Dark Sector refused classification in Australia

360 News | Game not dead in Australia yet.

One of the first announced "next generation" titles was Dark Sector. We were lucky enough to get a hands on with the game at the recent eGames expo.

(AFA Interactive), the game's distributor in Australia has confirmed today that Dark Sector has been refused classification by the OFLC. D3P will be releasing a formal statement on the ban shortly, but Adam Zweck, AFA's product manager made the comment that "This is certainly not the end of the line for the game however, just a pretty substantial, but temporary, set-back."

According to IGN, the OFLC's report on Dark Sector describes the title as a "violent and sometimes gruesome game with a sinister storyline and ominous outcome. The violence and aggression inflicted upon the protagonist is of a high level, naturalistic and not stylised at all."

Apparantly there are several paragraphs detailing some of the excessive examples of violence in the game and the impact it will have, the impact "exceeds strong and as such cannot be accomplished in a MA15+ classification."

One such example of the extreme violence is "When Hayden cuts off his opponent's limb with the glaive, large amounts of blood spray forth from the stump and the injured person screams in agony which increases the impact." The report also mentions that some of the most violent elements of the gameplay, including "decapitation, dismemberment of limbs accompanied by large blood spurts, neck breaking twists and exploding bodies with post-action twitching body parts" are "relatively easy to accomplish".

Related Dark Sector Content

Dark Sector re-classified in Australia
06 Jul, 2008 No longer refused classification.

Australia to receive 'toned down' Dark Sector
01 Apr, 2008 Domestic version to be based on Japanese build.

Dark Sector Preview
27 Feb, 2008 We go hands on with the RC version. Should you care about the ban?

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44 Comments

Sinthesys

4 years ago

Maybe they should have a special "behind the counter" section for 18+ games, or only sell them in places where only 18+ people can enter, like liquor stores and adult shops. There are plent of options to stop children getting games that aren't rated for them, but the people in power aren't interested, as they don't see gamers as being a very powerful demographic. People need to write more letters and make more calls, however, gamers are notoriously lazy and would only complain if there was an online way of doing it.

Shadow Wave

4 years ago

I can only see as games progress to be more photo realistic this will become worse and worse.

Annihilation

4 years ago

i would actually like it if a poor demented gamer who played some MA15+ game went and shot up the OFLC building with a fkn assault rifle.

i did have a point to go with this, but now i cant remember

coco_bagel

4 years ago

The thing is they are censoring games that are heavily submerged in fantasy, i mean Zombies, Diseased giant ape like creature and the Glaive (can't spell it) that chops these creatures up and causes limbs to go flying materializes from the characters freaking arm! how the hell is a kid going to get anything in this game confused with reality?

Frozencry

4 years ago

WHAT?!

*explodes*

Saddle up and get the Shotguns out boys, There's gonna be some limbs flying around tonight. In realtime.

If they touch precious NG2...

Seriously stupid stuff. It's fiction you morons.

coco_bagel

4 years ago

Frozencry wrote

they touched NGsigma so no doubt they will fondle NG2 to the max!

fatpizza

4 years ago

Oh well, since I can import for my PS3 it isn't a big deal however I feel sorry for xbox360 fans who won't be able to import.

Karai Pantsu

4 years ago

fatpizza wrote

Oh well, since I can import for my PS3 it isn't a big deal however I feel sorry for xbox360 fans who won't be able to import.

Chances are the ASIA version will work on PAL consoles, so 360 only players are in with a hope.

Shadow Wave

4 years ago

as long it gets through customs ok!

but yes - PS3 version for me now methinks.

seems like im buying PS3 more and more now.

Marka

4 years ago

Why cant we just allow an R rating. Make it illegal to provide R rated games to anyone under that age. Proof of identity/age required at time of purchase.

brad_sickness

4 years ago

Shadow Wave wrote

as long it gets through customs ok!

I'm sure it will, most customs workers will only check the status of items that look questionable... so unless it has like a rotting corpse on the front cover like our R4 "Day of the Dead" dvd does, I doubt that your game will get "looked up" on their RC list if your package does get opened.

emech

4 years ago

And you call yourselves mature gamers?

"Saddle up and get the Shotguns out boys, There's gonna be some limbs flying around tonight. In realtime"

"would actually like it if a poor demented gamer who played some MA15+ game went and shot up the OFLC building with a fkn assault rifle."

Clearly we have rational and intelligent responses.

OH NO - I cant simulate maiming someone. ITS AN OURAGE.

Grow up!

EDIT FOR CLARIFICATION: I would like an R rating. Indeed some of our MA games proberbly would be better suited to an R. But seriously guys - I can't violently kill someone for fun so I'm freaking upset? I can't be only one here to see a problem with that? As for movies -- most of us that watch horror do so becasue we are scared/shocked by what we see. We enjoy it becasue we get the fear in a safe environment. As many seem to be arguing, most people don't then want to go and commit the violent acts, mostly becasuse we were shocked. Yet the major complaint here is that you are being prevented from acting out those acts in a simulated environment. Sure, it doesn't mean you want to do iy in real life, but you have to wonder why you want to "do it" at all?? The fact that you are taking something that is shocking to a viewer and transferring it to something fun for a player doesn't raise any questions for you??

cosmoh

4 years ago

Relax emech, it's called venting, and it's something people do to relieve their frustration, particularly on internet forums where an anonymous opinion can be heard without any serious impact.

