Thursday, October 18, 2007

"Soldier of Fortune: Pay Back" Banned in Australia

Blitz: The League, BMX XXX, Manhunt, Reservoir Dogs, 50 Cent: Bullet Proof and now Soldier of Fortune: Pay Back. All banned recently in Australia. The reasoning behind the banning of Soldier of Fortune is interesting. According to the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) the game was banned because

"Successfully shooting an opponent results in the depiction of blood spray,"
"When the enemy is shot from close range, the blood spray is substantial, especially when a high-caliber weapon is used, and blood splatters onto the ground and walls in the environment."
"The player may target various limbs of the opponents and this can result in the limb being dismembered."
"Large amounts of blood spray forth from the stump with the opponent sometimes remaining alive before eventually dying from the wounds."


Gory stuff no doubt but the tone of the OFLC report seems to be one of stark realism, to the point of suggesting that people are dying here (what does that "in the environment" mean??). This was the same approach to Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, a graffiti game banned in 2006 in Australia which the OFLC reported being due to

the realistic scenarios whereby the central character Trane acquires his knowledge of graffiti tips, techniques and styles - including meeting with five real graffiti artists who pass on details of tips and techniques


How did they manage to fit the 5 real graffiti artists into a computer console???

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