Good News Gamers: Mortal Kombat 1 Is Out Now!

For all my fighting game fanatics, it looks like 2023 is shaping up to be a great year. Street Fighter 6 was released earlier this year to rave reviews and now the highly anticipated Mortal Kombat 1 was released Sept. 14th for all consoles. NetherRealm Studios basically rebooted the MK universe and so far the fans are loving it.

"Developed by award-winning NetherRealm Studios, Mortal Kombat 1 introduces a new beginning for the franchise with a reborn Mortal Kombat Universe created by Fire God Liu Kang, featuring iconic heroes and villains reimagined as they’ve never been seen before," Warner Bros. said in a release. "The genre-defining Story mode provides a fresh cinematic narrative with new relationships, unexpected twists on classic rivalries, and original backstories for a wide-ranging cast of characters."

Check out the official launch trailer!

Warner Bros. says the game "features a robust roster of fighters with unique abilities and Fatalities, including Liu Kang, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Raiden, Kung Lao, Kitana, Mileena, Johnny Cage, Kenshi, Smoke, Rain, Li Mei, Tanya, Baraka, Geras, Reptile, Ashrah, Havik, General Shao, Sindel, Reiko, Shang Tsung, and the vampire heroine Nitara played by actress Megan Fox."

A new game mode is also exciting for gamers.

The game "extends the single-player offering with the debut of Invasions, a progression-based mode where gamers can traverse the realms via an interactive map, experiment with different character builds, and complete numerous challenges to earn a variety of rewards, all built on a themed six-week seasonal schedule."

From fashion, food, nature, and television, there are a plethora of things people hate for no justifiable reason other than, "the internet told me to." And with the upcoming release of the new Nickelback documentary, I thought now would be a great time to take a look at other things that I believe get more hate than they deserve.

World-famous band Nickelback, despite enormous commercial success spanning decades, has long been the butt of cruel jokes and memes in every corner of the internet. A new upcoming documentary, Hate To Love: Nickelback, looks to tackle the issue and address the arguably undue hate head-on.

According to PEOPLE, Nickelback front man Chad Kroeger spoke passionately about the doc in a media interview at the Toronto Film Festival, stating that after it was released he would no longer be talking about that part of the band's legacy. “We made a documentary, everybody can watch it. And now from this day forward, if anybody asks that question in the press, it's like that's the end of the interview."

Personally, I've never had a problem with Nickelback. Sure, their music catalog isn't the most diverse which makes a lot of their music sound formulaic. But you know what? It's a good formula. You're gonna tell me with a straight face that you've never jammed out with "How You Remind Me" cranked all the way up in your car? Are you really trying to deny that "Rockstar" is an all-time banger? You're just gonna lie to yourself like that?

While this level of hate and disdain is in a league of its own with Nickelback, there are definitely other facets of pop culture that the internet has hurled unjust resentment toward. But if you take a second to really analyze these things, perhaps you can look at them through a softer, more compassionate lens.

I'm entirely convinced that most people who say they hate the trend of pumpkin spice everything, have never actually tried anything pumpkin spice flavored. It's sweet, it's savory, it's everything you need for a tasty autumn treat. Don't be a food snob.

Oh yeah, I went there! Creed is one of those bands I feel like people are ashamed to admit they like. Ever notice how people who say they hate Creed somehow know the words to all of the band's biggest hits? They'll even imitate Scott Stapp's iconic singing style with 100% authenticity. But sure, they totally can't stand Creed *wink wink*.  The haters doth protest too much, methinks. (That's right, I'm a Creed fan who knows Shakespeare. Deal with it.)

I'm not gonna sit here and pretend that 99% of reality television isn't absolute garbage. But it's fun, entertaining garbage! You ever wanna feel better about yourself and where your life is, just put on an episode of Sister Wives or Teen Mom and suddenly things won't seem so bad.

They may not be the cuddliest of critters, but snakes get a bad rep for the most part. Snakes aren't as aggressive or harmful to humans as one would think, and they even help control the pest population by killing invasive rodents. Just stay out of their way and they'll stay out of yours.

Sure, don't wear them to an art gala or anything like that. But cargo shorts are perfectly suited for those who desire function-over-form fashion. Also, cargo shorts are the perfect way to smuggle snacks into movie theaters undetected. Not that I'd ever endorse such behavior of course...

Dave Matthews Band is perhaps the most divisive musical group in the history of all sound. People either really love them or really, REALLY hate them. But as with most things on the internet, the ones who hate them are often the most vocal. But my fellow millenials can't deny that a wave of 90s nostalgia washes over them the second DMB comes on.

Sharks have long been villainized in pop culture as the terror of the sea. Movies like Jaws and The Meg have skewed public perception of sharks and made them out to be a bigger threat than they are in reality. According to World Animal Foundation, there were only 57 reports of unprovoked shark attacks last year in the entire world. So sharks shouldn't be that big of a concern for you on your next beach trip. Keep an eye on the dolphins though. Those guys are shifty.

Many people turn their nose up at Hot Pockets, often citing them as the go-to meal for people who don't know how to cook a proper meal. Well sometimes after a long, grueling day at work you don't always feel like busting out the pots and pans to fix an intricate dinner. That's where Hot Pockets come in to save the day. They're quick and easy to heat up and, in my opinion, they taste great. The pepperoni pizza Hot Pocket in particular is my jam! I'm not cooking for Gordon Ramsay so leave me and my Hot Pockets alone.

In case I haven't made it abundantly clear by now, I'm a pretty major wrestling nerd. And over the course of my fandom I've heard it all. "You know it's fake right?" "How can you watch this crap?" "How are they gonna fight for a belt when most of them don't even wear pants?" Ok that last one might hold some truth, but the others are simply bad faith arguments that critics use to try and diminish a person's enjoyment of pro wrestling.

News flash guys: wrestling fans KNOW that wrestling isn't real. Do you hate on action movies for the same reason? You know Tom Holland doesn't actually have spider powers right? I'm not going to claim that wrestling is high brow entertainment. But if you're willing to turn your brain off and allow yourself to enjoy the pageantry and stunning feats of athleticism, I think you'll come to find that wrestling isn't nearly as bad or trashy as haters like to say it is.

I understand the inherent bias I have here, being a country radio DJ and all that. But I don't care, country music is great and I'm sick of the bad rep it gets in mainstream society.

As with all forms of music, country is a diverse and multi-faceted genre with something to offer for everyone. Music snobs often like to reduce country to nothing more than just beer and trucks. But the reality is that country music covers a wide array of subjects from heartbreak, death, mental health, class warfare, social issues, and sure, even the occasional tractor that is indeed very big and very green.

My point being, people who say they hate country music are usually working off of an extremely narrow view of what country music actually is.