View Full Version : Manhunt 2 banned in UK and Ireland
Davey_Pitch
21-06-2007, 09:45
British and Irish censors this week banned the game, citing an unacceptable level of "gratuitous violence." It is the first time in 10 years that British censors have refused a video game a rating and the first time ever Ireland has banned a game.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20070620/ten-uk-videogame-manhunt-d3877cb.html
Gutted, I loved the first one and was looking forward to this. I don't have a modden PS2 so I can't import it either :/
I'm surprised they're not appealing against it.
Admiral Huddy
21-06-2007, 11:05
I'm puzzled by this banning tbh. We all have a choice of what we watch and play. Where do you draw the line between what is and what is not acceptable.. The media is being used as a scapegoat for violent acts of crime rather than facing up to the fact that it's a problem with society.. I can think of many films like Kill Bill and last nights Layer Cake that are very violent but no one buts an eyelid.
The way I feel, is that to be a cold blooded murderer, it’s something you’ve got to have inside you already. It’s something that’s part of you, like a pit-bull.
The victims, media and politicians need a scapegoat and the games industry is just that. Just the same way that during the 70s football was blamed for violence at matches but it was society that was the problem, not football. People seem to forget that and burry their heads in the sands rather than accept that there are problems in society.
Mans instinct and nature is a violent and has been since the stone age. It’s just unfortunate that some can’t control the level of violence they harness
I'm surprised they're not appealing against it.
Me too.
I was thinking about this last night, it was banned because of the 'casual sadism' in it.
I was thinking about it because I'd just seen the trailer for Hostel 2 and Paradise Lost. How come they get away with it yet a game doesn't?
Paradise Lost seems to have some really nasty bit where organs are removed from someone while they're still alive and their boyfriend's watching them suffer.
How sick can you get?? And yet it gets an 18 and Manhunt 2 which is a game and doesn't feature real people acting gets banned. Silly.
leowyatt
21-06-2007, 11:09
Hasn't a Law & Order game been banned too?
I guess, playing devils advocate, the distinction is interaction - the player performs these acts where in films they are just witness to them.
I personally dont buy that and support the 'where do you draw the line argument'. Should we ban the writing of horrific books/stories/films, because they're too dangerous to be conceived?
[edit]Law and Order 2 was taken off the shelves because it contained a CCTV still of James Bulgers abduction, and was taken down by the publisher, it wasn't forced.
NokkonWud
21-06-2007, 12:59
I was thinking about it because I'd just seen the trailer for Hostel 2 and Paradise Lost. How come they get away with it yet a game doesn't?
Manhunt 2 is interactive and Rockstar have pretty much admitted to it being sadist. Especially the Wii version where you literally move the wiimote in a sawing action to cut someones head off etc...
You all talk like you can't get it now, remember, your console doesn't just play UK games, it plays PAL. Some PAL countries will definitely get it such as Scandinavia, Finland etc... So I'd take a gamble at being able to get it from there.
Of course there will be cost now :(.
You all talk like you can't get it now, remember, your console doesn't just play UK games, it plays PAL. Some PAL countries will definitely get it such as Scandinavia, Finland etc... So I'd take a gamble at being able to get it from there.
That's not really the point though - the precedent is worrying.
Davey_Pitch
21-06-2007, 14:09
Manhunt 2 is interactive and Rockstar have pretty much admitted to it being sadist. Especially the Wii version where you literally move the wiimote in a sawing action to cut someones head off etc...
Hahahah, suddenly I want the Wii version soo much more ;D ;D
Piggymon
21-06-2007, 14:20
From a non - gamer perspective I don't have a problem with violent games at all but I do have a problem with the parents who buy games for their kids regardless of the certs ! :angry: I have seen 6 year olds playing GTA Vice City on a PSP before now and it makes my blood boil !
I stick rigidly to certs, something I think which is been ingrained in me by my parents, they used to rent out videos.
Davey_Pitch
21-06-2007, 14:29
From a non - gamer perspective I don't have a problem with violent games at all but I do have a problem with the parents who buy games for their kids regardless of the certs ! :angry: I have seen 6 year olds playing GTA Vice City on a PSP before now and it makes my blood boil !
Agreed. I don't really have a problem if the kid is a couple of years younger than the limit (ie, I wouldn't mind a 13 year old playing a 15 game), but a 6 year old playing GTA is just wrong.
From a non - gamer perspective I don't have a problem with violent games at all but I do have a problem with the parents who buy games for their kids regardless of the certs ! :angry: I have seen 6 year olds playing GTA Vice City on a PSP before now and it makes my blood boil !
I stick rigidly to certs, something I think which is been ingrained in me by my parents, they used to rent out videos.
Agreed. Parents just don't seem to realise that the certificate means the same on a game as it does on a film. I know people who would never let their kids watch Reservoir Dogs yet would let them play all the 18 certificate games, completely ridiculous.
If people actually listened to the certificates, we wouldn't have games like Manhunt 2 get banned I bet.
Maybe the certifying body should sort that out then rather than punishing titles. Or maybe they should be given the power to sort it out, I'm not actually sure what powers they do have enforcement wise.
I'm not sure either. I'd say game shops have got better at checking ages but from what I've seen, they've gone from never asking to saying 'Are you over 18?' and take a yes with no ID as the truth :/
And of course it doesn't help at all if a parent buys a game with a small kid right behind them.
It really needs more awareness I think.
NokkonWud
21-06-2007, 16:00
It would appear that the powers that be are listening to Jack Thompson too much.
I think so :(
Every generation needs a scape goat unfortunately. When my Dad was a kid it was horror comics heh.
Well, as for the interactivity issue I remember reading about a scientific study that found people were actually less influenced by say, a violent videogame than they would be by a similarly violent film. The reason is actually due to the interactivity, because the person playing consciously knows that what they are doing isn't real and that it's a game... whereas when watching a film the person watching is more absorbed in it as they don't actually have to do anything; they just watch and take it in.
Regardless of that, I think banning a game is a bad idea fullstop, as is banning a film. The ratings are a good enough guideline - people should have free choice. Also as I said a guideline, I don't really agree with chastising parents who let younger children play/watch media they aren't old enough for according to whoever decides in the BBFC. Parents should be able to use the rating as a guideline to make a sensible decision, 'is my child mature enough to appreciate this?'. I played GTA 3 when I was far younger than 18.. I'm 18 now! I don't think it's affected me adversely :)
They should indeed be able to use them as a guideline to make a sensible decision but I don't believe many/enough do.
For example, when that kid was killed and Manhunt 1 was blamed (Even though it was the victim's copy), neither set of parents went 'Oh yeah we made a sensible decision and felt it was fine for them to have it', instead they blamed the game and started ranting about how terrible such things were released.
Obviously that's an extreme example and no doubt they were just desperate to find something to blame that didn't involve realising they may have been able to do something themselves, but I'd argue it's the attitude with too many parents.
The main problem imo is lack of understanding, which desperately needs addressing but I very much doubt it ever will be.
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