A new video game released on Halloween has raised the level of violence and crossed a line for many child advocates.

The game is called Manhunt II, it is a sequel to the original Manhunt game that came out a few years ago. But the second one is causing concern because of the extreme violence, blood and gore.

The video game promises more realistic and graphic violence. In the game, players act out killing and torturing someone with tools like a sledgehammer or shovel. And this is a toned down version.

"It is basically teaching younger ages this is how you kill somebody and this is how you do it," said Jeffrey Sherman, a video gamer who says he will not buy the game.

Doctor Janet Patton, a child behavioral specialist at Baystate, says the game is concerning. Kids learn from modeling what they see and hear, and repetitive acts of aggression in video games just reinforces it. "Viewing aggressive material and interacting with it, puts a child more at risk. I'm not saying they become more aggressive from playing that game , but it does put them at risk," said Patton. She says parents should take a good look at what they are buying their children.

Some people are also concerned because kids younger than 17 years-old, who cannot buy the game, may be downloading it illegally from the internet.


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