10 Video Games We'll Be Ashamed To Tell Our Kids About

2. Mortal Kombat 9

MK is a series that has carved out its own place in the minds of many gamers with a serrated machete, sitting comfortably at the top of the fighting game pile while all its brethren slowly die off.

How did it get to be so high though? Through a once-gimmick turned series-signature inclusion of bucketloads of gore at every turn. The core fighting mechanics at the heart of the game are actually still incredibly well thought-out, with developers NetherRealm Studios also putting together the phenomenal DC character-filled Injustice: Gods Among Us just last year.

It was with Mortal Kombat 9 though, that the series seemed to be nearing a tipping point when it comes to depictions of gore. Although it's all very clearly labelled as a fantasy setting, things like the above Fatality finishing move were rendered in such an impressive graphics engine that it caused champions of the medium such as Charlie Brooker to remark that regardless of much he'll stand up for games and expression, he found it to be "utterly disgusting".

The gore isn't the only selling point of the series after so many iterations, but it does feel like MK 9 brought about the discussion on just how realistic we let incredibly graphic depictions of violence become. It's a point NetherRealm have somewhat backed away from, as there's nothing anywhere near as cerebrally brutal in MK X.