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Post by Dan @ 10:05am 04/12/09 | 46 Comments
SEGA sends unfortunate word today that yet another high-profile title has been refused classification by the Australian Classification Board, Rebellion's Aliens vs Predator.

The official statement from SEGA:
"SEGA Australia can today confirm that the initial submission of Aliens vs Predator has been Refused Classification by the Classification Operations Board of Australia. We will continue to investigate all options available to us, including the possibility of appeal".
Aliens vs Predator joins Left 4 Dead 2, Crimecraft, Risen and Necrovision on the 2009 RC list for Australians. Although a disappointingly censored version of Left 4 Dead 2 was later given an MA15+ rating, the others are still unavailable for purchase in Australia.

AusGamers had an early look at Aliens vs Predator at the E3 expo in June and it was shaping up to be a great title, it will be a major blow for Australian gaming if this one gets watered down as well, but perhaps more much-needed fuel for the R18 rating cause.

Aliens vs Predator is a revisit of the 1999 game of the same name, from the same independent developer, UK-based Rebellion Entertainment. The original game was classified MA by the Australian OFLC in 1999.

Aliens vs Predator was aiming at a February 2010 release on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Stay tuned for more details as they develop.



aliens vs predatorrefused classification
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Latest Comments
casa
Posted 10:07am 04/12/09
Saw this coming. I would fire right up because I fkn love these games more than a fat kid loves cake, however I do posses the mad skills to obtain US versions. Me = 1, that wanker in south australia = 0.
trog
Posted 10:12am 04/12/09
Well that's great. That's just f*****g great. Now what the f*** are we supposed to do? We're in some real pretty s*** now, man.

BONUS AUDIO

BONUS AUDIO #2

last edited by trog at 10:12:18 04/Dec/09
Reverend Evil™
Posted 10:09am 04/12/09
Game developers should stop selling games in Australia. That might help us get an R rating when businesses who rely on games start going broke.
Term
Posted 10:10am 04/12/09
ahah casa

its pretty silly though, seems like they've changed how they judge these games because they arent any more violent than what are already avaialble for sale within the Australian market under the MA15+ banner

So why change now?
Hyperslide
Posted 10:20am 04/12/09
FFS !!! that's all I have to say
ravn0s
Posted 10:31am 04/12/09
Saw this coming.


+1

In a recent press conference the Alien vs Predator devs stated that they are definitely not making any edited versions
for strict countries, because it takes away from the feel of the game and ultimately ruins gameplay.


thank good. rather them not even sell it here than make an edited copy

last edited by ravn0s at 10:31:27 04/Dec/09
dais
Posted 10:44am 04/12/09
You've gone too far this time OFLC!
infi
Posted 10:49am 04/12/09
jesus christ haven't they heard of the internet? this censoring is pointless.
Tollaz0r!
Posted 10:53am 04/12/09
Game Over Man!
Any
Posted 10:54am 04/12/09
That's it man, game over man, game over!
Bonez
Posted 10:54am 04/12/09
OFLC has been going way to far too often lately. Why do they even bother trying to baby us? Every time they refuse classification to a game they just fuel piracy.
casa
Posted 11:18am 04/12/09
America gave it 18+ rating too
Khel
Posted 11:21am 04/12/09
Well that sucks, pretty much to be expected, since those first early trailers that had predators decapitating the human soldiers and keeping their head with attached spines as trophies, but still sucks.
Mephz
Posted 11:25am 04/12/09
Hahahaha, wait, so preadtors and aliens are too close to 'real life' now and a 15 year old can't tell the difference?

I knew there was a reason I had a twitch in my left finger wanting to decapitate people and keep their spines as a kid, must have been from watching all those predator movies.
*rolleyes*
casa
Posted 11:32am 04/12/09
pretty much to be expected, since those first early trailers that had predators decapitating the human soldiers and keeping their head with attached spines as trophies

This also happens in the movies, and they only sport an M rating.

last edited by casa at 11:32:05 04/Dec/09
infi
Posted 11:33am 04/12/09
yeah but with a movie the viewer isn't re-enacting the decapitation from a first person view. people who cannot disinguish a game from reality may actually feel inclined to decapitate a person in real life afterwards.
Mantorok
Posted 11:51am 04/12/09
Aliens vs Predator is a revisit of the 1994 game Alien vs Predator, from the same independent developer, UK-based Rebellion Entertainment. The original game was rated M by the Australian OFLC in 1994.
1999
E.T.
Posted 11:54am 04/12/09
haha Trog. Nice post man :)


