Slashdot Mirror
Australia To Get Half-Life 2
Aussie gamer gimpacause writes After reading about the possibility of HL2 not coming to Australia I was shocked and angered, but a story on Gamespy says I don't have to worry. Better start saving for a new graphics card!" From the article: "Half-Life 2 will be released Down Under, since OFLC rated Half-Life 2 MA 15 + for High Level Animated Violence."
Nude hacks for horny teens in 3..2..1... :)
Half-Life 2 is the shittiest shit that ever shat out of a butt if you like it then that means you like SHIT!!!!
Rating bodies whose ratings are legally enforceable (or at least bear some weight on the retail channel) are generally more cautious of giving out higher ratings. The ESRP doesn't give out the AO rating even to titles like Manhunt because many retailers don't stock those games, the USK isn't that hard on games and apparently a "not cleared" rating doesn't happen often in Australia, either. A rating that is just a guideline tends to be more strict since guidelines are rarely adhered to strictly, an advised age of 18 would often result in people at the age of 16 or 17 deciding "well, it's not that much of a difference2 so the effective rating is lower. An enforced rating doesn't allow for lax interpretation or tolerances and especially a ban is seldom considered.
I doubt that HL2 contains violence that could be seen as "malicious" (that is, violence for violence's sake, deliberately overdone), therefore banning it would be a bit much. A game like Manhunt or GTA that (explicitly or implicitly) encourages violence is something else. HL2 doesn't encourage violence but it might be more violent than usual, making a non-enforceable 18 rating useful (the PEGI apparently factors in the amount of fear a game causes, which other bodies do not seem to incorporate) but an enforced ban a bit too much.
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
I don't see how anyone could have thought that Half-Life 2 would be banned in Australia.
If SOF and SOF 2 could get passed totally uncut with the MA15+ rating then HL 2 definetly would.
The person who started the rumor obviously knew nothing about the classification system in Australia. Austrialia very rarely gives out RCs or even R ratings for games and movies. I'd say 90% of films and games rated 18+ in Britian and rated R/M in the U.S are given a MA15+ and sometimes even a M15+ down in Australia.
I hate people who are "shocked and angered" about anything. Fvcking whiners.
You probably will read no more of this than the subject, but I will pour out my outrage into this email and never buy another game from valve again. Here is why.
Long ago, I paid for Half-Life. I did so because I played it at a friend's house, and wanted more. I played it all the time for months, and enjoyed the hell out of it. Alas, like all games, I eventually lost interest in it and uninstalled it, keeping the CD around in case I needed a fix. Which happened today.
I install half life, I visit the updates page... hmmm... Steam... *reads*...
If I understand this properly, I must install a Push Content engine, which has been rendered artificially necessary to Half-Life (a game which I seem to recall purchasing in an uncrippled state), in order to play online, which is the only real reason I bought Half-Life to begin with.
The hell, you say!
Please do not respond with a message extolling the virtues of Steam. I did not pay for Steam, I do not want Steam, I will never in a million years install Steam. There is nothing Steam could offer me that could overcome the distrust that you trying to force it on me has borne. I did pay for online Half-Life, and I do want that, but you at Valve Software are apparently trying to squeeze more blood from the stone (I can only imagine by displaying ads in the Steam client). You (by which I mean Valve Software) do not run the game servers, do not run the master list servers, and the only aspect of the online experience you have had any part in, to my knowledge, is making sure the players have paid for their copy of the game, via cd-key authentication. Now you decide you deserve to rule the online experience, while still continuing to contribute nothing but advertisements and "Push Content".
If you cannot keep your fingers out of the internet pie, and calling a halt to Steam is not an option, at least provide an opt-out solution for those of us who like to feel we've purchased something along with the jewel case and cd label. Oh, but you tried that, didn't you? Steam was a colossal failure until you shut down the old WON servers. The gaming public, which has made the many modifications that have resulted in Half-Life's success, is now collaborating on
removing Steam from the Half-Life experience. Good job, Valve. Way to cater to your fan base. Perhaps you could bundle Bonzai Buddy with the next update.
As mentioned above, I will never purchase another game with the Valve name on it, and I'm sure a lot of other people feel the same. I will inform all of my video game-playing friends that will listen about your acts of ill will, and in general discourage others from contributing to what I see as your dishonest business practices.
Steamed,
A paying customer.