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Left 4 Dead 2 banned in Australia

By James Kozanecki and Joseph Hanlon on 17 September 2009

It looks like the dead won't be rising down under anytime soon.

Limb dismemberment highlighted in the Classification Board's decision. (Credit: Valve)

Valve's zombie-survival shooter has received a major set-back after being refused classification by the Australian Government's Classification Board. The ruling states that the game fails to adhere to guidelines for material warranting an MA15+ rating, and is therefore ineligible for classification. Without classification it is illegal to buy, sell or rent the game in Australia.

In a breakdown of the decision, received by our colleagues at GameSpot Australia, the Classification Board indicated that violence was the key concern for the team assessing the game.

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... 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.

Left 4 Dead 2 is the fourth game banned in Australia this year, and adds further fuel to the debate as to whether the government should introduce an R18+ classification for video games, similar to the system used to classify the suitability of movies. For a detailed discussion of the debate check out GameSpot Australia's Censory Overload feature.

Topics: games, left 4 dead, pc, valve, xbox 360, classification, australia, dead, limb, violence

• Inside the Classification Board Part II: Q&A with a former deputy director

• Censory Overload: Games censorship in Australia

• F.E.A.R. 2 banned in Australia

• Australia bans Fallout 3

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  Folkx commented on 12/11/2009 16:45 Report abuse

  We do have Fallout 3 and fear 2
  The only big game thats banned is left 4 dead 2. I hope theres a united front of gamers... i would join.

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  Bob commented on 08/11/2009 10:01 Report abuse

  It is really shocking that its come to this. L4D2, FEAR2 and Fallout3 --- all banned. You guys do have it pretty bad because you're really missing out. I hope this ignorance and irrationality doesn't infect the the US and Canada. Otherwise, we'll only be playing Mario Bros. - oh happy, happy, joy, joy for the Government Video Game regulators, eh!

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  an aussy gamer commented on 28/10/2009 17:06 Report abuse

  this is bull **** not out in australia this is crap y?

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  Dex commented on 25/10/2009 20:16 Report abuse

  Just buy it from Steam..its cheaper anyway.

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  Sammyboiy commented on 20/10/2009 21:00 Report abuse

  I have a question, why was this banned, whereas fallout 3, a game in which you can attack actual humans with the same weapons, not banned for its violence, but left 4 dead was?

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  Mitch**** commented on 19/10/2009 16:37 Report abuse

  Bro this is Fken shiiee i swear ive been waiting since the begining of this year for L4D 2 and now ive just found out that its banned? Wtf is up wif that.. these guys or chicks lol or watever don't know the shiee we now as gamers of the 21st century... most of these goverment people have children around in year 8 and are stricked when it comes to games, they look at these and complane like all soft pussies are...they need to think bout people WHO CARE not bout the people who don't even play or they can just bring out the R 18 rating im 14 and ive been playing games since i was 4 or 5 when loved the ps. Anyway lol i don't have a xbox 360 to play l4d i got pc and i can legely dl L4D 2 or buy in on steam... anyway those people wouldn't know how the internet works these days

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  XBOXISHOMO commented on 17/10/2009 19:07 Report abuse

  Tom Crago, the president of the Game Developers Association of Australia, recently labeled the Australian game rating system a “joke”, saying that he’s embarrassed by the government’s stance on game classifications.
  (ans btw xboxfan boys dont get pisssed at my name its a joke sort of)

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  XBOXISHOMO commented on 17/10/2009 18:54 Report abuse

  this is f'ing ridiculous. Now i am a sony fanboy but i am still enraged on this decision. Left4dead2 is a great game and there is nothing else realy like it out there. The decision by the board disgusts me. They mention how when u inflict serious damage on the zombies their internal organs start coming out and what not. Just beacuase games are getting more realistic dosent mean to ban them i what next??!?!?! What a bunch **** dumb soft mother fuckers. The whole world laughs at us because of this decision. Soomone need to make R18 as a classification or somthing. and if they do theyve got my vote.

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  Megalomaniac commented on 16/10/2009 23:36 Report abuse

  EternalPayne, it's the internet do not talk about grammar when you yourself don't speak grammatically correct. "if your a 20year old" (you're is correct). Tward honestly. L4D2 will come to Australia, the gaming market is too large for valve not to release the game.

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  EternalPayne commented on 16/10/2009 15:12 Report abuse

  "dude i have been gamming since i was 7 thats a full 13 years i started with doom so that shows you what i think about ratings and i am a perfectly fine person .why the f### dont they just bring in a R 18 rating and let us play the games they were made to be played/. well i could also just dl a patch that adds even more realistic gore anyway. if you ask me our country is lead by a bunch of softcore puss bags that need to drink a cup of concrete and harden the f### up . man were ever they get the idea that violence in a game will make me wanna kill people there wrong.. those rag heads dont have computer games ffs why do they wanna kill people.... this is why they werent able to play these games HA! gov 0 bane 1
  give us our rating give us our game dont hold back we wanna kill some zombies" I feel your pain and enthusiasm dude, but I don't see how you won out of that O_O...It didn't really make much sense,if your a 20year old, you don't have the grammar of one :/ .

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