Fatality: 1. (noun) an occurrence of death by accident, in war or from disease. 2. (noun) a finishing move that only the cool kids at the arcade could do (I was one of these)

In 1992, the first Mortal Kombat cabinets hit arcades, it was met with critical success from kids, and horrible outcries from parents. The concern came with the series’ signature Fatality moves which murdered a stunned opponent at the end of the fight.

As a result of lawsuits and public outcry, the gaming industry created the ESRB rating system (the T for Teen, and M for Mature that some parents disregard when buying little Johnny his Grand Theft Auto game.) Things were serious for a while.

Then things just got silly. Aside from a few exceptions, the sequels to Mortal Kombat gradually drove the franchise into the ground. Horrible 3D graphics, a story that was impossible to follow, and too many playable characters all contributed to this decline.

Then, in 2011, the developers at NetherRealm Studios rebooted the series with Mortal Kombat 9. Improved graphics, a limited roster and a story you can follow without a flow chart; this game had everything… including some of the most grotesque and horrid fatalities ever imagined. Attila the Hun would wince at some of the tortures shown in these High Definition graphics.

Now we have Mortal Kombat X (10) coming out soon with even BETTER graphics, awesome characters, and a continuation of the rebooted story. I’ve seen some of the fatalities in MKX, and I won’t be buying this one.

Is it a bad game? HECK NO! This game looks great! The fighting styles and gameplay are tight! Everything about this game is great, except I just don’t like it personally. Just like I don’t like slasher super gore movies like The Final Destination series. Not my thing.

But somebody must like it, because the only reason a market exists is because people keep buying into it.

Flawless Victory, class dismissed.