Take-Two and Rockstar Games today released a statement to GamePolitics.com in reference to the hack for Manhunt 2 both on the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2 versions of the game yesterday:

Multiple edits were made to revise Manhunt 2 for its M-rated version.

Hackers apparently have altered one of those edits to produce an illegally modified version of the game that can only be played on an unauthorized, modified PlayStation Portable handheld system.

All of the game material, and especially these specific edits, was submitted to and reviewed by the ESRB in accordance with requirements regarding disclosure that were enacted two years ago and any contrary suggestion is inaccurate and irresponsible.

Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick said, “I stand behind the game and the ESRB ratings process. It is unfortunately the case that no one in the entertainment software industry is immune from hacking. We hope that consumers will not engage in hacking or download illegally modified copies of our games. We encourage them to enjoy our games as they are meant to be played. We would also like to emphasize that Manhunt 2 is intended for an audience aged 17 and above.”

So Take-Two and Rockstar are fully aware of the illegal hack, as is most of the web today. I suggest staying away from such a mod, as yes it is illegal and Rockstar don't need any more trouble. Hot coffee was more then enough I think, and with the effort it took to get Manhunt 2 on shelves, a re-banning after being released would be horrifying. It may not be in the same league as the sexually explicit Hot coffee modification, but with everything Manhunt 2 has had to dodge from critics to be release, this will fuel the fire.

Whether there be more to unlock or not is unknown. Take-Two did however stated to GamePolitics that the hack does not reveal all the AO content, only a portion. As this is hack unlocked the gore from the uncut version but not other content that was also removed, we only hope it was entirely removed and not left hidden in the code of files. That could cause disaster if it was, Take-Two was unable to comment on this however, but I am willing to bet you, if it's in there someone will find it now they have succeeded with one part of it.

Like GamePolitics states, the plus of all this is that Take-Two wasted no time in alerting the internet of this, as it was probably the time holding off on the Hot coffee hack that caused it to burst out of control. There has also been a lot of criticism over why the content (as far as we know so far, the gore) removed totally. To clear things up for those people, this game has been in development in 2004 and was only denied a M rating in the middle of this year, editing the game in a major way to remove a few things that could be easily blurred out to some degree would waste time, money and resources which could be accomplished with a few minor edits anyhow. Being it the rating systems fault, I hardly see how Rockstar should have had to re-code and re-model entire sections of game-play when all they needed was a bit of code, spend a day in their shoes and you'll see how hard it is too do, then decide.