FINISH HIM!

Video games are starting to scare me.
By Bob Simpson (Writer/Corporate Lackey)

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but what the hell is going on with video games these days?  The violence is out of control, people!

I consider myself a casual gamer.  I think video games can be fun, but I’m certainly not someone who takes them too seriously.  For example, I almost never play online, because I think that’s a little weird.  If I’m whooping someone’s ass (or vice versa) I want to be able to look that person in the eye at the end of the game and say either “You suck” or “I suck.”

Still, I like to play certain games, and some I completely stay away from altogether.  Fighting games, for instance, like Street Fighter or Tekken, have never really appealed to me.  When they were simple button-mashing games, sure, I’d play them cause the competition would be fun.  Nowadays, though, they’ve spiraled completely out of control and are so freaking complicated that I just can’t wrap my mind around them. 

The best example of this aversion to fighting games is the Mortal Kombat series.  We’ve all probably heard of the games, and how incredibly bloody and violent they were.  I remember the first time I saw Mortal Kombat when I was a kid, attending band camp (shut up) at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas (City Motto: There’s a catfish restaurant nearby).

I strolled into the on-campus arcade with my fellow nerds and saw Mortal Kombat blaring on one of the machines.  I couldn’t believe what I saw, and here are the reasons why...

1. There was very little animation in the game.  As you might recall, the fighters in the first several MK games were actual people.  That freaked me out.
2. It was an incredibly ominous game.  The voiceover, the stage locations, and the characters were pretty creepy.  This was a big departure from the Street Fighter games, but the biggest departure was…
3. The freaking blood and gore.  Oh my Christ, I had never seen something so violent in my life!  When you punched someone, blood spurted out!  You could rip someone’s spine right out of their body!  You could impale them with a spear!

Suffice to say, I was amazed, and my little pre-pubescent frame quivered with excitement the first time I played the game.

After that initial reaction, though, I rarely played the game again.  This was mostly due to the fact that I grew up in a conservative house, and I could never bring that game home.  My friends’ parents were the same, so it’s not like I could go over to one of their houses and play it.  By the time I had moved out, I was over it and never gave it another thought.

So, when I struck up a conversation with a guy who works at WB Games and told me all about the great new Mortal Kombat game, I wasn’t really excited.  A few months later, I was buying a copy of The Michael Jackson Experience game for my wife (I swear), and I saw that the store had a used copy of the new MK game.  It was half off, so I said “screw it” and picked it up.

Okay, it’s a really fun game, but I have to ask this: What the crap has happened in the last 15 years!  We went from blood and some gore to probably the most grotesque and violent game I have ever seen!  Here are a few examples, and please be warned that these are really graphic.

 

 

 

 

 

Good lord!  What the hell is wrong with our society!  I realize that most of those moves up there aren’t physically possible, but COME ON! 

I’m not one to be offended by violence or sex in games or other media, but how can you not think this is gratuitous!  John Stewart agrees with me.

So look, video game people, I have to thank you for making a fun video game in Mortal Kombat, but for the love of all that is SANE, please just tone it down next time.

Comments

[Matt]

Call me crazy, and I'm sure some will, but it's less about the video game and more about our society at large. Consider this: We live in a culture that places a heavy emphasis on military service. There's inherently wrong w/ that if its f...or the actual service of our country. But look where we are: We're fighting three wars, two of which we probably didn't need to be in. Look at how we reacted after we got Osama. We acted like America won the Super Bowl.

Speaking of which, look at America's favorite game. I love football, but let's not sugarcoat this. It IS a violent game. Extremely violent, in fact. Furthermore, look at America's fascination w/ guns.

Bob, I think when you figure all of these things together, the bottom line is this: Americans dig violence. Mortal Kombat and the ilk have made incredible profit off of that. I'm not sure that Mortal Kombat needs to tone it down.

I think we do.

[Bob]

You're right, Matt, it's a bigger issue than just the video game, film, or television markets. We aren't unlike the Romans in our love for violence, while posing as a society that abhors it. I'll admit, I freaking love the new MK game. It's fun as hell, but it's also the first game that I've played where I've had to step back and say, "Whoa...really?!" Just to see how this series has upped the volume from the first MK to this one is startling, especially since the first release was so shocking to the public.

[Russel]

Dude Bob, you actually play the new MK? I couldn't even finish watching the video of all the fatalities. They were just too much and I loved MK1 and MK2 back in the day!

[Bob]

Yeah I did, and it's pretty graphic. You get around that, and it's actually an excellent fighting game, which I'm normally not down with.

[Eric]

Hmm.I just think its the same old mk i played as a kid with current graphics.I mean really look at all the violence and stuff in the old mk's and the look at the violence in the new one. Its just new graphics.I dont mean to insult you and if I do im sorry,but if the violence disturbs you,then why dont you just c(k)omplain about the graphics?

[Bob]

Thanks for your comment, Eric, but I disagree with you. It's not the same violence with better graphics. MK1 didn't feature x-ray moves or such an extreme impact-to-blood ratio. As far as the fatalities are concerned, well, come on. They're nuts.
You can show gore, bones splitting, torsos being severed, heads being decapitated, etc. in a video game with worse graphics. Graphics aren't the cornerstone here at all; it's the lengths that a game developer is willing to go in order to achieve shock. In this, I refer you back to Matt's comment above.

[Eric]

I agree that the mortal kombat series has taken it to the next level with the fatalities, and that america has gotten more tolerant to violence and creative ways to kill people (saw). Mortal kombat had to evolve to todays violence y'know slow motion movie style violence(Fallout 3,bros. in arms) Im just saying that its conforming to violence nowadays. I consider myself to be a gamer I guess, so if you think im a little biased with my comment im sorry.

[Bob]

I absolutely agree with you on that, Eric, and Saw is a great (and terrible) example. Thanks for your comment!

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I really, really enjoyed this. The humor works brilliantly, and the animation is much better than I had imagined. The way you have “blended” (hehe) it all together makes this look like a solid, whole product, as good as any Pixar short. Probably better. But then again: That’s my opinion.
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[large printing]

This is why there are ratings when it comes to sensitive games like these. It helps stay away from conservative gamers.