Video Game Nasties

Back in the day, thanks mainly to technological restrictions, video games used to be tame affairs. Titles such as Pac-Man and Space Invaders were all the rage; family-friendly fodder that was suitable for gamers of all sizes – hardly the kind of stuff to induce moral outrage, let alone make the hairs on Granny’s neck stand on end. For sure, some games were violent, but you had to have a seriously warped imagination to believe the 8-bit enemies you were shooting were anything other than collections of pixelated cannon fodder.

Fast forward twenty years and realism came knocking at the door, and invited into our living rooms.  Now when we shoot someone, we can see the blood gushing up from their bodies, their dying screams resonating in our ears as we feverishly turn around looking for our next kill. Games have Hollywood-style production values, and this is echoed in the quality of both the graphics and animation. We can clearly see the carnage we are creating onscreen, which is where the problems begin…

Here for your pleasure we present the pick of the games that have fallen foul of classification laws over the years and found themselves banned in various countries.