Nintendo News | Rockstar Appeals for Manhunt 2 in the UK

By Jorge Ba-oh 02.08.2007 28

Manhunt 2 may have a chance of hitting the Market in the UK, with Rockstar appealing to the Video Appeals Committee (VAC) to get the decision to ban the game overturned.

The VAC has the power to overrule decisions from the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). The game was denied classification due to "unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone... which constantly encourages visceral killing with exceptionally little alleviation or distancing".

The VAC chairman, John Woods, will select individuals to form an appeal panel to vote whether the ban stays in place; or Rockstar can bring Manhunt to the UK. The BBFC has confirmed it will announce when the panel has been formed.

Thanks to IGN, MeleeKirby for the tip.

Box art for Manhunt 2
Developer

Rockstar Toronto

Publisher

Rockstar

Genre

Adventure

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  n/a

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date None   Australian release date None   

Comment on this article

You can comment as a guest or join the Cubed3 community below: Sign Up for Free Account Login

Preview PostPreview Post Your Name:
Validate your comment
  Enter the letters in the image to validate your comment.
Submit Post

Comments

I doubt it will get overturned, they will probably need to tone the game down a bit before it's gets released in Britain.


Mike Gee of iZINE said, "...The Verve, as he [Richard Ashcroft] promised, had become the greatest band in the world. Most of the critics agreed with him. Most paid due homage. The Verve were no longer the question mark or the clich�. They were the statement and the definition."

They'll have to go through Jack Thompson, he'd have a field day. Also, like they did in US, Nintendo &/or Sony themselves may refuse to let it release.

Twitter | C3 Writer/Moderator | Backloggery

Meh. I just don't care anymore.

Jb you should always include the "casual sadism" quote whenever posting on this.

I care for the future of other such titles with similar content, but not solely this title. Hate the Fing BBFC, hypocritic scum bags I'm sure. I bet they have extremely explicit content of all natures within their households as do I and most other people. {LS]

The BBFC are actually pretty awesome generally, Links. May not always have been the case, but in recent years, the BBFC has been far more lenient than other certification outfits from other countries. America's one is stricter than the BBFC. The US version of Soul Calibur, for example, has one of Voldo's costumes censored Smilie

None of us here can know exactly why Manhunt 2 was banned. I would personally like to play it, but I don't hate the BBFC for banning it. Apparently it's well above-and-beyond the original, in terms of depraved content. And the original pushed the boat out quite far enough, I thought. Just be thankful that you aren't German. There's is a true nanny state.

None of us here can know exactly why Manhunt 2 was banned.


I think that's a good point here. How can we pass judgment on them for banning it, when they really could be justified in doing so? We have no idea what content is in the game. We know it will be extremely violent and graphic. That's it. But we haven't actually played the game to see all the details, how the killings are done, the atmosphere etc.

To be honest, while I was happy that the Wii was getting a mature "gamer's game" that might shut some of you lot up a bit, I can't complain about it being banned. Shows that there still is a line drawn somewhere.

Yeah they probally are better than some other countries similar organisations but they have made some appaling decisions in the past, that have been clearly politically motivated, should not happen.

A Voldo costume Smilie you are taking the piss.

"None of us here can know exactly why Manhunt 2 was banned."- Oni

According to CVG who have played the game in full they reckon 8 particular points of the game may have done it, with 3 scenes in particular that must have had a major impact on the decision. One of those scenes sees you take a already bloody saw to some testis in order to remove them for "bizarre reasons". I still wonder what the hell you could do with two bollocks that are not of your own Smilie, I wonder what the game had you do with them ?. {LS]

( Edited on 02.08.2007 15:20 by Linkyshinks )

Linkyshinks said:
Yeah they probally are better than some other countries similar organisations but they have made some appaling decisions on the past that have been clearly politically motivated, should not happen. A Voldo costume Smilie you are taking the piss.None of us here can know exactly why Manhunt 2 was banned.According to CVG who have played the game in full they reckon 8 particular points of the game may have done it, with 3 scenes in particular that must have had a major impact on the decision. One of those scenes sees you take a already bloody saw to some testis in order to remove them for bizarre reason. I still wonder what the hell you could do with to bollocks that are not of your own Smilie, I wonder what the game had you do with them ?. {LS]

