Mortal Kombat 9

[JaoSming]

Jade fatality per the Australian Ratings Board
Jade explicitly kicks an opponent into the air and plants her fighting stick into the ground. The opponent falls backwards onto the stick and is explicitly impaled, with the stick protruding from their chest. Jade then explicitly tears her opponent's head off, with bloodspray noted, and explicitly plants it on the stick.

Might be 2nd only to the Scorpion fatality we saw in the first videos.

[Andrew]

That's ridiculous, that's hardly any more violent than the rest of the fatalities. I explicitly state that the Australian Ratings Board are a bunch of morons and the arguments against R18+ ratings are explicitly illogical, with hypocrisy noted.

[Jeffx]

Mortal Kombat Banned In Australia

Should have seen it coming. Guess I'll be ordering it from the UK.

[Andrew]

To say the least. There's yet to be a good argument put forward as to why there's no R18+ classification for video games in Australia. Most seem to revolve around "But kids could still get their hands on them!", which makes you wonder why they bother to have R18+ movies readily available for rent and purchase pretty much everywhere. Or why they're concerned about kids under 18 buying video games, but you only have to be 16 to buy knives and blades.

[[Q]]

That's ridiculous, that's hardly any more violent than the rest of the fatalities. I explicitly state that the Australian Ratings Board are a bunch of morons and the arguments against R18+ ratings are explicitly illogical, with hypocrisy noted.

don't worry, the US's ESRB is just as dumb. they put FPS shooters into the same category as GTA and games with nudity in it.

[Andrew]

One can't help but cynically suggest that there are more efforts going into stamping out fake violence than real violence and problems facing society. Priorities, feh!

[Andrew]

phpBB [video]

Sounds awesome, something to try once you've played through the more traditional modes.

[Andrew]

Well, so much for importing.

Aussie Mortal Kombat ban appeal unsuccessful

On February 25, the Australian Classification Board effectively banned Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment's upcoming fighter Mortal Kombat, slapping an RC (Refused Classification) rating on the title and thus banning it from sale and distribution in Australia. Publisher Warner Bros. quickly launched an appeal, however, but it seems that the effort was to no avail.

Warner Bros. has confirmed that its appeal to the Classification Review Board has been unsuccessful, with the Board upholding the original refused classification decision. This means Mortal Kombat will not be legally available in Australia.

"We're obviously extremely disappointed that the Refused Classification decision has been upheld by the Classification Review Board," WBIE Australia said in a statement today. "We want to thank the thousands of Mortal Kombat fans in Australia and around the world who have voiced their support during the appeal process."

Furthermore:

Aussie customs to seize Mortal Kombat imports

The Australian gaming population fired up overnight, with news coming in yesterday afternoon that the Australian Classification Board (ACB) had decided to uphold the decision to slap a refused classification (RC) rating to fighting game Mortal Kombat. A game that has been RCed is illegal to promote or sell in Australia, meaning the title is effectively banned Down Under. And for those considering importing the game to circumvent the ban, it seems the Australian authorities are already on the lookout and ready to stop copies from reaching the nation.

GameSpot AU spoke with an Australian Customs and Border Protection Service spokesperson, who confirmed that the service had added Mortal Kombat to its list of prohibited items. The spokesperson said attempting to import Mortal Kombat is indeed illegal as it breaches the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956.

The Customs spokesperson said someone caught trying to import RCed games into Australia could expect a fine of up to three times the value of the product, or A$110,000, which ever is greater.

[Oznogrd]

What...the...fuck?

Really?

Yalls customs doesnt have better things to do?

[shadowgrin]

Somebody must think about the children. Great job!

[Andrew]

Yalls customs doesnt have better things to do?

Apparently not. And as I mentioned before, the funny thing about the refusal to have an R18+ classification for games - presumably for fear that the little kids will get their hands on it and be driven to do all kinds of nasty things - is that one only needs to be sixteen to buy a blade/knife or fifteen to buy movies that are probably just as bad, if not worse.

[The X]

I wasn't going to buy the game anyways, but shit, they need to sort out the MA15+ highest classification shit. They need R18+ classification. Even New Zealand has it. Australia is only Western country I can think of that is such a nanny state. What's next? Giving somebody who is bullied & acting in self defense as big a punishment & legal action against them than the bully?

[Andrew]

What's next? Giving somebody who is bullied & acting in self defense as big a punishment & legal action against them than the bully?

That's already happened sans the legal action, though I'm guessing you're referencing that. Both issues are a sad state of affairs and the attitudes that some people have towards them - that the country will go to hell if we have an R18+ rating for games or that the bullied victim is to blame - are baffling.

[kibaxx7]

Anyone saw the MK9 soundtrack album? "Mortal Kombat: Songs Inspired by the Warriors"... done by electronic artists, so most of you won't like it, but I love it -- Laidback Luke, Congorock, Felix Cartal, Wolfgang Gartner, MSTRKRFT, Skrillex, Tokimonsta taking part

phpBB [video]

phpBB [video]

phpBB [video]

[[Q]]

tried the demo and i like it a lot better than the originals. i never liked the originals since they seemed very clunky and not very smooth. i like how the combos seem to link together better and the fatalities are easier to do.

[Andrew]

The PS2-era MK games were a lot smoother. I guess I just kind of got used to the originals as I never had a huge problem with the controls, though the very first game is notably stiffer compared to its immediate successors and the more recent games.

I'd give my impressions of the demo but...well, you know.

[Oznogrd]

we dont have it yet on xbox anyway Andrew. PS3 for once got something before xbox did. I've been waiting on it for about a week and a half since my buddy d/l'ed it on his ps3

[benji]

If you haven't seen them and want to.

Character select screen:


All the stages:

[[Q]]

very nice i think this game could rejuvenate the series like SF4 did for Street Fighter

[JaoSming]

hey ladies

phpBB [video]

[JaoSming]

watching the fatalities and god damn....no wonder this got banned.

Serious spoiler
seriously
Joker's Fatality from DCvMK is baaaaack

phpBB [video]

[[Q]]

babalities are back! nice. i may be desensitized by all the games ive played, but what makes that different from say blowing someone into pieces/blowing someone's head off in Fallout 3: New Vegas or using the chainsaw in Gears of War?

EDIT: ok watched these secret fatalities and they are pretty crazy, but the game still shouldn't be banned

[JaoSming]

I spoilered your thing in case someone wants it secret

[Andrew]

i may be desensitized by all the games ive played, but what makes that different from say blowing someone into pieces/blowing someone's head off in Fallout 3: New Vegas or using the chainsaw in Gears of War?

That's the question gamers have posed to the Australian ratings board. Not surprisingly, there has been no satisfactory answer in that regard and I doubt we'll get one. Even if the initiative to get an 18+ classification is successful, there's no guarantee banned games will be re-evaluated. If anything, it'll just mean they re-classify games they'd put through as MA 15+ beforehand.

[[Q]]

are people required to have a parent buy it for them if they are under 18 and the game is 18+? i think that system is a bit better than the ESRB's 3 rating system of E-Everyone, T-Teen, M-Mature where most stores need a parent for a mature game. the ratings are overly conservative so games like call of duty are lumped into mature instead of a middle 15+ category