The Last ‘Manhunt 2′ Story Here, I Swear

Like a minor fender-bender acknowledged as we pass on the highway, ‘Manhunt 2′ is a issue that should have exited our minds a quarter mile down the road. The debate is too old to be worth continuing. Most critics agree that it’s pretty ‘meh’ as far as game quality is concerned, and it hasn’t brought anything particularly innovative or inspiring to the table (other than slaughtering people with your Wiimote.)

Ironically, the only reason it remains in the public eye is because of the politicians, angry media watchdog groups, and washed-up moral crusaders–the same people who are trying like mad to remove it from store shelves. By continuing to cry “for the CHILDREN!”, throw tantrums, and issue press releases, they’re generating more curiosity in the game. Curiosity that leads to sales.

Take this story for instance. Gamepolitics reported this morning that Ted Baehr, a Christian media critic, recently told the Washington Times that ‘Manhunt 2′ should have its ‘AO’ rating restored. Calling it a first-person shooter(!) where the goal is to kill innocent victims(!?), he claimed that “it teaches susceptible children to commit sadistic violence.” Because video games are solely for children. Right.

To make matters worse, he even has a petition to stop Sony and Nintendo from selling the game outright on his website (link subject to change).

Never mind that he got all his facts from his paranoid next door neighbor, or that nobody cares about online petitions. Isn’t it a little late to be crying foul about ‘Manhunt 2′? The game came out half a month ago, and has been quickly fading into obscurity ever since. Like others, Mr. Baehr continues to promote and advertise it. It’s a done deal. Just let it go.

Actually, you know what? I’m going to do these watchdog groups a favor now, by offering a (very small) contribution to their anti-’Manhunt 2′ campaign. I won’t talk about the game anymore. That’s all I have to do. By not posting anything ‘Manhunt 2′ related after this, I will be putting a tiny offering in their nanny-state-media-control-goal collection plate. And since I don’t update much, the front page was cluttered with news about it anyway.

Learn from my example, Christian Film & Television Commission. If you and the other watchdog groups would shut up about ‘Manhunt 2′, you’d actually be getting exactly what you wanted.