Why F.E.A.R. 2 Was Banned In Australia

Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification has explained why it refused to issue a rating for the upcoming horror-shooter F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, and the answer contains precisely zero percent of your recommended daily intake of surprise.

No, the boys at Monolith didn't slip in any unexpected sex scenes or hardcore drug use; this classification refusal is all about the violence. Games On Net says the OFLC deemed the violent content "high in impact" and "unsuitable for a minor to play," citing as examples a nail gun that can be used to pin bad guys to walls, after which they will fall to the ground "in a bloody mass," and a sniper rifle that will "tear bodies apart at close range."

If all this is sounding pretty damned sweet to you, then read on, 'cause there's more.

"[The protagonist] uses his sub machine gun to explicitly bisect an enemy, the two parts of the body lying separately on the ground, with copious blood spray," the board noted in one specific example of in-game action it used to back up its decision. "There are also a number of explicit close range decapitations involving both human and mutant creatures. The decapitations are the result of close-up throat slashing from behind and close-up gunshots to the throat." The "copious blood spray" covers walls, objects and even the game's "camera lens," while partially-dismembered corpses and severed heads also feature prominently.

The ratings board also blamed the game's "enhanced graphics" and "realistic behavior of human and mutant foes" for the decision, which it said heightened the impact of the violence to the point where it "cannot be accommodated at the MA15+ classification."

This isn't a videogame rating, this is the foundation for an Editor's Choice review.

In any case, no great shock here: The Australian authorities think that over-the-top, blood-drenched violence is inappropriate for minors. You know what? We agree. But keeping it out of the hands of married, employed, socially-responsible 27-year-olds isn't the answer. On the upside, the OFLC has given the green light to the uncensored release of Grand Theft Auto IV on the PC, so while you may be a little lacking in the "copious blood spray" department, you'll at least be able to take drugs, bang hookers, run people down and then shoot them dead. But with less blood spray.

Figure that one out.

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OK, makes sense, but HOLY SHIT I'M SO EXCITED NOW! It's like F.E.A.R. + Condemned = Best monolith shooter evar!

(I do miss NOLF though)

All this did was make me want this game more, and I already was super hyped for it.

This does actually make me excited about the game.

Huh.

Wow... this is exactly what people want to see. Not only is the game violent, but it's fun to play on top of that? I feel sorry for all the aussies out there.

Australia never seems do disappoint when you look for a worse place for gaming that's for sure. No offense, I think Australia is a great place but these bans are ridiculous. And what's so bad about blood anyway? Ok so it's not exactly sunshine and flowers but it's a normal thing. Every single person, animal and alien(maybe not the same color) has it. I seriously fail to see how killing mind controlled enemies bent on destroying you with more blood is worse than squishing, shooting, bombing and decapitating thousands of innocents as Niko Bellik with less blood.

Jursa:
Australia never seems do disappoint when you look for a worse place for gaming that's for sure. No offense, I think Australia is a great place but these bans are ridiculous. And what's so bad about blood anyway? Ok so it's not exactly sunshine and flowers but it's a normal thing. Every single person, animal and alien(maybe not the same color) has it. I seriously fail to see how killing mind controlled enemies bent on destroying you with more blood is worse than squishing, shooting, bombing and decapitating thousands of innocents as Niko Bellik with less blood.

Cuz it's icky...we don't want kids seeing icky things!

It seems like Australia has refused to issue a rating for a lot of games recently.

Really goes to show how stupid the authorities are when they allow GTA and ban a horror game.

They should just change the blood to grey and call it sweat. Worked for Mortal Kombat on the SNES.

Malygris:
"realistic behavior of human and mutant foes"

Does anyone else find that to be extremely funny? How do they know what kind of behavior is realistic for mutants?

Virgil:
They should just change the blood to grey and call it sweat. Worked for Mortal Kombat on the SNES.

Doom 2 on the GBA, they changed the blood from red to green and the game went form M to T.

That would be quite a lot of sweat. I could see the green blood working out though. Then again Australia seems to have this knack for entertaining me recently.

I mean seriously it is like a badge of honor for certain games to get banned in Australia. Then again I do feel bad for the Aussie gamers out there that actually have to deal with it or get their games from somewhere else.

Game sounds cool as well.

For a country that has regular "roots on the beach" I'm surprised that they wont let a game thats violent in to the country. I mean half of the wildlife in Australia will kill you, a red pixel or two isn't going to hurt

Yes, but you see, when you click that fire button, and the red pixels show on screen....THEN IT IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY!

Not wanting to sound like a wet blanket. But would toning down the gore just a tad really be that bad a 'sacrifice'? Unless your a medically diagnosed Sadist I cant see why not having a guys fall to bits in a cloud of blood when you shoot them is such a bad thing.

Cousin_IT:
Not wanting to sound like a wet blanket. But would toning down the gore just a tad really be that bad a 'sacrifice'? Unless your a medically diagnosed Sadist I cant see why not having a guys fall to bits in a cloud of blood when you shoot them is such a bad thing.

I'm going to assume that the gore is overblown by the classifcation board. This sounds a lot like the first game.

Is it wrong that I want this game now? It's probably wrong.

