10 Video Games The World Wasn't Ready For
5. Manhunt 2
The controversy surrounding Manhunt 2 is almost certainly more well-known than the game itself. The 2007 sequel sold itself on outdoing the violence of the first and thus was banned outright in many places around the world. Other countries had alternate “cut” versions of the title to get past their local censors.
There was a lot of blurring in some versions of the finished product and executions that were outright removed, with Rockstar quite understandably miffed whilst comparing the game to the growing popularity of films’ like Saw and Hostel. Those films were fine, why not Manhunt?
As with many horror or gore-fests, it’s all about the context and whilst Manhunt 2 wasn’t pushing the graphical boundaries of the gaming industry in 2007 (if anything, it looked a little dated) it was as close to realism as we had known. 15 years later however, the game’s violence isn’t quite as visceral as you remember it.
Still, underneath it all is a quality experience with an interesting story. The gameplay is stronger than the initial shock-value of the original Manhunt but the focus on the savagery of the game’s executions overshadows an exciting thriller which adds some real darkness to the universe that people often forget it shares with GTA.