Manhunt 2

Today, PEGI officially takes over from Grant Mitch-I mean the BBFC, as the lawfully enforced age ratings body for video games in the UK.

Age rating system PEGI is to finally become the sole form of classification for video games in the UK.

UK gamer rights group Gamers' Voice has attacked notorious anti-video game MP Keith Vaz for tabling an "amateurish" early day motion.

He was the guest that no-one expected to see – and yet Keith Vaz MP, Parliament's most hostile critic of the industry, turned out last night at an event in support of gaming, claiming: "I've never been against games".

An October Saturday and Stuttgart is pale with the cold. Outside the State Opera House, the city's grand attraction, a skip sits awkward and incongruous to its surroundings. The sides are spray-painted with graffiti, a hip hop-cum-youth club pastiche probably commissioned to soften the otherwise stark utilitarian appearance of this giant iron dustbin. While the murals may obscure the rust, they do not obscure the function, which remains as it ever was: a receptacle for unwanted rubbish. Except, rather than industrial waste or the assorted debris of home movers, this skip has been put here to collect videogames: "Killerspiele", the name given to violent games by Germany's tabloid press.

Rockstar has finally announced a release date for Manhunt 2 after months (in fact years, come to think of it) of waiting.

The game will be out on Friday October 31st, according to IGN. It'll be available for Wii, PS2 and PSP.

Manhunt 2 has already been out in the US for a whole year, but the UK release was delayed after the British Board of Film Classification refused to give it an age certificate.

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Rockstar has declined to confirm Nintendo's claim that Manhunt 2 is due out for Wii in Europe this August.

The government has said it has no plans to intervene on the planned release of Manhunt 2 in the UK.

The BBFC has been given "no alternative" but to issue Manhunt 2 with an 18 certificate.

Labour MP Keith Vaz has finally been challenged in the Houses of Parliament after he claimed videogames let you "rape women".

Rockstar has questioned the High Court of Justice's decision to send Manhunt 2 back for re-evaluation.

The High Court of Justice has decided British citizens shouldn't be allowed to play Manhunt 2 after all.

The British Board of Film Classification has applied for a judicial review regarding the successful appeal made by Rockstar Games against the Manhunt 2 ban, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

The Video Appeals Committee had previously overturned the BBFC's rejection of Manhunt 2, but now the Board is seeking to overturn that decision, as well as a suspension of the Committee's decision to grant the game a classification.

According to a statement released by the BBFC, the Board believes that if its original decision isn't allowed to stand there could be significant consequences on future classifications.

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Rockstar's appeal against the BBFC's decision to reject a modified version of Manhunt 2 has been successful.

The BBFC has accepted there is no proven link between anti-social behaviour and violent videogames - but said more research is required to conclusively rule any connection out.

Tiga president Fred Hasson and psychologist Guy Cumberbatch were today called to speak in defence of Rockstar at the appeal against the BBFC's decision to refuse certification for Manhunt 2.

Rockstar today launched its appeal against the BBFC's decision to refuse Manhunt 2 certification, accusing the board of putting its reputation above the interests of gamers.

Following reports that hackers were able to reinstate violence censored from the PSP version of Manhunt 2, the ESRB issued a statement defending its "M" rating, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

Rockstar's Manhunt 2 has been slammed by a US charity for its "irresponsible, stereotypical portrayal of mental illness", GamesIndustry.biz reports.

Former Rockstar Vienna producer Jurie Horneman has spoken of his "outrage" that over 50 staff who worked on Manhunt 2 have not been acknowledged in the game credits, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

Hackers have already tampered with the code of Rockstar's Manhunt 2 to reinstate the violent scenes and images thought to have been removed from the game, GamesIndustry.biz.

Team Ninja boss Tomonobu Itagaki says that he doesn't feel "censored" by ratings boards, and believes that the difficult work undertaken by organisations like the ESRB and PEGI to classify what people find offensive, or too violent, is very positive for videogames as a whole.

"Grisly gang film to be screened uncut - Britain's film censors are facing controversy over their decision to allow one of the most violent movies of recent years to be screened without any cuts." So ran an article in the Sunday Times last weekend that caught the eye between televised bursts of English sporting misery.

Take-Two has issued an official statement blaming a Sony Europe employee for leaking Manhunt 2 code onto the Internet.

The BBFC has again rejected Rockstar's Manhunt 2 despite the developer making cuts to the game after it was initially banned last June, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

Rockstar's controversial Manhunt 2 has been given the go ahead for release in Holland.

The ESRB is refusing to detail its reasons for re-rating Manhunt 2, despite a California legislator's demands, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

Rockstar has announced that Manhunt 2 has finally been given a M rating in the US, clearing the way for an October release, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

Last week's routine trawl of the DVD trade-in dug up a £2.50 copy of Rob Zombie's horror film debut House Of 1000 Corpses. Like its demented follow-up The Devil's Rejects, it was a crass lesson in subversive terror, spooning out the splatter in big, thick globs. Limb amputation, bloody scalping and wide-awake brain surgery, all orchestrated on whiter-than-white victims by deranged, dribbling killers, whose mockery of classic genre convention saw them not only kick shit in such hideous fashion, but get away with the whole damn thing too. Another day in the age of the sado-horror flick.

In a message of thanks issued to its supporters, Rockstar has defended controversial title Manhunt 2 and argued that games should be judged in the same way as other forms of media, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime has spoken out for the first time on the controversy surrounding Rockstar title Manhunt 2, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

Following bans on the sale of the game in the UK and Ireland, as well as a preliminary Adults Only rating in the US, Take-Two Interactive has temporarily shelved Manhunt 2, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

Sony and Nintendo have confirmed that Manhunt 2 will not be appearing on consoles in the US following the ESRB's decision to give the game an Adults Only rating.

As reported by GameSpot, both platform holders have corporate policies which forbid the release of AO-rated games for their systems.

A Sony spokesperson has since confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that Take-Two will not be allowed to publish Manhunt 2 for PSP or PS2.

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Rockstar Games has stated its disappointment at the BBFC's recent decision to refuse Manhunt 2 a rating in the UK, effectively banning the game from sale, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

The BBFC has stated that there was no political influence in the decision to ban Rockstar's Manhunt 2 from sale in the UK, GamesIndustry.biz is reporting.

ELSPA director general Paul Jackson has said that the decision taken by the BBFC to ban Manhunt 2 from sale "demonstrates that we have a games ratings system in the UK that is effective".

The BBFC has rejected Rockstar's Manhunt 2, banning the controversial title from sale anywhere in the UK, GamesIndustry.biz is reporting.

Rockstar has pre-empted the headline writers by pointing out that Manhunt 2 is clearly an adult game destined for an 18+ rating from classification bodies.

As those of you with eyes sharp enough to cut shadowy throats may have spotted, Rockstar has released a little teaser trailer to go with last night's announcement of Manhunt 2.

The game's due out on PlayStation 2, PSP and Nintendo Wii, a bit bizarrely, and as soon as this summer, but it doesn't look like it'll be gracing those other next generation consoles - even if they're usually quite fond of violence.

As for the trailer, it doesn't show us much of what the game will look like, but it does feature plenty of screaming and a man called Dan who reckons that tonight, we're all getting out.

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Rockstar is working on a follow-up to controversial 2003 stealth-action game Manhunt, where players were tasked with violently murdering gang members to help make underground snuff films.