One of things pointed out, possibly in that same preview/article about it, was the general feeling of pointlessness of killing some people. In the original Manhunt you had a purpose, and for the most part was forced onto you character thanks to the situation and story, and general kill or be killed, whereas this game it would appear have you killing seom people for almost no reason other than entirely for progress (the example I remember was from the S&M club, where you killed someone to get their head, to show to someone through the door to let you through thinking that person was obviosuly still alive and wanted to come in) rather than to do with your situation or story, which is where the line tends to be drawn.

Like I said, I would like to play the game. However, I trust the BBFC. Fact is, not everyone's as level-headed as me, and this game might be potentially dangerous, in that respect. I'll just have to *obtain* it off of bitTorrent, when it gets leaked. I don't mind. I'd like to buy it, though. I maintain what I said in a previous thread on this; stricter controls on 18-rated content is what's needed.

It's so easy for kids to get hold of 18-rated games, and as a retailer, you can't do anything about a parent buying a game for a child. You have to sell it to them, because the purchaser is old enough. It's totally different to alcohol. There are no consequences in law for buying children 18-rated computer games. Or if they're is, it's nothing compared to alcohol.

Oni-Ninja said:
There are no consequences in law for buying children 18-rated computer games. Or if theyre is, its nothing compared to alcohol.

There isnt, im sure the rule is that, if your underage, you cant buy the gaame but you can play it with the consent of an adult. Which is just bullshit, imo...people wonder why some kids are fucked up, its because of parents who buy 11 and 12 yr olds 18 rated games then complain when their kids learn swear words.

I would really like to play this game, though, because I loved the original (unlike anyone else I know) and was always hoping for a sequeal. I guess i'll just have to take Oni's means and "obtain" it when/if its leaked.




"Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us." Deviantart Profile-||-Myspace

Modplan Man said:
Linkyshinks said:Yeah they probally are better than some other countries similar organisations but they have made some appaling decisions on the past that have been clearly politically motivated, should not happen. A Voldo costume Smilie you are taking the piss.None of us here can know exactly why Manhunt 2 was banned.According to CVG who have played the game in full they reckon 8 particular points of the game may have done it, with 3 scenes in particular that must have had a major impact on the decision. One of those scenes sees you take a already bloody saw to some testis in order to remove them for bizarre reason. I still wonder what the hell you could do with to bollocks that are not of your own Smilie, I wonder what the game had you do with them ?. {LS]
One of things pointed out, possibly in that same preview/article about it, was the general feeling of pointlessness of killing some people. In the original Manhunt you had a purpose, and for the most part was forced onto you character thanks to the situation and story, and general kill or be killed, whereas this game it would appear have you killing seom people for almost no reason other than entirely for progress (the example I remember was from the S&M club, where you killed someone to get their head, to show to someone through the door to let you through thinking that person was obviosuly still alive and wanted to come in) rather than to do with your situation or story, which is where the line tends to be drawn.

They should have justified everything with a blatantly lame story, if it's part of the story and it's depicted in the same way what can they do when it's within the context of a valid story.

I undertand the head thing, but a pair of bollocks, wonder what these "bizzare reasons" were?. I reckon a Boss puts out a hit you take the job to remove bollocks and serve them up for the boss in question, either that or it's the first time a pair of bollocks have been used as a weapon in a game!Smilie.

