Today, February 24th 2012 marks the day that Syndicate would have been released on Australian shelves. That is, had it not been refused classification by the Australian Classification Board for high-impact-violence that was deemed beyond the boundaries of Australia's maximum-allowed MA15+ rating.

Fortunately, the game is still on sale everywhere else in the world, including our neighbours across the ditch in New Zealand, and although Australian Customs technically supposed to seize imported copies of RC'd material, it doesn't seem to occur very frequently, and certainly not to digitally distributed copies in the case of the PC version.

AusGamers regular, Nachosjustice tried his luck with the online import route and was fortunately able to hold back the murderous killing spree that the game beckoned of him just long enough to share some rather positive findings.

No matter which way you cut it, Australia really missed out on the first best FPS title of 2012. The list of cons seems minor in comparison to Syndicate’s overall win for linear shooter experiences. Hopefully Syndicate sells well enough so by the time Syndicate 2 hits shelves, we’ll have an R18+ rating in place that negates whatever gripes the future Classification Board might have with another classy shooter from a top-notch developer.

Read the full review to find out why Syndicate is one of the best games you won't see on Australian shelves for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2012.

EA's much anticipated reboot of Syndicate is now available on Origin, to everyone other than those living in Australia.

Set in 2069, Syndicate takes players into a dark, Machiavellian world where corporations are vying for market dominance. With no government to question their intentions or actions, mega corporations are at the forefront of this war. Stepping into the mind of Miles Kilo, Eurocorp’s latest prototype agent, gamers embark on a brutal action adventure full of corruption and revenge.

Syndicate features the talents of celebrated actors Rosario Dawson (Sin City, Men in Black II) and Brian Cox (The Bourne Identity), who take on the roles of cutthroat executives working for the biggest and most aggressive syndicate. The engaging storyline was penned by award-winning sci-fi writer Richard Morgan (Altered Carbon, Thirteen) who has brought these deeply conflicted characters to life in an unforgiving world where violence, corruption, technology and betrayal have become the everyday tools of business.

You can check out the launch trailer below if you missed it, and if you have somehow procured yourself a copy, let us know in the comments on your thoughts.

With the recent news that Australia wouldn't be seeing a release of Syndicate due to a refusal of classification (RC), it still doesn't stop the clock ticking for the game's imminent release elsewhere. To celebrate this, EA and Starbreeze have released a new trailer ahead of the game's launch, and oh boy is it awesome.

Featuring eye-bulging takedowns, skull piercing robotics, a stunningly realised sci-fi game-world and an awesome soundtrack behind to boot, this trailer really does pump you up for it's release. Check it out embedded below, or you can find the glorious HD version over here. You can also fire upon the game page for more info, screenshots and trailers, but keep the excitement to a hands in the air shouting level.

EA have released a new video for Syndicate, offering a Producer briefing on the freshly launched co-operative demo for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (No PC demo planned, unfortunately).

As the game has been refused classification by the Australian Classification Board, you're not likely to find this one on the Xbox Live or PlayStation Network if you're signing in with an account that has its region configured as Australia, however most clever gamers should be able find a way over that minor hurdle.

Watch the video embedded below and keep an eye on your favourite grey import e-stores for the February 21st 2012 release date on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

As the game has effectively been banned in Australia due to a recent refused classification ruling by the Australian Classifications Board and an unwillingness from the creators to compromise the game for censorship's sake, this latest news on EA's Syndicate is probably not going to be very useful to most of you, but the publisher has confirmed a playable demo is due this month on Xbox 360, PC and PS3 that will feature 4-player co-operative action.

The demo is destine for Origin for PC, PSN for PlayStation 3 and XBL for Xbox 360 (oddly limited to Gold subscribers only on xbox), however if you're browsing from an Australian account and address, you're not going to be able to see it on any of these.

The Syndicate co-op demo will feature one of the nine missions in the game, all of which can be played with up to four players and many of which have been reimagined from the original hit game. In this mission called Western Europe, gamers must team up and infiltrate Cayman Global, assassinate Colonel Enrico Gabron, steal his technology blueprints and force his people back across the Atlantic. The odds of success look promising with Cayman Global badly weakened after their war against Eurocorp, but it won’t come easy.

