Mortal Kombat caused a huge shakeup in the fighting game genre. MK stood in direct opposition to Capcom and SNK with its button tap friendly, yet accessible special moves and combos in contrast to the complicated joystick motions of Fatal Fury and Street Fighter. Although the character designs were simple, they had well developed backgrounds, making the game’s backstory more fleshed out than the usual “some guy wants to know who the world’s strongest fighter is so he holds a tournament” story we see in 90% of fighting games at the time. The game also featured digitized actors with motion capturing. While it looks incredibly cheesy by today’s standards, it gave the game an unprecedented level of realism for its time. Oh, and there was one other big thing about it…oh yeah, that’s right, the blood. Punches and kicks drew blood, bodies were decapitated, hearts were pulled from chests as they were still beating, spines were ripped out, parents everywhere had fits, and politicians sensed opportunity.

Like many big gaming movements before and after MK, many games sought to imitate what made it special. Rather than presenting gamers with an equally accessible play control scheme or fully fleshed out characters, the companies decided to concentrate on the gore. As a result, we got games such as Incredible Technologies/Strata’s (keep these names in mind as they will come up again later on in the article) Time Killers and the 3DO ‘classic’, Way of the Warrior. While the latter game at least went the extra mile to use digitized actors, the play control and character designs of both games were so bad, that they actually rank among the greatest games of all time (albeit for all the wrong reasons). There were good games that used blood as a selling point as well. Eternal Champions, or rather its Sega CD iteration contained lots of hidden secrets, as well as a fighting game based on real-life styles that was more akin to Street Fighter than Mortal Kombat. Primal Rage set itself apart by not only featuring Dinosaurs and prehistoric apes as its characters, but by having a unique style of control motions that had players holding down the attack buttons while entering the motions. One game that stands in the middle is Strata/IT/Chun Soft’s Bloodstorm. While the play control and character designs leave a bit to be desired, it featured some unique gameplay mechanics which would have made it a classic had they been developed further.

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Remember to add PowetTV to your Xbox Live Friends List to find us December 28 Game Night! Look for me (FakeTrout) online and either take me down or save me from an execution, and I’ll reward you with the unlock code for a Gold Hammerburst!

Gift Guide is a series of articles highlighting some of our top picks for gift suggestions. Each article covers a specific genre with explanations of why we think these items make worthy gifts.

Today’s gift guide is DVD + BluRay. People love movies, and some people love movies so much they want to watch the same ones over and over. In that spirit, these are selections that are worth replaying.

The Dark Knight
I don’t think I need to say much here. This years follow up to Batman Begins has become the most popular movie this decade. Oscar worthy performances, music, and direction make this a must have for any movie fan. Available on DVD, Blu-Ray High Def, and in a special Blu Ray box set with a replica Bat-Pod.

Click on the different editions for more details!

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Although this game was a flop in terms of sales, its clever gameplay, awesome musical score, bright atmosphere, zany characters, and deep storyline have seen this game earn itself cult status amongst fans, as well as high praise amongst reviewers and gaming critics. It was created by Michael Ancel, who also created the Rayman series. It was because of this game that movie director Peter Jackson handpicked him to develop the video game tie-in to his remake of King Kong. Players take the role of Jade, a female photojournalist. Using her camera, she and her pig-uncle Pey’j earn a living anyway they can until one day, when they get caught in a conspiracy involving mysterious alien creatures, government manipulation, and a resistance group.

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So we have another teaser trailer for the upcoming Batman: Arkham Asylum game due out next summer. This one shows a bit more of the graphics and characters that will be featured in the game, including some nice shots of Killer Croc. If you haven’t heard already, both Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are voicing Batman and Joker respectively, which is a huge shout-out to fans of the animated series.

Keep checking Powet for more info and trailers of Arkham Asylum as they are released.

Gift Guide is a series of articles highlighting some of our top picks for gift suggestions. Each article covers a specific genre with explanations of why we think these items make worthy gifts.

Today’s Gift Guide topic is graphic novels. When you think about the term graphic novel today, often it is associated with comic books and superheroes. This is not always the case, however. Today’s list is comprised of half superhero stories and half non-superhero stories that are equally, if not moreso, compelling.

American Born Chinese
Gene Yang weaves together three separate stories. The first is a folk tale of a Monkey King who must come to terms with his true nature after declaring himself a god. The second storyline follows a young chinese boy that moves to America. After living there for a while, he meets another boy who recently moved from China and is quickly frustrated at his culture shock. The third plotline follows the sitcom of a boy in high school who’s Chinese cousin, Chin-Kee, comes to visit and immediately and deliberately follows one stereotype after another, completely embarassing the high schooler.

Why we like it: In addition to winning the Michael Printz Award, what could be considered the young adult literature equivalent of the Newbery Medal, the book takes a hilarious and light hearted look at racial stereotypes, coming to terms with, and appreciating this heritage.

Check out the rest of our list after the jump!
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Game looks GREAT, but the editing of the trailer is a little annoying. Bill Murray’s subtle delivery is kinda drowned out by the louder music and effects.

Atari grabbed Ghostbusters after Activision dropped it. Here’s hoping the new publisher and the delay will make for a better game.