This doesn’t mean the answers are no good. Not at all. Yes, a few of them are extended “no comments”, but for the most part, they shine a moderately-sized shard of light on our classification system – where the power lies, who makes the decisions and why certain decisions were made.

Here are a few highlights:

Who should I be contacting to push the need for an R18+ rating for games?

Currently, the Censorship Minister is the Attorney-General for each State or Territory and the Australian Censorship Minister is the Minister for Home Affairs.

Can I import games that have been refused classification?

Customs may detain or seize any items that are suspected of contravening the Regulations. The maximum penalty for this type of offence is a fine of up to $110,000.

In the eyes of the Board and the guidelines, what constitutes an incentive or reward?

An incentive may be the ability to progress faster through the game. A reward may be a gain in points or access to a wider choice of weapons.

Does the Board play the games it classifies?

An application for the classification of a computer game must include a copy of the game … For computer games likely to be classified G to M, industry can access a scheme that permits trained assessors to provide a recommendation for the likely classification of a computer game … Board members do not usually play a game to in order to make a classification.

This is just a taste; the full Q&A can be found after the jump. If you’re even remotely interested in games classification in this country, I highly recommend you read it.

Kotaku AU: What initiatives does the Classification Board and the Government have in place to inform consumers of games classification and the meanings behind each rating?
Classification Board: Extensive information about the National Classification Scheme, including games classifications, is available at www.ag.gov.au/classificationpolicy. Classification decisions are on the classification website.

Kotaku AU: What initiatives does the Board and the Government have in place to regulate the sale of games at point of sale?
Classification Board: The Board is not responsible for enforcement matters.

Regulation of the sale of games is the responsibility of the States and Territories. State and Territory classification enforcement legislation provides that it is an offence to sell or deliver a computer game classified MA 15+ to a minor under 15 years of age (unless the person selling or delivering the game is a parent or guardian). In Queensland, MA 15+ computer games can be sold to a person under 15 if they accompanied by an adult.

Kotaku AU: When was the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) title replaced by the Classification Board? Was this a simple change of name, or was the role and organisation of the office altered also?
Classification Board: The Office of Film and Literature Classification was the agency that provided administrative support for the Classification Board and the Classification Review Board. The OFLC did not make classification decisions. This function has always been that of the Classification Board.

On 1 July 2007 the APS staff in the former OFLC became part of the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department.

The independent classification decision-making role of the Classification Board remains unchanged.

Kotaku AU: Are games that have been refused classification considered a prohibited item and could be potentially seized by Australian Customs? Is Customs aware of which games have been refused classification? Is this information kept up-to-date and who is responsible for keeping Customs informed of RC titles?
Classification Board: The import of objectionable material into Australia is prohibited without permission under Regulation 4A of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956. The definition of objectionable material includes computer games that are unsuitable for a minor to see or play. This definition accords with the with the ‘Refused Classification’ criteria in the National Classification Scheme.

The Attorney-General’s Department is responsible for the National Classification Scheme and provides advice to Customs in relation to games have been refused classification.

Customs may detain or seize any items that are suspected of contravening the Regulations. The maximum penalty for this type of offence is a fine of up to $110,000.

Kotaku AU: In regards to campaigning for an R18+ classification for video games, who are the best people or departments to get in contact with?
Classification Board: The National Classification Scheme is a cooperative scheme. Australian, State and Territory Censorship Ministers set classification policy.

Currently, the Censorship Minister is the Attorney-General for each State or Territory and the Australian Censorship Minister is the Minister for Home Affairs.

Kotaku AU: Does the Classification Board have any say in the amendment of classification laws and guidelines? If not, is it not unusual that the office responsible for applying said laws and guidelines has no sway over their creation or alteration?
Classification Board: The Classification Board is consulted on policy issues and legislative proposals. The Director of the Board attends meetings of Censorship Ministers.

