“I can only guess that the reason that Rockstar Games so happily censored their own title for release is that, unlike the original Manhunt, the artistic intent behind Manhunt 2 just isn’t strong enough to justify it. If the original Manhunt attempted to be the video game equivalent of a George A. Romero film, with stomach churning violence and genuine social commentary, Manhunt 2′s aspirations are barely as high as a straight-to-video slasher film.”

I’ve mentioned Manhunt 2 on this blog before, and here’s my review of it. Now, I’ve got a lot of time for the original Manhunt – though tremendously flawed, there were some really clever ideas in it. In fact, I’d go as far as to say it’s actually got more interesting things to say about morality than Bioshock does.

I’m sure a lot of people would argue with me that my interpretation of the original Manhunt is giving too much credit to Rockstar, and whoever decided to make the sequel apparently didn’t see any of what I saw either. They’ve created an utterly horrible, indefensible piece of shit inspired by the current “torture porn” craze that, like crap like the Saw films (or whatever) doesn’t even try to say anything with its (incredibly obscured) violence.

I’m happy to defend Manhunt 2′s right to exist (even in uncensored form) but I’d be happier if it didn’t. Or rather, if there wasn’t a market for it.