News just breaking is that Rockstar’s upcoming splatter-fest, Manhunt 2, has been rejected by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), which means it cannot legally be supplied anywhere in the UK.

The BBFC’s decision to ban sales of the game in the UK is only the second time that the organisation has rejected a game – the first being Carmageddon way back in 1997, a decision that was overturned by the Video Appeals Committee.

That decision also garnered a lot of high value free publicity for what was a very average videogame. Are we to see a repeat of that in this case?

“Rejecting a work is a very serious action and one which we do not take lightly,” BBFC director David Cooke stated. “Where possible we try to consider cuts or, in the case of games, modifications which remove the material which contravenes the Board’s published Guidelines. In the case of Manhunt 2 this has not been possible. 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 with exceptionally little alleviation or distancing.

“There is sustained and cumulative casual sadism in the way in which these killings are committed, and encouraged, in the game.

“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.

“That work was classified ‘18’ in 2003, before the BBFC’s recent games research had been undertaken, but was already at the very top end of what the Board judged to be acceptable at that category.

“Against this background, the Board’s carefully considered view is that to issue a certificate to Manhunt 2, on either platform, would involve a range of unjustifiable harm risks, to both adults and minors, within the terms of the Video Recordings Act, and accordingly that its availability, even if statutorily confined to adults, would be unacceptable to the public.”

See SPOnG’s recent preview of the game right here.

SPOnG has contacted Rockstar, the BBFC and ELSPA for further comment on the news. Stay tuned for updates throughout the day.

^{source: MCV}