A video game that puts players in control of a psychopath who must sneak up on people and bludgeon them to death with axes and sledgehammers has been banned in Britain.

Manhunt 2 has become the only prohibited game in the country after the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) condemned its “unremitting bleakness” and encouragement of “casual sadism”.

It is only the second game to have been refused classification since regulation of video content became compulsory in 1984. The other, Carmageddon, was allowed to be sold after the maker agreed to make cuts to the most extreme scenes.

Manhunt 2 — created by Rockstar Games, the software developer responsible for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City — involves a deranged character who must escape from a mental asylum and find the people who put him there.

David Cooke, the director of the BBFC, said that the board preferred to ask for cuts rather than order an outright ban, but that was impossible in this case.

“Manhunt 2 is distinguishable from recent high-end video games by its unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone in a game context which constantly encourages visceral killing with exceptionally little alleviation or distancing,” he said.

“There is sustained and cumulative casual sadism in the way in which these killings are committed and encouraged.”

The game presented a range of unjustifiable risks to adults and children, he added.

The board said that the game was worse than its predecessor, Manhunt, because of the “sheer lack of alternative pleasures on offer”. Sue Clark, a spokeswoman for the board, said: “The only thing [the main character] does is go around and kill people extremely violently. When he gets out of the mental institution he [tries] to find out who he is, but that just involves killing more people.”

Anyone attempting to supply the game in Britain faces a jail sentence of six months and a fine of up to £20,000. It is not illegal to own, but imports can be seized at customs.

Online video game retailers contacted by The Times said that they would refuse to import the game even if it was legal to do so.

Rockstar, which is owned by Take 2 Interactive, an American company, said that it disputed the ruling but had not decided whether to appeal. “While we respect the authority of the classification board and will abide by the rules, we emphatically disagree with this particular decision.

“Manhunt 2 is an entertainment experience for fans of psychological thrillers and horror. The subject matter of this game is in line with other mainstream entertainment choices for adult consumers. The adult consumers who will play this game fully understand that it is fictional interactive entertainment and nothing more.”

The first Manhunt game was withdrawn by some retailers in July 2004 after the parents of a 14-year-old boy who was murdered with a claw hammer claimed that his killer was obsessed with the game. No link was proved, but studies have suggested a link between video game violence and aggressive behaviour in children.

A paper presented by Saint Leo University in Florida in 2005 suggested that children copied moves they saw in violent games, although no link has been made to killings.

Street legal

— Carmageddon, in which players are awarded points for running over pedestrians, was banned in Britain in 1997 but was given an 18 certificate after cuts were made

— Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was withdrawn and altered by Rockstar Games, after programmers found a hidden mini-game called Hot Coffee in which the main character has sex with his girlfriend

— Hooligans: Storm Over Europe required players to recruit a mob of football supporters before laying waste to town centres. It got an 18 certificate

— Postal 2, in which players are encouraged to commit violent acts as they go about mundane tasks such as buying milk, was given an 18 rating

Source: Times database