Fear 2 refused classification in Australia

Cannot be sold in the region as is

27 November 2008 14:51 GMT / By Verity Burns

The powers that be in Australia have refused to classify Monolith Productions' survival horror game Fear 2: Project Origin, therefore banning it from being sold in the region.

The Australian Classification Board and Classification Review Board have given no reason for its decision so far, but has been known to be extremely strict on video games released in the country.

Recently, it refused to classify Fallout 3, which later passed with an MA15+ rating following the editing out of some drug use.

This is currently the highest classification available for games as the R18+ rating only exists for films in the region. This means any titles aimed at an 18+ audience will have no hope of passing the classification board without a large amount of censoring.

Games such as 50 Cent: Bulletproof, Duke Nukem 3D and a number of games in the Grand Theft Auto series have all fallen foul of the board, and needed reworking before they were allowed release.

Others, such as Manhunt and Manhunt 2, remain banned as developers have not edited the game to the requirements of the board.

Only time will tell if Monolith Productions will tweak Fear 2 for Australian release.