Manhunt 2 denied UK release

[Dunk!]

Apparently it's the Wii version they have a problem with. Use the Wii-mote to interactively strangle and stab and saw and mutilate your victims in the comfort of your own home. :[backslash]

Why does "Mature" in video games always mean sex and violence, usually at the same time?

[johnnystress]

A computer game which uses the CCTV image of James Bulger being led away to his death from a Merseyside shopping centre has been withdrawn from sale in the UK after being condemned by his mother as "sick and hurtful".

The image of the two-year old, which was seared into the public appears as a grainy visual clue in the game Law and Order: Double or Nothing.

Denise Fergus, James's mother, called for all copies of the game, which is based on the US television drama Law and Order, to be scrapped. She also complained to its manufacturer, Global Software, demanding that the image be removed and appealed for anyone who owns the game to destroy it. "It dehumanises the memory of my lovely son I want it stopped immediately. What on earth were they thinking when they did this beggars belief," she said.

Link: http://technology.guardian.co.uk/games/story/0,,2107103,00.html" target="_blank">What were they thinking?

[Eric Plumrose]

I'm not a games player but I would presume the mere chance that kids may get their hands on it may have been a (deciding) factor.

Contrary to what all those gross-fest comedies would have you believe when they're released on DvD, a film is always more likely to be cut for home viewing rather than in the cinema; the stance taken by the BBFC being that not all parents can be trusted to ensure their kids won't have access to unsuitable material.

I would presume that, as with videos and DvDs, it's a legal requirement that games are certified. If that is indeed the case, the BBFC won't have banned Manhunt 2, it will have simply refused the game a certificate.

[The Amstor Computer]

Apparently it's the Wii version they have a problem with. Use the Wii-mote to interactively strangle and stab and saw and mutilate your victims in the comfort of your own home. :[backslash]

Nope, that's not quite correct. Both the Wii & PS2 versions have been refused certification (and, I assume, the PSP version too) by the BBFC, and the same seems to have happened in Ireland. In the US, the ESRB - the games rating body - have recommended an AO - Adults Only - rating for the game (again, I'm sure this is all versions) which is basically the kiss of death in terms of getting it on shelves in most outlets.

It appears that it is content, rather than control method, that has led to the game being banned, refused certification etc.

I would presume that, as with videos and DvDs, it's a legal requirement that games are certified. If that is indeed the case, the BBFC won't have banned Manhunt 2, it will have simply refused the game a certificate.

Yup, that's correct. It hasn't actually been banned, just refused certification, though it amounts to the same thing in the end. Rockstar/Take2 can still resubmit an altered version in the hope that it gets through, but there's no guarantee it will - and in any case, unless they have a "cut" version ready to go & this has just been a shot at cheap publicity, it could take quite some time to make the necessary alterations to a finished game.

[Richmond Clements]

You couldn't pay for this publicity.

[Dunk!]

They'll just make the American release region free.

[Satanist]

Cant copies just be imported from other PAL territories? When films such as Clockwork Orange and Reservoir Dogs were banned there was a large export market for them in Holland.

At least I hope I can as I was really looking forward to Manhunt after enjoying the first one.

[Peter Wolf]

    Hi there.      I dont want to say that i am right here  and you are a fan of the games etc.   So i speak for no moral majority apart from mine.

   It just seems that  Rockstar games are just trying to push limits because they can.    I think that Manhunt didnt need a sequel at all.   I am just sick of these sequals that are just churned out  one after the other.    Its just boring.
                   Hostel 2 ?   no thanks  more of the same,just more extreme.     Its just a formula.


   I dont mind the sight of gore etc,  but i am putting my foot down here as i dont get off on sadism.   Thats my personal choice and i dont speak for anyone else.    I just find it degrading.

 At least in the Predator game and scarface had a code of honour that innocents are not hurt  and thats mine as well.

     I just dont need that sort of s*** in my life.


   I am staying out of any moral majority arguements as well as the vast majority of them are hypocrites anyway.

