It seems 2008 has not been a good year for gaming in Australia, with three games already failing the country's stringent classification requirements. Now Silent Hill: Homecoming is the latest title to receive a ban, making it illegal to sell the game in Australia.

Other games to get similar bans this year are Dark Sector, Shellshock 2: Blood Trails and Fallout 3, though both Dark Sector and Fallout 3 were eventually unbanned after modifications were made.

Local distributor for Silent Hill: Homecoming, Atari, confirmed the ban and said that Australia's Classification Board found issue with the high levels of violence in the game. The Board cited such examples as numerous decapitations, scenes of blood spray, torture and partially dismembered corpses as being the main reason for the ban.

Atari has said that Homecoming's Australian release has now been delayed, pending discussions of possible changes to accomate Australia's classification system.

Silent Hill is a leading horror gaming franchise and has spawned a film of the same name. Homecoming tells the story of a war veteran going back to his hometown to search for his long-lost brother. It was due to be released in Australia this November.