GameSpy has a preview up of Manhunt 2 since its reworking to get an acceptable rating that will actually make it into major retailers and overall, it sounds like the underlying integrity of the game has remained intact. It’s still very gory and visceral, it’s just not as direct in showing you what is going on, somewhat leaving it up to your imagination to fill in the blanks of what is actually going on. Scary movies sometimes use this technique (being obtuse in what is going on, leaving it up to your brain to imagine the horror) and it can still be a frightening experience on a psychological level.

Here’s a couple of quotes from the preview that talk about changes in the game:

Although the new level helped highlight a few things, such as the resounding brutality of environmental executions (read as: knocking a man down, kicking him by way of groin into position, picking up a sewer access lid, smashing his head apart with it, dropping the corpse into the sewer, and then putting the manhole back in place), the variety of opponents (including a few police officers we saw beating another of our attackers to death), and the way the game’s levels all hinge around actual storytelling, with each level leading to the next organically, the star of our demo was the new “look” for executions.

Now, executions apply a high-contrast filter to the screen, as well as a color filter, taking the whole scene to a surreal level. It’s still chillingly brutal — this is a Halloween release in date and spirit — but the appearance gives the whole thing a distance from the “reality” of the game. It may not be quite what we saw a few months ago, but it’s still looking to be a solid piece of horror for fans of the genre and the series.

I’m still just as excited for the game and actually I’m just happy it’s even coming out. I’m not bent out of shape about the changes they had to make that if done properly, can still lead to a rather disturbing game.