Pop Buzz UK

Manhunt 2, the controversial Rockstar game, was banned from being released in the UK last month by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification). The game was due out on both the Playstation 2 and Nintendo Wii, but the BBFC’s decision meant it couldn’t be sold anywhere in the UK. Well, now Rockstar are appealing the decision, by going to the Video Appeals Committee in the UK.

This game is the first to be banned from sale in the UK for 10 years, the last being the gory but light hearted Carmageddon in 1997. I can see why the decision was made, as it is reportedly a sick, violent game where people are killed in a variety of ways just for the sake of it. Graphics have moved on so considerably that while in Carmageddon you would run someone over and basically be killing a group of undefinable pixels, Manhunt features lifelike humans being slaughtered.

The thing is, they are still just graphical representations rather than real living people, so is there that much of a difference?

At the time of the ban David Cooke, director of the BBFC said:-

“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,”

“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.“

I’m glad Rockstar are appealing the decision as the time is ripe for a sensible adult discussion about the issues involved. I hate the way organisations can just censor what is in effect adult entertainment. I thought the Game rating system was brought in for this exact reason? Shouldn’t the onus be on parents and game shop employees to enforce the rules regarding who can, and who can’t buy certain titles?

Rockstar continually push the bounds of decency in video games, and try to use the resulting controversy to sell more copies. Is this game one too far, or should we be allowed to play what we want? Let me know your views on the subject.

Rockstar, Manhunt 2, Banned, UK, British, Film Classification, Video Games, Playstation 2, Nintendo, Wii, Carmageddon, BBFC, Censorship