Video games get censored for all sorts of reasons. Actually, nope, it's usually for one particular reason: violence. It's why the Grand Theft Auto titles always cause such a furore, why Rockstar's even gorier Manhunt 2 remains banned in many countries around the world, and why Half-Life had a bunch of changes forced upon it when it was released in Germany. Wait, Half-Life? Really? With the blocky PC graphics and all? Yep, well, there is a fair amount of gratuitous gore in that first game. It wasn't just that the German censors objected to, however, and that Valve had to change to release the game in the country. In order to pass the game without getting slapped with a USK 18 rating (which would essentially render it unsellable, as no shop in their right minds would stock it) Half-Life in Germany has been changed so all the human enemies you meet are turned into robots, who "bleed" oil instead of, well, actual blood. Similarly, rather than dying, scientists just sorta sit down, like they're a bit grumpy or are unruly children confined to the naughty step. Even better, all the human characters bleed yellow blood and Gina's, Gordon's, and the scientist's models were replaced with a helmeted version to make them appear less human.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