While we probably shouldn't explicitly instruct on circumvention of such region restrictions, we're sure many Aussies will want to check this one out, so feel free to share your methods with our users in the comments.

In the meantime, watch the trailer to see what you'll be missing.

Syndicate is due for release in New Zealand -- and everywhere else except Australia -- on February 24th 2012 for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The game won't being released in Australia thanks to our current classification restrictions, and publisher EA can no longer legally promote the refused classification game in Australia, but they sure aren't going to stop promoting Syndicate to the rest of the Internet.

We know that a lot of Aussies will still be interested in this one and much like last year's banned and acclaimed Mortal Kombat, there will no doubt be plenty of import options again this time, so we'll do our best to keep up with the latest info about the game.

Today we have another new trailer offering a look at the game's co-operative multiplayer component. We've already seen some co-op gameplay in the hostile takeover and New England videos, but this latest one introduces the four characters that players will be able to choose from.

Watch it embedded below or click here for the HD video page.

Syndicate is due on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 everywhere else in the world except Australia on February 24th 2012.

Following yesterday's news of EA and Starbreeze's Syndicate revival having been refused classification by the Australian Classification Board, EA have released an official statement confirming that they will not be appealing the decision, nor modifying the game to confirm to an MA15+ rating. Here's the official line:

"It’s regrettable that government policy in Australia is denying adults the right to play Syndicate. The game will be not be available in Australia despite its enthusiastic response from fans. We were encouraged by the government’s recent agreement to adopt an 18+ age rating for games. However, delays continue to force an arcane censorship on games – cuts that would never be imposed on books or movies. We urge policy makers to take swift action to implement an updated policy that reflects today’s market and gives its millions of adult consumers the right to make their own content choices."

While it's disappointing that we won't be seeing the game on local shelves, it's encouraging to see a developer sticking to their vision and not dishing us a watered down local version.

According to the ACB report, excessive violence is the line-crossing issue, much like the similarly fated Mortal Kombat. This time around, it seems decapitation, dismemberment and potential for corpse tampering are the key hang-ups that make this game unsuitable for Australia's 15 year old cut off rating.

Syndicate is due to launch everywhere else in the world (including next door in New Zealand) on February 24th 2012 on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Despite positive steps towards introducing an R18+ rating in Australia, it won't come soon enough to save EA's new Syndicate remake from being slapped with an RC rating by the Classification board. No reasoning is given on the Classification website, however Kotaku has been given the full report, which they've linked to in their article on the banning located here.

Having a look through the report, it mainly focuses on concerns around how the player can quite violently dismember and mutilate people with the various in-game weapons, but also that it gives you the ability to "repeatedly damage enemy combatant’s corpses".

There's no word as yet if EA will be appealing the decision or planning to release a toned down version of the game similar to the low-violence version of Left 4 Dead 2.

EA and Starbreeze have released a new Syndicate trailer, this time showing off the game's character augmentations that will give you the upper-hand in combat through intense, on-the-fly tactical recourse.

There's some seriously cool stuff in here, and helps show that while the game obviously borrows a lot from its source material and other sci-fi shooters such as Deus Ex, at its core it's much more visceral and combat focused. The trailer also gives us a glimpse at the maturity of the game, with its over-the-top violence -- always a welcome feature.

Syndicate releases for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 February 24, 2012.

Watch embedded below or click here for a direct HD link.

19 weapons, 87 attachments and 25 upgrades is the tagline from EA's latest trailer for Syndicate, the upcoming first person shooter in development at Starbreeze Studios. These numbers might fall a bit short of some of the modern military shooters we've seen recently, but -- similar to the recent Deus Ex: Human Revolution -- the unconventional sci-fi designs make this a very different experience.

Watch the clip embedded below or here for a direct link

Syndicate is due on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on February 23 2012

The interview hits keep coming (and will for a while, believe me), and today we have a video interview and transcript feature for an interview we did out at the recent EA Showcase in Las Vegas.

Plenty of games were on-show at the event, including our recently reviewed and the very popular Battlefield 3, but there was also a title that has somewhat come out of left-field and left many people scratching their heads, others weeping in the corner and many more very excited.

