Aimless Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 Manhunt 2 also makes the point that you are the victim - the main aim of the game is to let the world know about the experiments this company did to the character you play, and escape from them. I totally see where you're coming from, but from what I've heard the story is more a veneer rather than motivation. It might seem like a slight difference, but in Manhunt you literally had someone whispering in your ear — via a headset — demanding that you commit gruesome acts in order to survive. My understanding is that in the sequel there is no such aggravator egging you on or demanding violence; if the player kills someone by the most gruesome means possible it is entirely of their own volition. You could say this makes the game more honest, but whatever the case I think it underlines the difference between certification of the two games. Anyway, I feel I should clarify that I'm not writing the game off, it's simply that based on current evidence is does seem to be a lot more gratuitous than the first game. Clearly the BBFC — who have seen far more of the game than ourselves — seem to think so.
flameboy Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 Who's buying the Daily Mail tomorrow then? lol..dad gets it anyway... EDIT: Check out the n-europe blogs for my rather bloated and waffly views! http://n-europe.com/blog/?p=130
Cube Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 The Video Recordings Act 1984 makes it an offence to 'supply' an unclassified DVD or game. It does not cover possession. It is also not an offence to import an unclassified work into the UK. However, it should be for personal use only and the content must not breach the prohibition of importing obscene or indecent material which reflects other UK legislation (eg the Obscene Publications Acts, The Protection of Children Act 1978, etc). If the work is seized by Customs & Excise, you will need to reassure them that it does not. Reply form the BBFC about importing.
4q2 Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 Nanny state: Losing count Responsible adults: Nil I presume there will be European versions of the game to import. I'm now doubly determined to play this game in the UK.
ShadowV7 Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 Since this is banned I want this even more now. Still stupid though,just get it somewhere else in Europe.
Cookyman Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 From Computer and video games: By now you should know that the BBFC has refused to rate Rockstar's Manhunt 2 on Wii and PS2, meaning that it can't be legally supplied anywhere in the UK. The game was due to be released in a few weeks and UK Nintendo mag NGamer has the exclusive Wii review. CVG picks apart its review of the game you'll now never play. NGamer's review opens with: "We're certainly not of the opinion that Wii is a family-friendly box piping Nintendo goodness directly into the living rooms of grannies and toddlers around the country. Given the number of times we've strangled for pennies in The Godfather and kneecapped for fun in Resi 4, we have bloody and conclusive evidence to the contrary. Nintendo has long since stopped beating third-party developers with its censor-stick. "But this... we can't help but be slightly taken aback by its appearance on a Nintendo console. Not surprised, and certainly not shocked, but perhaps a little - excited? - to see the bright white Wii menu fade into the darkness of what is indisputably the most gruesome videogame we've ever played on any platform." The magazine labels Manhunt 2 as "one of the best games on Wii" citing the astonishing level of brutality is an integral part of the experience. And it's the brutality of the game that the BBFC took into account before effectively banning its release. It says the game "would involve a range of unjustifiable harm risks, to both adults and minors." The Wii version obviously takes the murdering side of things to the extreme with the motion controlled interface, and this element is undoubtedly the main reason most people would have liked to have picked up the Wii version. "...holding the A button starts to wind up an execution," says the mag. "An icon appears in the corner of the screen, showing a simple Nunchuk or remote motion, which you must copy to initiate the killing." The review then goes on to explain, "Each execution has several stages, activated by a chopping motion, or a prod, or a slam to the floor, or a sawing movement" and "executions are much more physical with the Wii controls, and we found we felt more immersed in the game world in general thanks to them." NGamer calls it one of the best-looking games on Wii to date before summing up: "A lot of people are going to be offended by it, for its copious violence and occasional sex scene, and somebody, somewhere is going to get a shock when they walk in on a friend laterally bisecting a hunter's head with realistic sawing motions. Manhunt 2 is what Wii's parental controls are for. The sticker on the box says it's for over 18s only and, believe us, it's not wrong. "We've deliberately avoided talking about the game's more grisly excesses because these things are best discovered for yourself. You'll wince, you'll jump, you may even laugh at times, but we can guarantee you'll never forget it." The magazine gave the Wii version an impressive 92%. This is a crying shame it's been banned it sounds brill!
