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.

Risen Refused Classification

Monday, August 10th, 2009

According to Refused-Classification, Risen, the single-player fantasy RPG developed by Piranha Bytes, has been refused classification in Australia. No official reason for the refusal has been given, but the OFLC website has been updated to list the game as RC.

Refused-Classification writes that the American ESRB, which has rated the game “Mature” (unsuitable for under 17’s), has the following to say about the the content of Risen:

This is a role-playing game (RPG) in which players control a castaway on a Medieval island. Players can explore the island, interact with its inhabitants, solve quests for the people, and kill various monsters along the way. Players can use swords to attack characters, including bystanders, resulting in brief splashes of dark red blood.

During the course of the game, players can interact with prostitutes (referred to as “whores” in the game) at a local brothel. Players can trigger a lengthy dialogue to engage in their services; sexual activity is strongly implied, but never depicted on screen. Many of the characters in the game smoke a fictional drug called “brugleweed.” The “wood reefer” plant is described as having a mild relaxing effect on users, and can be bought, sold, and used by players. Some profanity (e.g., “f*ck” and “sh*t”) can be heard in the dialogue.

…all of which fairly accurately summarises another half-dozen games already available on the Australian market, all of which are rated MA15+.

We’ll know more when the game is released, but once again it looks like another case of staggering inconsistency from the Classifications Board. Cases like this continue to prove that the system is in desperate need of an overhaul. If only we had some idea of what our Attorneys-General were actually doing about it, eh?

Just repeating from the last post, I am officially putting out the call for contributors – if you can write well, speak maturely, are abreast of current news, and are willing to contribute to this site on the issue of an R18+ rating for video games in Australia, then please get in touch with me and we’ll work something out.

Source: RISEN: The Latest Game Banned in Australia (Refused-Classification)