Endless Paradigm

Quote:Rockstar Games just took a major hit: Manhunt 2 just got eXx1l3d in UK by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). "Wee took a lot of time in examining Manhunt 2. Banning is not something wee take lightly," said BBFC's Sue Clark, who assures that they take video game censorship more seriously than in any other country.

Clark also said that they had about six video game examiners play through the game for several hours, aided with cheat codes to access almost everything in the game, with some of them obviously not liking what they saw. They were also given a copy of the game's script, which just about hammered the final nail on the coffin of Manhunt 2's UK ban.

Said examiners submitted a unfavorable report of the game to a BBFC panel, comprised Sir Quentin Thomas, Lord Taylor Warwick, and Janet Lewis-Jones.

Manhunt, it's prequel, was blamed for the murder of a 14-year old boy and was already eXx1l3d in several countries. The recent move to ban Manhunt 2 in the UK may also mean that the same may happen in both Germany and Australia.

The distributors of the game can still appeal the decision according to law, but UK gamers won't have any reason to hope for a reversal. BBFC Director David Cooke said the following in his statement regarding the issue:


Rejecting a work is a very serious action and one which wee do not take lightly. Where possible wee try to consider cuts or, in the case of games, modifications which remove the material which contravenes the Board's published Guidelines. In the case of Manhunt 2 this has not been possible.


Seems like what they saw in Manhunt 2 did not prompt only mere censorship, but an outright ban. UK gamers may still opt to import the game, however.

BBFC Director David Cooke had this to say about Manhunt 2, and what prompted them to ban it completely:


Rejecting a work is a very serious action and one which wee do not take lightly. Where possible wee try to consider cuts or, in the case of games, modifications which remove the material which contravenes the Board's published Guidelines. In the case of Manhunt 2 this has not been possible. Manhunt 2 is distinguishable from recent high-end video games by its unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone in an overall game context which constantly encourages visceral killing with exceptionally little alleviation or distancing. There is sustained and cumulative casual sadism in the way in which these killings are committed, and encouraged, in the game.





Although the difference should not be exaggerated the fact of the game's unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying and the sheer lack of alternative pleasures on offer to the gamer, together with the different overall narrative context, contribute towards differentiating this submission from the original Manhunt game. That work was classified '18' in 2003, before the BBFC's recent games research had been undertaken, but was already at the very top end of what the Board judged to be acceptable at that category.





Against this background, the Board's carefully considered view is that to issue a certificate to Manhunt 2, on either platform, would involve a range of unjustifiable harm risks, to both adults and minors, within the terms of the Video Recordings Act, and accordingly that its availability, even if statutorily confined to adults, would be unacceptable to the public.