I’m just going to get this out of the way before I start: Despite all of the media hype, all of the censorship and the fanbase’s declaration of sensitive people overreacting, Manhunt 2 is the grossest game I’ve ever played. Period. Is it more gruesome than Eli Roth’s movies? No, however, as a game it’s pretty gross. But even through it’s grim nature, as a stealth game, it fairs well against others of the genre.

Manhunt 2 begins with a dark foreboding montage of the Dixmor Asylum, an abusive facility where people are punished more than treated. A power outage gives the inmates an opportunity to escape and thus starts your gruesome revenge. You play as an inmate by the name of Daniel Lamb, a man who’s mind is broken and who’s heart is set on discovering his twisted past. The Asylum itself offers you a tutorial through which you’re introduced to the gameplay mechanics and controls. This is especially useful for the Wii version because given the obvious control differences, it’s going to play different than the PS2.

Your basic gameplay element and often your best friend are the shadows. Since the odds are stacked against Daniel, being out-manned as well as out-gunned results in the darkness being your best friend. You can distract an enemy by throwing objects or making some kind of sound to cause them to turn around. At this point, Daniel can sneak up and “waste” them. The key here is to find them alone. Groups are hard to take out so separating them and sneaking up behind is very much necessary. The difference between the first Manhunt and this second time around is that you can still be discovered in the darkness. When an opponent walks into and begins to search the shadow you’re hiding in, a five-second mini game begins consisting of holding the Wiimote completely still as to not be caught. It’s a clever twist that not only keeps you on your toes, but requires a steady hand as well.

There are three degrees of slaughtering an enemy depending on how long you hold the button down before performing it. A level 3 kill is just straight up disgusting, with blood and other body matter flying all over the place including the screen. During each murder you semi-imitate what is being done with visual cues on screen. Each is very simple but makes you feel more part of the murder by throwing your Wiimote to the side, then down, then the nunchuk up etc. It is very satisfying to perform these kills on someone who really ticked you off, even if it is a little disturbing. Nevertheless, because of the controversy and initial AO rating, Rockstar was forced to censor their work, especially on the Wii. Whenever you execute these slayings, the screen flares up a silverfish red and blurs things almost unrecognizable. It’s a little disappointing as a pay off even compared to the first Manhunt, but with the incredible sounds, you get a really good idea of what’s being… removed.

Will you get to see decapitations and suffocations in stunning detail? Not really. Most of the textures in Manhunt 2 are washed out and blurry. The environments are (fittingly) dark and barren, and since the Wii can’t pump HD signals you’ll notice some aliasing in areas. It’s not unbearable by any means, but it would have been nice to see an engine update for the Wii instead of the almost five-year-old PS2 engine.

The soundtrack, ambience and Foley work for Manhunt is absolutely top-notch. Everything echoes eerily with subtle musical cues in tension-building minors, but the real gut-wrenching work here are the sounds you get from shoveling people’s heads off and impaling their flesh with various objects. Everything you hear in the game keeps you uneasy. As far as sound is concerned, it’s a work of art.

But not everything in Manhunt 2 is a masterpiece. For starters, the story is lame. It is well written and well acted, but the actual content and direction the story takes is much less intriguing than the first. It barrows heavily on the early 60’s FBI and CIA experiments of brainwashing and memory re-mapping. You will probably figure out a lot of what’s going on before it’s even officially revealed.

The second semi-annoyance with Manhunt is the button control. You perform almost every single action with the A button. So if there are multiple actions to be performed within your vicinity, getting your character to perform the right one can be a challenge and I had many instances that I started climbing a ladder or picking something up when I wanted to perform a different action.

And last but not least… you cannot skip cut scenes! This was by far the most irritating aspect of the game. Every time I failed to get past a certain part, I had to reload from the last save point, and was forced to sit through a Rockstar-sized cut scene.

In the end, Manhunt 2 has a lot to offer a stealth fan. The gameplay is fairly well balanced, the sound effects are borderline perfect and the executions are gratuitously satisfying. If you enjoyed the first Manhunt, the sequel will satisfy your blood-thirst and offer some new challenges that will keep you entertained from start to finish.

Gameplay: 8.0
Trying to discover new ways to mutilate baddies ends up being more of a driving force than the story of the protagonist’s past. Even so, it’s pretty satisfying even if it is brutally repulsive.

Graphics: 7.0
The animations are fluid but the washed-out textures and aged graphical engine, Manhunt 2 could use a facelift.

Sound: 9.5
The best bodily defacement sounds I’ve ever heard.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Some of the scenarios get tedious when groups of enemies bunch up, but if you’re careful and patient enough, you shouldn’t have too much trouble.

Concept: 7.5
The story is a lot weaker than the first, but with more dismemberment and decapitation, it will satisfy even the sickest of your friends.

Overall: 7.6
Manhunt 2 struggles to break new ground, but will satisfy your blood-thirst and offer some new challenges that will keep you entertained, satisfied and disgusted all at the same time.