Trigger Happy
63
Sumo wrestler (Ready 2 Rumble Boxing [see fig. 4])?
Bruce Lee in a gold lamÉ leotard, a pogo-happy alien
cyborg or a tiny, annoying dragon (Tekken 3)? Black,
Asian or Caucasian; male, female or indeterminate
xenomorph? Beat-’em-ups are nothing if not politically
inclusive; it is much more common for European men
to play as women or as Korean jujitsu experts than as
digital avatars of their own ethnic origins. It doesn’t
matter who you are in real life; here, the idea of play as
experimentation extends to your own genes.
Fig. 4. Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Croatian tank Boris Knokimov
(left) takes on cuddly Hawaiian Salua Tua. Rumble bumble . . .
(© 1999 Midway)