Gruesome game advert banned

A poster for Midway's bloody gore-fest The Suffering that was used on the London Underground has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority. The image for the game (which you can see on the right) features a terrified prisoner, who is covered in blood, screaming for help as a shadowy figure lurks menacingly behind him.

The advertising watchdog received complaints that the poster was "offensive, distressing and unsuitable to be seen by children" which, presumably, was very much the point. The complaint was upheld as the regulator ruled that the ad was "likely to cause serious or widespread offence". Midway have since agreed not to use the advert again although they did cite that the poster reflected the spirit of the game.

The Suffering was released for PS2 and Xbox in May and was met with a largely positive response from the games press. In their , GamesMaster concluded that it was, "One of the goriest, sweariest action games out there but with some nice touches and a decent combat system."