Here it is – the Classification Board’s report on the edited version of Bethesda’s Fallout 3. The refused classification from last month has been exchanged for an MA15+ and the advisories of “strong violence, drug references and coarse language”. So, what can Australia expect (or not expect) from our super-special build? Sadly, the report is vague on details, but it looks like the art and names of a few drugs may have changed, and the action, not the effect, of taking drugs removed:
The drugs depicted are fictional; drugs are depicted as stylised icons on a menu with the drug use itself not depicted. Whilst navigating a post-apocalyptic futuristic landscape, players can invoke the use of a variety of “chems” listed by fictious names which include “Buff”, “Rad-X”, “Psycho” and “Ultrajet”. Within the context of the game’s narrative, the player may choose to make use of these “chems” to alter the physiological characteristics of their character in the game.
You might have noticed there’s no mention of morphine, which leaves its existence up in the air.
The effects of taking drugs may also have changed, according to this snippet: “The Board .. found that relationship [sic]between drug use and the incentives and rewards is not such that it promotes or encourages the use of proscribed drugs”. Like I said, it’s a little vague. Seeing as Bethesda and Red Ant are staying silent on the issue, we’ll have to wait for the game to come out before any apples-to-apples comparisons can be made.
Anyway, I’ve included the section regarding drug use from the report after the jump, if you’d like to read it in full. There’s also an interesting perspective from the minority view, which felt the game still deserved an RC.
The drug references within the revised version are justified by context and lend a strong playing impact to the game.
The drugs depicted are fictional; drugs are depicted as stylised icons on a menu with the drug use itself not depicted. Whilst navigating a post-apocalyptic futuristic landscape, players can invoke the use of a variety of “chems” listed by fictious names which include “Buff”, “Rad-X”, “Psycho” and “Ultrajet”. Within the context of the game’s narrative, the player may choose to make use of these “chems” to alter the physiological characteristics of their character in the game.
The Board noted that the “Guidelines for the Classification of Films and Computer Games 2005” states that “as a general rule … material that contains drug use … related to incentives or rewards is Refused Classification” and found that relationship [sic]between drug use and the incentives and rewards is not such that it promotes or encourages the use of proscribed drugs. Therefore the game does not warrant to be Refused Classification and can be accommodated at MA15+ with a consumer advisory of “strong drug references”.
Minority view:
In the minority view of the Board the drug use in the game is in excess of the general rule applied under the Guidelines. The drugs are unambiguious in their visual representations, which include pills and hypodermic needles, and are related to incentives and rewards in that the incentive to take the drug is that progess through the game is achieved more easily and the reward is an increase in the character’s abilities. The game therefore warrants and ‘RC’ classification.
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