This made me wonder.

In Saving Private Ryan, the part of Normandy beach was pretty intense the first time I saw it. People getting mangled up and injured all over the place. It made the moive seem very real.

Alrighty, so... pretend the Xbox 720 or Playstation 4 could deliver a picture as exactly like that. Would that get an " AO" rating because of its intense and realistic violence?

The question is, is that a realistic depiction of the horrors of war, or a gross exploitation of human tragedy for vapid entertainment?

It' s a tricky issue to balance freedom of expression with social responsibility. I don' t think anything should be completely banned, but there are some things that only adults should have access to.

In the U.S., moralists tend to be far more uptight and repressive about sexuality than violence. If access to any type of entertainment should be more regulated here, it should be to regulate and restrict access to realistic violence moreso than sexuality.

I think Rockstar is a rather cynical and opportunistic company. If their coding was solid I could respect them more, but they have made some of the glitchiest, sloppiest games ever mass-marketed. Their finest title is Table Tennis.

Looks like Sony and Nintendo don' t want an AO rated game on their consoles. The UK isn' t the only place Manhunt 2 has been effectively banned

http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6172830.aspx

Damn i' m torn with this game.

On one hand i would never get a game thats only intention is to simulate murder.
On the other hand if this game is successful it means R* can see the Wii as a viable option.

Why did they have to make there first Wii game the most controversial??

But i must admit all the controversy has me interested in how well they implemented the Wiimote to get such a rating. If the game is so graphic and the controls via the Wiimote are ' realistically reenacted' it just be another good example of were Wiimote controls can actually create a different gaming experience. If i ever get this game it would be so my sick friends can play it - i don' t know if i' ll have the stomach to play this game.

My only hope is that if this game makes proper use of the Wiimote, it shows other developers that the Wii controls can do so much more then the tacked on ' waggle button replacement' we have unforntunately been so accustomed to lately. Thats worth something.

Damn you R* for making one of the first real compelling Wii games such a difficult decision to buy

I wonder when Rockstar will come out with that child rape/molestation game they' ve been pondering.

Its also banned here in Ireland. LINK

Anyway, it doesn' t matter now as it looks like Manhunt 2 won' t be released anywhere at all unless Rockstar edit the game and tone down the violence.

Manhunt 2, isnt even as violent as the first as i understand it. Its simply because that there is focus on the game, since the first one was blamed for a murder of a 14 year old kid in the UK a few years back, though during the investigation it turned up that the victim played manhunt, the killer hadnt!

People are so hypocritical, i think MS, Sony and Nintendo are stuck up for not allowing AO content to be released.

ohhh on a second note..

in the first 2 fallout games there were children, and you could blow them away, just like any other critter. Children has been confirmed for Fallout 3, its yet to be confirmed whether you can kill them or not, but since they are there, they should be able to die.

I' m not going to have a problem getting this game here in Flanders.

After all we Belgians are already known for our pedophiles. So hey we can take a game with content like that

I just find it bullsh*t. They rate the damn games for a reason. There' s a reason it gets a damn rating after all. If parents would watch what their children buy and if stores would take their responsibility and not sell the game to people who aren' t supposed to own it then all of this wouldn' t be needed.

But hey it' s easier to blame the evil video game industry for all the things that are going wrong in the world than facing the real problems right??

Sure the game is really on the border of what is still acceptable or not according to some people. But hell who care it' s a damn game, it gets a rating of a certain age. Shops should just stick to it. As an adult I have the damn right to get the game if I want to. Just like I have the right to go buy some damn porn or go to a hooker if want to do so.

In movies with alot of violence to violence as gruesome as seen in Manhunt you see a lot of times a simple 16+ rating or at times 18+. This is just another example of how they just like to take a shit on the gaming industry and all of us gamers. If you don' t like the game and find it offensive. Don' t buy it don' t read about it. If you want the game you should be able to go and buy it as you please.

I bet that bitch Jack Thompson is laughing his ass off right now as we speak. I' m expecting a stupid comment from that idiot any day now. Might give me a good laugh again.

High quality NGamer review scans!

While there' s something to be said for freedom of expression in movies or games, you' ve got to wonder how much of this was Rockstar being artistic, & how much was just them trying to push the envelope to gain notoriety.

I like Hitman & Gears of War as much as the next man, but I think eventually you have to draw the line.

There are those who will say, " well I' m a responsible adult and I should be able to play that!!!" And they' re absolutely right. The problem is, there' s tons of adults that simply aren' t responsible and mature enough to separate fact from fiction.

Am I saying that immature teenagers and young adults are going to use Manhunt 2 as a simulator for a murder previously planned? No, but if you immerse an emotionally underdeveloped with violent tendencies in more violence as creative as that found in Manhunt (that' s not exactly a compliment either), there' s bound to be some subconcious retention. I.E. Well that' s what I' d do if I had to hurt somebody.