Kotaku AU: Has the Classification Board expressed a desire for an R18+ classification? Does the Board feel restricted by the current classification guidelines for computer games?
Classification Board: The Classification Board does not make public comment on policy matters.

Kotaku AU: Regarding the use of drugs in computer games – could you elaborate on what specifically made its use in Fallout 3 too much for an MA15+ rating, and what was changed in the revised version to bring it in line?
Classification Board: The Guidelines for the Classification of Films and Computer Games (the Guidelines) provide that at the MA 15+ classification (the highest classification for computer games) drug use may be strong in impact and should be justified by context. The Guidelines also provide a general rule that material that contains drug use and sexual violence related to incentives or rewards is RC (Refused Classification).

Accordingly, computer games may include the depiction of drug use. However, if the use of drugs provides an incentive or reward the computer game must be RC. An incentive may be the ability to progress faster through the game. A reward may be a gain in points or access to a wider choice of weapons.

In regard to the computer game Fallout 3, the Board is of the opinion that the use of morphine in the game has the positive effect of enabling the character to ignore limb pain. This ability to progress through the game more easily is the incentive to take the drug while the reward is in the character’s abilities.

The revised version of the game has been modified to remove the incentive and reward of progressing through the game more easily from the element of drug use. The revised version has fictional drugs depicted as stylised icons which will alter the physiological characteristics of the characters in the game.

In the decision of the Board, there is no incentive or reward to select drug use.

Kotaku AU: Regarding the portrayal of violence in video games – it appears dismemberment, decapitation; post-mortem damage and blood pooling are major issues for the Board, under the classification guidelines. Can you elaborate on what factors make these elements acceptable in the MA15+ category? For example, it appears to be acceptable in Fallout 3, but was deemed not so for Soldier of Fortune: Payback.
Classification Board: The Classification Board is of the opinion that the violence in Fallout 3 which includes large blood bursts, dismemberment and post-mortem damage is strong in impact. Strong impact violence that is justified by context can be accommodated at the MA 15+ classification.

The Board is of the opinion that the violent depictions in Soldier of Fortune: Payback exceed strong impact. In Soldier of Fortune: Payback blood spray is substantial and blood splatters on the ground and walls. The player may target various limbs of the opponents and this can result in the limb being dismembered. Large amounts of blood spray forth from the stump with the opponent sometimes remaining alive before eventually dying from the wounds. Additionally, dead bodies and blood remains on the ground. Dead bodies on the ground may be repeatedly attacked. The limbs may be shot off, resulting in large amounts of blood spray and the depiction of torn flesh and protruding bone from the dismembered limb. Shooting the head of a body will cause it to explode in a large spray of blood, leaving a bloody stump above the shoulders. Bodies will eventually disappear from the environment.

The impact provided by the amount of blood and detail of dismemberment in Soldier of Fortune: Payback exceeds that can be accommodated at MA 15+ (such as the depictions in Fallout 3).

Kotaku AU: Why does the Classification Board not make reports freely available on its website, while reports from the Classification Review Board are? Is it possible this position could change in the future?
Classification Board: Classification decisions are posted on the website and the reasons for the decision are available upon request.

Kotaku AU: Does the Board play any of the games it classifies? What materials are provided to the Board from the publisher/submitter to aid the Board in the classification process? Is it a requirement board members play the games they classify?
Classification Board: An application for the classification of a computer game must include a copy of the game. Other material must also be provided and this is outlined in the application form for the classification of computer games which you can access in the computer games section of the classification website.

For computer games likely to be classified G to M, industry can access a scheme that permits trained assessors to provide a recommendation for the likely classification of a computer game. The assessors must provide a detailed report of the game and gameplay of contentious material. Contentious material is material that is likely to be classified M or higher. In order to use this scheme, industry assessors must attend training that is approved by the Director of the Classification Board, and once trained, the Director authorises the assessors to make recommendations. They are called authorised assessors.

