Following months of disputes between Rockstar Games and the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), the Video Appeals Committee has finally given the go-ahead for Manhunt 2 to go on sale in the UK. The BBFC originally refused to give the game an age rating, essentially preventing it from being sold within the UK, feeling it was too gory for children and 'vulnerable adults'. However, having taken the matter as far as the English High Court, Rockstar has now been given permission to sell the title with an 18 certificate.

Just when we thought all the controversy surrounding Manhunt 2 was over, the UK Censoring Board decided to start it right back up. Manhunt 2, the game that almost got banned from several countries and most consoles, was recently cleared for release in the United Kingdom. However, the UK Censoring Board recently brought an appeal of the decision to sell Manhunt 2 in the UK to court. If they succeed, Manhunt 2 will be pulled off of shelves before it is even put on them. The Censoring Board cites "sustained and cumulative casual sadism, unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying, (and) the sheer lack of alternative pleasures on offer to the gamer" as reasons that this game should not be viewed by anyone...at all.

We all know about the controversy surrounding Manhunt 2. It got an "AO" rating, Sony and Nintendo refused to support it, Rockstar blurred out and hid the questionable content, and now Manhunt 2 is out on all platforms under an M rating. This worked fine until some hackers unlocked what seemed to be all the hidden content. As The Inquirer so eloquently puts it...

Western civilisation threatened to collapse as parents across the US feared their children would be turned into axe-wielding zombies. There were even moves in the Senate to ban such computer games and calls to cover children in bubble wrap until the emergency passed.

And so, the ESRB re-evaluated Manhunt 2. They did what any curious teenager would: use the power of Google and persistence to unlock the locked content. However, the ESRB noticed two things. First, the steps required to unlock content were ridiculous, and illegal in themselves. Second, even after the supposed unlock, most of the truly nasty content was still unavailable. And so, with a few giggles, the ESRB maintained Manhunt 2's M rating.

While the ESRB may have allowed Rockstar games to sell Manhunt 2, retail stores can still choose whether or not they want to sell it. In a move that will please parents everywhere, Target is refusing to sell Manhunt 2 in any of their store locations. They will continue to not-sell-it until all the gore is removed instead of just hidden away, to be unlocked like it was for the PSP. In Target's exact words...

Target strives to provide merchandise that will appeal to a wide variety of guests. We also want guests to be comfortable with the purchasing decisions they make at Target. All video games and computer software sold at Target currently carry ratings by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)--from early childhood through mature audiences. While Manhunt 2 was given a Mature rating by the ERSB, we received additional information that players can potentially view previously filtered content by altering the game code. As a result, we have decided not to carry the game

When Rockstar Studios decided to make their game M-rated instead of AO-rated, they didn't actually remove the gore. Instead, they merely hid it within the game. And now, hackers are beginning to find way to unlock this gore. Rockstar owner Take-Two Interactive recently confirmed that the hack works for the PSP, and there are almost certainly beta hacks in development for the other consoles. The discovery will very likely get Rockstar Studios in trouble with the ESRB, as this is not the first time Rockstar has hidden something in their games (Hot Coffee, anyone?).

Last month, the highly controversial game, Manhunt 2, was leaked out onto various BitTorrent and other warez sites. After the breach was reported, Game Politics began tracking the leak down to its source and investigations revealed the culprit was an employee of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE). Take-Two released a statement today acknowledging the sleuth work:

Take-Two Interactive has confirmed that a former employee of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) has acknowledged his responsibility for the unauthorized online distribution of an unrated play-test version of Manhunt 2 submitted for the European PAL PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system.

After initially being banned in the UK almost four months ago, the revised version of Manhunt 2 has yet again been refused a classification by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), which effectively bans the game from being sold in the UK. The modified version of the game did manage to receive a Mature rating in the USA after initially being given an Adults Only rating, but in the UK the BBFC ruled that the "casually sadistic nature" of kills in Manhunt 2 is still unacceptable, despite Rockstar reducing some of the visual detail of executions. Any decision to appeal now rests with Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar's publisher, although Rockstar is unlikely to continue making the game family-friendly just to get it a UK rating.

When Rockstar studios decided that an AO rating on their gory creation Manhunt 2 wasn't going to get any sales, they had to take some of the more gratuitous gore out of their game. Hardcore Manhunt fans will be pleased to hear that the game itself remains largely untouched. However, stealth-kills were "heavily tweaked visually, adding a blur effect and darkening sequences to obscure violent viewpoints". Gamers will also not see the infamous "testicle ripping scene". Manhunt 2 is on track for a Halloween release.