Mortal Kombat 1 has been released to overwhelming praise, with special recognition for the extravagant narrative and its innovative gameplay mechanics. However, there is one aspect of the game that has received negative feedback: Megan Fox’s portrayal of Nitara. This marks the second instance where Mortal Kombat has faced criticism regarding a celebrity’s underwhelming performance, as Mortal Kombat 11 also faced similar backlash for Ronda Rousey’s lackluster portrayal of Sonya Blade.
Nevertheless, Mortal Kombat is not the sole franchise to encounter this issue. Despite achieving immense success on Game of Thrones, actor Peter Dinklage faced criticism for his portrayal of Ghost in Destiny, prompting developer Bungie to replace all of his dialogue. Additionally, we cannot overlook Matthew Perry’s lackluster performance in Fallout: New Vegas or Tobey Maguire’s portrayal in the 2002 film Spider-Man.
This raises the question: Why do games incorporate celebrities when the likelihood of receiving subpar performances from them is so high? Furthermore, why don’t games rely on actors who possess a better understanding of the gaming medium, as they can contribute significantly more to the gaming culture? This is precisely what Tam and Lucy delve into in this episode of Spot On.
Spot On is GameSpot’s weekly news show, where managing editor Tamoor Hussain and senior producer Lucy James engage in discussions about the latest gaming news. Given the ever-evolving and fast-paced nature of the video game industry, there is always a plethora of topics to explore. Unlike most news shows, Spot On delves deeply into a single subject instead of providing a mere recap of all the news. Spot On airs every Friday.