BBFC refutes 'RE5' racism claims

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has dismissed criticisms about a perceived racist tone in Capcom's Resident Evil 5.

While previewing the opening chapters in the survival horror title, gaming website Kikizo expressed concerns at the imagery in a particular scene.

The sequence in question features a white, blonde-haired female being accosted by the infected locals and then dragged by her hair into a building.

When the player catches up with the woman, she has been impregnated with the virus, leading Kikizo to suggest that the scene "dovetails smoothly with that classic racist trope of the brutal black male 'corrupting' the white man's womenfolk".

However, when the website put its concerns to BBFC head of communications Sue Clark, she did not agree with its interpretation.

Having viewed the scenes, Clark said the fact that the infected zombies are black is to be expected considering the location of the game.

"As the whole game is set in Africa it is hardly surprising that some of the characters are black, just like the fact that some of the characters in an earlier version were Spanish as the game was set in Spain," she explained, referring to Resident Evil 4.

"We do take racism very seriously, but in this case there is no issue around racism."

Resident Evil 5 will be released on Xbox 360 and PS3 on March 13.