Manhunt 2 gets UK release date

Controversial and massively explicit slaughter-em-up Manhunt 2 has finally been given a UK release date more than a year after the game was finished and made available in the US.

Now though, after a successful appeal to the BBFC and many modifications to the game, Take-Two has formally announced (via IGN) that Manhunt 2 will be available in the UK from October 31st on the Wii, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable.

The extremely violent and bloody game first ran in to trouble last year when it was refused an age rating in various countries. Although the game later saw a US release it was still blocked by the British Board of Film Classification, who prevented the game from going on sale by refusing to issue an age rating.

Interestingly, the complaints made by the BBFC did not object so much to the explicit gore in the game but to the casual way that sadistic behaviour was encouraged. Players were prompted to swing the Wiimote in order to behead enemies, for example, but there was little motive or context surrounding the actions - violence for the sake of it.

All this controversy doubtlessly helped sales of course, though critically many reviewers found Manhunt 2 to be disappointing and uninspired. Metacritic currently tracks the game with an average score of 64 percent from professional publications.

So, is it better late than never or is it the other way around for games like this? Let us know what you think in the forums.