The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has sent word that they have rejected the video game Manhunt 2. That is bad news for Manhunt fans as now the game cannot be legally supplied anywhere in the UK. Both the versions, PS2 as well as Nintendo Wii, were submitted.
The decision to ban the Manhunt 2 game was taken by the Director and the Presidential Team of Sir Quentin Thomas, Lord Taylor of Warwick and Janet Lewis-Jones. This is what David Cooke, Director of the BBFC had to say about it:
- “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.
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. That work was classified ‘18’ in 2003, before the BBFC’s recent games research had been undertaken, but was already at the very top end of what the Board judged to be acceptable at that category.
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.”
However, all is not lost for the fans, as under the terms of the Video Recordings Act, distributors have the right to appeal to the Board’s decision. Developers and publishers Rockstar do have a thing to be proud about, as according to the BBFC, Manhunt 2 is the first video game to be refused a classification since Carmageddon in 1997, when that decision was overturned on appeal by the Video Appeals Committee.