Aimless Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 Who's buying the Daily Mail tomorrow then? Buy? Don't encourage them. To be honest if (when?) the Daily Mail make a big thing out of this it will possibly be some of their most ridiculous output yet. I mean the game's banned already, it isn't like they have anything to petition against.
flameboy Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 Buy? Don't encourage them. To be honest if (when?) the Daily Mail make a big thing out of this it will possibly be some of their most ridiculous output yet. I mean the game's banned already, it isn't like they have anything to petition against. they will claim it was it their petition against the original game that lead to this...
The Bard Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 God. This game seems thoroughly tasteless anyway, along with the rest of Rockstars output (except for Table Tennis). I don't see why anyone would want to play it anyway, seems a bit shit to me.
Cookyman Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 God. This game seems thoroughly tasteless anyway, along with the rest of Rockstars output (except for Table Tennis). I don't see why anyone would want to play it anyway, seems a bit shit to me. From the input on here sounds like your in the minority with that view mate.
Shino Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 I'm with Bard, senseless violence can be fun, but this is way gory, graphic and sick. I honestly see no appeal in this beside some curiosity.
Cookyman Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 From GoNintendo Wow, quite a morning for those in the UK looking forward to Manhunt 2. When the game was originally announced, we knew it was going to stir up some trouble. The original title went through a number of issues, including being linked to the murder of 14 year old Stefan Pakeerah. It was only months later that it was found out that the murderer never owned the original Manhunt; it was the victim’s game. Still though, it’s hard to ignore negativity like that. A number of retailers pulled the game from the shelves for the months where things were in question. Once all issues were cleared up, the title returned to store shelves, but the negative stigma stayed with it. Now we are inching closer to the release of Manhunt 2. Here we are just a few weeks away from release, and we find out that the game will not be sold in the UK. The BBFC has described the game as offering “casual sadismâ€, not a very light term. I don’t doubt that we all thought Manhunt 2 would gain a lot more negative press before its release, but I am not too sure we saw something like this coming. The only question I am left with is a very simple one. Why does Manhunt 2 have to be banned at all? First off, I do not think that the BBFC is a bad group in any way. They are simply looking at works of entertainment and rating them accordingly. I have no complaints with what their final goals are. They are trying to appropriately rate films and games to keep the public safe, or at least to protect people that aren’t old enough to see these kinds of materials. Their views and opinions might seem a little strict from one person to the next, but that is bound to happen. Not everyone is going to be happy with the decisions they make. Hopefully everyone can agree on a very basic level that what they do is indeed needed. The severity with which they make their decisions may need to be reviewed, but overall things aren’t that bad. The issue I have is when a piece of entertainment is banned. If you have a board that is in charge of appropriately rating films and games, what sense does it make to completely ban a title? It kind of defeats the purpose of a ratings board in the first place. You are supposed to look at a project and give it a rating based on the content within. That’s why we have the ratings we do, there are ends to the spectrum for a reason. There’s no such thing as a title that is too kiddy or family friendly, so why should there be titles that are too violent? I am not trying to be an advocate for violence; I am trying to stand up for expression. The people at Rock* made Manhunt 2 the way they did for a reason. Their goal wasn’t to turn the public into sadistic killers. Their objective was to create a game and an experience that they felt was best conveyed by a violent and disturbing storyline. We have seen a number of slasher films come and go over the years. I know that I’ve personally seen a ton of these movies. On the most basic level, I’ve seen all the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street movies. They are filled with some truly graphic and violent scenes. I’ve also see some other slasher films that make those two franchises look like they should be rated as family friendly. Even with seeing all these brutally violent and gory films, I never once felt the urge to go out and hurt someone. I never think about sadistically torturing someone in real life. I’ve also played a lot of violent video games as well, including the first Manhunt. Sure, violent video games may immerse you in their world more so than a movie, but still I never acted on the images and content of these games. I am currently playing Scarface for the Wii, a game that is full of gun blasting, chainsaw swinging, and drug pushing. As of right now I don’t have any plans to start peddling smack or lobbing off my friends’ heads with a chainsaw. When do we let people police themselves? When do we let parents do their jobs and protect their children? When do we truly enforce laws that get retailers in trouble when they sell Mature rated games to minors? Regardless of whether or not you see games as art, we are banning something people have worked on for years. Video games are very much a labor of love. The teams that work on these games put in obsessively long hours. Most of them do so because they really believe in the project. The same goes for film makers, musicians, and other people in the entertainment industry. Now they get to see all their hard work stopped before the public even gets to decide if they want to partake or not. The BBFC has to rethink their decision. Rate the game according to the subject matter and what appears in the game. Slap it with every hardcore rating you can. Make it so that only the intended audience can purchase the title. From there on out you have to let the public make the decision. You have to hold people responsible for their jobs. Parents have to do their duties and protect their children. Retailers have to enforce the rules and keep these games out of the wrong hands. If this cannot happen, then these people need to be severely punished. Banning the product completely is not the answer…it only shows that we have a larger problem to deal with. There are all types of media that come out everyday that offend people. Not everyone will be happy with all the forms of entertainment that are released. That doesn’t make them all bad, good, or either. It’s the jobs of our ratings boards to grade these projects accordingly. There may be some very extreme cases when certain projects need to be looked at from a different angle, but those will be dealt with as they come along. It’s time to start trusting the people you are trying to protect. Just a quick notice - theres an article coming up on Channel 4 news about Manhunt 2!
