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Posts with tag ao

M-rated Manhunt 2 gets previewed

Posted Sep 12th 2007 12:45PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News


In the interest of comparison, IGN has now played an M-rated build of Manhunt 2, taking their time to document the differences between this new version and the older AO version. As one might imagine, the violence has been toned down, but that doesn't mean the game is going to be completely devoid of blood and guts. Oh, there'll still be loads of that.

IGN was able to take the title through its paces on two levels, one of which they were lucky enough to play before. Now, in these levels, stealth is still heavily emphasized, as players must sneak up on and murder their enemies as lead character Danny. Not only that, but IGN comments that some murderous sequences in the game are still downright disturbing, which we fully expected given the game has Manhunt in the title.

Gallery: Manhunt2


[Thanks, BPMΩ!]
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Manhunt 2 trims down to Mature rating for October release

Posted Aug 24th 2007 3:15PM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: News


The New York Times called this one -- a slimmer, sleeker, and we can only guess happier Manhunt 2 will hit shelves, appropriately enough, on Halloween. The ESRB issued a new rating for the game, lowering the Adults Only tag to Mature, which clears the game for release.

The game's fate in Europe, where it was banned in several countries, is as yet unknown, but we expect to hear some news on that front soon.

The entire debacle, though cleared up, is still disheartening. With the number of adult gamers increasing all the time, and comparisons between game and film content demonstrating the vast difference in standards, we hope that someday, something in the system will change. For now, however, it seems publishers and developers, and indeed, all of us, are at the mercy of the ESRB and the standards of Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft.

[Via Joystiq; image found here.]

Gallery: Manhunt2

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The chilling effect of the AO rating

Posted Aug 22nd 2007 9:45AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News


Game|Life's Chris Kohler has written a feature for Wired about the effects of the Adults Only rating on not only Manhunt 2, but the development and marketing of all mature-oriented games. He contends (accurately) that because the AO rating reduces to near zero the ability of a company to sell games, and because more attention has been paid to adult content in games since "Hot Coffee," publishers are trimming back the adult content of their games out of fear of the AO. This, of course, means that the rating that was nominally put in place to remove any need for censorship is instead creating that need.

The most shocking example is the Leisure Suit Larry Collection for the PC, which is incomplete because of concerns that Leisure Suit Larry 7: Love for Sail!, which contains a single scene of brief nudity, would push the collection into AO territory, despite the fact that the game had already been given an M rating in 1996. Well, that's not the only omission. The collection also doesn't include the original EGA version of the first Larry game, nor does it appear to include The Laffer Utilities or Leisure Suit Larry's Casino, but we chalk that up less to censorship and more to Vivendi just being lazy.
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Take Two chairman speaks about Manhunt 2 and Wii at E3

Posted Aug 2nd 2007 5:15PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News, Fan stuff

Take Two's Strauss Zelnick sat down with Dean Takahashi recently, where his new role as company CEO was discussed. Of course, Dean also finds time to grill him on hot topic Manhunt 2. Then the discussion moves along to companies he admires, as well as the Wii and E3. As far as interviews go, it tackles a lot of ground.

Zelnick has some interesting things to say based on the ESRB ratings, though, especially when it comes to the subject of self-censorship. Zelnick thinks that, in regards to the AO rating, "I'm not sure it is good for consumers either. The AO rating was not intended when it was developed to mean a non-rating. That wasn't the point. If you can't market it because you aren't allowed by the licensors or the retailers won't carry it, then the rating doesn't have any meaning."

[Via Go Nintendo]
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Manhunt 2 looks a lot more fun since the ESRB incident

Posted Jul 3rd 2007 5:25PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News


It appears that rather than attempting to appeal the ESRB's AO rating, Rockstar has decided to lose some of the violent content from Manhunt 2. In fact, they've gotten it all the way down to E. In our opinion, the changes seem to be for the better.

We play games about killing dudes all the time. But when was the last time you played a game where, using the Nintendo Wii's innovative motion controller, you held someone down and forced them to take an adorable puppy? Never, that's when. This is the kind of thing we want to play-- creepily-intense-niceness simulators. Put us down for one copy.

... yeah, we know.

[Via Level Up]
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NY Times says R-rated movies are gorier than AO Manhunt 2

Posted Jun 26th 2007 5:15PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News

The NY Times got to get their hands on Manhunt 2 recently and they walked away wondering what the whole AO fuss was all about, as they say most R-rated flicks have got way more gore. Writer Seth Schiesel says that "banning the original version of Manhunt 2 may be a good way to demonstrate that the industry can police itself. Side by side, though, movies seem to be way ahead of games in delivering top-notch gore." How does Schiesel come to this conclusion?

