Censors at the British Board of Film Classification refused to give the game a rating. They baulked at its "unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying".
The game runs on the PS2 and Nintendo Wii consoles and is made by controversial game maker Rockstar Games.
David Cooke, director of the BBFC, said of Manhunt 2: "There is sustained and cumulative, casual sadism in the way in which these killings are committed, and encouraged, in the game."
Rockstar has six weeks in which to mount an appeal. µ