I read with concern today a review of the apparent leaked Manhunt 2 BETA which I was sent to via an e-mail link. It doesn't interest me for the actual review of the game - in fact most of the information we have heard before, it's just a clarification of it - but rather that the author states he picked the game up from a gaming store near where he lives:

I was pleasantly surprised in finding copies Manhunt 2 for the PS2 in the local gaming stores. Upon closer inspection, the version available now is of the PAL variety, meaning its the European version. In anticipation that this is the said leaked Unrated version, I grabbed a copy. Here is my take on the game, without any story spoilers.

My main concern here is that Rockstar have already made it clear this game was not intentionally leaked, and sharing or downloading it is obviously illegal. If Rockstar are yet to distribute the game, and there is a leaked BETA of it floating around the internet one could be lead to believe that these stores have downloaded the game, taken the necessary steps into placing it onto DVD's, making them some way playable on the PlayStation 2 without a mod chip and charging for the game which is not legal for them to do so as they themselves have not purchased the game for re-distribution. Now the article does not mention if he had to purchase the game or even if it played on a unmodified PlayStation 2, however this is to be expected - they are a game store after all they wouldn't be giving away something they could make some money off for free.

I'm going to attempt to get some more information from the source of the article on what exactly happened, until then keep your eyes out in case any gaming stores in your vicinity are trying to sell these illegal versions also, if so be sure let us know about it.

The article on this can be found here.