Velvet Assassin Uses Morphine; Gets MA15+

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

As Kotaku is reporting today, the upcoming game Velvet Assassin has received an MA15+ rating from the OFLC. This despite the fact that Velvet Assassin makes heavy use of the drug morphine, something which Fallout 3 was Refused Classification over.

In Velvet Assassin, the player can use morphine to enter slow-motion “bullet time”, allowing the character to attack enemies with a knife, filling the air with slow-moving stylised droplets of blood. In Fallout 3, the player could use morphine to heal themselves and dull pain. From Kotaku:

“But, no,” says Aubrey Norris, Velvet Assassin product manager. “We were surprised we didn’t have any issues [with the ratings board]. They rated it like any other game.” Norris said it was “a profound victory” for developer Replay Studios — they got away with something Fallout 3 couldn’t. “We put something controversial out… and we stuck to our guns.”

We are once again forced to wonder about the inconsistencies behind the OFLC ratings decisions. Is morphine acceptable or is it not? If so, why in one fashion and not the other? If the OFLC was worried about the incentive for the player to use morphine, why is Velvet Assassin any better than Fallout 3. What factors does the OFLC consider when determining drug use levels?

I will be contacting the OFLC with these questions, and will post up any answers I receive.

Source: Velvet Assassin Gets Away With Morphine In Australia (AJ Glasser, Kotaku AU)