Also. WTF Aust Govt. I'm voting Liberal next time. F*** !
Dan
Posted 12:00pm 04/12/09
Cheers for that Mantorok, corrected. I was looking at the wrong entry (Must have been the arcade/console sidescroller - which was an awesome game btw). The original FPS and AvP2 were both MA.
groganus
Posted 12:07pm 04/12/09
what was the anticipated release date of this game had it made it through the oflc?
Dan
Posted 12:09pm 04/12/09
Mantorok
Posted 12:10pm 04/12/09
Dan - Nah, it was the Atari Jaguar game.
Khel
Posted 12:12pm 04/12/09
There was an AVP fps game on the Atari Jaguar, that may have been the '94 one. I think it was made by Rebellion too.

last edited by Khel at 12:12:49 04/Dec/09
RockitMan
Posted 12:39pm 04/12/09
Just buy from the US on ebay. Was given a copy of L4D2 this way for my bday :D
darkjedi
Posted 12:41pm 04/12/09
On the topic of why we don't have an R18+ category, Atkinson may be in a spot of bother:

Atkinson accused of corruption over St Clair land swap (Sorry about the news.com.au link Trog!)

PARLIAMENT has been told of allegations that Attorney-General Michael Atkinson offered a benefit to a Charles Sturt councillor if he joined the Labor Party.

Independent MP David Winderlich today won support from the Upper House for an Ombudsman's inquiry into the St Clair land swap and detailed allegations that residents had been intimidated by Atkinson staffers.




Also, it's finally come to light as to why AvP got the Banstick (in the form of the Classifications Board report):

The game contains first-person perspective, close-up depictions of human characters being subjected to various types of violence, including explicit decapitation and dismemberment as well as locational damage such as stabbing through the chest, throat, mouth or eyes. Characters can be stabbed with a Predator’s wrist blade or an Alien’s tail in depictions reminiscent of impalement. The Predator collects “trophies” by explicitly ripping off human heads, their spinal columns dangling from severed necks. Heads can be twisted completely around in order to break a character’s neck. Eyes can be stabbed through or gouged, leaving empty, bloodied eye sockets. It is noted that a player is able to combine manouvres together in quick succession, which further increases impact; for example, a Predator can stab a character through both eyes with its wrist blade and then rip off their head, with spinal column still attached. Extensive post mortem damage, including decapitation and dismemberment, is also possible.

Depictions of violence such as the above are accompanied by copious amounts of blood and gore, including ample wound detail and visible skeleton.

In the opinion of the Board, the violence in the game causes a high playing impact due to its first-person, close-up perspective, conceptual nature and the level of explicit detail involved in the depictions. The game is therefore unsuitable for a minor to see or play and should be refused classification.
Tim
Posted 12:42pm 04/12/09
^ Or better yet from Steam. I did with L4D2, so f*** it, ill do it for this also.
RockitMan
Posted 12:47pm 04/12/09
Yeah I'm over dloading from Steam. Bought batman a week ago and still can't play it cos im only half downloaded and hit my offpeak cap. L4D2 PC is avail from $26 USD on usa ebay.
AverageCowboy
Posted 01:02pm 04/12/09
OMG!

HELLO?! Ever heard of Ridley Scott or James Cameron, yeah? The one's whose films this game is based off, pretty sure they were violent too, they got a suitable rating... man, what's the point?
Vampyre228
Posted 01:15pm 04/12/09
Hmm seems the RC board is on a roll rcently, like 5 games TY comparable to other years prior...
I loved the AVP game and this would have been a great addition to the franchise is au. Oh well spose i can ebay a copy or something.
Raider
Posted 05:03pm 04/12/09
sorry but i don't understand.. how can they possible NOT ban GTA.. yet ban l4d and this, last i checked killing old people for their cash and pts, fkn hookers then killing them to get your cash back is way more confronting then hacking some dead zombies.
Tollaz0r!
Posted 06:17pm 04/12/09
It doesn't really matter anyway. As I'll be buying most of my games through UK/US steamstore, imported from cdwow or similar due to the price gouging that goes on with Australian computer game sales.