mcj metroid Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 Haha they hope nobody will notice it.. Who is up for some massive advertising!.. I already let the IFCO know my thought for literally copying the british. From GoNintendo Wow, quite a morning for those in the UK looking forward to Manhunt 2. When the game was originally announced, we knew it was going to stir up some trouble. The original title went through a number of issues, including being linked to the murder of 14 year old Stefan Pakeerah. It was only months later that it was found out that the murderer never owned the original Manhunt; it was the victim’s game. Still though, it’s hard to ignore negativity like that. A number of retailers pulled the game from the shelves for the months where things were in question. Once all issues were cleared up, the title returned to store shelves, but the negative stigma stayed with it. Now we are inching closer to the release of Manhunt 2. Here we are just a few weeks away from release, and we find out that the game will not be sold in the UK. The BBFC has described the game as offering “casual sadismâ€, not a very light term. I don’t doubt that we all thought Manhunt 2 would gain a lot more negative press before its release, but I am not too sure we saw something like this coming. The only question I am left with is a very simple one. Why does Manhunt 2 have to be banned at all? First off, I do not think that the BBFC is a bad group in any way. They are simply looking at works of entertainment and rating them accordingly. I have no complaints with what their final goals are. They are trying to appropriately rate films and games to keep the public safe, or at least to protect people that aren’t old enough to see these kinds of materials. Their views and opinions might seem a little strict from one person to the next, but that is bound to happen. Not everyone is going to be happy with the decisions they make. Hopefully everyone can agree on a very basic level that what they do is indeed needed. The severity with which they make their decisions may need to be reviewed, but overall things aren’t that bad. The issue I have is when a piece of entertainment is banned. If you have a board that is in charge of appropriately rating films and games, what sense does it make to completely ban a title? It kind of defeats the purpose of a ratings board in the first place. You are supposed to look at a project and give it a rating based on the content within. That’s why we have the ratings we do, there are ends to the spectrum for a reason. There’s no such thing as a title that is too kiddy or family friendly, so why should there be titles that are too violent? I am not trying to be an advocate for violence; I am trying to stand up for expression. The people at Rock* made Manhunt 2 the way they did for a reason. Their goal wasn’t to turn the public into sadistic killers. Their objective was to create a game and an experience that they felt was best conveyed by a violent and disturbing storyline. We have seen a number of slasher films come and go over the years. I know that I’ve personally seen a ton of these movies. On the most basic level, I’ve seen all the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street movies. They are filled with some truly graphic and violent scenes. I’ve also see some other slasher films that make those two franchises look like they should be rated as family friendly. Even with seeing all these brutally violent and gory films, I never once felt the urge to go out and hurt someone. I never think about sadistically torturing someone in real life. I’ve also played a lot of violent video games as well, including the first Manhunt. Sure, violent video games may immerse you in their world more so than a movie, but still I never acted on the images and content of these games. I am currently playing Scarface for the Wii, a game that is full of gun blasting, chainsaw swinging, and drug pushing. As of right now I don’t have any plans to start peddling smack or lobbing off my friends’ heads with a chainsaw. When do we let people police themselves? When do we let parents do their jobs and protect their children? When do we truly enforce laws that get retailers in trouble when they sell Mature rated games to minors? Regardless of whether or not you see games as art, we are banning something people have worked on for years. Video games are very much a labor of love. The teams that work on these games put in obsessively long hours. Most of them do so because they really believe in the project. The same goes for film makers, musicians, and other people in the entertainment industry. Now they get to see all their hard work stopped before the public even gets to decide if they want to partake or not. The BBFC has to rethink their decision. Rate the game according to the subject matter and what appears in the game. Slap it with every hardcore rating you can. Make it so that only the intended audience can purchase the title. From there on out you have to let the public make the decision. You have to hold people responsible for their jobs. Parents have to do their duties and protect their