As an American, I have to say I'm glad for the Australian ratings board. They manage to draw a lot of attention away from our own flawed ratings system by slapping a "Refusal to Classify", or RC, onto games like Fallout 3, Left 4 Dead 2, and now Aliens vs. Predator. Here's part of what makes them uptight about Aliens vs. Predator, according to an Australian gaming blog:

Heads can be twisted completely around in order to break a character's neck. Eyes can be stabbed through or gouged, leaving empty, bloodied eye sockets. It is noted that a player is able to combine manoeuvres together in quick succession, which further increases impact; for example, a Predator can stab a character through both eyes with its wrist blade, and then rip off their head, with spinal column still attached. Extensive post mortem damage, including decapitation and dismemberment, is also possible. Depictions of violence such as the above are accompanied by copious amounts of blood and gore, include ample wound detail and visible skeleton.

But here's where Australia's RC for videogames is a bit of a strange case. The RC means the Office of Film and Literature Classification feels the content isn't suitable for anyone under 18. When it's applied to film and literature, there are two levels of RC, one reserved for pornographic content. But there is no such distinction when rating videogames. The result is that there's no middle ground between Mature (unsuitable for under 15) and hardcore porno. I presume the Australian board didn't feel the need to distinguish between various levels of RC because there aren't a lot of porno videogames applying for ratings. But it creates a tricky situation for videogame developers who want to avoid the retail stigma associated with porn. And it basically means developers have to make an English language versions of whatever they're shipping to Germany, another videogame hungry country whose ratings board is notoriously squeamish about violence.

Here in the US, we have all sorts of fine gradations, including an E, and E10+, a T, and an M. Something for everyone! There's even an AO rating for "adults only", but it never gets used. Even when it should be.