But Reservoir Dogs has not been pulled from UK store shelves for merely sucking. No game has ever been yanked for a mere deplorable lack of quality. Rather, Reservoir Dogs' Xbox version has been pulled because the bright red 18+ marker was not imprinted upon the discs. Presumably, this tattoo alone will prevent small, innocent children from picking up the game, slicing off a police man's ear and then sloshing gasoline into the pulsating hole.

The Playstation 2 and PC versions are still on the shelves though, properly rated. Florian Eckhardt

Eidos recalls Xbox version of Reservoir Dogs [Games Industry]

These British ads for Reservoir Dogs are f-ing brilliant. One is a granny and two kids reenacting the dick-dick-dick conversation from the diner and the other is that great final gun scene staring two kids and their bound and gagged dad. If the game is anywhere near as good as these commercials It's going to rock.

In case you couldn't figure it out from my use of the word dick three times, the video may be unsuitable for workplace viewing. Brian Crecente

Granny and kids and Fbomb kids [Loki Ltd,via Gawker]

Game studio Eidos's adaptation of Quentin Tarantino's heist flick Reservoir Dogs has come under attack in the UK for being violent. The game has been given an 18 rating, and the British Board of Film Classification stated the game contained "nothing that is particulary stronger than things found in most 18-rated games." Tom McGhie, chairman of the West Yorkshire Police Federation, retorted:

Anything that encourages that type of behaviour, when police officers are suffering more attacks than ever before, should be banned. It's impossible to see how such a game can have anything other than a highly damaging effect on how people perceive and react to police officers.

The movie, meanwhile, with its scene of a police officer getting his ear sliced off and shot, is available throughout the UK. The logic astounds. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Games Industry]

So, hey, exactly why was the Reservoir Dogs game banned in Australia? The Office of Film and Literature Classification has clarified their initial statement, pointing out specific moments of sick, wanton violence.

These moments include:

• A level where players execute hostages at point blank range with a gunshot to the head.

• Pistol whipping hostages to death.

• Burning the retinas of hostages with a lit cigar.

• Cutting off a hostage's fingers one by one, and, (we assume)...

• Cutting off their ears and pouring gasoline into the pulsating hole.

In other words, it sounds like the best game ever made.

It's actually an interesting problem: film makers can opt to release their movies unrated, sacrificing big box offices at the cineplex for more creative control over their content. Games can do this too with internet distribution and the like: the ESRB only applies to retail. But game developers going retail are powerless to use some of Hollywood's best tricks to get a passable rating while including incredible violence. After all, how do you cut dramatically away from the bloodshed when the viewer has control of the camera? Florian Eckhardt

Australian Ratings Board Clarifies Reservoir Dogs Decision [GamesIndustry.biz]
Previously: Reservoir Dogs Game Banned in Australia