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UPDATE: Necrovision banned in Australia

WWI-era supernatural shooter shot down in Australia due to excessive violence, according to Classification Board statement.

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When it comes to banning games, 2009 has been a fairly quiet one down under. Although last year saw games such as Shellshock 2: Blood Trails, Silent Hill: Homecoming, Dark Sector, F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin, and Fallout 3 refused classification (with several of those eventually making it back into the country after appeals and content changes), 2009 has seen no game raise the ire of the Classification Board. That is, until this week featured confirmation that upcoming PC first-person shooter Necrovision has been effectively banned.

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With no R18+ rating for games in Australia, any game with content deemed unsuitable for the maximum MA15+ rating is refused classification, making the game illegal for sale in this country. Such a fate has befallen Necrovision, publisher 1C's take on the World War I first-person shooter, which sees players take on vampires, demons, and zombies, as well as the Kaiser's soldiers.

Our previous looks at the game found it to be a bloody shooter, but Australia's Classification Board has so far been unable to tell GameSpot AU exactly why Necrovision was refused classification in this country. We're expecting more detail from the Board, so check back with GameSpot AU soon for more updates.

UPDATE: The Classification Board has just released its decision for the refused classification stamp for Necrovision, and it seems that excessive violence was the culprit. According to the Board, the title contained violence which could not be accommodated under the MA15+ rating.

The Board specifically called out excessive blood spray and the ability to continue to inflict damage on bodies as key reasons for the banning. "When the player shoots an enemy combatant, a large volume of blood spray results and the enemy may be dismembered or decapitated. Injury detail is high with pieces of flesh seen flying from bodies when shot or a high level of wound detail visible on bodies. Post mortem damage occurs when bodies are shot resulting in blood spray, dismemberment and decapitation," the Board said in a statement to GameSpot AU.

In the meantime, check out our in-depth feature on Aussie game classification, Censory Overload.

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