Wow and double wow, in a surprisingly swift turn around the Standing Council of the Attorney Generals Meeting has made an In Principle Agreement to allow video games to be granted R18+ where appropriate and not Refused Classification, making them unavailable for sale in Australia. It was suspected that the objection of the NSW Attorney General to the issue would once again hamstring the approval, but the decision was made to disregard the single objection (The AG from NSW was not fundamentally against the idea, he just wanted to delay it for research purposes) and push ahead with a decision that was in the popular interest of Australian people. The South Australian AG John Rau has scrapped his plans for a South Australia specific classification system in light of this development.

It's not officially law yet, but the debate has all but been laid to rest and it looks like we have won. It's unlikely games previously issued with an RC with be able to requalify for an R18+ but at least no game in the future will find themselves tripping up due to a small technicality such as whether a healthpack in the form of a syringe is called Morphine or Stimpack.

This issue could never be categorised as a major milestone in Australian politics, it's barely a historical footnote compared to issues like GST and the Mabo decision. But it's a victory for reason and logic in an area that is usually ruled by who can provide the most outrage for the longest amount of time. Federal Minister for Home Affairs, and a major proponent of the R18+ for games arguement, Brendan O'Conner had a few choice words on the victory: "This is a big step forward in the long running debate on classification of computer games for adults.The introduction of an R18+ classification for computer games will provide better advice to parents and help prevent children and teenagers from accessing unsuitable material. Once introduced, the new classification will also afford adults the opportunity to view material designed for adults.”

Expelliarmus your motion controllers; Harry’s back for his final PS3 showdown with the Dark Lord.

Here's an extended video of some action out of Arkham City, the upcoming Batman game and sequel to last years brilliant Arkham Asylum. It's a pretty excellent gameplay video, but I'm slightly troubled by the fact the video doesn't really show anything new. Batman has certainly increased the versatility of his tools though, using grappel ropes and multiple batarangs a lot more in combos, and having a whole city to glide around and punch the brains out of baddies in is cool, but it doesn't quite look like the step up from Arkham Asylum it should be... not yet anyway.

Ah who am I kidding, I'll be pulling on my Burt Ward style Robin tights to go and buy this game the very second it's available.

Few places or periods in history so perfectly encapsulate the fine line between glamour and sleaze than the sweet promise of Los Angeles following World War II. As America motored to be the eminent super power of the world, individuals wanting a piece of the action flocked to the city of angels chasing fame. The combination of wealth and desperation created a world that seemed like a dream factory on the surface but stank of corruption and cruelty just beneath the skin.

As an experience LA Noire captures this turgid world and immerses you in it, but the gameplay elements some times just get in the way.

There's something to be said about authenticity, and 'Air Conflicts - Secret War ' is not afraid to shout it from the hangar rooftops. More rudder movement after the jump.

So here's a walkthrough trailer for Saints Row 3 showcasing a few of the features of the upcoming sequel and it looks, just... super insane. If your issue with previous Saints Row games was that they didn't include a Hello Kitty type truck that hoovered up pedestrians and then shot them out of cannon, well don't worry, they put that in.

Volition seem to be off the opinion that open world games are only really fun if you have the most insane and destructive toys you can imagine at your finger tips. Hats of to them.