I’ll be straying from the realm of family-friendly video games today to talk about the new Mortal Kombat game. Mortal Kombat, the game that was once synonymous with gratuitous violence and gore, is back! At this point you might be expecting a blog post deriding violent and blood-soaked video games but here is the thing – Mortal Kombat is a great game.
Yes, the game is all about fighting and trying to unlock moves that will destroy your opponent in the sickest of fatal styles. But beyond the violence and gore is a deep story of good vs. evil that stars some of the most creative and interesting video game characters ever created. Just read this snippet from the game’s description, “After centuries of Mortal Kombat, Emperor Shao Kahn has finally defeated Raiden and his allies. Faced with extinction, Raiden has one last chance. To undo the Emperor’s victory, he must strike Shao Kahn where he is vulnerable…The Past.” Now tell me that doesn’t sound like a story you want to hear?
Mortal Kombat is rated M for mature and that rating is well deserved. I won’t let my nephews play it but they are under 10 years old so they shouldn’t be playing it. This is a game for adults and even adults may find it too violent. I’m not going to tell you how to do your parenting job but if you have a 12 year old asking to buy this game and you give in, be prepared for the parents down the street to knock on your door and yell at you because your kid let their precious child see this game and now PC is having nightmares about exploding frozen heads. In other words, if you wouldn’t allow your kids to watch the Saw movies, then don’t let them play Mortal Kombat.
On the other hand, adults who enjoy violent bloody games should run to their game store and prepare to Fight!