THE film censor may soon become involved in rating games for the Irish market, it is believed. Currently, the leisure software industry uses a voluntary age rating system devised by the European Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA).
The ELSPA system is responsible for the rating box on the packaging of all games, whether for PC, PlayStation, or Nintendo. The small blue panel indicates the ages for which the game is suitable. An indication that it is safe for a six-year-old to play, however, does not mean the game is playable by a six-year-old - it is simply that the young player won't see any violence in it. A flight simulator, for example, may be correctly rated as being safe for a six-year-old, but it would be unplayable by a child of that age. Game distributors in Ireland fear the release date of a game will be delayed if games have to undergo further scrutiny by the film censor - which will mean games will be available in Britain before going on sale here. With popular titles like Quake or Zelda many people might not wait for the release in the Republic and would instead import the game, taking the money out of the industry here.
Another issue is the difference between checking the content of a game and that of a movie: it is not a matter of sitting in a projection room for 120 minutes or so to see everything contained in a title.
It is estimated that someone who knows exactly where everything is located in Baldur's Gate, for example, would still have to spend 150 hours just "walking through" the game.
In Britain, ELSPA sends games it deems to be controversial to the British Board of Film Control (BBFC) for classification. Frontier Management, which distributes games in Ireland, estimates about 6 per cent of games released since the ELSPA system was set up in 1994 have been submitted to the BBFC.
The film censor is currently considering the question of ratings for the Irish market.
THE Sony PlayStation may have been the toy of 1995, but it continues to sell well. Nearly 150,000 consoles were bought in Ireland over the 1998/99 Christmas period. Sony estimates there are 350,000 PlayStations in Ireland, with one in 22 per cent of Irish homes - which makes Ireland second only to Japan in per capita PlayStation ownership.
Knockout Kings, Sony PlayStation, £44.99
BOXING is one of the many sports which have been turned into video games. The best have been the ones which did not try to simulate the sport too precisely but instead put the emphasis on fun.
If simulation is the aim, though, Electronic Arts has the pedigree to do a good job. Including real boxers adds to realism, and in Knock- out Kings there is a choice of 38 boxing legends past and present. Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar De La Hoya, Evander Holyfield and even Muhammad Ali are included, for use by the player or as an opponent. Mike Tyson is nowhere to be seen and no Irish boxers feature either. As well as the real fighters, the player can create a custom lightweight, middleweight, or heavyweight boxer and take him through the ranks. To add authenticity, the game uses the voices of announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr, referee Mills Lane and commentators Sean O'Grady and Al Albert. There are also "real" venues such as Madison Square Garden.
There are three modes of gameplay: exhibition, career and slugfest. The latter allows fighters of different weights to be put up against each other.
Loading times in Knockout Kings are dreadfully slow, almost long enough to put the user out for the count and the boxers can be a little sluggish in responding to controls. Real boxing fans will probably ignore these failings and love it, but games such as Tekken3 are far more enjoyable.
Running Wild, Sony PlayStation, £34.99
IT'S a novel idea, a racing game with no wheels. There are no boats, planes or other vehicles either. In Running Wild it is animals which race, but they all run on two legs, even the zebra and the elephant.
That is where most of the originality ends, however. The player picks an animal to race with for its particular attributes. The elephant, for instance, is slower than average but its power means it does not lose speed as easily as the other five creatures.
Each of the racing circuits has shortcuts, jumps, speed ramps and power-ups. The power-ups are activated instantly, which is a pity since it is usually better to let the player choose when to use them to best advantage.
The cartoon graphics and upbeat presentation are obviously aimed at the younger player and the easy mode should allow even the youngest to enjoy themselves. Anyone whose idea of a good racing game is Gran Turismo is unlikely going to get into top gear with Running Wild.
games@irish-times.ie