|
|
NOVEMBER 2, 2007
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
BEING BAD
FEELS SO DAMN
GOOD
|
|
|
|
|
Only a few games
have been officially
deemed unfit for sale.
Put good taste aside
and check out these
banned bad boys.
|
|
|
|
|
|
By Mike Smith/Yahoo Games
Video games have a long, storied history of going a little too far. It's only
natural: controversial games get publicity, and violence seems to sell almost
as well as sex. Game developers eager to capture the baser instincts of
their audiences tend to push the envelope, and they've overstepped the
bounds of good taste on no shortage of occasions.
Although the First Amendment protects these developers to some extent in
the U.S. (for the time being, at least), the industry-run body responsible for
age-rating video games has the power to hand out the dreaded 'AO' (adults
only) certificate that effectively prevents any mainstream store from stocking
a game: a de facto ban, in other words. Overseas, governmental bodies
have censored or banned games in countries like the UK, Germany,
Australia, Saudi Arabia, and China -- and not necessarily the ones you might
expect. Read on for an overview of gaming's most infamous banned games.
Carmageddon (SCI)
It's not hard to see why Carmageddon ran into trouble. Although it has the
outward appearance of a conventional racing game, underneath its
veneer-thin skin beats the heart of a vicious, violent and downright
irresponsible smash-em-up racer where running over pedestrians isn't just
accepted, it's actually encouraged. In other words, it's tremendous fun.
Initially banned by censors in the UK, the ruling was eventually overturned on
appeal -- but for a while, British consumers looking for high-octane,
pedestrian-crushing thrills had to make do with a version of the game that
replaced the passers-by with green-blooded zombies.
Wolfenstein 3D (Apogee Software)
Classic first-person shooter Wolfenstein 3D ran into a heap of trouble at its
release in Germany, where stringent legislation prevents the sale of material
depicting symbols associated with the Nazi administration. Castle
Wolfenstein, where the game was set, prominently featured swastika logos,
and the game used the Nazi party's anthem as its theme song. This didn't sit
well with the German courts, which banned various versions of the game in
the mid-90s.
Mortal Kombat (Midway)
One of the original video game nasties, this classic beat-em-up is pretty
pedestrian by modern standards. But its release on home consoles,
complete with all the over-the-top violence that's become its trademark,
came close to prompting a Congressional investigation into the game
industry's tactics. Fortunately, the industry association at the time had the
foresight to form a self-regulating body that would issue age
recommendations to all video games before they went on sale, preventing
violent or explicit games from falling into the hands of minors. The
Entertainment Software Rating Board, or ESRB, born.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Take 2)
San Andreas shot to fame for all the wrong reasons following the release of
the PC version of the game in 2005. Already a lightning rod of the
games-are-evil crowd, the game's notoriety exploded when it emerged that it
contained a hidden mini-game, dubbed "Hot Coffee," featuring the star, um,
getting affectionate with an admirer. Not only were they both clothed, but you
couldn't actually play the mini-game without modifying the software, which
wasn't exactly easy. None of this mattered to the ESRB, however, which
slapped an "Adults Only" rating on the title, and it disappeared from shelves
until Rockstar removed the offending content and re-released the game.
Pokemon (Nintendo)
Nintendo's smash hit Pokemon series earned a ban not for its devastating
addictiveness or terrible TV show spinoffs, but for promoting Zionism. Who'd
do something like that? That Mecca of religious tolerance, Saudi Arabia,
that's who. The Islamic state's religious authorities handed down a ban on
all Pokemon material in 2001 over the game's use of six-pointed Star of
David symbols and alleged encouragement of gambling. Pikachu, I ban you!
BMX XXX (Acclaim)
Although this spin-off of Acclaim's Dave Mirra-endorsed extreme sports
games gained the reputation of being crammed to the gunwales with nudity,
you actually had to play some considerable distance into the game to unlock
the "goods." Thankfully, the game was so crummy that nobody bothered.
That didn't stop the notoriously harsh Australian equivalent of the ESRB from
banning the game, although it was released in uncensored form on the Xbox
and Gamecube in other territories.
C&C: Generals (EA)
Where to start? It's hardly the most controversial game on this list, but
Generals managed to fall foul of authorities in two of the most ban-happy
countries in the world: Germany and China. German censors objected to the
game's fictional depiction of the Iraq war, which had yet to take place at the
time of the game's release, and the game was re-cut to remove these
references. Meanwhile, the Chinese government banned the game for
"smearing the image of China and the Chinese army."
Football Manager 2005 (Sega)
Who'd ban a harmless soccer management sim like this? Did it have
hidden footage of players "celebrating" in the locker rooms after the game?
Could you tackle opponents with a chainsaw? No - Football Manager 2005's
crime was, in the view of the Chinese government, including teams from
Tibet, Hong Kong and Taiwan alongside the Chinese national team.
Shocking stuff, right? The ban was especially surprising given that, at the
time of the ruling, the game had not been released in China, and was only
available through the country's thriving black market.
The Guy Game (Gathering of Developers)
Combining footage of topless girls and trivia questions in a hideous sort of
Girls Gone Wild meets You Don't Know Jack mashup, The Guy Game was
hardly the pinnacle of the video game art form. But not only did this
ill-conceived mix of trivia and titillation actually go on sale, it remained
available for a few months - until an anonymous young lady filed suit against
the game's developer, its publisher, and console manufacturers Sony and
Microsoft. She alleged that the game contained footage of her, topless, taken
during a South Padre Island "Hottie Challenge" contest...when she was 17,
and underage. Oops. The Guy Game disappeared without trace, and its
developer Top Heavy Studios, thankfully, did likewise.
GRAW2 (Ubisoft)
On the face of it, this run-of-the-mill Tom Clancy action thriller doesn't inspire
outrage. But take a stroll south of the border, down Mexico way, and you may
find a different perspective. Advanced Warfighter takes place just across the
US-Mexico border, and has the player's team of crack soldiers fighting South
American rebels and yes, Mexicans. This didn't go down well with the
governor of Chihuahua, who issued an order seizing all copies of the game.
Viva la revolucion!
Manhunt 2 (Take 2)
Surely the highest profile banned game since the Hot Coffee fiasco, "murder
simulator" Manhunt 2 - another title from Grand Theft Auto dev Rockstar -
was initially refused certification by just about every ratings board on the
planet. Even the ESRB handed it the little-used AO rating, effectively banning
it in the States. Undaunted, Rockstar delayed the title to October 31 to give
them time to make edits and re-submit it for classification. Manhunt 2's recut
version successfully earned a "Mature" ESRB rating in the US, but was again
rejected by the British board of censors. Whether or not it'll ever see release
in the land of warm beer and bowler hats still remains to be seen.
|
|
|
|
NEW BUSYGAMER.COM REVIEWS UP! CHECK EM OUT!
|
|
|
|
Star Wars Battlefront : Renegade Squadron
Hot Shots Golf : Open Tee
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Crutchboy's daily advice:
Don't drink water that comes from swimming
pools, puddles, bathtubs, dishpans, sewage
pipes, radiators, oceans, acid rain, or toilet
bowls.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
