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Left 4 Dead 2 Banned In Australia
An anonymous reader writes "According to Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification, Left 4 Dead 2's content exceeds that allowable for an MA15+ rating. Any such game is rated as Refused Classification, effectively banning it. From the report: 'The game contains realistic, frenetic, and unrelenting violence which is inflicted upon "the Infected" who are living humans infected with a rabies-like virus that causes them to act violently. The player can choose from a variety of weapons including pistols, shotguns, machine guns, and sniper rifles. However, it is the use of the "melee" weapons such as the crowbar, axe, chainsaw and Samurai sword which inflict the most damage. These close-in attacks cause copious amounts of blood spray and splatter, decapitations and limb dismemberment as well as locational damage where contact is made to the enemy which may reveal skeletal bits and gore.'"
The player can choose from a variety of weapons including pistols, shotguns, machine guns, and sniper rifles. However, it is the use of the "melee" weapons such as the crowbar, axe, chainsaw and Samurai sword which inflict the most damage. These close-in attacks cause copious amounts of blood spray and splatter, decapitations and limb dismemberment as well as locational damage where contact is made to the enemy which may reveal skeletal bits and gore.
Seriously. Did they pay the ratings board to write that?
'However, it is the use of the "melee" weapons such as the crowbar, axe, chainsaw and Samurai sword which inflict the most damage.'
That's odd, I think I'd rather be hit by a crowbar than blasted with a shotgun. Oh well, only one way to find out.
Looks like somebody high up in Austrialia is a wee-bit angry about not having any of the promised downloadable content of l4d...
No we do not.
Few Australians escape the dingos to reach the ripe old age of 18 and those who do have usually lost limbs to crocodiles or tragic boomerang incidents, assuming they haven't been paralyzed by some sort of venomous critter. Not exactly hardcore gamers in other words.
Sounds like the nanny state is extending across the former empire. We all know the Indians are even more prudish than us Americans, the Aussies appear to be bowing to the idea that a game can be too violent for an ADULT to play, what's next the Canadians deciding drinking is too much fun and that it keeps people from serious work? The Puritans may have died out as an organized religion but the harm they have done to the western world is pretty endemic.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
The silly thing is that when they ban a game, they increase the number of local torrenters, which increases availability to those under 18.
Valve's Zombie shooter has been refused classification, which means it can't be made commercially available in the country.
Valve should thumb their nose at Australia's rating board and make the game freely available there.
"He doubts whether any safeguards could be put in place to deter young people, who after all (are) the most computer literate and savvy in our society, from being able to access material."
news.com.au
Until he is replaced or retires, there will not be any change to the classification system.
# cat
Damn, my RAM is full of cats. MEOW!!
Illegal to sell or import. Unlike the USA, our "rating" system is an undisguised censorship system.
[clever sig]