Board members do not usually play a game to in order to make a classification. Applicants submit recordings of game play at each level of complexity to assist the Board. The Board may also request a demonstration of the computer game by the applicant to ensure they experience all aspects of game play and can assess all elements.

Take this rant today by Ross Fitzgerald over at The Australian, regarding the SCAG’s decision to consult the public on the R18+ rating.Fitzgerald first remarks on a comment made by Quentin Tarantino on the OFLC qualifying the violence in Kill Bill. According to the piece, the comment was: “How violent are the movies here, when this is ‘medium’?”. Fitzgerald then goes on to ask why the SCAG, based on this comment, did not investigate “whether levels of violence in Australian entertainment are set too high”.

All I can say is Ross, that’s an excellent point. But how is an R18+ rating for video games going to hurt this situation? If anything, it’ll mean games currently slipping into the MA15+ category will be correctly rated.

Given that this is the first time SCAG is composed entirely of ALP attorneys-general…

Sorry, I’m going to stop you right here. I know it’s a lot to ask, but less political bias and more on the issue at hand, please? Take your left-wing/right-wing/turkey breast somewhere else, because we don’t care. We really don’t.

Back to the show:

… one would have thought they would have at least paid lip service to their 2007 federal election platform, which stated that the ALP was most concerned about violence and sexual violence in classification matters and that federal Labor would in fact commission an extensive research project on the impact of the portrayal of violence on our society. So why don’t the Labor attorneys-general just honour their commitment to convene this inquiry and get the research under way?

Maybe because they have? If you read the latest notes regarding the public consultation, you’ll see that the attorneys-general are in the process of putting together a discussion paper that will contain research on the issue. This is for the benefit of not only the AGs, but the public and interest groups as well. Sounds like they have the right idea to me.

I’m no supporter of Atkinson’s deep social conservatism.

Fantastic, neither are we!

Fitzgerald goes on to stipulate that R-rated films are around 80 percent violence and 20 percent sex. I’m not going to ask where these statistics are from, but I’m happy to assume, for the sake of argument, that they’re reasonably accurate. He mentions that if it’s plain old sex you’re after, there’s X-rated porn that’ll serve your purpose.

There is no suggestion that R-rated computer games will be any different from R-rated films in this regard and so this will be a category for mindless and instructive violence for those who get off on this sort of thing.

Wow. Just… wow. Way to miss the point, Fitzy. It’s okay though, I’m happy to entertain this argument. Let’s have a look at two recent games that have been banned here, but overseas received an adults-only rating.

Most recently, there’s Dark Sector. We’re getting a modified version that has no decapitation and other forms of dismemberment removed from human characters. Otherwise, it’s the same version the rest of the world has. Graphic, maybe, but I fail to see how it’s instructional, unless humans somehow gain the ability to throw glaives from their arms and aliens invade the Earth.

Next, there’s Soldier of Fortune: Payback. The OFLC banned this title, then Activision came back with a new version the board approved that had reduced ragdoll physics and blood effects, and no dismemberment. Apart for these changes, it’s the same game the rest of the world got.

Now, the setting in SoF is a lot more realistic than that of Dark Sector and the series has always been (sadly) about the gore rather than gameplay. But it’s still about a nigh-invincible mercenary jumping into foreign countries and taking out entire armies solo.

If an adult is taking instruction or “getting off” on either of these games, I don’t think the problem is with the classification system. Just like no one is going to rent out Rambo 4 in the belief it’ll make them some sort of unkillable commando. It’s just stupid.

I will say that if there’s any game that should be R-rated, it’s SoF: Payback. I actually agree with the board’s decision here – the game is pretty absurd with its violence – but denying adults the right to purchase the game as the developer intended is a disservice to our rights. It doesn’t matter if it contains mindless violence – if I want to play a game like SoF, I should be able to. Being able to separate fantasy from reality is not the issue – of course we’re mature enough to do that. We can do it for films with an R rating and we can just as easily do it for games.

