We learned yesterday that Australia's Office of Film and Literature classification (OFLC) has changed its initial decision regarding Soldier of Fortune: Payback.

It should be remembered that publisher Activision was given the option by the classification board to either revise the initial version of the game or just let it stay unreleased in the Land Down Under. To watch the videos, follow the "read more" link below.

Here's an interesting development regarding Activision's FPS title Soldier of Fortune: Payback for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. In case you've forgotten already, the game was banned by Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC).

A quick search on the board's official website, however, will yield a Soldier of Fortune: Payback result carrying a MA 15+ rating. More details after the jump!

Good news, FPS fans - the ultra-violent shooter with the gritty and realistic dismemberment-by-bullet mechanics, Soldier of Fortune: Pay Back, has recently gone gold. This means that the contents of the game itself is already locked down and is just begging to be released onto stores. The title is scheduled for November 13 for the PC and Xbox 360 versions, while the PlayStation 3 version will be on the shelves on November 20.

Check out the details and the screenshots at the full article.

Heads up soldiers, er - mercenaries. Activision and Cauldron HQ has just released the official website for their upcoming video game Soldier of Fortune: Payback (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC).

First off, you have to be at least eighteen years old to be able to get past the age gate. Once in, you'll have access to a decent amount of Soldier of Fortune: Payback content: a new trailer, screenshots, inside info on the weapons, forums, and gameplay features, among other things. And in case you're been living under a rock, Soldier of Fortune: Payback is the third title in the series and is scheduled for release in November.

Anyway, check out the Soldier of Fortune: Payback website by clicking the read link below. Enjoy!

Buy: [ Soldier of Fortune: Payback (Xbox 360) ]
Buy: [ Soldier of Fortune: Payback (PC) ]

Four age-restricted gameplay videos have been released for Soldier of Fortune: Pay Back (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360), with a spectacular display of flying limbs and a demonstration of how much blood a human body can actually hold. Which may explain why the game was banned in Australia.

The first video features the Rocket Launcher. While you won't see any flying limbs here you at least get to see its power when it kills a man two meters away from where the shell exploded. The second video, called Bye Bye Truck, is just that. One bullet takes down a truck... no, not just takes it down. Blows it up.

The third video, Getting Bloody, is what we would call a bloodfest. You'd think limbs actually wanted to detach themselves with the way they were flying. The last video, Mayhem in the Mountains, shows a more tactical side of the game. It shows how knowledge and correct use of the landscape can work to your advantage.

Check out all four videos in the full article.

Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification has refused classification for Soldier of Fortune: Pay Back (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360), effectively banning it from being sold in the region.

Activision, the game's publisher, as well as developer Cauldron HQ, have not yet commented on the issue. Activision could choose to appeal the decision or submit a modified version of the game.

Soldier of Fortune: Pay Back is the latest entry in the popular Soldier of Fortune series. It holds the distinction of being the first game in the series to be released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms. The game was slated to hit Australia early next year.

The Soldier of Fortune series from Activision has been around in the FPS arena for quite some time now and we must say that it does have some moments to its credit. Will this installment Soldier of Fortune Pay Back from developer Cauldron take the franchise above and beyond its predecessors? These screenshots seem to promise just that.

Featuring the world's most hostile terrorist and criminal havens, Soldier of Fortune Pay Back pits you in these territories as a hired gun doing all the dirty work. Fortunately, the new chapter in the saga gives you the largest collection of toys ever seen in the series: over 30 sub-machine guns, automatic rifles, sniper rifles, and those handy dandy projectile explosives.

Soldier of Fortune Pay Back is set for release this November in North America aboard the Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, and the PC.

More Soldier of Fortune Payback screenshots after the jump!

The Soldier of Fortune series has always brought us two things: solid FPS shooter action, and the ability to shoot up your enemies into bite-sized pieces. And even with Soldier of Fortune: Pay Back (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) having a different developing team (that being Cauldron), we see both trademarks - with emphasis on the latter - are still intact, as we see in this gameplay video update. Be warned, this is not for the faint of heart.

As we can see in the video, they just don't make video game enemies like they used to anymore. Whole limbs not only fall off with a few well-placed shots to a major connecting joint, they FLY off. Skulls can easily be popped with a well-placed shot of a high-caliber rifle. Being in the vicinity of a grenade blast tears people's arms off their sockets. And yes, corpses can still be dismembered to a player's content.

While it's certainly a visceral display of what next-gen graphics can do, we can only wonder what will happen when it's time for the game itself to be rated. After all, with titles such as Manhunt 2 (Wii, PSP) and BioShock coming under fire for violence, it's certainly not far-fetched to see Soldier of Fortune: Pay Back in someone's sights.

As the third installment in the series, Activision's Soldier of Fortune: Pay Back (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) promises to be a true next-gen first-person shooter with more features than we ever saw in previous Soldier of Fortune titles. The game developed by Cauldron promises "high intensity combat situations in the world's most dangerous hotspots."

Soldier of Fortune: Pay Back's key features include "an incredibly realistic modeling system" with advanced hit detection that makes you feel like you're actually doing some hurt. There are over 30 weapons to choose from, and you'll find the common ones like assault rifles and sub-machine guns in your arsenal.

As a mercenary, you'll be visiting the most dangerous places in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. Enemies are supposed to come in good variety and numbers, as you'll encounter terrorists, mobsters, insurgents, enemy soldiers and other armed meanies.

Online multiplayer offers plenty of modes including deathmatch, team deathmatch, elimination, team elimination, capture the flag, and demolition. If you'd rather do single player campaigns, the story also promises to be compelling as you save the world from global chaos.

Soldier of Fortune: Pay Back is slated for a November release.

It's been a while since we last heard anything from Activision's Soldier of Fortune: Pay Back(PC, PS3, Xbox 360). Now, it seems that the sequel to one of the more exciting FPS games of the last generation is coming together pretty well, as seen in this first ever gameplay video of Soldier of Fortune: Pay Back.

This time around, things are considerably smoother and brighter, and the FPS action definitely more solid. The explosions come out quick and fast, and there's definitely a lot of blood. Here's hoping, then, that it comes with the same Soldier of Fortune flavor that sets it apart from the other FPS games this generation - despite the fact that it's not Raven Software doing the developing.

Embed's below, you know what to do. Enjoy!