The question is: would Mortal Kombat have been so popular without the violence? If it had been called Mortal Wombat and starred fluffy Australian animals instead, would the gameplay have made it just as successful? I have my doubts. We were all so blown away by the game's excellent graphics and addictive gore that, initially at least, we overlooked the fairly clunky gameplay. When the first game was released in arcades, its success was based on a disguise of kinds. You see, the Mortal Kombat series has always involved deception of some sort. It wasn't meant that way, but it's appropriate nonetheless. This game has the best-fitting title of the year.