Manhunt 2 hackers spark outrage

by Steven Williamson on 6 November 2007, 09:10

Tags: Manhunt 2, Rockstar Games (NASDAQ:TTWO), Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO), PS2, PSP, Wii, Action/Adventure

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Back in June, the BBFC refused the UK distribution of the controversial videogame, Manhunt 2, unless substantial changes were made to remove the apparent 'bleakness and callousness of tone' within the game. Despite some changes being made, the BBFC rejected the revised version of Manhunt 2, but the US classifications board, the ESRB, granted the game an 'M' for mature rating and agreed that it could be released in the United States.

The revised version was released on October 31st on Wii, PS2 and PSP, and despite the scenes of blood and violence being toned down for each version, hackers have been able to modify the PSP to remove blurring effects allowing to play the original bloody version.

The news has sparked complaints by a number of groups, including Common Sense Media who are now asking the Federal Trade Commission to conduct an enquiry with the ESRB into how they reduced Manhunt 2 from an adult rating to it's 'M' rating.

"Either the video game industry will step up and do the right thing, or else it will defy the public interest in order to preserve its own economic interest," PTC President Tim Winter said in a statement.

Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick has responded to the hackers by asking "consumers to respect that commitment and to enjoy our games as they are meant to be played, without modifying or illegally downloading modified copies."

Incidentally, Manhunt 2 has received mixed reviews online ranging from 70% to a very poor 40%.

Source :: PSP fanboy


HEXUS Forums :: 8 Comments

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BUT THINK OF THE CHILDREN

oh wait kids should not be playing this. And adults should be able to take a little gore right? did no one tell these people that rating are there as a guideline to help you make choice as to weather the game is suitable for your children

OUTRAGE!!!!!
MadduckUK

OUTRAGE!!!!!

haha! That made me laugh out loud. That's cheered me up this morning.
It's a bit silly really - I saw a video on Gametrailers comparing some of the uncensored things with the censored ones - Oh no, a ps2-graphics-quality-character suffocating someone in a cut-scene with a plastic bag… Really, if that sort of thing is so graphic and wrong, why was “Lucky Number Slevin” allowed?

I know some will say “Games are interactive, movies are not…” but hey, cutscenes in a game aren't interactive :P, and still, even if it was - the graphics in this game are far from real.

Perhaps if it was with the detail of Crysis, but games on the ps2 hardly look realistic, let alone the psp on it's dinky little screen…

Off topic, in relation to Crysis - anyone else find it annoying that because Crysis was developed in Germany the corpses ‘freeze’ and are not proper ragdolls? Also, the bullets leave no decals on the bodies. I wish German censorship would lighten up - and hopefully when Crytek relocate they will release a patch to add this in.

I don't want it because i'm sick and twisted however, I just want it because if I shoot someone it's expected that there will be blood on the corpse; not a pristine Madame Tussaud's wax model. Same goes for shooting frozen corpses, the body-mass upon shattering seemingly quarters!
most handheld games have been cracked in some way… no surprise at all really.