US judge lets Bully go

Friedman said the game was pretty violent but not as violent as stuff shown every night on the telly.

Vociferous lawyer Jack Thompson had wanted the game banned from being sold to minors, labelling it a "Columbine simulator". He said as much to a court in Florida.

The game, which will be released later this week in the UK under the title Canis Canem Edit, Latin for Dog Eat Dog, will have a teen-only rating in the US and a 15 rating in the UK.

The judge sat down with an employee of publisher Take Two to decide how violent the game is. This miffed Thompson as he thought the employee would hoodwink the judge by showing him non-violent action.

But the judge has made his mind up. "There's a lot of violence," he said, "a whole lot. Less than we see on television every night." µ