Mortal Kombat vs Australia

Although I have never been a massive fan of fighting games, I have always had a soft spot for the Mortal Kombat franchise. Something about the awesome signature characters such as Scorpion and Sub Zero, as well as the overly gruesome and brutal fatalities always had me hooked on every new instalment. I avoided the 'watered' down Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe for the exact reason, it was 'watered' down, and my anticipation was heightened when I heard that Mortal Kombat was returning to its roots for the latest instalment. I have to date, been following every single shred of news that I can find on the upcoming blockbuster and when I heard the terrible news that it wasn't being released in Australia; I thought one thing, "FFFFFUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKK!"

I mean come on, we live in a society in which obviously under age teenagers can purchase alcohol from reputable bottle shops, buy cigarettes, get their hands on illegal drugs as well as pornographic content at the click of a button ("of course I'm 18"). All this and yet it is a video game that they feel is going to be damaging to children? Bullshit.

What makes it worse is that, it has been found time and time again in countless surveys that the average Australian gamer is between 25 - 30 years of age. Meaning that it is the 'mature' majority of the gaming community that is missing out on this heavily anticipated title because it apparently is worse than drugs and alcohol.

But wait, there's more. Suppose you were interested at maybe importing a copy for yourself from overseas. Forget it, Australian customs have spoken out, stating that they will be on the look out for 'suspicious' looking packages and will check anything that they believe to resemble a game. If someone is found attempting to import the game, they could face a fine of up to $110,000 dollars. What the fuck? I can see it now, customs officials searching frantically through bags, sifting through bags of pills and marijuana and tossing them aside in order to find the infamous Mortal Kombat. Please, what a joke.

Hopefully, Australia can eventually catch up with other countries and bring in a R18+ rating for video games, its about time we all grew up.

- Auzzie 

Passion VS Reality

I was thinking the other day about how passionate I am about making videos and playing video games constructively. During this blissful moment of reflection I was immediately brought back down to earth to face the ugly truth, I had a Uni assignment to finish. Of course, delaying the inevitability of actually starting my assignment, I began to think about how not only myself, but what I can only imagine to be countless others have hobbies that they are madly passionate about to the point that it often almost distracts them from what they 'have' to do. The issue of passion v.s reality.


My dad has called me slack countless times because I have pulled an all-nighter working on a video for my Youtube channel, and then slept through my alarm and missed an early start at University the following day. My dad would say, "I know that you enjoy making these videos mate, but you need to be realistic. Going to uni and getting a job is what is going to get you the income for your life, making these videos is a hobby, and at this stage, nothing more." This is the statement of someone that is, shall I say with quotes, 'realistic.' This going trend of what is realistic today is that you go to school and ultimately get a job. Hobbies, such as making Youtube videos are a fun way to keep your mind active and entertain you. But people mustn't let them become priority to the 'realistic' approach in life.


It is a shame to see that so many people are simply giving up on their passions because they have been repeatedly told that its not a realistic career path. Hell, I'm not saying that it is, but so long as you have a back up plan, why can't you give it a shot. If it doesn't work out, so what. You took the chance, and went for it. To me, that seems much better than just sitting idly and letting would could have been a promising opportunity pass you by.


I feel it would be fair to say that everyone would love to get themselves into a line of work that they love and feel passionate about. This, believe it or not, happens rarely in society. I'm not saying to quit your job or drop out of University or College on a whim without a plan in place. But there is no reason why you can't start something on the side, and potentially build from there. The people that manage to find themselves a career in an area that they are passionate about, were the ones that said, "fuck what everyone else says, I'm going to give it a shot."


Let me leave you with that ladies and gentlemen.


-Auzzie