BEIJING, June 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Britain banned it, Ireland did the same and now the publishers of "Manhunt 2," Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., said in a statement Thursday evening the New York-based company is suspending distribution plans while it reviews its options.

    "We continue to stand behind this extraordinary game. We believe in freedom of creative expression, as well as responsible marketing, both of which are essential to our business of making great entertainment," the company said.

    Players of the video game "Manhunt 2" would have taken on the role of an amnesiac scientist who escapes from an asylum and then goes on a bloody killing spree as he tries to remember his past.

    "Manhunt 2" had been scheduled for a July 10 release in the United States on both the Wii by Nintendo Co. and the PlayStation 2 from Sony Corp.

    But earlier in the week, Britain banned the game because of the violent content. Ireland followed suit a day later, and then Italian Communications Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Thursday that he would seek to have the sale of the game canceled there as well.

    In a statement, Gentiloni called the game "cruel and sadistic, with a squalid environment and a continuous, insistent encouragement to violence and murder."

    In the United States, the video game industry's self-regulated ratings board gave a preliminary version of "Manhunt 2" an "adults only" rating instead of the more lenient, and far more popular, "mature" rating for ages 17 and up.

    Slapping "Manhunt 2" with the Entertainment Software Rating Board's most stringent rating would likely doom sales. Large retailers including Best Buy Co., Target Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. won't stock AO-rated games.

    (Agencies)