Dead Rising 2 passes Aussie censors

Things didn't go so well the last time the undead tried to invade Australian gamers in a major way. Last year, Left 4 Dead 2 was initially banned by the Australian Classification board, before a toned-down, largely bloodless version was resubmitted and eventually passed with an MA15+ rating. Back then, the Classification board blamed the game's high level of violence for the banning, stating in a report that "whether the objects of the violence were fictional or real, and whether a 15-year-old could discern the difference, is largely irrelevant where the game displays the level of realism this one does."

Another game where you can mow down legions of zombies has now passed through the Classification Board unscathed: Dead Rising 2. The upcoming Capcom sequel has been tagged with an MA15+ rating--the highest available for a game in Australia--with a consumer warning that it comes with strong horror violence, blood and gore, and sexual references. According to a statement from Capcom's Australian distributor THQ, Dead Rising 2 has not been edited in any way for release Down Under.

In Dead Rising 2, new protagonist Chuck Greene has to battle his way through the thousands of zombies he's trapped with in the Las Vegas-like Fortune City. One of the main new features of the game is the ability to create new weapons from different components Chuck collects in the gameworld, including a vacuum cleaner filled with circular saw blades, a giant paddle with chainsaws attached to each end, and more. Dead Rising 2 is set for release on September 30.

For more on video game classification in Australia, check out GameSpot AU's Aussie Games Classification FAQ feature.