Banned in Europe

Features
By published

Manhunt 2, Nazis... and every videogame ever? Read the amazing story of our continental friends

So what can you do in Germany? Kill robotsand aliens. Which is why Konami's classic shoot-em-up Contra is known there as Probotector. Does the name give you a clue? That's right, theplayable characters and their enemies are all robots.

Like the cogs? That's right, you're a robot so there's no killing involved. Even the original Half-Life was changed to include 'robot' damage to the marine character models when you shoot them – and you can't kill the scientists. They just sit down and shake their heads.

Guns without consequences… is this really such a good idea? Guess it's not for us to judge. It is quite funny to see videos on YouTube of German gamers playing with an 'uncut' patch, gleefully running round killing every scientist as messily as they can. But can you blame them when they have to put up with... this?

As if that wasn't enough, Gears of War, Crackdown and Dead Rising have all been refused ratings in Germany due to their graphic violence. And as Microsoft won't allow unrated games to be published, the only way gamers of legal age can play them is to get them imported. At least they're worth the trouble.

Justin Towell
Justin Towell
Freelance Writer

Justin was a GamesRadar+ staffer for 10 years but is now a freelance writer, musician and videographer. He's big on retro, Sega and racing games (especially retro Sega racing games) and currently also writes for Play Magazine, Traxion.gg, PC Gamer and TopTenReviews, as well as running his own YouTube channel. Having learned to love all platforms equally after Sega left the hardware industry (sniff), his favourite games include Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Zelda BotW, Sea of Thieves, Sega Rally Championship and Treasure Island Dizzy.