Rockstar's Manhunt 2 rejected by UK ratings board
It is the duty of the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) to classify or rate any films or video games before they are released in the UK -- if they are indeed deemed fit for release. After spending some time strangling strangers and stabbing psychopaths in Rockstar's Manhunt 2, it seems the BBFC are none too pleased by the game's content, rejecting it for certification entirely. This means that Manhunt 2 may not be legally supplied anywhere in the UK.
MCV quotes the BBFC's director David Cooke as saying, "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." With the game already filled with all manner of cuts, slashes and eviscerations, the BBFC could simply not see a way around the game's "unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone" and its "sustained and cumulative casual sadism."
With Rockstar being no stranger to controversy, we half expect those quotes to show up on the back of the box. Then again, publisher Take-Two is unlikely to let an entire country of wallets just slip from its grasp, so there may yet be an appeal or a round of strict censorship. The Wii, PS2 and PSP game is still en route to America though and it shouldn't be long before we all learn whether UK gamers have been robbed... or rescued.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
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