So you Australians may have to deal with getting a toned down version of Saints Row 4, but don't worry about Grand Theft Auto 5 being dealt the same hand as its open world cousin. It's been confirmed that the Australian Classification Board, the down under equivalent of our own ESRB, has slapped the game with the new R18+ rating, meaning the game will be able to be sold in stores.
As would be expected, the board slapped the quasi-restrictive rating on the game for all the reasons we've come to expect from the series. The board specifically cited the game having a "strong impact" on themes, violence, language, nudity, sex, and a "high impact" of drug use, oddly enough, the same reason the board recently gave as the logic behind giving Saints Row 4 a "refused classification" listing.
Australia recently added in a new rating to their system this past January so that more "adult oriented" titles could come in to the country. Prior to the recently introduced R18+ rating, any game that the Board felt exceeded a rating of MA15 was given a "refused classification" rating, and effectively banned. Games that have met with this fate in years past have included Manhunt, Mortal Kombat, Left 4 Dead, Silent Hill, and even Marc Ecko's Getting Up. Despite the new rating, the Board still maintains a policy to dole out the "refused classification" label on games that they feel fall outside of "acceptable content guidelines."
Exact details about Grand Theft Auto 5's story aren't known, but the game centers around three characters performing a number of heists, each with their own reason for doing so. Players have the ability to switch back and forth between each character on the fly (when not taking part in a mission). First up, you have Michael, who seems to act as a sort of leader of the trio. He's a career criminal whose patience for his family and his wallet are both running dry. Next up, the story is set for repo man Franklin who wants out of the life he's dug himself into. Finally, the resident redneck Trevor, definitely the most colorful of the bunch, but also potentially the most dangerous
Rockstar has confirmed there will be multiple endings, and the story will be about the same length as Red Dead Redemption, at about 25 - 30 hours, and that's before the massive amount of secondary things to do, or release of the obligatory DLC, so this should be a monster of a game.
Originally slated for a spring release, Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 5 will be available on Sept. 17th, and should arrive in Australia shortly thereafter.
