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| Gaming News |
 Contextual drug use ok in Assassin: Oz Classification Board
March 10, 2009, 04:44:33 am by Matt
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The Australian Classification Board caused yet another stir down under last week, with Kotaku first reporting that upcoming stealth actioner Velvet Assassin had been given an MA15+ rating, the highest rating available for a game in Australia. The decision would ordinarily be unremarkable, except for the fact that Velvet Assassin contains morphine as a type of in-game power-up. Last year, Fallout 3 was initially refused classification down under because it showed positive effects from in-game drug use--specifically, morphine.
While it may seem somewhat contradictory, the Classification Board has stood by its decision. GameSpot AU contacted the Board, and in an emailed response, stated that the morphine use in Velvet Assassin did not significantly improve the main character Violette's abilities, and that its use was appropriate within the historical and medical context of the drug.
"The drug references consist of references to morphine and the presence of syringes that can be collected by the players within each mission. The syringes allow the player to have morphine implicitly administered to them a limited number of times. The morphine links back to the reality of Violette being administered the drug in hospital. Although the use of morphine enables the player to better complete difficult parts of a mission, the applicant has stated that it does not lead to killings being more violent, to the demise of more enemies, or a better outcome for the player or the character of Violette," the Board response stated.
"While the general rule in the Classification Guidelines state that 'material that contains drug use (...) related to incentives or rewards is Refused Classification', the Board is of the opinion that the incentives in the game are very nuanced and mitigated by the historical and medical context of the references to the drug. The drug references are no higher than moderate in playing impact. They can therefore be accommodated within a lower classification, but warrant the additional consumer advice of drug references."
Velvet Assassin is a WWII-themed shooter which casts you in the role of spy Violette Summers. In the game, Violette is in a hospital, with all of the missions playing out in her unconscious mind. According to our last preview, morphine use triggers an effect in Violet's current, coma-stricken state in which she'll temporarily grow more powerful in her dreams.
Fallout 3's use of morphine, on the other hand, led to more positive effects, hence its original banning, the Board stated. "The player can also select and use Morphine (a proscribed drug) which has the positive effect of enabling the character to ignore limb pain when the character’s extremities are targeted by the enemy. In the Board’s view the drug use, in particular the use of a proscribed drug, via means of selection from a menu, is related to incentives and rewards as the incentive to take the drug is to progress through the game more easily and the reward is an increase in the character’s abilities."
Under Australian law, computer games can be given a maximum classification of MA15+, as opposed to film or DVDs, which can carry up to an R18+ rating (the R rating prohibits sales to anyone under the age of 18 years old). Any games that do not fit under the Classification Board’s definition of MA15+ are refused classification. Fallout 3 was eventually passed with the MA15+ classification in Australia after the references to morphine were removed.
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id not Rage-ing in '09
March 10, 2009, 04:42:14 am by Matt
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Until it issues a definitive proclamation, id Software traditionally responds to inquiries about a game's release date with the mantra "When it's done." However, this past weekend saw an exception to that rule when Todd Hollenshead let slip that the Doom developer's upcoming game Rage won't arrive in 2009.
"No, it won't be out this year," the id CEO stated flatly in a GameTrailers interview posted last Friday.
The news comes as a blow to those anticipating Rage, which was first shown to the public at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in 2007. In development for the Mac, PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, the not-quite-open-world action game will let players drive around a postapocalyptic hellscape, Road Warrior-style.
Instead of said film's mohawked motorcyclists in seatless chaps, the game features bloodthirsty mutants who roam the wastelands between human settlements. To fight them off, players will be able to mount all manner of weapons on their vehicles, as outlined in GameSpot's QuakeCon preview.
With Rage not due until 2010 at the earliest, only one game bearing the id label will arrive this year. The suburban-Dallas-based studio is executive-producing Wolfenstein, the relaunch of the Nazis-meet-demons franchise in development at Madison, Wisconsin-based Raven Software. id is also in the early stages of development on Doom 4, the latest installment in its genre-founding shooter series.
