CrimeCraft Classification Report

Friday, December 4th, 2009

The Classification Board has provided R18+ Games Australia with the full text of their report on the recent Refused Classification awarded to CrimeCraft. According to the report, it was not the initially-suspected violence that was the problem, rather the drug use:

The Applicant has stated: “In CrimeCraft there are drug enhancements called “Boosts”. They are fictional drugs that improve a players stats [sic] while in battle for a small period of time.” In the Board’s opinion, there is insufficient delineation between the “fictional drugs” available in the game and real-world proscribed drugs. Boosts parallel the names, chemical elements, administration, treatment and addictive effects of real-world proscribed drugs and, when used, provide quantifiable benefits to a player’s character. This game therefore contains drug use related to incentives or rewards and should be Refused Classification.

You can download the full report from the Board by clicking here.

CrimeCraft Refused Classification

Monday, November 30th, 2009

Upcoming MMO CrimeCraft was Refused Classification in Australia last Thursday. CrimeCraft is a free-to-play MMO of team-based co-operative urban combat, and was awarded a Mature rating by the ESRB in the United States, making it suitable for persons 17 years or older.

Refused-Classification.com suggests that since the ESRB’s rating did not mention drug use and there appears to be very little sexual content in the game besides skimpy clothing, it is most likely that violence has been the reason for the banning.

From the ESRB’s report:

Content descriptors:
Blood, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence

Rating summary:
This is a third-person shooter in which players can select a character and gain experience points through completion of various missions/quests. Players can roam around the fictional setting of Sunrise City and engage in several types of massively multiplayer online (MMO) games: team deathmatch, capture the flag, robbery, and free-for-all.

Players are able to shoot and kill other characters by using a wide variety of guns (handguns, shotguns, machine guns, rocket launchers) and thrown weapons (grenades, Molotov cocktails, etc.). Small splashes of red blood indicate successful hits, and bloodstains are depicted on the ground under some defeated characters.

Achievements and mission titles sometimes contain profanity (e.g., achievement called “F**king Ridiculous”; missions called “I Ain’t Movin’ B*tch,” and “Poppin’ a Cap in Yo A*s”). Players can customize female avatars so that they only wear a bra and thong-style panties or outfits that expose deep cleavage; players can also trigger a brief dance in which an avatar caresses her body.

However, if violence is the issue, then again we are forced to question the inconsistency of the Classification Board, as titles like Fallout 3, Dead Space and Mad World – all rated MA15+ for Australian audiences – contain high levels of violence that Crimecraft would surely find difficult to surpass.

We have contacted the Classification Board for comment, and will let you know of any correspondence we receive.