BBFC: Rockstar Appeal Could Put Manhunt 2 on Shelves

The ratings board tells Kikizo how it came to the decision to reject classification of Manhunt 2 and what Rockstar can (and can't) do about it.

It's been 10 years since the British Board of Film Classification banned the sale of bloody PC driving game Carmageddon, a decade that has seen both realism and interactive violence pushed to new levels. But it wasn't until today that the BBFC decided to step in again to block the sale of a game.

The Board said on Tuesday that it had rejected Rockstar's new lightning rod Manhunt 2, making it illegal for the PlayStation 2 and Wii game to be sold anywhere in the UK.

In a statement, David Cooke, the director of the BBFC said: "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."

Because of this, the BBFC concluded that allowing the game to be released would "involve a range of unjustifiable harm risks, to both adults and minors", despite acknowledging that an 18 rating would have excluded minors from buying the game.

According to Sue Clarke, head of communications for the BBFC, the game was examined by a group of "experts" who had had access to all cheat codes and played it for several hours. The Board also considered highlight footage supplied by publisher Rockstar.

Clarke said that given the structure of the game, it was unlikely that Rockstar would be able to resubmit it in an acceptable form. But she added that the decision to alter the game lay with Rockstar.

Games have taken heavy fire in June, most recently when Sony drew the ire of the Church Of England over the setting of gun battles in Resistance: Fall Of Man in the nave of Manchester Cathedral.

Clarke denied that the incident and the general climate in the wake of the media outcry had any bearing on the decision to reject the game, which she said was judged on its own merit.

It seems that Rockstar can expect no support in the matter from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association, the trade body covering video games in the UK.

In a statement released shortly after the BBFC's rejection of Manhunt 2, ELSPA director general Paul Jackson said that the decision was evidence that the UK has an effective ratings board that "works and works well".

Rockstar, which did not return calls for this story, is able to appeal the decision. If that were to happen, the publisher would be hoping for a similar decision to the one that freed Carmageddon a decade ago.

For a better idea of what you'll be missing out on, check out our first preview of the game, and look for the second later this week.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo