Australian's Who Campaigned For So Long For An R18+ Rating Get This?

Fable Was Rated 'M' By The Classification Board. The HD Remake? R18+ - Kotaku Australia

This is joke right?  Right?  Anyone...  Oh, they're serious.

When the original Fable was released way back in the wild heady days of 2004 our illustrious classification board gave it a solid M rating at the time.  Was this because of sex, or drugs (the usual suspects)?  Nope.  It is very combat heavy and you have the choice of being nice (only fighting bad guys, and often sparing their lives) or nasty (kill anything that gets in your way).  So why on earth would the HD remake suddenly become an adults only R18+.  Well, it's because of sex.

Apparently, under the updated classification rules, the fact you can get married and consummate said partnership comes under the "Sexual activity related to incentives or rewards".  Below is what happens in this game.  Before you click play remember this is something the classification board is deadly serious about...

Well that is about as interactive as a brick that is sitting on a high shelf.  But then there are the "incentive or rewards" from this little piece of fade to black.  So what advantages does your character get from this sordid encounter?  Nothing.  Not a thing.  The original article above suggests you and your partner can have a child but that little feature wasn't introduced until Fable 2.

The inconsistent and just plain ridiculous decisions relating to games since our pretend R18+ rating was introduced really shows that the system is still broken.  If this decision stands then I guess the next Sims game will have to be R18+.

The ongoing review by the Australian Law Reform Commission has a possible answer.  An industry based classification system like the ESRB in the US and PEGI in the UK is the real answer.  This doesn't take government regulation out of the picture since any developer or publisher can still have their rating reviewed should there be reports of inappropriate material for any given rating.

As for the Fable decision... seriously I actively participated in the R18+ campaign for over a decade and THIS is the outcome...

IGEA's Annual Digital Australia Report Telling Us What Everyone (Except The Classification Board) Knows

The Typical Australian Gamer Is 32 Years Old - Kotaku Australia

The IGEA (Interactive Games and Entertainment Association) has released a lovely little infographic showing the results of it's latest survey, and unsurprisingly it shows the age of the average gamer is increasing as well as an increase in parents who play games with their kids.

As for the tidal wave of depravity and filth that was expected (well by the Australian Christian Lobby at least) when our watered down R18 rating was introduced the majority of game purchases fall withing the G and PG ratings.

With the average gamer now being 32 years old, and a great indication of parental involvement in their children's game playing it is hard to ignore that people are making sensible, responsible choices when it comes to making sure children are not exposed to inappropriate content.

The average Australian gamer is all grown up, can we please stop watering down our adult rating now.  We are all "thinking of the children".

If you want to have a closer look at the stats, then head over here.

R18 Still Not Working According To South Australian Attorney General

SA Attorney General Wants R18+ Video Game Classification To Be 'More Rigorously Applied' - Kotaku Australia

The rejoicing when previous SA Attorney General, Michael Atkinson, retired and his replacement John Rau came out in support of an R18+ rating was kind of short lived at the time when he then announced a plan to just stick R18 stickers on top of the MA15+ logos at the time.

Thankfully this plan didn't come to fruition... well we now know that is pretty much the extent of the "changes" (refer to Saints Row for the full run down)... and we haven't heard too much from him, until now.

Mr Rau has stated his great concern in the number of games still getting an MA15+ rating so it appears his belief that this rating should automatically be considered as 18+ game, which kind of defeats the purpose of having a system that is meant to inform about what is appropriate for different age groups.  He feels that if the regulations are not "more rigorously applied" than all games released in South Australia will go through a second level of scrutiny.  No word on how this is going to be paid for though.

This wouldn't be such an issue if the Attorney Generals didn't have veto power on any classification reforms.  There have been some positive, though very small, steps in the right direction but the Australian classification system still needs a lot more work.  It would be nice to think those with the final say have a good understanding of the issues and the ability to reconsider their positions but with people like John Rau still hanging on to a notion like this, well, all I can say is good luck Australia, we're going to need it.

Progress Report - Saints Row 4

This is a continuation of my first impressions of Saints Row 4 article.

Well I am still pushing through the Matrix-esque world of the Saints and still enjoying the game.  I am making very slow progress through the story though due to the optional side missions.  The repetition of these tasks can get a little on the wearing side, however the rewards and bonuses for completing them definitely helps you push through and as they usually feature side tasks it also helps your overall completion percentage significantly.

Speaking of optional missions, as you rescue your homies from the clutches of the tyrannical alien overlord Zinyak you get the option of completing "loyalty missions".  These are usually pretty generous with cash and xp but the main gain is the supporting character also gains superpowers for when you call on them to help you out in the simulated city.  Incidentally, it's the Shaundi loyalty mission that earned SR4 it's refused classification in Australia, and yes I have completed it.

Essentially the section that Australian adults are too sensitive to experience without immediately craving the hardest drugs they can find sees the main character head out with two versions of Shaundi (I can't explain that without spoilers) to track down some "alien narcotics" that boost superpowers.  Remember these powers only exist within the computer simulation where the majority of the game is set ands by this stage your character's powers are well and truly established.  We are entertained to a couple of scenes showing the drugs being taken but when the "boost" kicks in it gives the support characters powers but doesn't actually impact those that the main player character already has... it's implied that it does, but again, there is no actual increase in the powers of the main character!

Don't worry if you are concerned about the horrible personal temptation the above mission may bring into your life.  Thanks the the Australian Classification Board this OPTIONAL mission has been removed from the Australian version of the game.  True you still have to wait a couple of weeks to buy your bubble wrapped version, but at least you will be kept safe.  Incidentally, that anal probe weapon will be available in with local copies depending on the DLC you purchase.

Anyway, back to the game.  The missions are suitably insane and the current batch of story related content is focused on getting the rest of the Saints out of their own simulated realities and into your home base to help you out.  Deep Silver certainly hasn't skimped on content since everything you do seems to unlock multiple missions, both story related and optional.

The superpowers are fun and I am finding I only used a weapon or jump in a vehicle when it is necessary.  After a few upgrades the problem of travelling across the map turns into a joy as you sprint, climb and glide at incredible speed.  The only things that slow you down are the many collectables and nodes (required to upgrade powers) scattered everywhere.  There are heaps of other activities to complete, but I'll let you discover them for yourselves.  Using powers in combat is tricky enough that pulling off a spectacular move is always satisfying without being overly frustrating.  You'll definitely find some powers that you'll hardly use, but I recommend sticking with telekinesis even though it seems a bit underwhelming when you first get access to it.

This is a game that overcomes its flaws by just making it worth your while to push through the low points and is just plain stupid fun the rest of the time.  I'm still laughing at a lot of the gags, even some that I have seen a few times now.  The option to "romance" your crew presents some absolute laugh out loud moments and some strangely touching ones too, with the exception of Keith David.  Why won't you let me love you Keith David?

The scary thing is I still feel that there is more I need to see before I can put the lid on any sort of review of the game.  I am however still very happy to recommend it based on what I have seen so far.

Will State Of Decay Be The First Game To Be Modified To Get An R18+ Rating In Australia?

State Of Decay Has Been Resubmitted To The Classification Board - Kotaku Australia

Well it has come to this.  After Saints Row 4 and State of Decay were both refused classification under Australia's (not so) adult R18+ classification both Deep Silver Games and Undead Labs stated they were considering modifying their games for resubmission.  Looks like Undead Labs got there first.

To recap, State of Decay was refused classification due to "explicit drug use" which gave players advantages in gameplay, ie rewards for taking drugs.  The drugs in questions were medications and amphetamines scavenged to help the character survive in another... zombie... apocalypse.  Seriously, how many of these can we possibly have?