Countries with R-rated games seem to handle them just fine. No riots, no violent orgies. It might have something to do with the government being mature enough to realise it’s up to parents to monitor what their kids are subjected to, but that’s just a guess.

Fitzgerald then argues that the entire classification system needs a review, citing a number of reasons including the system’s love of Hollywood violence and strong political influences. Hey, this may indeed be the case. All we’re asking is that games be treated in the same way that films and books are. Once that’s done, feel free to look at the classification system as a whole. If things need to be toned down or more regulated, fine, we’re prepared to roll with that. But as it stands, games are regarded as a kids-only pastime when research by the IEAA quite clearly shows it’s not. How can you compare forms of entertainment when they’re not even on equal terms in the eyes of the government? Now that’s utter nonsense.

He then makes this statement:

With the conspicuous exception of Atkinson, the rest of Australia’s state and federal attorneys should hang their heads in shame for trying to foist a category of computer games on us that will contain mostly mind-numbing violence.

What Fitzgerald fails to realise is that the push for an R18+ rating for video games is not about “trying to foist a category of computer games on us that will contain mostly mind-numbing violence”. Yes, I, a 24-year old games journalist, want an R18+ rating so I can enjoy mindless violence. Please. The rating is about a great many things. It’s about giving the OFLC the ability to properly rate games, reducing release delays, reducing the amount of games we import from overseas, reducing piracy and bringing our ancient classification system in line with the rest of the world. I’ve already talked about this at length.

But there are powerful forces behind this push. In 2006, sales of computer and video game hardware and software in Australia exceeded $1billion and Australians purchase 12.5 million computer and video games each year. A survey of popular Sega and Nintendo games taken a few years ago found that 80 per cent of them primarily featured violence or aggression.

Amazing! Games contain violence! So do books and movies. All three industries have lots of money behind them. Is there anything else blindingly obvious you’d like to share with us? If anything, it shows that games are an expanding industry, one that includes children, teenagers and adults. It should be considered as a form of entertainment enjoyed by people of all ages and our classification system should reflect this.

Fitzgerald wraps up his opinion with this:

… I don’t have a problem with consensual sex on film and vastly prefer it to films showing murders, rapes and serious assaults. On this I believe I carry the support of most fellow Australians. So why can’t the attorneys find a way to introduce a regulatory scheme to make non-violent erotic films legal in all our states and territories and, at the same time, keep violence away from impressionable young minds?

I can’t really argue with Fitzgerald’s approval of sex but not violence, that’s personal preference. What I can argue with is Fitzgerald’s assumption that games are just for kids. How many times can I say this: They’re not. According to the IEAA, the average age of the Australian gamer is 28. Twenty-eight. This is hardly an impressionable young mind. It’s a mind that wants the freedom to watch, read and play what it wants, without the government getting all uppity in its space. Just as Fitzgerald, who I’m assuming is an adult, is okay with sex, gamers, as adults, are okay with violence.

Feel free to add your own opinion to the proceedings. I’m interested to hear what you have to say. If you’d like to help with the push for an R18+ rating, be sure to read my post from last week.

R-rated video games sop to powerful [The Australian, thanks Patrick]

One name did jolt me into action – Soldier of Fortune: Payback. It was delayed from last year to this year and molested by the Office of Film and Literature Classification, but finally, Activision has confidently stamped the game with a February 27, 2008 release.

The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions will set you back $79.95, while the PC box demands $49.95. That’s if you’re still interested, of course.

Then, a mere four days later, the OFLC refused the title classification, effectively preventing its sale in the country.

Today, Activision has let us know that a reworked version submitted to the OFLC has been granted a perfectly alright MA 15+ rating. Which means it should be on track for its release next year.

According to the publisher, the tweaked version has reduced ragdoll physics and blood effects, and no dismemberment.

You can read the whole shebang after the jump.