[johnone]

the Irish censor(John Kelleher) has since taking over the censors office has the attitude of not wanting to ban anything , He considers it important to allow the artist their say (which is pretty good for a censor) However on the news today he stated that Manhunt 2 has crossed a line which is indefensible , he states the game is killing for killings sake and points out how you get points for cutting tounges out!!!
    to be quite honest  what the hell were rockstar thinking?

[sixmo]

I played the first Manhunt game and, quite frankly, I found it pretty dull and repetitive. This is despite it getting pretty good reviews at the time and me having an interest in the sneaky sneaky type of game. A favourite of mine would be Tenchu for the Playstation which features a lot of sneaking about and a dose of cut-scene eviscerations, but is a far superior game. I was kind of hoping to be shocked and appalled by Manhunt, but the boredom set in early doors. I battled through a good few levels to see if it improved at all but it was a fruitless quest.

I don't really care that this new one has been banned as I have a feeling it could be more of the same, if they banned GTAIV, however, I'd be out marching in the street!

[Buttonman]

Not a big gamer myself but the last game I bought was The Punisher, which gave you bonuses for torturing bad people, albeit forfeited if you killed them. I wouldn't censor them but wouldn't seek them out either.

To be honest if you are happy to spunk £30 on a game that lets you torture people you have to be missing something in your life. Shooting someone with a sniper rifle is one thing but chopping off their digits is something else.

There is a definite move in the cinema for more nastiness and I'm not keen on that either. I don't mind a zombie eating massacre but can't look when someone is getting a finger snipped off.

[I, Cosh]

I would presume that, as with videos and DvDs, it's a legal requirement that games are certified. If that is indeed the case, the BBFC won't have banned Manhunt 2, it will have simply refused the game a certificate.

As I understood it, certification is purely voluntary on the part of the games industry, but a lot of high street shops would probably not stock it if it wasn't certified. This may have changed since I knew someone who worked in Dixon's.

Whether it is or isn't, the bottom line is that people above the age of 18 should be free to play whatever they like. It may sound callous but the the parents of murdered children are the last people whose views should be sought on an issue like this (NB I'm talking about the Pakeerahs, not Mrs Bulger.)

I thought it was the funniest use of the WiiMote I've yet heard of.

It just seems that Rockstar games are just trying to push limits because they can.

Yep and they've been doing it with great commercial and critical success for the last ten years. Ultimately - regardless of what the media would have you believe - people wouldn't continue to buy their games if they weren't very well made.

PS I've never played Manhunt, but a mate told me it was "disturbing."

[satchmo]

Aren't you named after a famous digit chopper? :)

Sorry but I just don't understand how playing Manhunt is any different from watching or reading horror from any other medium. Everyone you have to kill is either being paid to hunt you down or involved in the snuff operation in some way.
Dunno much about the sequels story (Ive been avoiding spoilers) but I find it hard to believe it's any worse than a lot of recent 18 cert films. This whole thing is crazy.

[Buttonman]

Ha good point on the Buttonman front - it's probably that that made me squemish about my extremeties.

I don't agree games equate with films, games are interactive and you chose to get involved in the dismembering. Of course I am a total hypocrite having enjoyed many hours shooting Jerries and civilians alike in Medal of Honour.

I would however rather be caught watching porn than have the wife catch me dimembering a body using thrusting Wii movements.

[The Amstor Computer]

Whether it is or isn't, the bottom line is that people above the age of 18 should be free to play whatever they like. It may sound callous but the the parents of murdered children are the last people whose views should be sought on an issue like this (NB I'm talking about the Pakeerahs, not Mrs Bulger.)

IIRC, wasn't it the Pakeerahs' son - the victim - who owned a copy of Manhunt? The tabloids claimed initially it belonged to the murderer - hence the wave of negative publicity - but it transpired that it actually did belong to the victim, which kinda blew a hole in the "sick games make kids kill" angle...