7 Real Reasons Video Games Have Been Banned

No matter how tame a game may be, it seems there's always a country somewhere in the world that is going to take offense to it in some way. These seven games were all banned in different parts of the world for some very unique and uncanny reasons. And yes, one of the reasons does include an anal probe.

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7. Pokemon

You might immediately think there's no way Pokemon was banned in any country for how adorably cute the Pokemon seemed to be. But Saudi Arabia thought differently. Pokemon was actually banned there for supposedly promoting Zionism. What's Zionism? Zionism is defined as: a movement for (originally) the re-establishment and (now) the development and protection of a Jewish nation in what is now Israel. How they related that to Pokemon, we will never understand.

6. Mass Effect

You know one of the games on this list was bound to include some kind of sexual subject. Mass Effect was banned in Singapore due to including a lesbian relationship in the game. In Mass Effect, you can in fact play as a female Shepard and attempt to romance Liara, a member of an all-female alien race. But that was only one of the romantic lesbian relationships you could pursue. And apparently, Singapore wasn't feeling that right to choose who to love.

5. Far Cry 3

Far Cry games are known to be brutal and violent, and in Far Cry 3, which was set in Indonesia, the country felt they depicted their homeland a little too negatively. Indonesia claimed that _Far Cry 3 _made living in Indonesia look like living in Hell. What kind of hell? A hell filled with disease, starvation, death and more. And because of that, you won't be getting your hands on Far Cry 3 anytime soon if you live in Indonesia.

4. Postal 2

Postal is another one of those glorious indie titles that was really an icon for its genre, and for what genre Postal fits into, I have no idea. It truly is one of those most brutal, gory and random games I've ever played. It has been the center of controversy in many debates about violence in video games, and it's no surprise seeing its game content. In the sequel, Postal 2, you play as Postal Dude who's dressed in a trench goat and sports a goatee. Postal Dude lives in a trailer park in Arizona and hates his wife. The player is given a list of boring tasks to carry out every day of the week, and you can complete them as peacefully or as violently as possible, and people in town will try to tempt you to do the latter. All in all, this game can get you to do some pretty sick stuff, I know because I played it. Matter-of-fact, it was so bad, that New Zealand and Brazil felt they had to ban it from the country for just how gross and horrible it was.

3. Homefront

Everyone knows North Korea really doesn't like when other people talk negatively about their country. And in Homefront, North Korea is portrayed as a nation run by an unforgiving tyrant who has invaded the United States, bringing war to our doorsteps. The funny thing is, North Korea wasn't the one to ban the video game. South Korea banned it, probably for fear of it getting seen by Kim Jong-un and blaming it on South Korea somehow.

2. Manhunt 2

IGN named this game as one of the most controversial games ever, and for good reason. The Manhunt games have always been pretty controversial because of their violent gameplay. I mean, the player is given the opportunity to kill in many stealthy and different ways, seemingly for the fun of it sometimes. Manhunt 2 was actually the one and only game to ever be rejected by the British Board Of Film Classification because of the amount of violence. In other words, it was totally banned.

1. Saints Row IV

Saints Row IV was a game that was particularly outrageous in the best way possible. But Australia didn't seem to get a kick out of it as much as the United States did. There's a weapon in the game called an Alien Anal Probe, and it offended Australia so much that they banned the game claiming it promoted sexual violence. If that isn't the strangest reason a game has been entirely banned, I don't know what is.