NGEXPRESS Banhunt

The day before last month's issue of NGamer hit the shelves with a world exclusive review of the 92% rated Manhunt 2, the British Board of Film Classification, pooped the party by refusing to issue a certificate, effectively banning it in the UK. With similar decisions taken in several other European countries and an Adult Only rating was issues in the US - meaning Nintendo will not license the game for Wii - there's a possibility that few people outside of Rockstar, the censors and NGamer's reviewer will ever see Manhunt 2 in all it's gory glory. Rockstar have lodged an appeal, so by the time you read this the decision may have been overturned or, more likely, the game will be rejected once more. Rockstar's options would then be to shelve Manhunt 2 for good or risk more money attempting to get it thought the certification process.

Fair play? So how did Manhunt 2 become the first game to suffer such a fate since 1997's pedestrian-flattening, tabloid-baiting Carmedgeddon? For all the indignation the rejection has caused among gamers eager to experience Manhunt 2 for themselves, the BBFC's decision certainly isn't an arbitrary one made by senior citizens of the establishment. Sue Clark, from the BBFC, explained the process involved: "The company supplies us with cheat codes and a full script for the game. In the case of Manhunt 2 it had half a dozen examiners, all of them hardened game players, play right the way through the Playstation 2 and Wii versions. "We also has a complete video walkthrough provided by Rockstar. In addition, any company submitting a game must supply a list of potentially contentious issues, because we don't always have the time to see the whole of a game that might have hundreds of hours of gameplay. If any issues later come to light that were not brought to out attention at the time the work was submitted, then its certificate would have to be revoked."

Over the Top

The BBFC'S press release, issued when Manhunt 2 was rejected, cites the "unmitting bleakness and callousness of tone", "visceral killing" and "sustained and cumulative casual sadism", concluding that letting the game go on sale "would be unacceptable to the general public". While it's hard to argue with the BBFC's points regarding the game's content, as it most certainly is bleak, visceral and sadistic, our opinion at NGamer is that these things might not be upsetting to the kind of adult gamers who would buy a horror game about brainwashed murderers.

Original Sin

The first Manhunt has near-identical gameplay as was awarded an 18 certificate in 2003. "The 18 certificate covers a very broad spectrum from just over 15 all the way to Rejected, and Manhunt was right at the top of the ale," says Sue Clark. "Manhunt 2's unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying","the sheer lack of alternative pleasures", and " the different overall narrative context as key reasons for not awarding it the same 18 rating as its predecessor. We've plated both games and - without wishing to give away too much of Manhunt 2, in case it ever does see the light of day - the differences are, in out opinion quite subtle. Both games focus on stalking and brutal slaying - it's pretty much the sole gameplay mechanic, because these are few puzzles and opportunities for exploration in either one. Manhunt 2 seems to have more densely packed levels, which means its gruesome moments are more frequent, and it permits the use of execution weapons throughout. The narrative is harder to follow because its flashback structure of themes of phychosis, but there's no "good' reason for killing so violently in either game. The BBFC are currently reviewing the way they classify games, in the light of their April 2007 study on gaming psychology where games industry insider helped sow seeds for tighter regulation in the future. One unnamed games reviewer says in the report: "There's a massive predominance of violence in games that we don't talk about. It;s the big elephant in the room for the games industry". But the most damning comment in the report, and sufficient reason in many eyes for keeping Manhunt behind bars, comes from the parent who wasn't alone in admitting "We bought him GTA when he was almost 10"

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