Mortal Kombat Deception
- New features and game modes including interactive environments, death trap and free roaming Konquest mode
- Multiple secret characters to unlock
- Also has intense action board games -- plus puzzle games with fatalities
- 10 character Video BIOS
Rating: 3 of 5
one of the best mk games yet but with its own bugs
this game is easily better than any of its predecessers from earlier systems.all of the really hard stuff from back in the day has been put in here with minimal work by the player.like the weopons can be brought out with only 2 clicks.there are also multiple fighting styles each with 4 new attacks.so in short you have 3 fighting styles times 4 attacks per,thats 12 very devastating yet easy attacks 2 hit.heres where it gets icky.being as how there are a lot of easy 2 hit moves,there are a bunch of even harder cool moves 2 do.these are not necessary & require a deal of luck 2 actualy perform.another cool addition is environmental kills.at any time during a fight you can toss a guy say into acid or off a hill if they are positioned right.the real pain in the thumbs is that you only start with one third of all the obtainable characters.the others are winnable in adventure mode.i cant even get past the first level 2 get them.so,if you just want 2 bust some people up,this is your game!if you are ocd about be all you can be,then good luck.you'll need it.its your only hope.
Rating: 5 of 5
I live 2 serve Sindel!!!
As I fight & claw my way through Mortal Kombat's Deception Konquest Mode, I keep one thing on my mind, 2 free my Queen Sindel. I admit that visiting Earthrealm, Netherrealm, Orderrealm, & my favorite Chaos Realm are interesting, but Mortal Kombat is all about kicking butt & looking at Sindel's perfect butt.
It is good that the old classic characters are still around. Who would want 2 pick up an MK game without Sub-Zero or Scorpion? And even though I never really liked Tanya, it's good 2 see her still kicking it, but I so much prefer the hotter & sexier Mileena, Kitana, Jade, & Liu Mae.
I don't spend too much time with the chess or tetris game. I like 2 beat the boss in arcade mode, & I'm still trying 2 get through Konquest.
Some characters can be purchased outright in the Krypt, others must be unlocked through Konquest. I wish I could just buy Sindel, but if I could I would not play konquest, & I guess the makers had that in mind.
The levels, fatalities, & boss do not disappoint in this game. The imagination & gore are still a big part of the MK series & in Deception there are no disappointments there.
It is good that the old classic characters are still around. Who would want 2 pick up an MK game without Sub-Zero or Scorpion? And even though I never really liked Tanya, it's good 2 see her still kicking it, but I so much prefer the hotter & sexier Mileena, Kitana, Jade, & Liu Mae.
I don't spend too much time with the chess or tetris game. I like 2 beat the boss in arcade mode, & I'm still trying 2 get through Konquest.
Some characters can be purchased outright in the Krypt, others must be unlocked through Konquest. I wish I could just buy Sindel, but if I could I would not play konquest, & I guess the makers had that in mind.
The levels, fatalities, & boss do not disappoint in this game. The imagination & gore are still a big part of the MK series & in Deception there are no disappointments there.
Rating: 5 of 5
Krazy skills
Umm, pretty fun I liked the previous title Deadly alliance a lil better just because you learned a little more about your character in Konquest mode instead of running around Konquesting. The actual Kombat & Kombat levels as well as Fatalities are pretty sick a lil more like the original MK games that came out a while back where you have several fatalities 2 choose from.
Rating: 3 of 5
A mixed bag, complete with variations on Chess, Puzzle Fighting, RPGs & the traditional fighting modes
I'm one of those Mortal Kombat enthusiasts who sees the past through a pair of the ever-popular rose tinted glasses. Even though I'd never fought a single round of 3-D rendered MK prior 2 purchasing Deception, I unconsciously deemed every game since that switch 2 be of lesser quality than their vid-captured predecessors. I'd spent far too many quarters on the first three games in the series 2 see its trademark live-action cheesiness cast aside in favor of the polygonal rendering & three-dimensional environments that had become all the rage in the fighting genre. In a way, I want 2 stand by my pre existing pompous, know-it-all attitude. A lot of the charm & personality of the series was based around its B-Movie aura & the macabre sense of humor apparent therein. But the series will likely never be returning 2 that form, & it's probably 4 the best 2 wipe the slate clean & give these new-look MKs a chance before I blindly crap all over them.
