Words Dept.: entry

I’ve just been reading about so-called “murder simulator” Manhunt 2, a game which has been banned this week in the UK and looks to be heading to a global ban, thanks to what the BBFC calls its “casual sadism” and “unremitting bleakness”. The game was earmarked for the Wii, which would mean stabbing people to death with the Wii remote.

According to NGamer magazine (via CVG):

An icon appears in the corner of the screen, showing a simple Nunchuk or remote motion, which you must copy to initiate the killing.

Each execution has several stages, activated by a chopping motion, or a prod, or a slam to the floor, or a sawing movement…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.

It goes on to give the game 92%.

Obviously I haven’t played the game, so I’m not really in a position to comment. But I like to imagine social misfits (such as gaming magazine writers) in their living rooms, waving their arms around, virtually hacking people to pieces with an axe and cackling like demented serial killers, then sheepishly having to explain to their terrified wives and girlfriends what hell they think they are up to as their loved one runs screaming from the house to file a restraining order.

PS2 screenshots from computerandvideogames.com

It seems as though the publisher, Rockstar Games, a subsidiary of Take-Two Software, has made a serious miscalculation with this one, although it claims to be unrepentant. Its previous efforts, like Grand Theft Auto, have courted controversy but this was always going to be an axe murder too far. The US authorities are about to give it an Adults Only (AO) rating, meaning neither Sony nor Nintendo will license it for use on their consoles. Oops.

Wonder if I can get a copy on Ebay?