To give you an idea of how long it's been since we've heard anything of substance about Ubisoft's post-apocalyptic survival action game I Am Alive, the last news story we have on the site pertaining to the title is from January 2009. And it was written by Vinny.

Since that, what little news has leaked out around the web about the game has mostly had to do with its troubled development cycle. Original developer Darkworks was yanked from the project last year, with Ubisoft Shanghai taking over and effectively rebooting the title from scratch. At last word, the title was set to move from a full retail product to a downloadable title for Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network. But even that word was quite some time ago, and as E3 came and went with no updates on the game, the world simply assumed that it had gone the way of the dodo. And Beyond Good & Evil 2.

So color us surprised when news sprang forth this morning of a rating for I Am Alive by the Australian ratings board. Aussie ratings tend to come a lot earlier than ESRB ratings, so this doesn't mean the game is necessarily finished, but if it's been submitted for a rating (it was rated 15, by the way), that means that development continues, and that some manner of light at the end of the long tunnel can be seen.

The 15 rating comes primarily from a cautioning of "strong violence," which fits with the game's theme of survival amid a massive earthquake in the city of Chicago. At last check, the game was designed to be a fight to escape the city amid massive water shortages, roving gangs of looters, and continued destruction as the city collapses around you. But considering how long it's been since we last heard anything, for all we know, the game might have morphed into some kind of post-apocalyptic dating sim.

I guess we'll all find out together when Ubisoft finally gets around to showing this latest incarnation of I Am Alive to the world.