Mortal Kombat Gold

• Release Date: September 09, 1999
• Genre: Fighting
• Style: 3D Fighting
• Similar Games: Mortal Kombat Trilogy (Sega Saturn), Dead or Alive 2 (Dreamcast), Plasma Sword: Nightmare of Bilstein (Dreamcast), Heavy Metal: Geomatrix (Dreamcast)

Game Description

It is a time of despair. A war that was supposed to have ended with the defeat of Shao Kahn has resumed -- all thanks to an ambitious sorcerer named Quan Chi. The dark one freed the evil Elder God Shinnok from his imprisonment, thereby instigating yet another bloody conflict for control of Earth's realm.

It was Raiden himself, the God of Thunder, who banished Shinnok into the Netherealm thousands of years ago to protect against such a disaster. Now Raiden must once again stop Shinnok to save the world. He is not alone, however. A war to end all wars shall pit the finest combatants on Earth against the evil soldiers of the Netherealm. Who shall prevail? That's for you to decide -- the fate of the universe is in your hands!

Mortal Kombat Gold is an enhanced version of 1998's Mortal Kombat 4, which marked the first time a game in the Mortal Kombat series appeared in 3D. Twenty different warriors are available as playable characters right from the start (all of whom have weapons), but more are waiting to be discovered for those skilled enough.

Fighting on behalf of the forces of evil are: Baraka, Mileena, Reiko, Shinnok, Scorpion, Reptile, and Quan Chi. Those opposing them include: Sub-Zero, Tanya, Raiden, Sonya, Kung Lao, Liu Kang, Kitana, Kai, Jax, Johnny Cage, Fujin, Jarek, and Cyrax.

A total of four different game modes are available: Arcade, Team, Endurance, Tournament and Practice. Arcade offers you a chance to enter a Kombat Zone and fight an opponent to the death (computer or human). Once victorious, you will move up a ladder and face another fighter until you eventually confront the boss characters to determine your destiny.

Also featured in the Arcade mode is the ability to engage in 2-on-2 Kombat, which involves choosing two fighters and trying to beat two different opponents. If you manage to lose one match, the next character will take his or her place until you either emerge victorious or suffer defeat.

Team Mode expands on 2-on-2 Kombat by allowing you to select a group of fighters to challenge the computer or a friend; the first person to defeat all the fighters on one team is considered the winner. Endurance lets you see how skilled you are in the art of flawless victories -- your health meter never replenishes as you take on fighter after fighter!

Options within the Endurance mode include Vs. Endurance and Ultimate Endurance. Vs. Endurance has the computer automatically selecting the fighters as you challenge a friend for the most wins. Ultimate Endurance is structured exactly like the normal Endurance mode, only this time you'll receive an "Ultimate Kombat Rating" along with statistics.

Tournament Mode consists of four or eight players as you strive to defeat all opponents assigned to your bracket until you are the last one standing. The final mode is Practice, where you can learn the different moves against an active, inactive, or human opponent. Players can also elect to see the different button commands on the screen as they perform moves.

After honing their skills in the Practice Mode, players can select from a number of options to customize the main game. These include six levels of difficulty, adjustable wins (from two to nine) and continues (from zero to nine), and optional blood. Mortal Kombat Gold also features a Kombat Theater, allowing you to view each character's ending at any time, and supports the Jump Pack peripheral for vibration feedback. The game does not, however, make use of the VMU accessory.

Roots & Influences

Mortal Kombat made its debut in the Arcades in 1993, making a name for itself by featuring gruesome displays of violence through the use of "fatalities." These finishing moves would show scenes like a heart being ripped from a character's chest or the opponent's spine being dangled by the winner of the fight. Creators Ed Boon and John Tobias took the digitized technology seen in games like High Impact and Super High Impact and decided to make a fighting game with motion-captured actors. The success of Mortal Kombat inspired numerous sequels and clones, each trying to add to the amount of violence displayed on the screen by including more blood and over-the-top moves.

Review: Overall

For the third time in a row, a Mortal Kombat game has been released at the same time (or within months) of a next-generation console launch. The PlayStation saw Mortal Kombat 3 in 1995, the Nintendo 64 had Mortal Kombat Trilogy in 1996, and now the Dreamcast has Mortal Kombat Gold in 1999. When you think about it, the Dreamcast is perfect fodder for the series -- young, inexperienced, and ripe for the picking. A great opportunity to shovel another Mortal Kombat "update" onto gamers clamoring to snap up any title to show off their shiny new system.

Only this time the situation is different: unlike the single digit lineups of the PlayStation or Nintendo 64, people actually have a choice at launch with 18 other titles finding their way onto the shelves. This is key because Mortal Kombat Gold is a game in a series that seems afraid to try anything new. Unsuspecting gamers looking for something different should be warned that this is an ever-so-slight update to Mortal Kombat 4, seemingly thrown together at the last minute in order to ship on time.

