The censors have ensured that this is no longer the game that Rockstar intended to release. Still, it takes only a gutter mind and a little deduction to realise that, even at the full extent of its ambition, Manhunt 2 would have less to offer than its predecessor.

A sneak ’em up of a slight kind, Manhunt 2 has two strings to its bow: some passable light-and-dark stealthing and the ability to execute people with wet, splattery ultraviolence – making the player complicit through simulatory waves of the Remote.

These actions have been subject to the censor’s snip, however. Instead of seeing deranged protagonist Daniel Lamb shatter someone’s brain-pan with a manhole cover, the screen skews drunkenly into a red-and-black smear which obscures everything but the motion prompts. However you feel about the depiction of horrendous brutality, being deprived of all visual feedback would be just as unsatisfactory if the player were feeding someone a delicious pie rather than their own teeth.

Combat outside of stealth executions is limited in the extreme. Get cornered by more than a couple of enemies and you won’t be given a chance to stand, much less land one of your lethargic swings. Since death often means sitting through unskippable cutscenes, it’s better to run away when spotted, leading enemies on farcical chases until they lose you in the shadows.

Despite the delays, Manhunt 2 is unrefined. Corpses clip through walls making them impossible to pick up and hide – occasionally necessitating a reload when the game chooses to make this an objective. Another prevalent glitch sees things get stuck mid-animation, requiring much Remote jiggling to break the paralysis.

Ditching the self-aware snuff-movie set-up for an unsubtle conspiracy story, Manhunt 2 lacks the redemption of a smart commentary on violence as entertainment. And with its gory heart now hacked out, there’s even less to make it stand out.

4/10