Manhunt 2 update.

[ZuZu 10]

Rockstar (makers of the Grand Theft Auto series) seems to be having one delay after another when it comes to trying to release ManHunt 2, A wii exclusive. For those of you that dont know, MH2 is said to be one of the most violent video games .. [i]ever[/i]. In Britain the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) rejected the initial version of the game and refused to give it a rating, and now they have also rejected a re-worked version of the game, claiming although changes were made the game was still too violent.
Article below.

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[quote]David Cooke, director of the BBFC said: "The impact of the revisions on the bleakness and callousness of tone, or the essential nature of the gameplay, is clearly insufficient. There has been a reduction in the visual detail in some of the 'execution kills', but in others they retain their original visceral and casually sadistic nature.

"We did make suggestions for further changes to the game, but the distributor has chosen not to make them, and as a result we have rejected the game on both platforms. The decision on whether or not an appeal goes ahead lies with the distributor."

In June the BBFC refused to give Manhunt 2 a classification, saying its "unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone [...] constantly encourages visceral killing with exceptionally little alleviation or distancing".

Rockstar's appeal against the decision was suspended while the developer offered up a revised version of the game. We contacted Rockstar for comment and a statement is set for release shortly.

Over in the US, the revised version of Manhunt 2 was finally granted an 'M' rating by the ESRB, following the original submission's kiss-of-death 'AO' classification. The updated game will now hit US stores on October 29.


I was worried this would happen. This of course applies to the new "cut-down" version of the game - rather than the original, uncut version.



I expect it to be banned in Australia ('R' rating, meaning it will not be released), possibly NZ, Germany and other countries.

Although I was unlikely to want to buy this outright, I definitely wanted to rent it to check it out.

And unfortunately, as games for the Wii are region locked - without modding my unit, I can't even play the US version.

Boo to censorship!


UPDATE: here is the response from Rockstar:

Rockstar Games has released a statement regarding the British Board of Film Classification's earlier announcement that it will not classify an amended version of Manhunt 2.

The publisher believes that changes suggested by the BBFC in order to classify the game are "unacceptable" and that the appeal against the game's effective ban will continue.

The statement in full:

"We are continuing to appeal the British Board of Film Classification's decision to deny the edited version of Manhunt 2 an 18-plus certificate and thereby ban its release in the United Kingdom."

"The changes necessary in order to publish the game in Britain are unacceptable to us and represent a setback for video games."

"The BBFC allows adults the freedom to decide for themselves when it comes to horror in movies and we think adults should be similarly allowed to decide for themselves when it comes to horror in video games, such as Manhunt 2."

No specific date has yet been set for the appeal decision.[/quote]

article from [url="http://www.vgchartz.com/news/news.php?id=549"]Video Game Chartz[/url]


I personally hate censorship. As an adult I believe that if i want to buy and play an extremely violent and (some may say) pointless video game, then I should be allowed to, I'm more than old enough to make decisions for myself and I dont want to play the same toned-down version that 13 year olds are playing on an M rating.

However from the comments on the article site it seems that the dutch government will not ban this, saying there is no law against it and that parents should control what their kids buy.

I believe this is how it should be across the world, instead of bad parents using violent video games as a scapegoat for their own troubled children.

At the moment it is unsure when MH2 will be released.

[Farron 0]

Well,even though I'm 13,I agree ZuZu.I think the whole censorship thing is absurd.Not that I'd be allowed to play it,I hate the nerve of these "experts" who rate games an say whether they're released or not.Whether we buy it or not should be our choice[the people who choose to buy it],not the "experts'" choices.

[Goron Merchant 1]

This game must be so violent. Its insanity. I would love to play the uncensored original version. I can't imagine how violent it'd be.

[Relean 1]

I was just gonna say that.

Heck, if they don't want to even rate it then it must be incredibly violent.

[Gingerlink 2]

or they're being predujiced because its a videogame as opposed to it getting a lower rating if it was a film

[Sparrowhawk 0]

i personally vote on an Unrated catagor for all the Games like manhunt2 and barneys adventure
We the public can chose what to buy ourselves.

-Sparrowhawk

[eyeoftruth 2]

manhunt... you hunt... ehh... men... fun? nah...