I guess they could have been used as a diversion also by being able to throw them at enemies heads as some sort of TeaBagging diversion Smilie.{LS]

( Edited on 02.08.2007 16:35 by Linkyshinks )

fingers crossed its full of gamers :p


[:: Lee Sanders :: Cubed-3 :: News Reporter :: Writer :: Head Of Secret Operations:: Resisdentual Slacker ::] On Twitter = LeeTSanders I have a Cubed3 limited Edition mug!
DO YOU! So Cute - bit.ly/yIEgXv

Well it should have a few gamers, and not just toffy world cinema lovers who like lashings foreign minge like the BBFC. Here's hoping, not solely for this title but for others like it and adult games all round. {LS]

( Edited on 02.08.2007 23:18 by Linkyshinks )

Whenever I see the word "appeal" I immediately think of the "Appeal" feature in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. It's like Rockstar goes in the position that Mario does when performing it (raising his arms and whatnot.)

Anyway, getting back on topic, Manhunt 2 was intended to be rated M for a reason. If stores enforced not selling 10-year-olds games that were made for the 17+ age group, then this wouldn't be so much of an issue. An adult is not as impressionable as a little kid who might want to copy some of the stunts in the game (though it probably wouldn't go to extremes; it'd just be pretending to wield fake weapons or whatever.) They have the ratings for a reason, and yet they don't use them. There wouldn't be so much controversy if they just passed a law saying to regulate what those damn younger gamers get to play. Why should a GTA-obsessed 7-year-old ruin everyone else's fun? They shouldn't. Just stop selling M-rated games to minors! I'm turning 17 this month, and I'm mature enough physically and mentally to play whatever the fuck I want. USE THE RATINGS FOR ONCE, DAMN IT! Smilie

( Edited on 03.08.2007 03:07 by NintendoArielle )

But Arielle, the law is that you can't sell rated games/films to anyone under the specified age. The problem is this; you currently can't do a damn thing about a mother buying it for her child. If the purchaser is old enough, then everything's perfectly okay, under law. In the UK, anyway. I imagine it's much the same in the US.

Parents should be accountable and pay a heavy price for diverting the laws that help to try and prevent kids getting hold of such content. These parents in question are scum, throw the book at them, they get these games to shut up their children ultimately, while they sit around all day watching soap operas and F all else. Putting new laws in place that apply to both retailers and parental guardians is the way to go.

This game was considerd to extreme for even mature adults capable of making informed decisions themselves!. I think it's a fucking disgrace!, that there are those out there that can prevent us from playing this game and viewing similar content on all artistic mediums. These people should be concentrating on banning severely offensive material that could suprise and seriously offend the viewer in like say a film for example. When a gamer buys Manhunt 2 they know full well what kind of content it's going to have, and for the layman they should have clear warnings on the box prominantly displayed. There could also be some technology solutions and parents should be educated about all this and should put Parental Controls in action if they care about their children. {LS]

I dont think the game is coming out now anyway, I think it may still come out in europe but it looks like the U.S it is not going to get a release-

August 2, 2007 - As part of its revised revenue and earnings guidance for fiscal 2007, Take-Two has announced the delayed Manhunt 2 has been completely removed from its current fiscal year schedule, ended October 31. What's more, the game does not appear on the company's fiscal 2008 line-up.

This week Rockstar filed an appeal to the British Board of Film Classification to overturn the decision to effectively ban the game in the UK. Over here in the States, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board handed Manhunt 2 the dreaded "Adults Only" (AO) rating, meaning retailers would refuse to carry the title and manufacturers would deny it access to their consoles. Aside from verifying the delay, Rockstar has been mum about its plans for the game in North America.


( Edited on 03.08.2007 13:40 by Linkyshinks )

Smilie it go to AO so no one will go hear it :/ so i dont see point

My mum bought me an 18 rated game when I was only 11 (GTA) and she is not scum, Linkyshinks.

CuRoi said:
My mum bought me an 18 rated game when I was only 11 (GTA) and she is not scum, Linkyshinks.


Yeah well you know what I mean, I did not mean to sound so severe but in essence it's plain wrong, but the wrongness depends on the title in question I would say Smilie. [does she watch soapds all day? lol]

GTA seems fine enough, cartoony graphics are akin to what is deemed acceptable by most parents, but if mothers are buying their kids games like The Darkness and other similar titles that is truly fucked up. There are certainly some shocking things in that game.