I want it.

geeeezzz so this mean that my friends that have been in Australia are rigth. It is a great place to live if you´re not a gamer that is.If anyone is going to rise to contest this kind of opression you´l have my vote.

So...the exact same things as in F.E.A.R. 1 and yet didn't that get to shelves?

Have the Australians done anything about their lack of an 18 rating yet?
It's bizarre why things get banned. Wasn't the fallout issue over the name of the drugs involved? But that's almost as violent.

SigmondK:

I mean seriously it is like a badge of honor for certain games to get banned in Australia. Then again I do feel bad for the Aussie gamers out there that actually have to deal with it or get their games from somewhere else.

Everyone must own! Best game of the year, buy FEAR 2 now! It's so violent it was [demonic voice] banned in Australia![/demonic voice]

Eldritch Warlord:

SigmondK:

I mean seriously it is like a badge of honor for certain games to get banned in Australia. Then again I do feel bad for the Aussie gamers out there that actually have to deal with it or get their games from somewhere else.

Everyone must own! Best game of the year, buy FEAR 2 now! It's so violent it was [demonic voice] banned in Australia![/demonic voice]

And now you can only get it from GAMETRADERS ROBINA

well ok that's the first thing I thought of when I envisioned a demonic voice...although envisioned is not the right word for that. Enheard?

Huh, violence in a game, nothing new here but this does raise my eyebrow:

The Australian authorities think that over-the-top, blood-drenched violence is inappropriate for minors. You know what? We agree. But keeping it out of the hands of married, employed, socially-responsible 27-year-olds isn't the answer.

Someone needs to explain to your politicians and their bureaucrats that games have been played by adults for a long, long time - they seem to think games are only for kids or some such nonsense. Lets see, what are the usual methods of protest ... petition, write, phone, and make a bunch of noise outside your representative's office doors, right? Best of luck in working this one out Australia, if you can come up with the War on Everything, I'm pretty sure you can nip this one in the bud.

Hmm, I'm curious, are there any game development studios in Australia?

Not wanting to sound like a wet blanket. But would toning down the gore just a tad really be that bad a 'sacrifice'? Unless your a medically diagnosed Sadist I cant see why not having a guys fall to bits in a cloud of blood when you shoot them is such a bad thing.

It's more about your choices, if the authorities can decide what is and isn't appropriate for everyone then eventually restrictions just get tighter and tighter as we get even more and more politically correct and overly protective. And the situation in Australia is a good example of this, with effectively only 1 person standing between 18+ rated games, but because he doesn't like the idea no one has a say (and if you've seen the recent interviews anyone who does speak up gets slapped down with ad hominem attacks).

And I personally like the idea of ratings on games, it gives parents clear guidelines on what they may or may not find appropriate and make an informed decision (although the situation in the UK is really terrible atm). But to disallow 18 rated games is a simply stupid move, games that would have been given 18 ratings (as they have in other countries worldwide) receive 15 ratings which really waters down the actual meaning behind ratings, and who is this 1 man to say that a 30 year old can not buy this game because it has been deemed unsuitable for children under 15? You enforce ratings through public knowledge and good conduct, this is a prime example of public misinformation and bad conduct.

CanadianWolverine:

Hmm, I'm curious, are there any game development studios in Australia?

The first one that comes to mind is "2K Australia" (Bioshock)

Cousin_IT:
Not wanting to sound like a wet blanket. But would toning down the gore just a tad really be that bad a 'sacrifice'? Unless your a medically diagnosed Sadist I cant see why not having a guys fall to bits in a cloud of blood when you shoot them is such a bad thing.

First of all, surreality in violence can be enjoyable without being a sadist. Also, sadism isn't about blood and gore. It's about pain and suffering. Blood and gore is just a byproduct of causing suffering.

Also, never bend at the knee for censorship. To use a classic movie example, Jacob's Ladder. Specifically, the hospital scene. There are bloody chunks that get run over, blood, gore, and general nastiness. Could you have done the scene without it? Technically yes. Would it have had the same effect? Not even close.

The OFLC seems to want to go "It was freaking AWESOME, guys! But uh, don't let your teenagers play it."

Why doesn't Australia have a 17+ age rating? Explain that one to this Yankee.

It's all political. They banned that Mark Ekko graffiti game because it would encourage kids to go out and tag walls, because one politician saw it and took exception to it. This internet censorship deal they're trying to push through will include a ban on online gambling, because one of the people they need to convince thinks that online gambling is Satan in the flesh. These self-righteous cocksnarks aren't protecting anyone. They're using this as a vote-generating machine. They pick a hot-button issue, ban a game, then declare to the world at large, "LOOK AT ME AND MY CHILD-PROTECTING EFFORTS!!!".

Wow, what happened to you Australia? You used to be cool.

I was not planning to buy FEAR 2, but now I think I might.

Interesting how the Australian authorities have such a problem with surreal violence in video games, but has no problem with blowing up real people in Iraq as part of a "coalition of the willing".

Hypocrite much?

I thought Fear 2 and Project origin were two different games. Didn't the makers of FEAR split up with the publishers or something, leaving the publishers with the name and the developers with the characters? Or am i getting confuse?