Speaking of zombies, and I always do, the video game Left 4 Dead 2 has been banned in Australia. Of particular concern was the graphic violence dished out by players on "‘the Infected‘ who are living humans infected with a rabies-like virus that causes them to act violently." Apparently, Australians have trouble discerning the living from the living dead, which is bad news for Australians.
What's odd is that L4D2 gets banned for, essentially, being a zombie video game when a similar game charged with racist imagery got a free pass.
This isn't the first bit of controversy surrounding L4D2. A bunch of angry geeks set up a boycott of the game and its developer. Apparently, they decided - months before the game was released - that it would not have enough content to justify an entire separate release and instead should have been given away as a free upgrade to everyone who purchased the original Left 4 Dead. At least, until a couple of the groups' organizers got a free trip to Seattle. (The sad thing is they probably didn't even need attention from some E3 booth babes to buy them off.)
None of this affects me. I don't mind being beaten, shot, stabbed, crushed, run over, or dropped into the abyss. But I will not play any video game in which I get eaten.
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