Rockstar announces 'Manhunt 2' for Wii, PS2 & PSP

Rockstar Games, the premium content development division of game publisher Take Two Interactive Software, Inc., announced Tuesday that a sequel to its 2003 title Manhunt will release on Nintendo's Wii console this summer.

Manhunt 2, the sequel to one of their darkest games, Manhunt, will also be coming to PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable (PSP system), the company, most renowned for titles such as the ‘Grand Theft Auto’ series, said yesterday in a press release.

The new Manhunt 2 will be the developmental debut of the newly formed Rockstar London studio, which will work together with the series' former development team, Rockstar North.

"We are also excited to have our newest development team, Rockstar London, working on the title alongside our two established UK studios, Rockstar North and Leeds," said Sam Houser, founder and executive producer of Rockstar Games.

The PSP and PS2 versions of the game are being developed by the veterans from Rockstar North and the newcomers from Rockstar London, while the Canadians from Rockstar Toronto, which most recently worked on The Warriors, will be handling the Wii version.

"With Manhunt 2 we have tried to create a game that stays close to the original concept of chilling suspense and stealth, whilst pushing the game design and storytelling forward," Sam Houser said.

The graphically violent original Manhunt, which has been banned in many countries, including New Zealand, Australia, and Germany due to the game's violent content, revolved around a man on death row named James Earl Cash. The ultra-violent action game featured creative kills such as bashing faces with a crowbar and wire stranglings.

Though the game was fairly well-received by consumers and the press, but at the same time it was surrounded by the controversy in many countries. The controversy stemmed from the extremely graphic manner in which the player kills enemies.

Manhunt became the first computer game in Ontario to be classified as a film. The game has been declared illegal for players of all ages in Germany. Apart of this, the game was linked to the murder of Stefan Pakeerah, 14, by his friend Warren LeBlanc, 17 in United Kingdom.

A copy of Manhunt was recovered from the murder site. However, later it was transpired that the murderer did not own or play the game, instead it was the victim who owned the copy of the game, even though he was under 18.

Manhunt 2 is scheduled to be released this summer.