Things are changing in the Mortal Kombat universe. The game has been through quite a few iterations over the last 15 years, but the upcoming Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe will be the most jarring: It adds superheroes, and eschews the game's traditional Mature branding.
Instead, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, which is due in November, will come with a relatively wholesome Teen rating.
In a recent Gamastura story, the game's designer Paulo Garcia discusses the latest iteration of the Mortal Kombat series and some of the changes being put into place for the sake of a Teen rating. DC's comics are geared toward all ages, after all – can't have the younger generation seeing their favorite characters doing anything unseemly. That means nixing dismemberment, deleting hallmark fatalities and making sure classic DC heroes like Batman can't kill at all.
I've long given up trying to make any sense of the Mortal Kombat franchise, so a crossover with comic book characters is just fine by me. But isn't there something a little hypocritical about sanitizing a series that was all about corrupting kids before videogame violence was cool?
I've always had a bit of soft spot for Mortal Kombat. Back in 1992, there was no denying the allure of realistic (I was 7) combatants tearing each other apart for great victory. I was still too short to actually reach up to the arcade cabinets, but watching the older kids perform the arcane rites that unleashed barbaric fatalities left me yearning for the day I'd be tall enough to discover those mysterious combos.
Mortal Kombat is one of the original "bad boys" – the type of game that, once it hit consoles, you got an older friend to buy for you. It was a forbidden game that you only played long after your parents had gone to bed, a controversial corrupter of youths sure to send children hurtling headfirst toward a life of vice and crime. Clearly, a must-have.
So is Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe an honest attempt at ensnaring a new generation of fighter fans by toning down the violence and putting a focus on fun? Or is it just an attempt to cash in on the series' waning popularity by ditching the violent, Mature ethos for a rating that'll ensure the widest access to consumers' wallets?
There's really no way to know until the finished product actually hits shelves. But here's the question that's troubling me: Are any of the folks who predicted that young gamers like me would grow up to become violent psychopaths going to take notice?
Mortal Kombat brought down the wrath of Congress, and helped usher in the age of the Entertainment Software Rating Board. It was deemed too gory, too realistic – a property so vile Nintendo swapped red blood for gray sweat before the game would even grace the SNES.
These days, the violence bar has been raised. With Mortal Kombat tamed and the realistic carnage of Grand Theft Auto and Gears of War the new target of opportunity, is anyone going to sit down and realize we've done this all before?
No, of course not. In a few decades, we'll all bemoan the simple, carefree days of our own young adulthood, when games like Saints Row and Manhunt 2 put so much emphasis on exploration or crafting a compelling narrative – unlike modern games, with their haptic feedback (so you can really feel yourself garroting that peasant) and virtual reality. We'll all be worried about the coming apocalypse and those no-good youngsters being desensitized to violence, probably growing up to be space gangsters or lone, grizzled, heavily armored marines.
To be honest, by then I probably won't care. I'll be playing Lego Gears of War, which will be rated E, for all ages, and awesome.
Image courtesy Midway
Mortal Kombat's Garcia on Losing "Mature" Rating, Keeping Competitive Spirit [Gamastura]
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