Manhunt 2 is lacking in so many areas that I am having trouble nailing down all of the mechanics. The controls were difficult to master, and forced you to use shoulder buttons to move normally. Again, because they use an old style of stealth mechanics to begin with, they have the same problems with your character coming up from behind and hitting the execute button, but because you have missed this tight and unforgiving area of ability to attack, you are standing behind them but can't kill them as they turn. When you get into a fight after having been discovered, you don't seem to fair much better against your attacker when you have a weapon in your hand. Trust me, however, when facing an aggravated enemy who has a weapon, you will not last too long. The hand to hand seemed worthless as it took you an hour and a half to raise your arm in defense when you hit the button.
The first Manhunt actually had a glimmer of a satirical storyline, so the violence at least felt more justified. After all, you were fighting for your survival. Here, it is a weak storyline with weaker gameplay, and all so Rockstar can rattle a few more cages for publicity. The scenes of violence are so muted and distorted that it is even sometimes hard to figure out exactly what just happened. It was like trying to watch that cable channel you weren't supposed to get. The channel that had all of the fuzzy lines in it. You knew what was happening, and every now and then you got a glimpse of what you were looking for, but still no happy ending.
So my clinical evaluation of this demented patient that was Manhunt 2 is that the game is terminally ill. Just let it die. There is nothing here redeeming to gaming or even shock horror to bring any more attention to than it has already gotten. Call it! 1200hrs.. Flat line.