Now I don't see why there can't be an 18+ rating for games, if there is a problem of minors purchasing the games with adult content, then a law should be introduced. 18+ games can sit on a shelf behind the counter, and they can post up little stickers and posters saying it's the law. Fines can be introduced for selling these games to minors, hey it worked for cigarettes didn't it?

admeister

4 years ago

emech wrote

Sure, it doesn't mean you want to do iy in real life, but you have to wonder why you want to "do it" at all??

Two words: Human nature.

bozza

4 years ago

emech wrote

Clearly they were jokes. Perhaps the internet, let alone a forum, isnt the best place for you if you're unable to distinguish between comments said in seriousness and comments said in jest.

As for the rest of your dribble, people play games for entertainment, i think you'll find very few people play violent video games in lust of blood and the rush of seeing your character decapitate the enemy, they play to complete objectives, be immersed in the world and feel like they've achieved something as they progress through the game.

Certain games need to maintain the realism to suit the storyline and the universe the game is set in, the lead character will always have a personality and this needs to be replicated in every aspect of the game, including the combat. If you have some dark universe you're fighting in, then it turns into all flowers and kittens when you defeat an enemy, thats going to detract from the gameplay, the gamer no longer feels immersed in the game. Just like in a movie, if you see something thats obviously fake then it takes away from the movie and you dont enjoy it as much.

It may sound like i take games completely serious, thats not the case, however i think games, just like movies, are an artform where people get to tell a story and certain games (again, just like movies) are going to be stylized, be it certain type of graphics, or in this case extreme gore. How would people feel if they tried to censor and change Quentin Tarantino's movies? Im sure many people would be outraged, its just a shame games arent taken as seriously as movies despite an incredible amount of effort developers go to make them.

fatpizza

4 years ago

[quote="bozza"]

emech wrote

How would people feel if they tried to censor and change Quentin Tarantino's movies?

Yeah! Just imagine if the censors had gotten to kill bill vol.1 and told him to colourise the fight scene against the crazy 88's!

bozza

4 years ago

fatpizza wrote

bozza wrote

How would people feel if they tried to censor and change Quentin Tarantino's movies?

Yeah! Just imagine if the censors had gotten to kill bill vol.1 and told him to colourise the fight scene against the crazy 88's!

lolol ok my bad, yeah it happens in movies too, but i dont think it happens to the extent that they censor games, an example would be with something like No More Heroes, i dont see it as anymore violent or "damaging" than any of Tarantino movies, yet they had to remove to blood to replace it with...coins?

I dunno, i just think they should consider games and movie to be the same media since they're so closely related and should be censored more consistently with eachother.

To be honest i guess i havent thought about Tarantino's movies mostly getting R18+ ratings which gives him a little more freedom with graphic scenes, even with ma15+ or av15+ (why games dont have this rating either i dont know) i still think they get away with a lot more than games can. I guess i just dont see any logic behind why they consider games so different from movies.

Bloody Tears

4 years ago

Marka wrote

Why cant we just allow an R rating. Make it illegal to provide R rated games to anyone under that age. Proof of identity/age required at time of purchase.

Because the easier option, and therefore the better one, is to ban any and all games that don’t qualify for an M15+ rating, based on some ill-informed old farts opinion. I hope this answers your question.

emech wrote

Only to the close-minded.

You’re comparing killing demons (human-like, whatever) in a videogame to committing murder in real life. That’s why you don’t understand.

Burnout is shocking and fun but with much more potential for trouble; does your argument extend to this?

Right off the bat we’re aware that what we are experiencing is fiction, which allows us to be immersed in a world where the rules of every day life don’t apply. That’s what allows us to enjoy such violence – because it’s not real. There is a very different outcome to the violence in a videogame and that which happens in real life, and most people are aware of that. We’re usually placed in situations where we are the good guy, so everything we kill is the right thing to do, whether it resembles a human or not. The message is not to go out and kill, and people with half a brain know this. Those who link video game violence with reality are uneducated, hypocritical morons looking for a scapegoat, nothing more.

I can see why something like GTA would be considered an ‘R’ – it mimics the world we live in to great detail, allowing the user to wreak havoc in something replicating our society, which, in turn, can blur the lines between fiction and reality, but only to the select few with single digit IQ’s and redneck parents. But when games based heavily in fictional worlds start getting cut, you know we have a problem. Australia is, and rightfully so, a laughing stock when It comes to classification. The only way we’ll speed up the inevitable ‘R’ rating is if people start speaking with their wallets. Import everything! Write a letter detailing your disgust and send it through 10 times a day. Every day! For a year – no, 10 years!! They’ll soon enough get the picture.

The fact is these games aren’t hurting anyone. Those effected by them are already mentally unstable and would just as easily be influenced by movies or music, where ‘R’ rated material is easy to come by, no matter the age. The sooner the OFLC get their act together, the better it’ll be for everyone.

trixSTAR

4 years ago

thank god for ebay and the ps3 not having region locks on it games

Toastfarmer

4 years ago

I just wish Xbox 360 had that same feature

(or lack of feature depending how you look at it).

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Dark Sector

Pre-order or buy:
PALGN recommends: www.Play-Asia.com

Australian Release Date:
  10/10/2008 (Confirmed)
Standard Retail Price:
  $99.95 AU
Publisher:
  AFA Interactive
Genre:
  Shooter
Year Made:
  2007

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