Sydney, Australia – Nov 22, 2007 – Australian gamers will soon be able to battle through some of the world’s most dangerous hotspots as a revised version of Soldier of Fortune® Payback has been granted classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification. This revised version has been classified as MA 15+ (Strong violence, Coarse language and sexual references) and meets the rating requirements as stated by the OFLC.

Soldier of Fortune Payback thrusts players into adrenaline-pumping mercenary combat action after a routine escort mission goes horribly wrong. The game evolves the signature gameplay of its predecessors with refined controls, tension-packed warzones, and an enemy damage system that may be shocking even to experienced FPS players.

Players are armed with an impressive arsenal of more than 30 weapons, including sub-machine guns, assault rifles, and projectile explosives, as they hunt down an insidious enemy that respects neither laws, nations, nor armies. The game also offers individual and team based online modes including: Death Match, Team Death Match, Elimination, Team Elimination, Capture the Flag and Demolition.

Soldier of Fortune Payback will be available early 2008 for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for a suggested retail price of $79.95, the PC for $49.95 and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system for $89.95.
For more information visit http://www.mercenarieswanted.com/

SOLDIER OF FORTUNE® PAYBACK

FACT SHEET FOR ALL VERSIONS

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
Soldier of Fortune Payback is the long-awaited third installment of the Soldier of Fortune video game series. The saga continues with the mercenary organisation known as “The Shop,” where players take on the role of a hired mercenary. Players will experience all the thrill and dangers of authentic mercenary combat blasting their way through high intensity combat situations in the world’s most dangerous hotspots in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. Using any means necessary, players will need to uncover a complex plot and defeat an extremist organisation determined to throw the world into global conflict. Failure is not an option.

FEATURES:

• Next-Gen – Built to harness the power of next generation consoles, Soldier of Fortune Payback features the most outrageous modelling system of any of the previous Soldier of Fortune installments, allowing for shocking damage. Enemies not only react to the specific area in which they’ve been hit but also to the power of the weapon they’ve been hit with. Players will need to make sure they’ve finished their opponents off as they will continue to fight until a lethal blow has been delivered.

• Weapons – Players will have at their fingertips one of the most lethal arsenals of weapons ever assembled with over 30 weapons including sub-machine guns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, projectile explosives, weapon attachments and cutting-edge tactical weapons.

• Multiplayer – Your favourite individual and team based online modes to play including: Death Match, Team Death Match, Elimination, Team Elimination, Capture the Flag and Demolition. Players may choose from many options and server settings to play the game the way they want to and can choose between playing online or over a local network.

• Missions – Players will find themselves thrown into authentic mercenary situations in real world hotspots around the globe and will find themselves in high intensity combat situations with enemies virtually around every corner including terrorists, mobsters, insurgents and enemy soldiers. Players will need to survive an ambush and rescue a diplomat, infiltrate a terrorist operation, go on a search and destroy mission and much more.

• Story – Compelling new storyline that adds to the Soldier of Fortune legacy. Thomas Mason works as a freelancer for a mercenary group called “The Shop.” When a routine escort mission goes horribly wrong, he finds himself deeply entrenched in an underworld struggle he can only begin to understand. Thomas Mason and his handler Cassandra Decker must uncover an extremist plot aimed at throwing the world into global chaos and creating a world full of militaristic conflicts where mercenaries will be in high demand.

Publisher: Activision, Inc.
Release Date: November 2007
Platforms:  Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft
 PLAYSTATION® 3 computer entertainment system
 PC
Suggested Retail Price: $59.99 (PS3, Xbox 360)
$39.99 (PC)
ESRB Rating: “M” for Mature

He’s an ex-Green Beret, combat correspondent, founder of Soldier of Fortune magazine, and hard-ass, but Robert Brown is no gamer.

His grandson is, he tells me moments later, as we walk down a hall lined with Soldier of Fortune back issues in his Boulder office, but that doesn’t seem to sit well with him.

