Manhunt is a game that felt like it was made with a vision and passion. It had a very consistent aesthetic and oppressive atmosphere. The stealth gameplay was really fun. They had an idea and ran with it. Manhunt 2 feels like a product made because they were told to. It feels like they saw the media response to 1 and decided to push it as far as they could go, without much of an idea where to go. The stealth gameplay is a massive step down. The AI is so inconsistent, ping-ponging between being too smart and too dumb. The level design also feels less inspired and less consistent. I was going to complain about the radar being gone but apparently playing on the second difficulty removes it. I wish I had known that. The guns didn't feel great in 1, but somehow they made them considerably worse. They just don't feel good at all. They feel weak and are far too inaccurate. The story is the only part of the game that felt like they had an idea, but didn't know how to build up a mystery. The twist is incredibly obvious from the first cutscene which led to there being no tension or intrigue throughout the entire thing. At least this one has some alright characters unlike 1 which just had The Director. I played the uncut PC version expecting it to be full of insane gore and violence, but no. It isn't much worse than the first and just like last time, it isn't any worse than any other horror media at the time. Actually while I'm on the subject, this game doesn't feel like a horror game anymore. Manhunt had a great horror atmosphere that 2 just doesn't have. I still think it is an alright game and probably worth a playthrough, but Manhunt is a game I could easily see myself revisiting, I don't think I'll be playing 2 again anytime soon.

Inferior sequel, but an interesting game on it's own, I kinda feel bad for this game with it's troubled development and the shitty media attention. This thing definately had potentail and it's nice we atleast have the leaked PS2 build to give us a glimpse of what they were cooking, maybe someday a Vienna build will leak? Luckily Wii and PSP also have uncensor mods by now but I used the PC ports with a bunch of mods, tho some of them broke some effects and animations so...The strangest thing about this game is how "un-Rockstar" it feels, let me explain, you know how almost ever R* has this coat of paint of sarcasm to it? You can still take these games seriously to a certain extent, especially when they want you to...it's not like say...MCU where it ruins what could've been but actually enhances it. Even Manhunt 1 does this ("This is the best therapy money can buy!", Journalist casually mentioning exposing The Director can make her a fortune, some of the crazy shit the hunters say which you hear a lot) but Manhunt 2? Outside of hunter quotes...(like the Asylum workers going:"This is why I love my job!", "Really, I'm doing you a favor!" and "He died of food poisoning, alright?")...which you won't hear much anyway cuz you won't be spending as much time hiding in the shadows in this game unlike the first one, and the fun mode but that's a goofy cheat most people won't even active or know about, atleast on the first playthrough. There was also gonna be the Dildo but that's cut, atleast the animations survived. This game doesn't have much of that Rockstar feeling.

But yeah, the story feels strangely serious, you never hear some double meaning weird take from Danny nor Leo, ah Leo...this man is edgy with a capital E, he is funny, but mostly unintentionally, which is also rare for Rockstar, unintentionally failing to be edgy and just ending up a bit funny? What? This all in turn makes the game feels...typical and not as special, this feels like something any other developer could come up with, atleast the big names and semi-big names of the era, Rockstar Games always have a unique feel to them, even if their formula isn't always the most unique thing in the world, you just look and play at their games and feel "Yeah, this is definately Rockstar", MH2 feels like the many horror games of its era. That being said, final levels definitely reminded me of Silent Hill 4, tho geez the lighting is FUCKED on PC, especially in these levels, it's way too damn bright...Walter Sullivan and Leo Kasper would get along well tho...maybe, there is also a skin mod for both MH games lol

Story is alright, albeit a bit butchered cuz of all the story shifting developers had to do I bet. Manhunt 1 was based on a very specific thing and knew exactly what it wanted to be and had a very solid presentation to go with it...Manhunt 2? Not much...it's just typical science experiment gone wrong amnesia stuff...but I'll give props to the medical document presentation of the manual, the logo and the PS2 save icon. Also pretty sure The Project logo (the one you also see on the cover here) is based on the Zodiac Killer logo, in the game it stands straight like a square but here it's twisted in the same way as the logo I mentioned. Going from having a white supremacist on the cover to having the logo of a serial killer...pretty bold fitting transition Rockstar!

I also wanna talk about the difficulty...this game is kind of a breeze and it's literally like 5 levels shorter than MH1 (4 if you unlock the bonus level), Danny/Leo can take a lot more damage than Cash and the gunfight levels are nowhere as painful or as long and they're kinda sprinkled around rather then being really wailing on you by the end. This has good and bad effects, less painful gun parts and more health is appreciated but the difficulty of MH1 added a lot its atmosphere on top of everything, this feels too easy and just not as satisfactory. I dig the more brutal executions tho, I dig the gameplay additions like climbing and crawling but the look into the shadows mechanic is kinda ehhh? It's very easy to avoid if you just face the wall lol, I did that and it worked all the time except a few times. Ending levels felt pretty lame, for one, I expected you to get either ending based on how you play (intentionally avoided hurting civillians to get the good ending) only to find out you get Good by default anyway and Bad is unlockable, which is pretty damn lame and the Bad Ending level is clearly a bit put together last minute. Either ending feels unsatisfactory and with question marks and just an unsatisfying conclusion to it all...especially with how the Good Ending doesn't even show the final action you to finish the game...

