Today, the British Board of Film Classification, the UK’s independent regulator of film, video and gaming, announced that it has rejected both the PS2 and Wii version of Manhunt 2 meaning it cannot legally be supplied anywhere in the UK.

BBFC Director David Cooke stated, “Rejecting a work is a very serious action and one which we do not take lightly. Where possible we 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.”

The BBFC has stated that the sequel to Manhunt is far more brutal and bleak than the original title, which was granted an 18 rating in 2003. The banning of Manhunt 2 marks the first videogame to go unrated since 1997’s Carmageddon, a decision that was ultimately overturned thanks to an appeal by the Video Appeals Committee. Hopefully, Rockstar challenges the board’s inane and frankly disgusting move to have this game taken away from British gamers.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 19th, 2007 at 10:54 am and is filed under Wii, PS2, All. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.