Thing is how can a parents make informed decisions based solely on their kids description of a game, and the cover. I would think that the cover for parents plays a major role. {LS]

( Edited on 03.08.2007 15:43 by Linkyshinks )

It's time the games industry was taken as seriously as the film industry. Actually, it's long overdue.

That's the thing, they already are. Both industries regulations should be bought up to par with the alcohol industry. I posted about it before. I've worked in bars and shops. In a pub, you're well within your rights to refuse to sell alcohol to anyone, for any reason you like (and you're not even required to tell them the reason), and you can even demand that they leave the premises.

As a barman, if someone underage is buying alcohol, or someone is blatantly buying alcohol for someone who is underage, you can refuse them service and tell them to fuck off. In a shop, as long as the purchaser of the game/film is of age, you're powerless to do anything. They can get you done for refusing to sell it to them.

Retailers of entertainment media need to be given the same powers as public houses selling alcohol. That's what needs to change.

CuRoi said:
Its time the games industry was taken as seriously as the film industry. Actually, its long overdue.

I agree totally, it is still dismissed as burger and fries entertainment by fractions of the media. It IS a Art form, or at least it certainly can be on par with traditional established art forms we see today. But this is off topic unless you think that if that was the case it may bring about changes. Either way the industry deserves more respect.

Perhaps classifications boards would be more favourable if it was respected so?. {LS]

"Retailers of entertainment media need to be given the same powers as public houses selling alcohol. That's what needs to change."- Oni

I agree but if severe penalties were not in place before hand it would not be a right they would exert often would it, they will sell games knowing full well were they will end up. Shop Asses should be required to warn parents about buying 18 rated content for their children. It should be statndard routine to ask questions if there is doubt in a shop assistants mind.

( Edited on 03.08.2007 16:02 by Linkyshinks )

Read my previous post, Linkyshinks. That is what needs to happen. It's not a matter of films being taken more seriously than games or anything. Just as many underage kids watch certificated films as games. Probably more so. If anything, it's that games are seen as the more serious offense, due to the player-participation.

Like I said, the retailers need to be given more power. There's nothing else to the matter.

Perhaps classifications boards would be more favourable if it was respected so?. {LS] {

I was talking about Manhunt 2, and I did not bring up the respect issue.

Yes give them more powers, I agree, but there has to be punishment for parents also as a preventative measure in the first place. {LS]

( Edited on 03.08.2007 16:13 by Linkyshinks )

Oni-Ninja said:
Thats the thing, they already are. Both industries regulations should be bought up to par with the alcohol industry. I posted about it before. Ive worked in bars and shops. In a pub, youre well within your rights to refuse to sell alcohol to anyone, for any reason you like (and youre not even required to tell them the reason), and you can even demand that they leave the premises. As a barman, if someone underage is buying alcohol, or someone is blatantly buying alcohol for someone who is underage, you can refuse them service and tell them to fuck off. In a shop, as long as the purchaser of the game/film is of age, youre powerless to do anything. They can get you done for refusing to sell it to them.Retailers of entertainment media need to be given the same powers as public houses selling alcohol. Thats what needs to change.

But the problem with that is how can you tell? With a pub it's easier as the underage kids the person might be buying alcohol for are likely to be nearby, either just outside or in the place itself (if it's a pub restaurant kinda place). You can spot who the buyer's associating with.

With games it's different. You may be able to tell if it's a 40yr old woman who knows nothing about games and is clearly buying it for someone else. But if it's the kid's big brother or older friend or whatever, someone who knows his stuff, then it becomes a lot harder. He'll know to say "myself" if you ask who he's buying it for, unlike the clueless old woman.

People will find ways around these regulations. That's why Britain and Ireland have the worst underage drinking problems in Europe.

Will introducing tougher, pub-style regulations really be that effective?

Subscribe to this topic Subscribe to this topic

If you are a registered member and logged in, you can also subscribe to topics by email.
Sign up today for blogs, games collections, reader reviews and much more
Site Feed
Who's Online?
juzzy

There are 1 members online at the moment.