I'm not paying 25%+ more for a game simply because I live in Australia.
plasmo
Posted 06:51pm 04/12/09
michael attikson f*** yaeh
grug09
Posted 12:22pm 11/12/09
Feel free to send any complaints on to enquiries@classification.gov.au
Khel
Posted 12:26pm 11/12/09
How is complaining to the board going to change anything? Not like they can suddenly invent an R rating by themselves and re-classify the game.
Thundercracker
Posted 01:35pm 11/12/09
The game contains first-person perspective, close-up depictions of human characters being subjected to various types of violence, including explicit decapitation and dismemberment as well as locational damage such as stabbing through the chest, throat, mouth or eyes. Characters can be stabbed with a Predator’s wrist blade or an Alien’s tail in depictions reminiscent of impalement. The Predator collects “trophies” by explicitly ripping off human heads, their spinal columns dangling from severed necks. Heads can be twisted completely around in order to break a character’s neck. Eyes can be stabbed through or gouged, leaving empty, bloodied eye sockets. It is noted that a player is able to combine manouvres together in quick succession, which further increases impact; for example, a Predator can stab a character through both eyes with its wrist blade and then rip off their head, with spinal column still attached. Extensive post mortem damage, including decapitation and dismemberment, is also possible.

Depictions of violence such as the above are accompanied by copious amounts of blood and gore, including ample wound detail and visible skeleton.


^^ sounds awesome :D
Reverend Evil™
Posted 01:58pm 11/12/09
Remember back ages ago when stuff like Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Elm Street 3 and Last House On The Left were banned? You watch them now and they are complete garbage. I could never understand why Chainsaw 2 was banned. F*** it was a boring-ass movie.

In years to come we'll look back and see that AVP is nothing compared to what is out at the time. S*** like Night Trap, Carmageddon, Mortal Kombat and others all went thru the same s***.

This isn't like 50 years ago when people were stupid enough to believe War Of The Worlds. I think most people now are quite cluey and would know better.
Midda
Posted 02:46pm 11/12/09
Feel free to send any complaints on to enquiries@classification.gov.au

And what do you expect to achieve by doing this?
fpot
Posted 02:50pm 11/12/09
This isn't like 50 years ago when people were stupid enough to believe War Of The Worlds.
Norway.
icewyrm
Posted 04:10pm 11/12/09
Remember back ages ago when stuff like Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Elm Street 3 and Last House On The Left were banned? You watch them now and they are complete garbage. I could never understand why Chainsaw 2 was banned. F*** it was a boring-ass movie.


I get your point, although I'm kind of hoping that the new AvP game won't be as terrible as those movies from a general entertainment perspective.

I'm not certain anyone links banned material to actually being a quality product though, it's just an occasional coincdence - ban enough stuff and you are bound to ban something worthwhile eventually.
Reverend Evil™
Posted 04:16pm 11/12/09
I'm sure AVP will be an awesome game. It's just I can see us looking back years from now when the next banned game comes out and we'll be thinking, "hey, that old stuff that used to get banned wasn't so bad after all".
Wesa
Posted 09:06pm 12/12/09
FFS!! OFLC it aint our f*****g fault that these mothers buy their kids these titles its called read the f*****g title yer its gonna have blood and you f**** ruin everything for us gamers that like seeing a s*** get killed f*** off OFLC life would be better without ya's
ctd
Posted 09:25pm 12/12/09
I turned the gore off in l4d2 cause my mums told me so.
Reverend
Posted 09:27pm 12/12/09
^ Settle pettle ..
DM
Posted 11:43pm 12/12/09
My new PC will be ready a week or so before this comes out. Good way to break it in IMO. I like the idea of the predator being more... well, predator like. Being able to jump around with that special system they have put in, and being able to get trophies is just cool as s***. I'm sure the OFLC would implode up their own asses if you had to then CLEAN the skulls between levels just like you saw in the first movie.
ravn0s
Posted 11:43pm 12/12/09
someone on the steam l4d2 forum was asking how to turn off the swearing in the game. i lolled.
Tollaz0r!
Posted 11:50pm 12/12/09
So, if this game is banned in Aus, Will there be Australian Hosted games for it?

I suppose there is a downside to dedicated servers lol.
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