He rents a copy of Saw II for comparison's sake. He says the first scene (we never watched it) has "a young man in a bleak cell being taunted to find a key by digging into his own oozing eye socket. If he does not yank out the key in 60 seconds, his head will be crushed in a spiked metal 'death mask' around his neck." Schiesel says the game probably got the rating because the ESRB only saw footage from the game and didn't actually play it (GASP!), and believes that it won't be hard for Rockstar to edit the game down to a Mature rating in time for the holiday season.

See also: NIMF hails Manhunt 2 rating as 'victory' for parents

[Via Joystiq]
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NIMF hails Manhunt 2 rating as 'victory' for parents

Posted Jun 25th 2007 2:45PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News


The National Institute on Media and Family, an advocacy group that tasks itself with monitoring media for content they deem dangerous to children, is pleased with the ESRB's decision to rate Manhunt 2 as AO. They have previously criticized the ESRB for their lack of use of the Adults Only rating in their 2005 Video Game Report Card.

In their statement, the NIMF said "Hopefully Take-Two has learned from its Manhunt 2 experience and will undertake preventive measures to ensure its future games, including Grand Theft Auto IV, are appropriate for families and gamers." Does that sound like a threat to anyone else?

The fact that the AO rating basically bans the game isn't directly mentioned, but we think that might have something to do with their advocacy of its use. But since the game can no longer be released in its original form, the only "victory" here is for censors, which the NIMF explicitly claims not to be.
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Wii Warm Up: If gamers are aging, should AO games be okay?

Posted Jun 21st 2007 9:00AM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: Wii Warm Up

With all the recent controversy over Manhunt 2, we can't help but think that maybe it's time to relax a little when it comes to games rated AO (Adults Only). The average age of the modern gamer is rising all the time, and we all know that games are no longer just for kids. The Entertainment Software Association has some interesting statistics on just who is buying -- and playing -- games these days; according to them, 83% of all video games are purchased by someone who is over 18, and 69% of the gamers themselves are over 18. Despite the growing number of adult gamers, however, the industry still remains behind the times on the issue of mature titles.

We're interested in hearing what you have to say on the issue. It's not about whether or not we think this particular game is appropriate -- we know some of you are pretty anti-violence, and we respect that. It is, however, a matter of intellectual freedom. In America, we have movies that are restricted to adults, and books and magazines that are restricted to adults ... so what's with crippling games for adults?
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Nintendo says no to AO Manhunt 2

Posted Jun 20th 2007 7:30PM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: News



We take it back -- Manhunt 2 is in a more dire situation in the US than we first thought, because Nintendo will not even license or allow playback of the controversial title with an AO rating. Looks like Pachter was right: Rockstar is going to bleed money over this title, because they're either going to have to scrap the game altogether, or simply edit Manhunt 2 down until they can wrangle another rating.

It's not just Nintendo, either -- Sony's taken the same hard line on Manhunt 2. Looks like poor Daniel Lamb and Leo Kaspar are at risk from more than just the Pickman Project.
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The shunning begins for Manhunt 2

Posted Jun 20th 2007 5:10PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News

Our esteemed colleagues at Joystiq spoke with the excellent online rental service GameFly about their plans to carry Manhunt 2, or, more to their point, their plans not to. According to a GameFly rep, "GameFly as a general policy does not carry AO rated titles." That makes sense, since they only serve customers 18 and up and deliver games directly to said customers' homes. And to be clear, by "makes sense" we mean "doesn't make any sense at all."

Blockbuster isn't going to carry it either, but that's less of a surprise. Blockbuster has a long-standing policy of not carrying NC-17 or equivalent movies.



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Manhunt 2 rated AO by ESRB

Posted Jun 19th 2007 8:15PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News

Manhunt 2 isn't in as dire a situation in the US as it is in the UK, but it's close. The ESRB has labeled Rockstar's controversial game with an AO "Adults Only" rating. If the game ships with this rating, most retailers will refuse to carry it, cutting sales massively. The only other console game to have an AO rating in stores? Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which was re-rated following the Hot Coffee scandal, and quickly re-released in an edited form.

Rockstar has the option to appeal the rating, or they can edit the game and resubmit it. We doubt they'll release the game at AO, because they like selling their products.

[Via Joystiq]
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