Manhunt 2 snuffed out - Censor explains decision not to certificate

On 18 June, Manhunt 2 became only the second videogame to be denied a rating by the British Board of Film Classification, effectively making it illegal to sell it in the UK {the first game to meet the same fate was Carmageddon, ten years ago}. According to BBFC director David Cooke, 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" So what made Manhunt 2 so different to other violent games? Cooke believes that the new game is different to its predecessor, which pushed the guidelines but was passed uncut "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." he says.

It's tempting to link this ban to the murder of Stefan Pakeerah in February 2004. At the time it was suggested that Warren Leblanc, Pakeerah's killer, has mimicked the original Manhunt - a game, it was claimed, that he was obsessed with. And it's a link that has been dredged up by the papers in light of the ruling on Manhunt 2 {despite the police involved in the case specifically denying any connection - the killer didn't even own the game, only the victim did}. The BBFC, however, says it wasn't influenced by the previous controversy. "That has nothing to do with this decision, absolutely not," says BBFC press officer Sue Clark "We are independent of government and independent of the industry and we reached this decision based on our guidelines and our concerns" So what does the BBFC actually do when it rates a game? Well according to its submission guidelines, it requires the finished games, "along with cheat codes and an indication of the more contentious elements of the game. A flowchart of the game and script are useful supporting material which aid the classification process" Armed with all this, Clark says the a number of researcher will play the game for several hours each, making sure they see the worst it has to offer before coming to a decision.

Nip Tuck

Sensible developers will show their game to the BBFC in its early stages; while films can simply make cuts, games might have to re-code entire sections to alter unacceptable content. In the case of The Punisher on PS2, the BBFC recommended that the graphic torture scenes be toned down with cutaways and gray scaling, after which the game was successfully passed. Manhunt 2, however, was considered to be beyond the point where cuts would help. Following the BBFC ruing in the UK, the granting of an ESRB Adults Only rating in the States suggested that Manhunt 2 could have gone of sale in North America {albeit not in mainstream stores like wal-mart}. However, with a Sony spokesperson restating the company policy of not allowing AO-rated content on Playstation hardware, Manhunt 2's publisher Take Two has decided to temporally suspend it's plans to distribute the game. At the time of writing, Take Two was yet to decide what to do next - make cuts or appeal the decision. However, for a successful appeal Clark says the publisher would "have to show, by precedent, that the BBFC's decision ws wrong."

Carmageddon has its verdict over turned after making minor game play adjustments, but it's unlikely that cuts to Manhunt 2 would have the same effect. "The whole tone of the game is different to the first," says Clark. "With Manhunt 2, literally all you do is kill" Meanwhile, the advent of ever more realistic graphics and a hunger for more adult subject matter mean Manhunt 2 might be the second game to face a ban, but it's unlikely to be the last.

Why was it banned?

How Manhunt 2 fell foul of the BBFC guidelines.

Realism

If a game's content is abstract enough it can avoid classification, but Manhunt's emphasis on killing lifelike enemies ensured a through going-over. Even if the hammers were replaced with hugs - swears and scenes of scatological nature would still have incurred a rating.

Theme

"The acceptability of a theme depends significantly on its treatment," says the BBFC, looking at a games violence in context. "Given the complicity required of players, themes involving particularly sadistic violence may be rejected" Manhunt 2 was bound to face a challenge.

Imitable Techniques

"The BBFC is concerned about detailed portrayal of criminal and violent techniques and the glamorisation of easily accessible weapons," The guidelines state. This didn't bode will for Manhunt 2, which enables you to kill with pens, syringes and plastic bags.

Violence

"Violence has always been a feature of entertainment" admits the BBFC. But their chief concerns include "hero's who inflict pain or injury, callousness towards victims and encouraging aggressive attitudes, "Manhunt 2 ticks all three of those boxes.

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Manhunt 2 ban - JoeSnape says he's 'seen worse'

What's the 'worst' bit of Manhunt2? Easy it's the bit set in suburbia "Daddy," comes a child's voice from a window you're creeping past. "There’s a man outside, covered in blood" Daddy come out to investigate. He's armed with a shovel. "He's part of the project!" hisses your insane partner Leo. Are you going to kill him? Well, are you? The problem obviously, is that a lot of people wouldn't even stop to consider it, It's a game you can do what you like in games. And, hey, whatever you do during this 'go', you can always hit restart. The Suffering - which deals with a lot of the same subject matter as Manhunt 2 - teases you with little moral decisions, offering the chance to do good {finish off a prison warden who's being eaten by rats} or bad {watch the all-you-can-graw rodent buffet}. In return, you're rewarded with different endings. Does that encourage you to be nicer? No, because if you like going through again and do the bad stuff anyway. You want to see what's in there. Lets face it there was an alternative ending to It's A Wonderful Life where Jimmy Stewart actually topped himself, you'd watch it. Nobody wants to miss out.

This is part of the reason why games still can't grow up. You'll never see a free-roaming game featuring guns and kids because some people - probably more than you'd expect - simply wouldn't be able to resist combining the two. It's often pointed out that, in GTA, it's possible to have sex with hooker, then murder them and retrieve your cash. Well, yes, but that's a facet of how free-form the game play is. In the Sims you could create celebrity look-a-likes and wall them up in windowless rooms to watch them starve to death in their own waste. Which is worse? The difference with Manhunt 2, and the aspect of it that the BBFC seems to have a problem with, is that it doesn't really give you any options. In the first game, you're forced to kill: everyone you come across is a homicidal maniac, so ever time you take someone out it's pure survival. Sort of. The lines get blurred with the cops - one or two mention having kids - but they're mainly portrayed as bigoted, corrupt sadists, presumably to make their deaths 'okay' in the game's bleak moral context. In Manhunt 2 playing as Leo dissolves the boundaries - there's the growing sense that the people you're killing are innocent men looking for a genuine maniac. There's little reason or remorse, and - to be fair - you're constantly being told to murder people. But the fact remains that i've seen worse. Gorno films do this stuff, and much nastier, all the time. Does the game's sense of 'choice' make what you're doing worse? The BBFC, which refused to grant the game a certificate thereby effectively banning it, seems to think so: I'm not so sure. And that shovel-toting suburbanite? Well, you might be reliever to hear that there's no real dilemma at all. If he spots you, he'll merrily batter you to death with that shovel, so it's assumed that he's part of the Project after all. You never hear the kid's voice again and you certainly never see him. Even Manhunt 2, it seems, has it's limits.

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