.

"Manhunt 2 is a chilling and compelling drama and is only appropriate for people who are old enough to play it. Manhunt 2 builds on the success of the original Manhunt, a critically acclaimed and BAFTA-nominated title that has established a loyal fan base amongst adult gamers.

"We are aware that in direct contradication to all available evidence, certain individuals continue to link the original Manhunt title to the Warren Leblanc [the boy found guilty of murdering Stefan Pakeerah] case in 2004. The transcript of the court case makes it quite clear what really happened. At sentencing the Judge, defence, prosecution and Leicester police all emphasised that Manhunt played no part in the case.

"We respect those who have different opinions about the horror genre and video games as a whole, but we hope they will also consider the opinions of gamers. The stories in modern video games are as diverse as the stories in books, film and television.

"Rockstar submits every game to the appropriate bodies for rating and classification and in the case of Manhunt 2 it is clearly a game aimed at an adult audience and we anticipate that it will receive an 18+ rating."

*NG*: I just hope R* treads cautiously on what they're doing.

[Pilgrim John]

Well, they certainly didn't tread carefully with San Andreas. I just hope nothing bad happens this time... Of course, asking RockStar to stop making controversial games that get our entire hobby into trouble is kind of like asking Sonic the Hedgehog to slow the hell down.

[*NormalGamer*]

wii.ign.com/articles/763/763634p1.html

Nintendo: Be Aware of Age Rating for Manhunt 2
Use Wii's parental controls, you numpty.

by Rob Burman, IGN UK


UK, February 12, 2007 - Nintendo has called for parents and retailers to be aware of age ratings when buying or selling mature-rated games. The advice came in reponse to the announcement that Manhunt 2, the sequel to the controversial stalk-'em-up, would be released on Wii.

Although it may seem like the uber-violent game goes against Nintendo's family-friendly image, a UK spokesperson for the company today backed Rockstar's decision to release the title on Wii but said parents still need to ensure children aren't exposed to adult-orientated products.

He said: "All games for the Nintendo platforms are rated by the responsible authorities to ensure that minors are not exposed to games that are unsuitable for their particular age group and we want to emphasise the need for all users, especially parents and retailers, to be aware of the appropriate age rating before selling or buying a game."

He went on to say parents concerned about children gaining access to inappropriate games should "utilise the PIN-operated Parental Control features built into Wii".

Last week Rockstar attempted to avert any potential criticism of Manhunt 2 by saying it's "clearly a game aimed at an adult audience and we anticipate that it will receive an 18+ rating".

*NG*: I have a feeling that Manhunt 2 will probably get rated AO(Adults Only) in the U.S.