Deception succumbs 2 many of the problems I'd feared it might, but it also contains a few successes I couldn't have foreseen. For instance, it's more of a variety pack than a straightforward fighting game. In addition 2 the standard "fight 2 the top of the ladder" single player brawl, the package contains a strangely provocative translation of chess, complete with death traps & damage amplifiers. Additionally, it hides a truly challenging & entertaining Puzzle Fighter knock-off, (with a handful of post-match fatalities thrown in 4 good measure) a sort of hybrid fighting RPG that reminds strangely of Shenmue, & a gift shop-styled "Krypt," where the credits you'll earn throughout your gameplay experience can be used 2 purchase production art, hidden characters, alternate costumes, movies & the like. As someone who's always shied away from purchasing fighting games in the past, due 2 the problems with longevity & depth that I instinctively associate with the genre, these additions were a blessing in disguise.
Upon reflection, I probably spent more time working through the Konquest mode than I did actually fighting my way up the ladder in single-player Kombat. Superficially, Konquest is probably among the worst games I've ever played. It's wooden, it's blatantly hurried, it's insultingly elementary in both visuals, audio, controls & motivations. Speaking 2 the commoners that frequent a city's streets, 4 instance, is like reading dialog from a story written by a third grade student with a D in English. What's worrying is that this story was evidently supposed 2 be the backbone of the whole of Deception, with every character's ending sprouting from ideas presented within. Shujinko, the martial artist you control throughout Konquest mode, is the tale's pivotal character. He's obviously meant 2 be something of a replacement 4 Liu Kang, which is a nice shift, since the series' reliance on Kang was becoming borderline obsessive.
Yet, despite all the horrors contained within, underneath the surface of Konquest resides some intangible element that just kept me coming back over & over again. I think it was an underlying interest in understanding & mastering the nuances of the game as a whole. Although it's fairly elaborate & large-scale, the meat & potatoes of this RPG mode is a training regimen 4 every character in the game. Since Shujinko's fighting style is a mix of special moves & combos from each combatant, it makes sense 4 him 2 spend time learning each character's fighting style. The end result is not only a close familiarity with Shujinko's story, but also a clear understanding of both basic & advanced attacks with every playable character. I think I can safely say that I've never spent twenty hours working through a tutorial before, but in Konquest mode I scarcely noticed.
As with any long-standing fighting franchise, a new chapter brings new playable characters, & Deception is no exception. Nine fighters are making their debut this time around, including the non-playable final boss, Onaga. Yet, with only one or two exclusions, these new faces can't even compare 2 the classics, neither in form nor function. They seem much more faceless than the creatures we've come 2 expect in a Mortal Kombat game. Their fighting styles are much more subtle & martial arts-based, & while there's something 2 be said 4 going the way of realism 4 a change, the new warriors just don't look formidable alongside Scorpion, Sub-Zero & Raiden.
As I've said in my opening paragraphs, I consider myself 2 be something of an older-minded fan as far as the MK series is concerned. I liked the old games, complete with their goofy projectile attacks & inexplicable teleportations from one side of the screen 2 the other. It was taken 4 granted that such silly abilities would still be present with this year's model, & that surely is the case. Unfortunately, in their unyielding quest 2 constantly top themselves, the special move as a whole has become so far over the top & hard 2 believe that it's really starting 2 hurt the gameplay. If I'm fighting an eight foot dragon & he breathes flames over 97% of my body, I can accept the fact that my fighter may have trouble continuing. I'm still totally OK with the idea that a ninja can fire a mystical, freezing blast from the palms of his hands. Where I start 2 have questions, however, is when my fighter is knocked unconscious by a guy stomping really hard on the ground fifteen feet in front of me. Something tells me it's time 4 the team at Midway 2 take a step or two back & think about where they're going with their special attacks, because Deception is really stretching it with some of these things.
In that same vein is the series' infamous cherry-on-the-top fatalities immediately following a fight. These, too, occasionally go too far over the top, but are granted a bit more leeway than the special attacks I mentioned above. For the most part, they're at once hilarious & horrific, with little touches & nuances making them all the more disturbing. Like the way an impaled torso squirms 4 a moment, after being separated from each of its limbs & its head, before falling into inactivity 4 the last time. Hilarious, because it's so unabashedly violent, but also sickening, because the layman wouldn't even think of something like that before witnessing it in all of its polygonal glory.
