Chief censor Bill Hastings said today while computer games appeared to be getting more "edgy", Manhunt went further than any game previously referred to his office. "It's a game where the only thing you do is kill everybody you see," he said. "It gets worse. Not only do you have to kill everybody you see, you can choose to kill 'mild,' 'medium' or 'hot'."

Mr Hastings said "hot" kills were particularly gruesome. Weapons used ranged from shards of glass to garrotting wire, plastic bags and machetes. The game was set in a weird city inhabited by criminals and psychotics. Through an earpiece, players were given instructions by a person making snuff films to kill everyone they saw.

"When you go for the 'hot' kill you actually see the snuff film...you see the person being killed in close-up. With the plastic bag, for example, you see the victim's mouth gasping for air inside the bag."