10 Controversial Video Games That Caused Major Moral Panic

1. Manhunt 2 (2007)

Manhunt 2 is a psychological horror film involving stealth. It was released in the UK and Ireland in 2008. Both countries refused classification. The Irish Censors Film Office usually doesn't have anything to do with video games as they trust the ratings by the BBFC and PEGI. However in this case, Manhunt 2 was considered so outrageous in its violence, the Irish censors banned it themselves. So what is the fuss all about? The film is from a third party perspective. You can brawl and use guns. The player has dark spots in a room he must hide in. He then kills unsuspecting characters by emerging from the shadows and attacking them. There are three levels of kill. Level One kills are quick and not bloody. Level Two kills are more gory and Level Three is completely over the top. The controversy over Manhunt 2 began a mere two days after it was announced that there was going to be a sequel to Manhunt. The original film had been in hot water after being linked to a murder in the UK. Proposals for a sequel were also met with stern opposition in the USA, led by Jack Thompson, a disbarred attorney who claimed that Manhunt 2, along with GTA IV, were both public nuisances and most children can get their hands on Mature classified games. He claimed that there was indeed a correlation between video game violence and aggression in children. There was a lot of legal ugliness between the two parties, with the major bone of contention being children's exposure to violent computer game content. Less than a month before the game's release the BBFC banned it outright stating the film had "unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone". It was deemed a risk to adults and children and unacceptable in the face of the Video Recording Act. The Irish censors banned it on the grounds of "acts of gross violence and cruelty". The makers of Manhunt 2 claimed that their game was no more violent than Hostel but still, in the face of such hostility, Rockstar censored the game themselves - removing two decapitations and the plier murders. The ratings system - whereby the player gained recognition and reward for the amount of kills they achieve in each level was also removed. Manhunt 2 was duly given a certificate in America - a Mature rating instead of Adults Only. There was still a lot of fear pertaining to children's exposure to the game. A lot of high profile politicians got involved, urging a rerating of the game from Mature back to Adults Only. Meanwhile, the BBFC were unimpressed by the changes that Rockstar made to the game and still refused to issue it with a certificate, claiming the game still retained its "visceral and casually sadistic manner". The BBFC was finally defeated by the Video Appeals Committee who overruled it by 4 votes to 3. They were thus forced to give an 18 certificate to Manhunt. The Adults Only version of the PC game remains banned in the UK and Ireland.