Drug Use Behind Australia's Fallout 3 Ban

In-game drug use was the reason behind the OFLC's refusal to rate Fallout 3 (PC, PS3, 360) in Australia, a move that essentially banned the game from sale.

Going by documents acquired by Australian Gamer, the OFLC took issue with the title's "visual representations of drugs and their delivery method [which] bring the 'science-fiction' drugs in line with 'real-world' drugs."

Bethesda's post-apocalyptic role-playing effort has players using drugs, referred to as "chems," in order to augment their character's abilities, such as health, stamina and intelligence. The OFLC further noted that Fallout 3's "strong violence" is well within the limits of a MA 15+ rating.

Like many other once-banned titles in Australia, such as Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3, 360) and Digital Extreme's Dark Sector (PS3, 360), an edited version of Fallout 3 that addressed the OFLC's grievances is expected to arrive in place of the uncensored original edition this fall.