UPDATE - Friday, 4pm EST - ESRB President Patricia Vance has issued a statement saying Take-Two is not responsible for the latest hack.

"Once numerous changes to the game's code have been made and other unauthorized software programs have been downloaded to the hardware device which circumvent security controls that prevent unauthorized games from being played on that hardware, a player can view unobscured versions of certain violent acts in the game," Vance said. "Contrary to some reports, however, we do not believe these modifications fully restore the product to the version that originally received an AO rating, nor is this a matter of unlocking content."

Hackers have been successful in unlocking content in Manhunt 2 that was censored by Take-Two in order to secure a "Mature" rating.

However, unlike with the Hot Coffee incident, the game developer was quick to fess up to the revelation. Take-Two had modified the game to receive the "Mature" rating: the original version had been slapped with an "Adults Only" rating which would have significantly limited its release.

Games with that rating cannot be sold in most stores, as retailers have policies that prevent them from carrying "Adults Only" titles. In order to tone down the game, Take-Two altered the most gruesome scenes by blurring out gore to appease regulators.

While the changes were not enough in the UK -- where Manhunt 2 is still banned -- here in the US, the ESRB found them acceptable enough and changed the games rating.

It appears for the time being that the hack only removes the blur on the PSP, and not the PS2 or Wii where the game is also available. It also does not reverse any other changes Take-Two made to Manhunt 2.

New policies require game manufacturers to also submit hidden content for review, although its not clear if Take-Two alerted the ratings board to this possible hack. The ESRB did say the group is looking into the hack, however.