Manhunt 2 lives!

As bittersweet as the watered-down altercations make Manhunt 2's glorified forthcoming, it's comforting to know that the Wii controls are largely unchanged. Outside of the aforementioned "Testi-Kill," the tutorials proved capable of all manner of stab, gouge, swing, thrust and slice moves, while hinting at even more gruesome spectacles to come, such as impalement and a shudder-to-think sawing motion.

Both versions look nearly identical and unmistakably last-gen, but even Rockstar will admit that it's the Wii owners that will feel the full brunt of Manhunt 2's impact. By playing with the traditionalcontrol scheme, you won't miss out on any of the game's schizophrenic narrative, aggressively dark atmosphere orits ruthless onslaught of barbarism. But if you're merely watching the execution scenes, you'll undoubtedly be fuming with jealously at anyonecapable of the fully interective, Wii-only,motion-bludgeon.

We're as grateful as anyone that we got to demo the Wii version, and we're happy to say that the controls offer all the visceral punch we were expecting. Moving is suitably carried out with the analog stick, C locks on targets and holding Z lets you sprint. But it's the swing and thrust of the remote that unleashes a majority of the abuse, with the A button used mostly as an activation tool.

The motion controls also playothernonviolent roles. Tilting the Nunchuk allows you to peer around corners, and you can hold both peripherals up to blockincoming assaults with your formidable onscreen dukes. If a inquisitive foe comes upon youlurking in the darkness, a minigame of sorts is prompted where youmust hold the Wii Remote absolutely still,keeping an onscreen reticle on the inside of quickly tightening circle. Try not to breathe. We did -without even realizing. Beats the hell outta choking down handfuls of Diazepam.