Aussie censor: L4D2 too "realistic"

EA's attempt to release an unedited version of Left 4 Dead 2 in Australia failed because the censors thought the game was too realistic and that some enemies looked a bit too much like real humans.

That's according to a copy of the ruling on EA's appeal obtained by GameSpot, which notes that there was "insufficient delineation between the depiction of the general zombies figures and the human figures as opposed to the clearly fiction 'infected' characters".

Apparently the Classification Review Board also felt the nature of the things you shot at - one of the cornerstones of EA's appeal - was "largely irrelevant where the game displays the level of realism this one does".

'What all the fuss is about', since you may be wondering, is the difficulty of getting mature content released under a classification system where the highest possible current rating is MA 15+ (Mature Accompanied).

At the moment, games cannot receive the higher R18+ or X18+ classifications, despite the fact films can, and this makes it tricky for games about shooting monsters in the face in post-apocalyptic American cities to get through.

An edited version of Left 4 Dead 2 goes on sale down under this week. The real thing is extremely good.