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Godfather II golden
March 10, 2009, 04:39:24 am by Matt
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Shortly after it reported dismal holiday earnings last month, Electronic Arts finally dated Godfather II after a high-profile delay. The EA Redwood Shores-developed game will simultaneously launch on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on April 7 in North America and April 10 in Europe. It is rated M for Mature by the ESRB in the US, and bears an 18+ PEGI rating across the Atlantic.
Based on both Francis Ford Coppola's eponymous 1974 film and Mario Puzo's original Godfather novel, the Godfather II casts players as an associate of Don Michael Corleone on the eve of the Cuban Revolution. As the game progresses, players will themselves becoming bosses, organizing criminal enterprises, and building up their own army of thugs. As outlined in GameSpot's recent preview, when things get violent, the game shifts from a top-down strategic view to the street level, where Grand Theft Auto-style open-world armed havoc ensues.
EA is hoping to build on the success of the original Godfather, which sold nearly 1.5 million copies at US retailers, according to the NPD Group. The decently received game was released on the PC, Xbox, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 2 in 2006, and Wii and PlayStation 3 editions arrived the following year. Its success did not come without controversy, though. After it was roundly condemned by Coppola, Puzo's estate successfully sued EA over unpaid royalties, eventually winning at least $1 million.
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Games out March 9 - 13th
March 10, 2009, 04:38:08 am by Matt
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The biggest game to come out in Australia this week is without a doubt Resident Evil 5 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game follows the story of Chris Redfield as he investigates a viral outbreak in the fictitious African nation of Kijuju, with the help of a local operative called Shiva Alomar. Shiny new graphics aside, you can recruit a second player to control Alomar and blast through the campaign cooperatively, but don't worry, you can still play it solo. Be sure to keep checking back for all of the latest RE5 information in our launch centre before the game's release this Thursday.
After being rescued from development limbo by Ubisoft, World in Conflict: Soviet Assault is finally ready to deploy. Soviet Assault introduces six new missions from the side of the aggressors. To go along with the new missions, white phosphorus bombs have been introduced as a new tactical aid. World in Conflict: Soviet Assault will be available as a stand-alone product, or bundled with the original World in Conflict.
The final game worthy of mention this week is Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box for the PC. Though it doesn't bring anything new to the table, The Ultimate Box combines all of the downloadable content that has been released along with the original retail game from 2008 in one neat package for the PC. Be sure to keep an eye out for Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box when it comes out later this week.
March 11, 2009
Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2009 (PS3, 360, Wii)
NPPL Championship Paintball 2009 (PS3, 360, Wii, PS2)
March 12, 2009
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (PS2)
Resident Evil 5 (PS3, 360)
Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box (PC)
Grey's Anatomy (DS, Wii, PC)
Sam Power: Footballer (DS)
Tenchu: Shadow Assassins (Wii)
Scrabble 2009 Edition (DS)
Trivial Pursuit (PS3, 360, Wii, PS2)
MySims Party (DS, Wii)
World in Conflict: Complete Edition (PC)
World in Conflict: Soviet Assault (PC)
Sonic and the Black Knight (Wii)
Bleach: Dark Souls (DS)
Petz: My Horsez Family (DS)
From GameSpot
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Alex Kidd, Gradius find ReBirth on Wii
March 10, 2009, 04:36:43 am by Matt
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Gradius has already seen its fair share of play on the Virtual Console, with a host of classic installments in the franchise making their way onto Nintendo's online store, ranging from the original 2D shooter to Salamander to Life Force. This week, though, Konami is changing up the game a bit, releasing a new installment in the franchise for WiiWare.
Titled Gradius ReBirth, Konami's latest game in the venerable series again sees gamers hopping into the cockpit of the Vic Viper as they attempt to mow down seemingly insurmountable waves of treacherous alien creatures. The 2D side-scrolling shooter offers play for one, but also features global leaderboards for Internet-enabled consoles. It is available for 1,000 Wii points ($10).
Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars represents this week's Virtual Console release. Originally released for arcades in 1986 and ported to Sega's Master System in 1988, The Lost Stars features the titular primate-like Kidd platforming across six levels in an effort to capture 12 wayward zodiac signs. As with other Master System releases, it can be purchased for 500 Wii points ($5).
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