Thrill Kill

Thrill Kill was a fighting game being developed for the PlayStation by Paradox Development . It would never be released, however, as it was cancelled by Electronic Arts after they acquired it from than publisher, Virgin Interactive. EA didn't want to publish such a senselessly violent game, as they felt that it would harm their image. (EA, in fact, wouldn't publish another M-rated game until .)

Gameplay consisted of a closed 3D room where up to four opponents would fight to the death, and proceed to finish each other off with Thrill Kills, much like the fatalities of Mortal Kombat. Instead of the usual life bar, characters built up a power bar. Once a player's bar was full, that player's character could activate a Thrill Kill move to brutally slay an opponent.

Thrill Kill was considered a technical feat for the PlayStation for allowing four players to fight simultaneously in the same room. Overly offensive content included amputated and handicapped characters, and extremely violent and sexual moves with names such as "Bitch Slap", "Swallow This" and "Head Muncher."

While officially cancelled, bootleg copies have been available over the Internet and on auction sites such as eBay.

The Thrill Kill engine was later used to make Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style (published October 31, 1999 by Activision) based on the rap group Wu-Tang Clan. Characters were based off members of the Wu-Tang Clan, such as Rza, Gza, Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa, Raekwon, etc. While violent, Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style had less objectionable content (or unobjectionable content, for that matter) than Thrill Kill, and poorly received.

Following the success of the X-Men films, Paradox Development developed the fighting games X-Men: Mutant Academy and X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 for the PlayStation, and X-Men: Next Dimension for the PlayStation 2.

The latest titles from Paradox Development include the poorly-received Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This At Home and its equally unpopular sequel, Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood. Many consider them spiritual successors to Thrill Kill, because of their crude humor and over-the-top violence.

External links

• Paradox Development Official Site - Thrill Kill
• IGN.com Thrill Kill preview