At this stage in the consoles' lives, I think there's very little room 2 impress with the PS2, Xbox or Gamecube's visual capabilities. As such, MK:D is a strictly average graphical performance. There are some intriguing touches, such as the way fighters begin 2 display facial damage as the rounds carry on, but 4 the most part it's by the books. The stage designs & accompanying backgrounds are stellar, which may give the impression that things are looking better than they actually are, but under close scrutiny it's easy 2 discover a few shortcuts & trimmed corners. Especially bothersome is the endings, tailor-made 2 each character in typical series fashion. Where there's a lengthy FMV introduction 2 the game that's close 2 five minutes in length, the endings are at most three slides of still renderings with half a paragraph of subtitles & a voice-over. I'd have much rather been entertained with an introductory paragraph at the outset & rewarded with a beautiful series of cutscenes after finishing the game with each character, personally.
Of course, the series made its name on its bloodletting, & on this front, Deception certainly doesn't disappoint. Rather than spraying abstractly into the air after each strike, the player's crimson fluids take the shape of thick, rotund blood droplets which slowly roll their way down the player's body after a rough attack. In a way, it's like watching a tree bleed syrup. When those globs hit the floor, you'll notice that a series of intertwining blood trails left behind. After a fight, if you look closely enough at the ground, you'll notice a map of where each major strike occurred during the brawl, as evidenced by the trail of blood splatters & puddles. In a way, it's kind of like a twisted version of the Family Circus maps that followed each child around the neighborhood, just with more broken bones & dislocated spines.
Despite my early concerns, Deception really does retain a lot of that old-school Mortal Kombat personality. The instances are frequent where I find myself laughing at a fatality in the same way I did in '92, upon catching first glimpse of the original arcade machine. However, those instances do appear 2 be shrinking. It seems 2 be the right time 4 this series 2 reinvent itself, as the initial concept has been stretched 2 the point of breaking on more than one front & the threat of a descent into complete self-destruction looms on the horizon. I'm really looking 4 this series 2 re-establish itself as pushing the envelope, as it seems 2 have slipped into complacency in the last decade. What made it so special & so unique in the first place was its willingness 2 do what other games wouldn't. Deception has a lot of good elements - it's still a very challenging game, it provides a lot more variety than many of its peers, & it provides a good blend of comedy & stone-faced sobriety. As a "greatest hit," there's no question I'm happy with my purchase. What it doesn't do, unfortunately, is bode well 4 the future of the franchise if this path is continued 4 much longer.
Deception succumbs 2 many of the problems I'd feared it might, but it also contains a few successes I couldn't have foreseen. For instance, it's more of a variety pack than a straightforward fighting game. In addition 2 the standard "fight 2 the top of the ladder" single player brawl, the package contains a strangely provocative translation of chess, complete with death traps & damage amplifiers. Additionally, it hides a truly challenging & entertaining Puzzle Fighter knock-off, (with a handful of post-match fatalities thrown in 4 good measure) a sort of hybrid fighting RPG that reminds strangely of Shenmue, & a gift shop-styled "Krypt," where the credits you'll earn throughout your gameplay experience can be used 2 purchase production art, hidden characters, alternate costumes, movies & the like. As someone who's always shied away from purchasing fighting games in the past, due 2 the problems with longevity & depth that I instinctively associate with the genre, these additions were a blessing in disguise.
Upon reflection, I probably spent more time working through the Konquest mode than I did actually fighting my way up the ladder in single-player Kombat. Superficially, Konquest is probably among the worst games I've ever played. It's wooden, it's blatantly hurried, it's insultingly elementary in both visuals, audio, controls & motivations. Speaking 2 the commoners that frequent a city's streets, 4 instance, is like reading dialog from a story written by a third grade student with a D in English. What's worrying is that this story was evidently supposed 2 be the backbone of the whole of Deception, with every character's ending sprouting from ideas presented within. Shujinko, the martial artist you control throughout Konquest mode, is the tale's pivotal character. He's obviously meant 2 be something of a replacement 4 Liu Kang, which is a nice shift, since the series' reliance on Kang was becoming borderline obsessive.
