The BBFC has rejected Manhunt 2 on PS2 and Wii, the ratings board has revealed, meaning that the sequel "cannot be legally supplied anywhere in the UK".

We've called Rockstar several times but have yet been unable to contact anyone.

According to the BBFC, the decision to refuse the game a rating was taken by the Director and the Presidential Team of Sir Quentin Thomas, Lord Taylor of Warwick and Janet Lewis-Jones.

Under the terms of the Video Recordings Act, distributors have the right to appeal the Board's decision.

David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said:

"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."

Check back for updates this afternoon but be sure to join the debate below.

Update: NGamer magazine has reviewed the Wii version, giving it 92%. Hit this link to read exclusive excerpts. Update out

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=166215So

Would never have tried this game until I read that... Now I'm all curious.

This decisions sounds daft to me. Banning films and games never does anything apart from generate publicity.

The game has been getting really high review scores. It's bound to leak out..

I presume it's out in other countries? Anyone played t? anyone played the original?

I havnt played the original but remember it was removed from the shelves for a while because it was linked to the murder of a 14 year old boy, but the police later stated there was no connection.

Anyway i cant belive they are banning this game after it got alot of good reviews, could they not come up with another solution because i think if they ban it completely more people will want to play it (which they could easily do if they dont ban it in other countires)

Edit: The Irish Film Censor's Office has also announced that the game has been banned in the Republic of Ireland. In a statement, the board gave its reasoning as follows, "IFCO recognizes that in certain films, DVDs and video games, strong graphic violence may be a justifiable element within the overall context of the work. However, in the case of Manhunt 2, IFCO believes that there is no such context, and the level of gross, unrelenting and gratuitous violence is unacceptable

http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6172704.html?a...estnews;title;0

Edited June 19, 200719 yr by lara-fanatic

Yeah part one was banned in the UK.

Aye.. it was banned in a wave of media hysteria after a teenager killed another teenager and the game's name came up. Of course.. it later emerged that in fact, it was the lad who got killed that played the game obsessively, not the murderer. And that the murder was drug-related. But of course.. the media wanted the game banned anyway I think it's since been unbanned... but I never played that anyway because I heard it was rubbish. This new one however, sounds ace.

I've been a bit taken aback by how the censors here feel the need to treat people like stupid children. Back home the various regulators had an extremely lax attitude toward censorship. Honestly, give the game a rating so that only adults can buy it. We are not idiots, we can all tell the difference between fiction and reality.

(I am bitter because in my copy of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom the bit where the one guy reaches into the other guy's chest and pulls his heart out has been cut out. I always liked that bit )

Really Shrensh? They've cut that bit out of the DVD? That is ridiculous! They showed the film on ITV about 5 years ago and they left that bit in!! So is it ok for us to see it or not BBFC??

I absolutely agree anyhow.. it's quite ridiculous that they feel the need to tell other adults what they are allowed to see and what they aren't. Time will prove this to be a stupid decision anyway (as with every banned film that gets unbanned and turns out to be more tame than current films)

Bloody nanny state....

Really Shrensh? They've cut that bit out of the DVD? That is ridiculous! They showed the film on ITV about 5 years ago and they left that bit in!! So is it ok for us to see it or not BBFC??

Well, in the DVD you can see the shaman guy reaching toward the other guy's chest, then it cuts away just as the Shaman's hand touches the guy's chest, and then you see him holding the guy's heart. In my VHS version I had back home you could see the Shaman putting his hand through the guy's skin into his chest and pulling the heart out. I thought it was gross but cool

Of course, since I am extremely stupid and impressionable and I just have to copy everything I see in the movies, after I saw that I immediately went out and started ripping random people's hearts out!

Tsk tsk. That is a naughty thing to do but don't worry, it's not your fault.. it's nasty Steven Speilberg's fault!

I can relate to your problem too... after watching Doctor Who a while back I enslaved the human race and turned them all into giant silver robots called cyberpeople the very next day (Being the p.c., forward-thinking person that I am, cybermen just didn't seem right). But that's the BBC's fault for showing it before my 9pm bedtime.

*Chimes in late...*

I read a while ago that the game featured CCTV footage from the kidnap of James Bulger (the lad that was murdered at three yrs old back in 1993). I have never played the game, but like you Rake, I am curious as it's only ever the good and realistic games that get banned.