Whether coin-op or console, people have been wringing their hands over video-game violence since before Pac-Man was devouring ghosts whole (ayo!). It’s true that video games have always indulged our adolescent fantasies, and none more so than those revolving around playing with guns—and in some people’s cases, playing with hatchets, chainsaws, and cars. In today’s Grand Theft Auto era, nothing is virtually sacred, but it took a whole lot of trailblazing to get this far. So we at Complex took it upon ourselves to count down The 25 Most Violent Video Games Of All Time. What incited protests in the ’80s may seem quaint now, but don’t forget that rock ‘n’ roll was once the anti-Christ. Let the blame game begin!
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Our love for comics might have started when we were kids, but it’s persisted well into our non-kid years. And being the adults that we are now, with our attendant adult tastes, we sometimes like our comic books to have…let’s call it “mature content.” After all, stylized violence seems weird when it’s all THUD! and no blood.
That’s why we maintain a love for books that manage to juggle it all: great writing, great art, and no-holds-barred material when the time is right. You can keep your tights and sterile fights; we’ll stick with the comic books that put the “ill” in “illustration.” And we’ve rounded up The 40 Most Violent Comic Books Ever in anticipation of this weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con; read up now, impress a booth babe with your detailed knowledge later…
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When one thinks of pirates, the first image that comes to mind is probably a group of sword wielding homo-erotically dressed dudes sailing the seas on a rickety ship, binge drinking before they commandeer other vessels. If that’s true, you need to get that Hollywood shit outta ya head. Pirates aren’t some vestige of past centuries, they’re still around, wrecking havoc like it was the 1700s. Only this time, there’s no gold and swords, just machine guns and oil.
On Monday, while carrying $100 million worth of oil and a full crew, a Saudi Arabian tanker named the Sirius Star was captured off the coast of Kenya and is currently being held for ransom by a group of Somali pirates. The incident marks the biggest ship to ever be hijacked by pirates. While this is one of the most startling high seas attacks we’ve seen, it isn’t the craziest. Check some other examples of vicious pirate attacks below…
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Last week, a man in London was shot for wearing a Barack Obama T-Shirt. He was re-upping on his phone card minutes when some crazy ass came in, got all upset about the guy’s T-shirt and then shot him outside. Oof.
We don’t know if this means that those angry McCain supporters have been visiting the UK, but the incident serves as a clear reminder that wearing the wrong thing at the wrong time can be fatal. Now’s the time to brush up on some other fashion choices to be wary of if you want to avoid getting beat up, stabbed, or killed over your clothes. Stay safe with our handy guide below…
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Variety is reporting that Val Kilmer and Xzibit are the latest to sign on to Werner Herzog’s update of Abel Ferrara’s 1992 crooked-cop classic Bad Lieutenant. The new version'which Herzog is claiming is not a remake, but a continuation'stars Nic Cage, though we doubt Ol’ Melty Face can hold a candle to Harvey Keitel’s original performance.
Keitel’s drugged-out, alcoholic, minor-raping, compulsively gambling scumbag paved the way for Denzel’s Training Day tour de force and reinforced what quite a few of us already thought about the boys in blue (word to Spider Loc). After the jump, check out a few famous moments from the original flick, as well as the Schoolly D banger “Signifying Rapper,” which was featured prominently in the movie (and was ultimately cut from the VHS version after Jimmy Page’s bitch ass complained about the same “Kashmir” sample that he later gave to Puffy).
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Muhammad Ali might be pound-for-pound the greatest fighter of all time, but boxing’s history goes much deeper. Don King’s new Prizefighter video game (in stores June 10th) will teach you a lesson or two about the sport’s other greats with their “Historic Fights” option.
The 2K Sports release casts some of the greats from the '30s to the '70s like Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis, and Ken Norton, letting players compete in some of the most storied bouts of all time. The game, which also features a slew of modern fighters, lands in stores on June 10th. Watch the game’s “historic” trailer after the jump.
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After the vibrant, artsy look of their last two videos D.A.N.C.E. and DVNO, Parisian electronica duo Justice take a decidedly different direction with their newest video for their throbbing synth banger “Stress.” The Romain-Gavras directed clip, which recently premiered on Kanye West’s blog, follows a group of young delinquents (all rocking Justice’s cross logo on their jackets) as they rage through the streets, fighting pedestrians, destroying cars and generally causing mayhem. Sounds like Grand Theft Auto meets Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange. Brace yourself for the destruction after the jump.
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Today the three New York Police officers that gunned down Sean Bell were found not guilty. With New York in an uproar over the outcome of last November’s shooting in front of Club Kalua, and protests by Al Sharpton in the works, rappers like Mickey Factz, Prodigy and Queensbridge affiliate Un Pacino also expressed their feelings about the trial before the outcome. Listen to both songs after the jump.
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Violence and video games have become big news in the U.K. lately, thanks to the release of the government-commissioned Byron Review, a report on the effect that gaming and the internet can have on children. While Tanya Byron, the woman behind the review, has publicly stated that we need to stop blaming video games for society’s problems, the British press has used this as an excuse to do just that.
But the media’s hysteria has now reached a new low. A national U.K. newspaper has placed a classified ad, stating that they are willing to pay hundreds of pounds for stories about people who were turned on to a life of crime by playing video games. The best part? The ad is listed on StarNow, a job listing site for actors and models. So now’s the time: write a few lines about how Resident Evil 4 turned you into a chainsaw-wielding lunatic, practice those on-cue tears and get ready to stack that gwap! Read the full ad after the jump.
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In an LA Times article, writer Chuck Philips reveals new information on Tupac’s 1994 shooting at New York’s Quad Studios. Sources close to Sean Combs spoke with Philips about what really happened that pivotal night. Read the full article here.