So how did they get around this?  By making all the "stimulants" into "supplements".  That's right, if you have multiple lacerations and a suspected broken ankle after a narrow escape from a hoard of zombies, well a couple of vitamin B tablets and a little echinacea will see you right.

Fallout 3 suffered a similar fate back in 2008 when it was possible for your character to take morphine to treat injuries and improve health which was such a obvious attempt by Bethseda to get us all hooked on morphine (according to the classification board).  Of course in that game if you took too much you could become addicted at which point the benefits flew out the window.  So how did this evil game end up on our shelves you ask.  By renaming it to Med-X.  Yay for fictional narcotics!

Well I hope any adult Aussie Xbox owners are looking forward to playing this highly accurate re-interpretation since the Australian Classificiation Board obviously still feels that gamers who are 18 or older cannot deal with in game items named after ** gasp ** real drugs!

Or alternatively, well, you know you can play the UK version on an Australian Xbox, right?

Saints Row 4 Refused Classification in Australia

Breaking: Saints Row IV Has Been Refused Classification - Kotaku Australia

This... I... what? I don't even...

Okay, some background.  For almost 11 years Australian gamers fought for a change in the classification system to allow 18+ games (the equivalent to 17+ on the ESRB system) to be released in Australia.  Prior to the eventual introduction of the R18+ rating games where either refused classification (could not be sold), edited for release in Australia (to much outrage), or most commonly shoe-horned into the in-appropriate MA15+ category.

Essentially there was no category for video games intended for adults, and the long painful process and the screams of protesting conservatives yelling "think of the children" wrapped up to cheers of campaigning responsible adults, who wanted nothing more than a clear designation to help less informed parents know what was and wasn't appropriate for little Johnny, when it was announced that Aussie would finally an R18+ classification starting 1 January 2013.  I know exactly how it felt since I had been one of those campaigners right from the start.

So, upon seeing the above headline I immediately investigated further, wondering what exactly it took to push Saints Row 4 beyond the category of R18+.  It has been refused due to "interactive, visual depictions of implied sexual violence which are not justified by context".  Okay, sounds nasty, however exactly how visual can implied content be?  Considering Saints Row 3, which I just happen to have recently started replaying, had a scene early on where a guy could be seen pushing a woman's head down towards his crotch.  Number 3 also has a lovely mission called "The Ho Boat" where you get to stop a container boat full of women being sent off into sex slavery by shooting anything in your path, including any of the ladies who get caught up in the crossfire.  At the end, well you can put them to work as prostitutes for your character's benefit.  These are scenarios that I find distasteful, yet I know there is much worse sitting in my local video store.... Human Centipede anyone?

Now the above examples are probably the most extreme available in Saints Row 3 and I feel certainly can be described using the classification board's nice and provocative, yet very broad, statement about number 4.  The point of this is that Saints Row 3 was released in Australia, completely uncut, under the MA15+ banner.

This decision appears that, in essence, the rather flexible rules for the old MA15+ have been tweaked, tightened up a bit and applied wholesale to the new R18+ guidelines.  We were promised that wouldn't be the case however, to date, the only games to get the fabled new rating are the ones that would have been MA15+ under the old system anyway.

Now, if this implied content is really that bad, if it is a scenario that can easily be seen to exceed any interpretation of the R18+ classification then I am happy to abide by that decision and have some of my faith restored in the classification board.  I still however find it incredibly unlikely that a game designed by adults, for adults, in such a well established game franchise with experienced, commercial game developers at the helm would include anything that would push those bounds.

Adult entertainment (and I don't mean porn, that is a whole different discussion) needs to have the scope to push reactions, push buttons and be set up so that adults experiencing it can make there own decisions on the content, regardless of the medium.  To sum up I will make the point that I made in numerous submissions to local members, state MPs, Attorney Generals and even the Prime Minister...

R18+ for any content needs to be same for ALL content, be it games, film, television or print.  Only then can we have a true adult rating that meets the criteria for all Australian adults.