What the hell is wrong with Australia that they ban shit like that? I'm against censureship in any form, and especially of ridiculous, harmless media like video games.
I feel so sorry for you poor Aussies. Take your beer and weep that you will have neither game. For they do rock. In terms of sheer, unadulterated, mindless violence, I give Manhunt two bloody stumps of what used to be thumbs up. And Larry. Ah, mon ami Larry, tu eh tres horny. It is magnifique.
What that article doesn't say is that Manhunt has been on sale here for 8 months already, and only a couple of weeks ago was it reclassified to "Refused Classification". As for LSL being banned... WHAT THE FUCK IS WITH THAT SHIT????? I mean, I know we have a very draconian OFLC when it comes to video games, but holy shit, far worse shit has made it here before. The original LSL games weren't banned - No 7 even had the whole "Where's Dildo?" thing happening, strip poker and all sorts of other funky shit. Also, as far I was aware, even if a game was classed as RC, you could still privately import the game, it just couldn't be sold here. It's like with XXX porn in Queensland - you're not allowed to sell it, but you're allowed to own it and import it from where ever.
We're a constitutional monarchy. Oh, and we don't have the right to freedom of speech. And really, it is just a game. It only stops us from buying it in a store, I've yet to hear of anyone being busted for owning a game that's been refused classification. Besides, they'll put in some makeshift effort at censoring it like for GTA3, it'll get released, and then they'll tell people how to bypass it.
You don't have the right to free speech? Seriously? So, what, could you get arrested for standing on the street corner, loudly protesting ...... I don't know, something political? What if you were shouting, "THE END IS AT HAND, REPENT NOW!!" What then?
Oh, no one's going to come down on you for that (Speaker's Corner in Brisbane is exactly for that sort of thing - crazy loonies shouting at passersby there everyday). But there's no "right to free speech" in the constitution. So, while in the US you can't be sued for expressing an opinion, you can here. Here's something funny though - I could sue someone in the US for expressing an opinion about me that I believed was untrue if I read that opinion in Australia. If you didn't like my opinion though, and you read it in the US, you couldn't sue me. Isn't the law wonderful?