You can' t say there aren' t folks like that out there either. Dumb, angry, violent & highly influencable. They exist, whether it be at the pub, or outside of the local 7-11.

The game should be released, but I really don' t see the point in toning down the violence to achieve an M-rating. Sawing somebodies head of with a pocketknife is just as deranged with a little blood as it is with jugulars gushing ( I can' t actually say that somebody gets their head sawed off with a pocketknife, but it' s as creative as I let myself get).

Rockstar do seem intent on pushing the violence envelope with each of their games. It seems that they like gaining the notoriety from the negative media. I guess even a bad press is good for advertising. It does seem a complete contradiction that games like this get banned whereas some film like saw is allowed because the latter has no real justification apart from the glorification of sadistic violence.

You can draw your own conclusion about whether what the psycho-clown in saw was doing was right or wrong. Either way you couldn' t stop him from killing somebody.

You actually control someone in Manhunt. It' s a fine distinction, but you can be sure people will exploit it.

ORIGINAL: Eddie_the_Hated
You actually control someone in Manhunt. It' s a fine distinction, but you can be sure people will exploit it.

That' s also the reason why games always get a stupid higher rating if if the storyline would be completely the same as a movie the game would get a higher rating.

I find that a rather crappy point. They say when you play it' s more realistic. You can say the same about the movies then. Cause what you watch in a movie looks way more realistic than any videogame will be able to do in a very long time.

Movies have real people acting it out. In a game you have control...in the end for me there' s no real difference.

But hey I can' t help it that all rating boards have a stick up their ass and like to be a bunch of hypocrites.

That' s also the reason why games always get a stupid higher rating if if the storyline would be completely the same as a movie the game would get a higher rating.

I find that a rather crappy point. They say when you play it' s more realistic. You can say the same about the movies then. Cause what you watch in a movie looks way more realistic than any videogame will be able to do in a very long time.

Movies have real people acting it out. In a game you have control...in the end for me there' s no real difference.

But hey I can' t help it that all rating boards have a stick up their ass and like to be a bunch of hypocrites.

I agree completely. The simple truth is that they don' t know what they' re talking about, they' re just talking out of their ass. It' s all these old farts that never even played a videogame that are condemning them.




Zoy:

The question is, is that a realistic depiction of the horrors of war, or a gross exploitation of human tragedy for vapid entertainment?

Does it matter? If plays, movies and books have the freedom to delve into human tragedy why not videogames? Unless you think videogames should only be for kids. I say that because they can' t afford to make an AO rating game with current restrictions, they have no choice but to change the game now to the point of it being ruined. In the first place no government should have the right to censor art, ever. Any form of censorship towards freedom of expression is a clear example of oppression. I don' t pay taxes so the Government so can force their shallow sense of morality on the population. The current system is broken if a publisher has to remove features of a game just to have the right to sell it.

I do enjoy incredibly violent videogames. However, I also think some kids are too dumb, sensitive or impressionable to play these games. At any case, it should be the parents responsibility not the governments to decide if their kids are too weak minded to play such a game. I see no rational reason to punish 90% of the legitimate fans in favor of incompetent parenting.

The ESRB in this matter is not doing anything wrong. In my opinion, this game SHOULD be rated AO. I think that' s rather obvious. What bothers me 1000 times more than that is the fact that none of the console manufacturers allow AO games! WTF!

Hell, I say R* should just release the game on PC! It' s sell through the roof just for the rating and publicity. Too bad they don' t have a Wiimote for the pc.

I wonder how much they' d have to change to get an M rating.

Does it matter? If plays, movies and books have the freedom to delve into human tragedy why not videogames?

I personally think it does matter. There is a difference between A) a realistic depiction of violence which is presented as a tragic but necessary action, such as in a justifiable war or for self preservation against an oppressive person or group; and B) a realistic depiction of violence which is presented as fun and detached from contextual meaning and realistic consequences.

I also think that artists, and in this case software developers, do have social responsibility along with parents. But I agree with you that it' s up to the citizens -- the artists and the parents -- to make their own decisions, and the government should not be involved in censorship.

Of course, not having had an opportunity to play Manhunt 2 myself I can' t draw a conclusion about it. I just know that 90% of the time, Rockstar makes sloppy, glitchy games with flabby controls, and unless Manhunt 2 has some of the witty satire of the GTA series, I wonder if it has any redeeming features.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/798/798639p1.aspx

We knew this was coming. I can understand people who are against this game but seriously it' s just a damn game and this is just getting rediculous.

This is just like litlle kids. The little kids always pick on the new kid or the fat kit. Well Manhunt 2 is new and is fat.