I'm in the latter group, and after having gone hands-on, I sat down with the game's executive producer, Jeff Gamon.

Click here for the full interview feature

EA have released a new trailer for the recently revealed Syndicate. The latest video shows off the game's four player cooperative offering, which features a supplementary narrative to the main solo campaign.

Create your own 4-player co-op team;cooperate, infiltrate and eliminate through nine action-packed missions, inspired by the original Syndicate game, in this new sci-fi first person shooter Syndicate, where BUSINESS is WAR.

Watch the trailer embedded below or click here for the HD option.

Syndicate is due on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on February 24th 2012.

Further to the new gameplay demo video released for Syndicate today, we also have a hands-on report of just what the game feels like to play from a hands-on session AusGamers had while out at the recent EA Showcase in Las Vegas.

Today's video is 11-minutes long, however, we actually played around with the demo for a bit longer, and explored a bit more of what's on offer. Thankfully, having said video to look at alongside our impressions is a better way to relay more of what the game is like to play, rather than just explaining all the nuts and bolts that keeps it together. Suffice to say though, there's a lot to get excited about here.

Click here for our full hands-on preview.

Although the development of a Syndicate game at Swedish studio Starbreeze was largely known before it's official announcement by EA a few weeks ago, the February 24th 2012 release date still came as a surprise.

If you thought EA might not have enough time to get the hype machine rolling, it looks like they're already offering some big tastes of the game with 2 new trailers landing this morning.

First up, we have an Origins trailer which offers a trip down memory lane to Bullfrog's original 1993 hit, but the one you really want to watch is this 11 minute gameplay walkthrough which serves up an extended look at the same section of the game that was revealed to press at EA's revent Las Vegas Showcase event.

Watch it embedded below ,click here for the HD option or download the 800MB high bitrate source.

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There's an all-new Syndicate gameplay trailer we've uploaded for you today, and after yours truly just landed from EA's Vegas showcase where I actually got to play the game, I want to tell all the naysayers out there, it's fricking awesome.

There's a decent amount of variety shown in today's video, but we also have a batch of new screens direct from the event, and I'll be getting my impressions up in preview form soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

Running off the same engine Starbreeze used for both Chronicles of Riddick and The Darkness, Syndicate not only looks the goods, but feels fast, fluid and comfortable, and has nudged its way into my 2012 must-have list already.

Watch the trailer embedded below, or click here for the HD option. You can also check out our new screens by clicking the supplied thumbnails.

In rather exciting news out that has caught many by surprise, Electronic Arts have not only revealed a revival of the classic Syndicate franchise, but also that it's in the works at the very competent Starbreeze Studios, the swedish-based developer that brought us The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay and The Darkness.

Set in 2069, Syndicate takes players into a dark, Machiavellian world run without government oversight with many syndicates vying for total dominance of their local market place. With no one to question their intentions or actions, three mega corporations – Eurocorp, Cayman Global, and Aspari – are at the forefront of this brutal war for control of the pivotal American market. In the world of Syndicate, everything is digitally connected, including the people. Players aren’t limited to the weapons in their hands. Through DART 6 bio-chip technology implanted in their head, players can slow down time and breach the digital world around them to take down their foes using a variety of upgradable hacking mechanics. Syndicate’s blend of fast-paced, futuristic, action shooter settings and story combined with innovative chip breach gameplay instantly immerses players in a unique digital world.

Unlike it's isometric-view ancestors, this new game will take the form of a first person shooter and will also include a 4 player cooperative campaign.

“Our goal with Syndicate is to provide a challenging action shooter for today’s gamers as well as fans of the original. I’m sure they will enjoy and recognize the legacy that made it such a classic,” says Jeff Gamon, EA Partners Executive Producer. “Fans of the franchise will recognize many weapons and environments in the game, but in a whole new way. The game also provides a separate and deep 4-player co-op mode featuring missions from the original cult classic, which adds another layer of depth to the overall experience.”

The first screenshots can be found over on our new Syndicate game page.

Syndicate is slated for an "early 2012" release on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.