The Australian Classification Board has banned the upcoming computer game Syndicate. No doubt it would have qualified for an 18 rating, but as there isn't one then the game was banned.
The Australian censors justified their decision as
follows:
In the Board's view this game warrants an 'RC' classification in accordance with rule 1(d):
Computer games that: are unsuitable for a minor to see or play will be Refused
Classification.
The game contains violence that is high in impact and is therefore unsuitable for persons aged under 18 years to play.
The game is set in a futuristic dystopia where people have
computer chips in their heads that allow them to interact with the "dataverse", It is a first person shooter with realistically rendered graphics. A player controls Kilo, an agent of one of the "Syndicates" (powerful corporations), as
he moves through levels completing objectives such as rescuing Eurocorp employees and extracting chips from people's heads.
In order to complete the missions, a player has to engage in intense combat with swarms of enemy
combatants who are clad in light armour. A variety of weapons is available and these often cause decapitation, dismemberment and gibbing during frenetic gunfights. For example, an intense sequence of violence commences when a player collects a "G290
minigun", which operates much like a Gatling gun. A player moves through a building rapidly firing at enemy combatants. Combatants take locational damage and can be explicitly dismembered, decapitated or bisected by the force of the gunfire. The
depictions are accompanied by copious bloodspray and injuries are shown realistically and with detail, Flesh and bone are often exposed while arterial sprays of blood continue to spurt from wounds at regular intervals.
Similar
injuries can be caused by many other weapons, including shotguns, high-calibre revolvers, sniper rifles, assault rifles, rocket launchers, laser guns and grenades.
The game also allows a player to repeatedly damage enemy
combatants' corpses. This is shown in realistic depictions. For example, it is possible for a player to decapitate a corpse with a headshot before individually blowing off each of its limbs. Depending on the weapon used, it is also possible to bisect a
corpse, with realistic ragdoll effects noted. The depictions are again accompanied by arterial sprays of blood and detailed injuries that include protruding bone.
Throughout the game, a player consistently encounters unarmed
civilians and has the choice of whether to target them or riot. Civilians can be shot, accompanied by copious bloodspray, but it is not possible to decapitate or dismember them, whether they are alive or dead. Their corpses can still be targeted,
resulting in bloodspray only. In single player mode, the game treats civilian deaths neutrally, but it is noted that in cooperative gameplay, points are awarded for civilian casualties.
In the opinion of the Board, the game
contains intense sequences of violence which include detailed depictions of decapitation and dismemberment that are high in playing impact. The game also contains the ability to inflict repeated and realistic post mortem damage which exceeds strong in
playing impact.
It is therefore unsuitable for a minor to see or play and is therefore Refused Classification.
Update: Meanwhile at the BBFC
24th December 2011.From
bbfc.co.uk
The BBFC has passed Syndicate 18 uncut with the consumer advice: Contains strong bloody violence.
The game includes 1 hour of video or cut scenes.