10 Genius Ways Video Games Got Past The Censors
9. Left 4 Dead 2
Not all censoring can be as creative and ballsy as Mortal Kombat. Sometimes developers can get clever, though, more often than not they simply have to roll over as few times as possible to appease the boards. Left 4 Dead 2 has two points of censorship, one of which pertained to the box art, of all things. Firstly, Australia had an issue with a lot of things in the game. You will be hearing plenty of that in the upcoming entries because Australia do not like anything unruly in their video games.
As a result, Australia got the most fun version of Left 4 Dead 2. No decapitation, no dismemberment, no serious wounds and no piles of dead bodies. Boo, we say! However, once again, video games are made to turn a profit as well as be forms of art, so it’s understandable. Now, the boring stuff aside, Left 4 Dead 2 actually got two box art variants dependent on region.
The original showcases the index and middle finger pointing towards the viewer, a two, being a play on the previous game’s box art. However, UK ratings boards deemed that an inappropriate gesture as it can often mean p*ss off or jog on, etc. Valve got creative and switched the fingers round, resembling the V or peace sign.