The first telltale sign is the lack of VMU support to save controller configurations, "Kombat Kodes," unlocked characters, or accumulated statistics. I don't know how you can include a Tournament Mode and various other multi-player features and not have some way to track victories, frequency of character use, or other records to prove your fighting prowess. Adding insult to injury is that VMU support is even listed in the option screen! Again, this reeks of an unfinished game that was rushed to market to rack up as many sales as possible. Of course, the only way this could seriously happen is if the deliveryman somehow lost the Power Stone and Soul Calibur shipments en route to the store. Perhaps that was what Midway was hoping for...

Despite the annoying lack of VMU support, diehard fans of the tired series can enjoy Arcade-quality graphics and copious amounts of blood splattered all over the screen (in high resolution, no less). There are also 13 different arenas, many with a few objects strewn about to use as weapons (such as boulders or skulls), but all are basically what you'd expect from what was once a dark -- even scary -- fighting game. There's a cathedral, an ancient crypt, and a palace, among other familiar locales. And what Mortal Kombat game would be complete without spiked floors and ceilings to impale your victims on? The bottom line is that if you have a special fondness for the series, then you will absolutely love seeing your favorite "kombatants" on a 128-bit system. If you are looking for something new in gameplay, however, don't even bother.

Mortal Kombat Gold, like Mortal Kombat 4 before it, is technically a 2D fighter with a 3D facelift. Aside from side stepping, the controls are exactly the same as in previous versions of the series, which is a blessing for those who enjoy firing projectile after projectile at their opponents instead of relying on intricate hand-to-hand fighting. A new "idea" implemented in Mortal Kombat 4 was whipping out a sinister looking weapon (seemingly out of thin air) to provide even more sprays of blood. Of course, when every punch, kick, and nudge causes your opponent to lose a good pint or two, what's the point? There is no added technique required with using a weapon other than pounding a button.

But wait! You want to know more about the graphics, right? That is what will make or break this title in the minds of the Mortal Kombat faithful, correct? If Soul Calibur or Power Stone never saw the light of day, not to mention Sonic Adventure, TrickStyle, AirForce Delta, or NFL 2K, then perhaps Mortal Kombat Gold would seem more impressive than it actually is. The characters are nicely detailed and the animation is fluid, but the game almost moves too fast for its own good. Almost as if to distract you so you don't realize how shallow the actual fighting engine really is...

What you get in Mortal Kombat Gold is an abundance of blood (surprise, surprise), some gruesome fatalities (that have definitely lost their effect over the years), and a simplistic fighting engine that essentially involves using the same basic moves over and over again. Longtime critics argue that repeated exposure to explicit displays of violence can desensitize viewers to a point where a startling event becomes rather mundane. I hate to say it, but Mortal Kombat Gold does nothing to disprove this theory.

Mortal Kombat's "gimmick" (graphic violence) made it a unique alternative to those who were sick of Capcom's Street Fighter II games. The digitized graphics, serious tone, and almost outrageous fatalities captivated an audience who had never experienced such imagery in a coin-op game. Six years later, the gameplay is almost identical and the gimmick has overstayed its welcome. Mortal Kombat Gold simply can't be recommended to anyone who loves fighting games, and even longtime fans will be disappointed by the overall lack of "oomph" in this 128-bit title. You really have to wonder just how much longer this series can go on. All I can say is (in a deep, evil voice)...FINISH IT!

Review: Enjoyment

You either love this game or hate it, but the lack of significant enhancements keeps this title from reaching its full potential. Of course, many would argue that the series hit the ceiling with Mortal Kombat II.

Review: Graphics

It is said the developer used 3,000 polygons on the characters alone, but if that's true then it wasn't worth it. Compared to Power Stone, Soul Calibur, or nearly every other Dreamcast game featuring characters, Mortal Kombat impresses the least. You never get the impression that these characters are real -- hair doesn't flail about when characters leap in the air, clothes don't flutter, and facial expressions never change. Are the graphics Arcade worthy? Yes, but they are not Dreamcast worthy.

Review: Sound

The infamous announcer is back with all of his words of "encouragement" intact. The music sounds great in stereo, but the poorly acted character voices are a step backward.

Review: Replay Value

Fans of {*Mortal Kombat 4} will enjoy playing it over and over with a friend, but there aren't many game modes to encourage repeated play for solo kombatants. The cheap bosses, unbalanced characters, and simplistic fighting engine all add up to a below average title on the {!Dreamcast}. Play a few games and you'll quickly become bored.

Review: Documentation

The gold-embossed 38-page manual is in full color and explains all of the game modes in detail as well as each character's moves.

Production Credits

mortal kombat gold