“He plays too fucking much.”

“How old is he?”

“Too old. He’s addicted. I’m afraid if I try a game, I’ll get addicted too.”

Dressed in cowboy boots, jeans and a plain, black, long-sleeved shirt, a gold-dipped tiger claw hanging from his neck, Brown walks the crowded rooms of his office with an Army swagger stick in his hand. He uses it to tap pictures of himself with Colombian rebels, Castro’s army, Charlton Heston. He points out his many jump wings, the letters from mercenaries and soldiers, the animals skins.

Half-way through the tour he stops and peers at me.

“There was a guy… who wrote on his blog… about coming here… to shoot with me.. Cervantes?”

“That was me.”

He smiles slightly, pokes me gently in the belly with his stick.

“I didn’t have time to arrange the gun range, but come back sometime and we’ll go shooting. Let’s go outside and talk.”

We settle down on a wobbly picnic table on the browning grass in front of the glass door of Soldier of Fortune magazine. Nearby, someone is painting a car blue. The strong sun makes the 60-degree weather feel like it’s in the 80s. Brown lays his swagger stick across the table and leans in to talk.

Turns out that he hasn’t had much to do with the upcoming game that borrows the name of his magazine. In fact, he hasn’t had much to do with the Soldier of Fortune games since the first one hit in 2000.

Back then some folks from Raven Software came by to meet with him. They discussed his outlook on mercenaries, talked weapons, and were sent off to a gun range for some training. He put together a pamphlet about the magazine to include with copies of the first game. It didn’t really do much for their subscriptions.

Gamers, it seemed, were more interested in the fantasy of mercenary life than the reality.

Brown tells me how he started as a writer, stringing for the Associated Press for “$5 here, $10 here, a free buffet there. That was very important.”

Brown has no interest in playing the latest game: Soldier of Fortune: Payback, but when I tell him I’ve just come from playing it, he asks what I thought.

“It’s fun, I didn’t have a lot of time with it, but I enjoyed the game.”

He seems satisfied.

Payback is a Bitch
Hours earlier I was sitting in a glass-enclosed office on the 27th floor of a downtown Denver high rise, a copy of Payback playing on an Xbox 360 debug in front of me. Payback was built on a proprietary engine initially on the PlayStation 3 and then ported over to the PC and 360.

The game is, in many ways, what I remember it was like with Soldier of Fortune II. Certainly no ground is broken here. Instead, it’s a solid shooter with a robust and obsessively detailed weapons line-up and over-the-top gore.

The game, I’m told, was worked on by just about every development team at Activision, including Raven Software. What started as a “value game” grew into a mainstream title, the PR folks tell me. Playing it, it doesn’t feel like a value title, but it’s unclear how and why that changed. What is clear is that the game will be sold for full price when it hits on Nov. 13.

The single player game includes 15 levels and 40 weapons, all of which are customizable. Before every mission you go through and personalize your build-out, selecting what weapons to bring and customising each of them to your preferences. While none of the in-game weapons feature their real world names, they are all designed around their real world counterparts.

I played through chunks of three levels during my 30 minutes or so with the game. The first level took place in a rundown town, in what looked to be the Middle East. There were plenty of places to hide and be ambushed. Lots of rooftop snipers, and vehicles driving up to attack.

The second level I checked out took place in the jungle, and I found myself getting jumped by camouflaged bad guys. The lack of radar in the game is initially disconcerting, but it does teach you to be more careful about poking out your head before checking things out. I also quickly learned to find my assailants by looking for the muzzle flash.

While bits of the scenery could be blown apart, it certainly wasn’t a fully destructible environment. In the jungle, for instance, I could shoot holes into the trees, but wasn’t able to actually shoot any of them down, no matter how small.

The final map I checked out took place in a desert and had me slowly climbing up a rugged mountain side that was packed with holes and tunnels. Eventually I made my way into a large tunnel system, fighting through caves, before coming out on the other side to surprise an enemy encampment.

