British MPs are apparently not impressed with Activision's Modern Warfare 2 (PC, PS3 and Xbox 360). Keith Vaz, noted anti-game politician, has made comments about the game to the Daily Mail, saying he is "absolutely shocked" at the game's violence.

Even if the murder was committed against Stefan Pakeerah four years ago, the issue is still pretty much alive as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will meet with the mother of the Manhunt murder victim to discuss concerns on the violent content of games. Find out more in the full article.

Manhunt... Violent video games... Talks of more censorship... Hmmm, it's a wonder Jack Thompson isn't a part of this story. A conservative member of the British parliament recently moved to apply more censorship to video games in the UK, citing the 2004 murder that was linked to Manhunt. Details in the full article.

Bully: Scholarship Edition for the Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 has attracted the attention of several entities in UK and that is not exactly a good thing. NGOs, politicians, and even retail chains are planning to boycott the game.

Rockstar Games, on the other hand, remains adamant and commented that these people will only understand the game if they see it with an open mind. More on this after the jump!

The video game industry has had a lot of problems lately with the different government bodies around the world. This has been an ongoing debate for so long now and it seems that it is not going to stop any time soon. Today, members of the UK government has once again launched a movement about the same.

According to UK Conservative Party Leader David Cameron, the developers of video games have the responsibility not to promote certain issues such as "casual violence, the gang culture and the degradation of women". Cameron further explained:

We are never going to deal with crime unless we look at the broader context and say, "Yes, tough laws, strong action on the police, but also action to strengthen our society". And that includes, I think, video games and things like that where we do need to think of the context in which people are growing up.

Cameron added that this call also goes for other forms of artistic expression, such as as films and music. The British Parliament has been vocal lately about its stance on "violent video games". It should be remembered that parliament member Keith Vaz wanted bigger ratings labels on games.

Keith Vaz, known for strongly resisting violent video games in the UK, shared his opinions in the House of Commons once again. It's not about banning games this time, but he wants larger rating labels slapped on game boxes.

The British Parliamentarian believes that the current labeling is not enough to warn buyers of the content they'll be receiving. He complains that the labels, which are almost the same size as 10p coins, are too small.

Vaz is also concerned that some retailers themselves have no idea what they're saying. He said:

The content of some games is so serious that a warning should be splashed on the bottom that clearly states the age limit so that those games will not pass the retailers who sometimes sell them because inexperienced people operate cash registers and do not know that they should not sell them to someone who is under 18.

In cases that mature-rated games get into households, Vaz trusts bigger labels to warn people about inappropriate games. As if not content with such request, he also gave a piece about the recently hot controversy of Manhunt 2.

I was delighted when the BBFC decided to ban [Manhunt 2]… A huge amount of money is made out of the production of such games, for which we have become the center of Europe, but there is a wider social responsibility, too.

Manhunt 2 definitely got everyone on their seats with the ruckus it caused. Up until now, there are probably all kinds of people wanting to voice out their opinion regarding the matter. UK Leader of the House of Commons Jack Straw gave his piece, and it's about the gaming industry and lack of social responsibility.

Keith Vaz, same person who spearheaded the campaign against the original Manhunt, brought up the issue of its sequel in parliament. He asked, "Will the Leader of the House please tell us when he expects a statement to be made... or when we may have a debate on the social responsibilities of those who make a huge amount of money out of these videogames?"

Straw promptly responded, "We do not see sufficient social responsibility and understanding by the creators and purveyors of such games. I will of course ensure that the [Prime] Minister is made fully aware of my right honourable Friend's concerns."

Do developers really need to be more responsible, or are they trying to create art that doesn't have boundaries? With the law closing in, looks like devs don't have much of a choice.

In recent weeks, two video games have come under fire from various sectors in the society, with some coming from the video game industry itself. If you've been living a rock, these two titles are PlayStation 3's Resistance: Fall of Man, and Manhunt 2 for Nintendo Wii and PlayStation Portable.

The issue with Resistance involves the in-game church that closely resembles Manchester Cathedral in northwest England. The church took offense, Sony said sorry, and the church said it was okay provided that certain conditions will be met.

In Manhunt 2's case, UK authorities banned it for the game's "casual sadism" and it's still up in the air what will happen to its U.S. release. Anyway, the latest development about these two is that Member of Parliament for Leicester East Keith Vaz is very much happy with UK's decision and even referred to the move as "excellent".

He also mentioned that the authorities should ban Resistance in the UK as well. Vaz is no stranger to things like these and were pretty certain that his words do hold some weight. If you are unfamiliar with the guy, he is actually a British Labor Party politician and led the campaign against the original Manhunt back in 2003. We're still not sure how this will turn out, but rest assured we''ll be the first to report any updates regarding this.

The last time we heard from the people up in Parliament, we heard about Sony not being socially responsible about its effects on the youth in general, but not much else about the other claims the Church of England has made against the company - namely displaying the church in a bad light, copyright issues, what-have-you. Now, we have more quotable quotes about this fallout between Sony and the Church of England, and they're still from Parliament.

Presenting Keith Vaz, Labour MP and frequent critic of videogame violence. Do note that he made this statement in the House of Commons in an attempt to raise the issue.

My right honourable Friend will know that I have raised the issue of violent video games on a number of occasions. Will he join me in condemning Sony for the publication of a new video game that depicts scenes of Manchester cathedral, without the permission of the Church authorities, in a game that is very violent and bloody?

Will he join the Prime Minister in stating clearly that there is a responsibility beyond profit on those who produce such games? Can we ask Sony at least to withdraw the game and pay compensation to a Church charity, and may we have a debate on that important matter?

This quote won't be complete without the reply of his right honourable Friend, Jack Straw, Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Commons. His response, verbatim:

My right honourable Friend is right about the issue, and there has been totally unacceptable practice on Sony’s part. It has a moral duty to withdraw the game and make reparation to a Church charity, but it ought also to have some enlightened self-interest about the damage that it is doing to what was a reputable brand.

Withdraw the game and make a reparation to a Church charity. Very tall demands, considering Resistance: Fall of Man has been out for quite a while. It's also quite disconcerting that an incident regarding a location digitally-replicated in a fictional videogame is getting this much political attention - which asks the question: just how far will this go?

In any case, there you have it. Their take on what's happening right now, as far as the battle between Sony and the Church of the England is concerned. What say you, readers? Let us know by your comments.