Australia's King Paul Dundee MCMXVIII must be feeling generous this holiday season. No, there's not a big discount on prison tours, or as you might know them, walkabouts, for tourists. It appears that Australia's heart has grown three sizes today as they've allowed Sega's previously banned title Aliens vs. Predator classification for distribution. Everyone quick look outside to make sure the sky isn't falling.

I'm actually not all that surprised to see this happen. Of late, there have been circumstances where the governing bodies of the penal system we've come to know as Australia has been waffling on some of their more silly practices. Most notably, they recently allowed the people to read the documents pertaining to the discussion held about adding an additional rating for people over the age of 18. The way I see it, if you're old enough for lethal injection, you're old enough to play whatever games you want. That is, as long as you didn't shank anyone in the yard, and still have video game privileges.

To be fair, I'm proud of the steps this government is taking. As easy as it is for me to write jokes about Australia over and over again, I was beginning to feel like Jay Leno. There's only so many ways you can make the same joke before its not funny enough anymore, you know? Anyhow, Sega Australia had this to say about the announcement:

"It is with great pleasure that we announce the success of our appeal. We are particularly proud that the game will be released in its original entirety, with no content altered or removed whatsoever. This is a big win for Australian gamers. We applaud the Classification Review Board on making a decision that clearly considers the context of the game, and is in line with the modern expectations of reasonable Australians".

Congrats to all involved. I'm sure the team at Rebellion is happy that the game's going to be allowed over there. That is, as long as the prisoners don't get to excited and riot.

[Source]