14 DAY TRIAL // Germany has always had a tough stance on violent video games, but it seems that the country's USK ratings board has given the Gears of War franchise a break with the third installment, which was given an '18' rating, as opposed to the first two games, which were denied classification.
The Gears of War series has become famous both for its often-copied third-person cover-based shooter mechanics, but also for its pretty extreme violence, which was grounds for classification refusal by Germany's two ruling bodies, the USK and the BPjM (Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons).
This meant that the first two games couldn't be advertised or displayed by German media, but shops could sell them if they were asked by customers.
Now, with the third game set to be released in September, the USK has decided to give an '18' rating to the title, via Eurogamer, effectively giving a green light to Microsoft, its publisher, to deploy marketing for the game in the country and to the media in order to report on the game.
Potential buyers still need to be 18 or older in order to buy the game from video game shops, but these establishments can now display marketing for the game and advertise its upcoming release to the public.
What's more, because Gears of War 3 has "a different feel" than its predecessors, at least according to a USK spokesperson, the game can be sold in its uncut form, meaning no classic German modifications, like green blood instead of red one, will be made to the title when it appears on the shelves of German shops.
This is definitely a step in the right direction both for the ruling bodies in the European country, as well as for the Gears of War series, which can now delight an even large amount of gamers when it is out on September 20 exclusively for the Xbox 360.