Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification has had a contentious history when it comes to handling violent video games. Unlike the United States' ESRB, video games require a mandatory rating before they're qualified for sale in this country and many of the more "adult" titles routinely come into problems when they skirt too close to the line. The most recent title to come under fire is Valve's gratuitous zombie action/thriller Left 4 Dead 2. Although the original was classified without incident, its sequel has been denied at present.

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Since leaving the US and moving to Australia last year, I've had to get used to a lot of differences between the two countries that I really didn't know about before I packed up: sitting in the front seat next to the driver when you get into a cab, being fourteen hours into the future compared to the rest of my family, the way the entirety of the Commonwealth pronounces fillet like "fill-it." Chief among my culture shock is how comparatively poor internet connectivity is here against what I was used to in the United States. Overall speeds tend to be pretty lackluster and latency is a huge issue, especially when playing online games and MMOGs.

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One of the biggest differences I've noticed between here and NYC is the treatment of bars and alcohol here. When Adam and I first visited Sydney last April this wasn't in place, but shortly before we got here New South Wales (the "state" that Sydney is the capital of) passed restrictions on bars and clubs [...]

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