Valve loses appeal on uncensored L4D2
Coming in from GameSpot, it appears that the Classification Review Board has made a decision regarding the unedited Left 4 Dead 2.
And it’s not good.
Any hope that the Review Board might take a more balanced approach, as with the reclassification of F.E.A.R. 2 was dashed yesterday, with the board citing that there was “insufficient delineation between the depiction of general zombie figures and the human figures, as opposed to the clearly fictional ‘infected’ characters.” As a result, Australian audiences will be restricted to a watered-down version of the game, which removes the “depictions of decapitation, dismemberment, wound detail, or piles of dead bodies lying about the environment.”
This is just the latest in the wheel of classification fortune. (Again, the inconsistency of the ruling is bizarre, given that F.E.A.R. 2 pitted you against clearly human adversaries.)
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Glenn says:
So L4D fans are going to import or download this game because the censors still think that games are child’s play.
You are right, Matt. The Review Board’s refusal to lower L4B2 is completely asinine, seeing that the original L4D contained the elements that saw the sequel banned. This is further proof that an R18+ rating needs to be introduced. Now as far as I know, Australia will be the only country to make do with a crippled version.
I am glad that Valve/EA decided to pull a Warner Bros., and I wish that other companies would do the same thing instead of just going back and removing the offending content and then resubmitting it to the Classification Board.
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Edward says:
it’s the parent’s responsibility to stop children from getting R18+ games, not the governement. you would think Kevin Rudd, trying to be all Gen Y or X or whatever would allow it.
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Guy.R says:
Totally crazy they censor this game… its about zombies ffs… Grow up Australia??