Are games more violent today?
See history's most brutal pastimes from gladiatorial games to medieval massacres for the answer
The Game: Bullfighting
Developer: The Spanish
Release date: 18th century
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1
Rating: Rated M for gory deaths, animal cruelty, and the excessive use of capes.
Nothing says 'I love you' like the bloody carcass of a bull. Royal weddings and military victories were often celebrated with the public slaying of bulls during the Middle Ages before the Spanish evolved bullfighting into the sport that made Ernest Hemmingway feel like a real man.
Not much has changed since the early 18th century, when the spectacle of horsemen spearing a bull to death was restructured to focus more on the drawn out battle between the matador, a well-dressed swordsman, and the bull. Today, the bull doesn't stand much more of a chance against its human opponent. Despite modern regulations that prohibit drugging the bull and shaving its horns (to throw off its sense of balance), the matador's troupe of picadors still trot about on horses and drive lances into the bull's back, twisting them to drain its blood prior to the fight. This weakens the bull and reduces its mobility, making it easier for the matador to land a final killing blow between the bull's shoulder blades.
Above: Achievement Unlocked: If the crowd is pleased by the matador's victory, he will remove the bull's ear and tail, tossing them to the crowd
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