The map design seems to offer a nice variety of size and aesthetic, and all seem fairly well contrived for future multiplayer use.

The gore was both surprising and a bit over the top. Instead of the GHOUL system made famous with the earlier games, Payback seems to use a system that is more concerned with blowing limbs off than damaging tissue.

A well placed shot in the arm will often result it in being blown completely off. One PR person noted that an enemy, or someone in multiplayer, can survive 10 seconds in the game after their limb has been torn from their body. Legs and heads can also be blown off.

While I found this seemed to happen an awful lot, it didn’t happen all the time. There were shots I made that resulted in a gruesome animation that didn’t involve any limb detachment. For instance, I sniped a guy in the neck. He grabbed his throat, blood spraying from the wound, stumbled around for a second or two and then toppled to the ground.

The gore is noticeable, but it isn’t the entire game, of course.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time with the game to get a good sense of the AI. I was getting killed, and it seemed to be because they were a bunch of clever bastards. But it might have been that they just overwhelmed me. It’s hard, in such a short time, to tell if you’re being beaten by the odds or the intellect.

I also didn’t get anytime with multiplayer and, for me, Soldier of Fortune is multiplayer. I never played through the entire single player missions in past games, instead I spent vast amounts of my sleeping time playing online with friends and strangers. What will make or break this game will be the online multiplayer. And from what I’ve seen of offline play, I think it stands a chance.

New York, New York
There is an odd collection of weapons in the two-story offices of Soldier of Fortune Magazine. A broadsword, the word Excalibur written on its hilt, leans against a wall behind Brown’s desk. There’s a morning star hanging from the wall, a framed hunting knife on another. A couple of 45s sit in a bag on a chair. On the desk, sitting in a large carrying case is a Stoner 63, an assault rifle.

“An assault rifle… oh my gosh!” Brown says in feigned indignation when he notices me eyeballing it.

I look up from the table, my eyes land on a wall filled with trophy heads. Including one that’s shrunken… and human.

“It’s not real.”

Brown walks out of the office, through an empty room and into a hallway. There are two posters hanging on the wall, both for the ill-fated Soldier of Fortune television series. One of the posters has a picture of Dennis Rodman suited up to look like a covert operator.

Brown glares at the poster.

“They didn’t really consult me about the television show, but it wasn’t that bad. It was doing OK. But then some fucking genius decided to put Dennis Rodman into the show. ”

He stops, as if the idea of Rodman as a mercenary is almost too much to bear.

“Dennis Rodman as a covert, are you kidding me? I’d almost… almost give my right cajone to find out who made that decision.”

Brown isn’t nearly as concerned with the plot of the game. Though he’s astounded to learn how much the video game industry now earns a year.

One of the PR people who came to the offices with me tells Brown that Activision will be hosting a tournament for the game down the line.

“What’s the prize?” he asks, genuinely interested.

“A trip to New York and $5,000.”

“I’d take the $5,000, but fuck New York.”

Tomorrow Activision launches the site, which has the above trailer, the below screens and some more details. Hit the jump for a quick description of the plot.

Soldier of Fortune: Payback is the long-awaited third installment of the Soldier of Fortune videogame series. The saga continues with the organisation known as “The Shop” where players take on the role of a hired mercenary. Players will experience all the thrills and dangers of authentic mercenary combat blasting their way through high intensity combat situations in the world’s most dangerous hotspots in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. Using any means necessary, players will need to uncover a complex plot and defeat an extremist organisation determined to throw the world into global conflict. Failure is not an option.

Check back tomorrow for our feature on the game including hands-on with Payback and some time with the man behind the magazine… behind the game.

While we waited for a reply, speculation was rife. One theory was that the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) had slapped a Refused Classification stamp on SoF: Payback’s application. When Activision did get back to us, the response was that it’ll be too busy pimping CoD4 and Guitar Hero III for the holiday season to give Payback the PR time it deserves.

