There is but one feeling comes to mind for Mortal Kombat Gold

Editor’s note: This review originally appeared in 4Q2014. It has been edited for spelling, grammar and clarity.

Indignation. It’s a strong word that should only be used in times of desperation when you feel as though you can’t get your point across. When your wishes are being ignored and no one is listening. When someone or something is pushing forward, determined to propel an agenda that should remain unfurthered in its infancy.

The Mortal Kombat team had a strong place in my heart of hearts, one that beat for the kombat and intimacy known from digital murder of pawns connected to Shao Khan. I knew of this intimacy because I chose to marry myself to the Mortal Kombat series early on. Much like my real-life marriage some years later, I learned I should be more careful about who I chose to partner with. Mortal Kombat Gold was one such partner, a partner I regret letting into my life because of its flaws.

You can’t ever be too sure how a fighting game is going to turn out. There are factors beyond a team’s control that mean the significant difference between a blockbuster that’s anticipated on day one of its release or being in a trash heap in a landfill out in New Mexico. MK Gold falls into the latter part of this characterization, or at least it should. From the moment I booted the game to the horrifying aftermath of shutting off my Dreamcast, my emotions from having witnessed that tiring effort in sullying the Mortal Kombat name ranged from shock to calm indignation to fury unfurled.

There’s that word again, indignation. There was a quiet indignation at the raw unprocessed fashion that MK4 basically ruined a once-decent franchise. There was a violent indignation that someone – developer Eurocom – was obviously trying its hardest to kill my beloved fighting game series. There was indignation to go all around, for the way my favorite series was being handled to the way the series embarrassed itself on opening day with a bad port of an already bad game.

And embarrassment? Let’s talk embarrassment in the form of MK Gold. There is nothing, and I do mean NOTHING, worse than a game that doesn’t know it’s bad and tries to present itself as if it’s a good option. MK Gold is one of the worst games to ever be released. It’s on par with Superman 64 in terms of representing an established property. Low-budget graphics, poor controls, game-breaking glitches … there’s everything here that concocts to make a mockery of a series that was already sliding into the ditch of obscurity. The combat system is terrible, with characters using weapons that have nothing to do with them. Using an already terrible system (from MK4), the actual combat is weak and plays with the apathy of a bored teenager who doesn’t want to get out of bed on a weekend morning. It’s slow and preposterously arrogant to present itself as having some sort of strategy.

Then there’s the graphics. MK4 looks terrible, so continuing that trend with a few new characters and backgrounds thrown in for good measure is not a responsible idea. It’s one of increasing stupidity with each addition. The game looked terrible from the start, and it’s obvious that nothing really was done to fix the crucial parts that needed fixing. Gold is just dressed up, terrible Mortal Kombat, and it is going nowhere, trust me. The audio is just about the only bright spot in the entire sordid affair, and that can only get the game so far in its quest not to fail. A few tracks and an unintentionally hilarious voice track make the game interesting, but that’s about it.

Indignation at the character assassination of my favorite fighting game series still burns bright for me. There’s nothing I can say to justify the existence of the abomination that is MK Gold. And there was nothing that I could possibly do to dampen the disappointment at seeing the series slide into a death spiral. Nothing could prepare you … for the mediocrity and poor visage of MK Gold.

Lyndsey Beatty is editor-in-chief of Gaming Insurrection. She can be reached by email at lyndseyb@gaminginsurrection.com.