I don't really have anything against violent video games. If that's what you're into, so be it. I certainly have friends that loved them. With that being said, they've never been for me. I first picked up video games when I was 7 or 8 and outside of those first couple of years when I stuck to stuff like Mario Kart, I've always played strictly sports games. The realistic violence in games has always just kind of made me uncomfortable with playing them. I've honestly never owned or rented a game that one could really consider violent.
Graphically violent video games are the only ones that I've ever really been obsessed with. I remember begging my parents for a Sega Genesis back in the day so I could buy Mortal Kombat and use the blood code. I still remember all the fatalities. Played bootleg Thrill Kill in college and loved it. Later, GTA III was what convinced me to shell out for a PS2. I didn't complete a lot of missions, if you know what I mean. Manhunt was another one that really got me going; I played the police-slaughtering level over and over. There was just something really liberating or... something about the gross violence in those games that really engaged me. The more horror-oriented games and FPS militaria stuff never gave me the same feeling as the over-the-top murder simulators. In real life, I don't own any weapons of any kind, nor do I want to. I'd be hard pressed to recall physically harming anyone in my life, and I ain't planning on it, either. I'm a sensitive soul with empathy to spare, so I don't quite understand my fascination with violent games, but it's there.
I remember my parents buying me MK3 for Christmas and then taking it back after my older brother said it was too violent and pointed to the Mature label. I was mad.
