50 Cent shot down by Australian censors

The OLFC has refused classification for the upcoming PS2 and Xbox title 50 Cent Bulletproof, which means it can not be legally sold in Australia. The publisher of the game, Vivendi Universal, now has the option of resubmitting a toned down version of the game or skip sales in this country completely.

While the Board accepted the violence, coarse language and drug use in the game as "justified by context", it took particular objection to the game's 'counter kills' methods in arcade mode.

"The counter kills are enacted in detail, they are prolonged and take place in close up and slow motion. The most impactful of the counter kills involve knives and on-screen blood splatter. The Review Board determined that the impact of this mode was high and could not be accommodated at MA15+ classification. Therefore the game must be refused classification," Maureen Shelley, convenor of the Classification Review Board said.

With no R rating for games, MA15+ is the highest rating a video game can have in Australia. The OLFC has previously banned games such as Narc, Duke Nukem 3D and Manhunt in Australia. Earlier this year, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was refused classification after a hidden sex-based mini-game was found. Publisher Rockstar Games resubmitted the game with the offending content removed and was re-granted MA15+ classification last month.