children. Retailers have to enforce the rules and keep these games out of the wrong hands. If this cannot happen, then these people need to be severely punished. Banning the product completely is not the answer…it only shows that we have a larger problem to deal with. There are all types of media that come out everyday that offend people. Not everyone will be happy with all the forms of entertainment that are released. That doesn’t make them all bad, good, or either. It’s the jobs of our ratings boards to grade these projects accordingly. There may be some very extreme cases when certain projects need to be looked at from a different angle, but those will be dealt with as they come along. It’s time to start trusting the people you are trying to protect. Just a quick notice - theres an article coming up on Channel 4 news about Manhunt 2! Somebody watch it and let me now what it says:)
Cookyman Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 Rockstar responds to BBFC: gamesradar Rockstar has issued GamesRadar with an official response to today's announcement by the BBFC that it has rejected Manhunt 2 for rating. Here's the statement in full: "We are disappointed with the recent decision by the British Board of Film Classification to refuse classification of Manhunt 2. While we respect the authority of the classification board and will abide by the rules, we emphatically disagree with this particular decision. "Manhunt 2 is an entertainment experience for fans of psychological thrillers and horror. The subject matter of this game is in line with other mainstream entertainment choices for adult consumers. "We respect those who have different opinions about the horror genre and video games as a whole, but we hope they will also consider the opinions of the adult gamers for whom this product is intended. We believe all products should be rated to allow the public to make informed choices about the media and art they wish to consume. The stories in modern video games are as diverse as the stories in books, film and television. The adult consumers who would play this game fully understand that it is fictional interactive entertainment and nothing more."
mcj metroid Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 Don't give up rockstar. Petitions won't work in this case though.
Cube Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 Dear lord, this news is spreading massively. My Step Dad even knows about it....and he doesn't know a thing about computer games.
Platty Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 Can't be bothered to read through the whole thread but I can understand why they have decided to ban the game just reading what the game involves is enough to think hmmmmm. I'm sure in a few years we will all have a copy like most stuff that gets banned. Ah well.
Mokong Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 Holy crap, just before i went on my lunch break I saw the news on the UK ban, so i went to the games store to see if they heard anything and if they thought it might effect Irelands release of the game. They had not heard about the UK ban and said there should be no problem here with it. I get home from work turn on N-E and see an update to the news that it's banned in Ireland too. I'll have to go back to the store tomorrow and see if i get any funny looks. I had no intentions of buying this game but i do think it's a massive shame they would ban it. To me it's more like admitting to themsleves that their ratings are not noticed by parents who buy games for their children. Movies like the Saw franchise and other such horror/thriller films can be just as gruesome, but parents tend to pay more attention to film ratings than they do game ratings.
Demuwan Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 Im actually genuinely surprised this is banned. Not that I would want to buy it myself but thats beside the point. The fact that people who would want this game are not allowed to I feel is ludicrous. Especially seeing the amount of films with similar content that are allowed to be purchased. I believe this is a real blow to the Wii's mature market, a real blow! On the other hand some may argue that the Wii's family friendly image has not been tarnished by this game, as a lot of parents obviously consider buying a Wii for this reason. Nonetheless, Rockstar must be fuming right now, quite rightly.
Cube Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 Hopedfull this means something.. Play.com seem to have added Manhunt 2 to their countdown (1 of around 4 products) timer on their own page (the PS2 version, mind) today. Why would they bung it there if they can't sell it?
Mokong Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 haha, i never really considered buying this game, but now i'm thinking of importing it just to "stick it to man" This has to be a first, PAL consumers importing form PAL regions?
Guest Jordan Posted June 19, 2007 Posted June 19, 2007 haha, i never really considered buying this game, but now i'm thinking of importing it just to "stick it to man" This has to be a first, PAL consumers importing form PAL regions? Animal Crossing from Aus
Recommended Posts