Those convinced that the OFLC was involved, well, consider yourself vindicated. Tipster Mike let us know late last night that the OFLC has just entered the game into its database, where the infamous “RC” is quite visible.

I’m shaking my head at the fact Activision still gave us the company line even when it knew we’d find out the truth in mere days. Now that’s dedication.

Update: Activision has just gotten in touch to let me know that they only just find out yesterday about the RC, so the decision to push the release back was made independent of this. They’re just as surprised as we are.

SOLDIER OF FORTUNE: PAYBACK Game (Multi Platform) [OFLC, thanks Mike]

I fired an email off to the publisher for a comment regarding the delay, and their PR has just gotten back to me. Despite the popular belief that it was an OFLC ratings issue (or a typo), the reasons are actually a lot less nefarious – Activision isn’t confident that SoF: Payback will receive its fair share of maketing as the company has quite a few other titles also due for release during the holiday season. And I’m guessing it doesn’t want the game getting lost in the noise. Here’s the full comment:

We decided to move Soldier of Fortune: Payback to early 2008, in order to give the title a more opportunistic launch window. We’re currently working at 110% in getting our Q4 titles to market with the likes of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock, and therefore moving Soldier of Fortune: Payback puts it in a less cluttered launch window and allows the Activision Australia marketing team to focus the attention to it that it deserves for a successful launch.

We apologies to Australian gamers for the delay.

Thanks for the prompt reply Activision. Bad news if you were desperate to pick this one up, but I can’t imagine that’s many of us.

SoF: Payback Delayed In Oz? [Kotaku Australia]

There’s been a geysering artery’s worth of info in the last week or so (and beyond) regarding the shooter, so I almost didn’t read the release.

But I’m glad I did. Check out this cheeky gem:

Soldier of Fortune Payback will be available for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and the PC. The game is scheduled for release in early 2008.

What? 2008? Looks like Activision told a bit of a fib at Activate Asia. Reading the latest from the US on the game, it seems it’s still set for November over there. So, is this just another thing we’ll be missing out on because we’re Australian? Please, for the love of all things holy, stop piling it on!

PS. We did get one thing over the States – RRPs. $80 for the Xbox 360, $90 for the PS3 and paltry $50 on PC. When did PC games get so cheap?

You can read the full release after the jump.

Sydney, Australia (Oct. 11, 2007) – Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced today it will release the next generation of the long-awaited Soldier of Fortune game series in early 2008 with Soldier of Fortune® Payback. The saga continues with the organisation known as “The Shop,” where players take on the role of a hired mercenary blasting through brutal do-or-die battle scenes in the world’s most dangerous criminal and terrorist hotspots.

Soldier of Fortune Payback evolves the signature gameplay of its predecessors with refined controls, tension-packed warzones, and an enemy damage system that may be shocking to even experienced FPS players. Boasting more weapons options than any previous Soldier of Fortune instalment, Soldier of Fortune Payback’s impressive arsenal includes an array of more than 30 weapons including sub-machine guns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, projectile explosives, weapon attachments and cutting-edge tactical weapons.

Soldier of Fortune Payback will satisfy online gamers with many of their favourite online multiplayer modes including Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Elimination, Team Elimination, Capture the Flag, and Demolition. Additional online options include maps tuned specifically for multiplayer action and many server settings for custom online play.

The – storyline reflects today’s trend of “outsourcing” wars. When a routine escort mission goes horribly wrong, freelance mercenary Thomas Mason finds himself battling an insidious enemy that knows no boundaries. Traditional armies can not handle these extremists – only underground guns for hire can fight a war this dirty and get results.

Soldier of Fortune Payback will be available for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and the PC. The game is scheduled for release in early 2008.

About Activision, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Founded in 1979, Activision posted net revenues of $1.5 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Scandinavia, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan and South Korea. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s World Wide Web site, which is located at www.activision.com.