Pardon me as I rage against the game that countless politicians argued over and wasted my tax dollars on. Manhunt 2 is hardly worth the time and effort spent in debates over the questionable content in this game. In fact this is one of the worst games I’ve played all year. It’s got a terribly clichéd story, awful controls, and graphics that are barely passable for a PS2 game. This game plays that obscene level of violence card to the very end, and it does nothing to help salvage the terrible game play that takes the worst stealth action formula and does everything it can to muck it up even further. I would say stop reading here, but I’m still angry and I feel the need to share it with you. At the very least you could feel grateful that you didn’t have to play this piece of crap.

Manhunt 2 starts things off with a bland story about Daniel Lamb who has escaped from an insane asylum after being experimented on by the Pickman Project. He’s on the run with his ‘friend’ Leo who follows him around and barks orders telling him he’s got to survive and kill everyone that comes after them. Along the way you find out why Danny’s in the state he’s in and the game always feels like it’s underachieving in the story. This isn’t helped by the fact that subtitles are hard to read, although I’d say at least forty percent of the dialogue is F-bombs. The game makes no attempt to be clever or poignant; it’s just in your face swearing and violence and that’s really about it for story. There is an interesting little bonus chapter at the end but it really doesn’t help make things any easier to swallow.

Manhunt 2 is a hideous looking game. It’s 2007 and considering everything else that has come out this year on the PS2, Manhunt looks amazingly pedestrian. I honestly think the original Manhunt was a better looking game. Character models are blocky circa Grand Theft Auto 3 and look quite ugly, and this isn’t helped by the fact that some of them are wearing bondage gear. All the environments are flat, murky, and dank; none of those are meant to be taken as complements by the way. The whole hook of this game is the disturbing and messed up executions that you can perform on enemies. And in an effort to get that AO rating down to an M Rockstar decided to add crazy psychedelic filters over the events as they play out, but they don’t really prevent you from seeing what is happening. I still see that I’m taking a plastic bag, wrapping it around a guy’s head and then proceeding to pound his face until he’s been pushed off this mortal coil. So I mean, if you’ve come in to this expecting to see some nasty adult levels of violence then you’ve come to the right place. But it’s so ridiculously over the top that it’s not even entertaining. I find it hard to believe myself but it feels like the cinematic kills just detach you from the game.

Audio is still a fairly strong aspect of Manhunt 2, and it’s the one thing that works really well. But it’s not improved over the original title it’s just more of the same. Basically everything you do aside from sneaking makes a noise, which gives a visual response on the player’s radar. Enemies within range will then close in to try and find the source of the sound. Like any stealth action game that’s your chance to strike and make off with stealth kills. If you’re really slick you can play the game with a headset, anything you say during the game will impact the game and will draw attention to you. Unlike the first game though there is no practical use to this. In Manhunt you used it to communicate with the guy that was recording your kills, in Manhunt 2 there is no real reason to do this.

Controls in Manhunt 2 are also truly ridiculous in their failure. You have a limited...