Danny and Leo (especially Leo) are really fucking fun to meme on tho, I like that lol, I also love the goofy ahh sounds in the fun mode, ahead of it's time lol

It's a manhunt, Danny!

While Manhunt felt like it was at least trying to say something with its over the top violence, Manhunt 2 strives to say nothing and improve nothing over the original. It shows that the development team of this game took nothing away from the first other than "people want gore." This game could have been so much better if they tried to improve the actual gameplay instead of spending all their budget on mocapping more executions. Unfortunately, while Rockstar is making millions on GTA Online, we will most likely never see another attempt at an entry in this universe.

Se fosse pra definir em uma frase, era "PUTA QUE PARIU, QUE JOGO RUIM"

Acho que Manhunt devia ter parado no primeiro, tirando isso, a versão de Wii desse jogo tem uns controles cabulosos de tão ruins, pra matar as pessoas nesse jogo é uma punhetação de controle repetitiva. Até certo ponto eu não sabia se eu tinha que matar alguém ou dançar o créu na velocidade 5.

Não conheço a história desse jogo e vou continuar não conhecendo porque eu larguei ele na jogatina.

Fora isso, achei o jogo chato e tedioso. Não aconselharia ninguém a jogar isso... dou uma estrela e meia por causa dos gráficos e ambientação, que são decentes.

a sequel that delivers great atmosphere, gameplay additions and a more macabre story, held back by denying its actual core gameplay by adding even more shootout sections compared to the original, a more glitchy AI that acts erratic despite working on certain points and this unending feeling that this game was rushed at the door with how much content was removed to please retailers just to sell it

seriously, its night and day when you play the uncensored version and seeing how much stuff was lost

God this game is so close to being an amazing forgotten gem but I just cannot ignore the high levels of jank the gameplay has with a story that kind of fizzles out halfway through. It has some of the highest highs of stealth based survival horror with some of the lowest lows of mediocre third person shooting with brain dead enemies and glitches galore. Its a shame that Rockstar has no plans to continue the series because the ideas this game has with glimpses of its brilliance in levels such as Sexual Deviants & Domestic Disturbance would be PERFECT for a modern day game. Unfortunately it just was super under baked in some parts and was thrown out due to the controversy of its existence.

Slightly worse than the first game, and hard as hell to come by, but if you want to just kill shit and feel badass then it can scratch that itch a little.

she's a little bit janky but honestly one of the best depictions of medical and psychiatric abuse i've ever seen in a video game. the amount of cuts it was given to even be allowed release no doubt ruined the story a bit but its core story beats are still intact. a lot of people feel it falls flat when compared to its predecessor, but i think it's a bit of an unfair comparison when they follow entirely different stories. the game is still really well done imo. my only issue is that the game seems to make a very detailed point throughout the story, only to veer in the opposite direction by the end. again, probably due to how much was cut from the game.

regardless, i still find its depictions of psychiatric abuse to be very well done, though unfortunately i rarely see people talk about it, instead focusing on the gameplay. and like, whatever floats your boat man. but i feel like the game has a lot to say about what makes people violent, about the amount of people who are used by the government just to make a point, and about how we treat psychiatric patients and mentally ill people. it's very easy to pass this game off as "tryhard edgy", or to focus on its violence and gore and reduce the game to that alone, but it's a game with interesting things to say and points to be made.

i also found the gameplay a lot more enjoyable than the original manhunt, and far easier on my poorly coordinated hands. but ultimately, a lot of my enjoyment of this game comes from the story.

if you disagree thats ok we cant all be smart and sexy like me

Manhunt 2 is the sequel to the most controversial game ever released by Rockstar Games. We play the role of a scientist named Daniel Lamb, a student of a psychopathic killer. An experiment at a secret research facility has gone disastrously wrong. Daniel Lamb and Leo Kasper are the only surviving subjects. Project Pickman will do everything in its power to hunt them down and prevent the truth from coming out. Frantic screams echo through the dank asylum that has caged you for the last six years. You open your eyes. A body collapses to the floor between trembling hands. A bloody syringe slips from your arm. Waves of confusion and paranoia wash over you. You have no idea who you are and how you got here. The door to your cell is open. You must make a choice. This is your first and last chance. They took your life away from you. Now it is time to take it back.