Yet, despite all the horrors contained within, underneath the surface of Konquest resides some intangible element that just kept me coming back over & over again. I think it was an underlying interest in understanding & mastering the nuances of the game as a whole. Although it's fairly elaborate & large-scale, the meat & potatoes of this RPG mode is a training regimen 4 every character in the game. Since Shujinko's fighting style is a mix of special moves & combos from each combatant, it makes sense 4 him 2 spend time learning each character's fighting style. The end result is not only a close familiarity with Shujinko's story, but also a clear understanding of both basic & advanced attacks with every playable character. I think I can safely say that I've never spent twenty hours working through a tutorial before, but in Konquest mode I scarcely noticed.
As with any long-standing fighting franchise, a new chapter brings new playable characters, & Deception is no exception. Nine fighters are making their debut this time around, including the non-playable final boss, Onaga. Yet, with only one or two exclusions, these new faces can't even compare 2 the classics, neither in form nor function. They seem much more faceless than the creatures we've come 2 expect in a Mortal Kombat game. Their fighting styles are much more subtle & martial arts-based, & while there's something 2 be said 4 going the way of realism 4 a change, the new warriors just don't look formidable alongside Scorpion, Sub-Zero & Raiden.
As I've said in my opening paragraphs, I consider myself 2 be something of an older-minded fan as far as the MK series is concerned. I liked the old games, complete with their goofy projectile attacks & inexplicable teleportations from one side of the screen 2 the other. It was taken 4 granted that such silly abilities would still be present with this year's model, & that surely is the case. Unfortunately, in their unyielding quest 2 constantly top themselves, the special move as a whole has become so far over the top & hard 2 believe that it's really starting 2 hurt the gameplay. If I'm fighting an eight foot dragon & he breathes flames over 97% of my body, I can accept the fact that my fighter may have trouble continuing. I'm still totally OK with the idea that a ninja can fire a mystical, freezing blast from the palms of his hands. Where I start 2 have questions, however, is when my fighter is knocked unconscious by a guy stomping really hard on the ground fifteen feet in front of me. Something tells me it's time 4 the team at Midway 2 take a step or two back & think about where they're going with their special attacks, because Deception is really stretching it with some of these things.
In that same vein is the series' infamous cherry-on-the-top fatalities immediately following a fight. These, too, occasionally go too far over the top, but are granted a bit more leeway than the special attacks I mentioned above. For the most part, they're at once hilarious & horrific, with little touches & nuances making them all the more disturbing. Like the way an impaled torso squirms 4 a moment, after being separated from each of its limbs & its head, before falling into inactivity 4 the last time. Hilarious, because it's so unabashedly violent, but also sickening, because the layman wouldn't even think of something like that before witnessing it in all of its polygonal glory.
At this stage in the consoles' lives, I think there's very little room 2 impress with the PS2, Xbox or Gamecube's visual capabilities. As such, MK:D is a strictly average graphical performance. There are some intriguing touches, such as the way fighters begin 2 display facial damage as the rounds carry on, but 4 the most part it's by the books. The stage designs & accompanying backgrounds are stellar, which may give the impression that things are looking better than they actually are, but under close scrutiny it's easy 2 discover a few shortcuts & trimmed corners. Especially bothersome is the endings, tailor-made 2 each character in typical series fashion. Where there's a lengthy FMV introduction 2 the game that's close 2 five minutes in length, the endings are at most three slides of still renderings with half a paragraph of subtitles & a voice-over. I'd have much rather been entertained with an introductory paragraph at the outset & rewarded with a beautiful series of cutscenes after finishing the game with each character, personally.
Of course, the series made its name on its bloodletting, & on this front, Deception certainly doesn't disappoint. Rather than spraying abstractly into the air after each strike, the player's crimson fluids take the shape of thick, rotund blood droplets which slowly roll their way down the player's body after a rough attack. In a way, it's like watching a tree bleed syrup. When those globs hit the floor, you'll notice that a series of intertwining blood trails left behind. After a fight, if you look closely enough at the ground, you'll notice a map of where each major strike occurred during the brawl, as evidenced by the trail of blood splatters & puddles. In a way, it's kind of like a twisted version of the Family Circus maps that followed each child around the neighborhood, just with more broken bones & dislocated spines.
Despite my early concerns, Deception really does retain a lot of that old-school Mortal Kombat personality. The instances are frequent where I find myself laughing at a fatality in the same way I did in '92, upon catching first glimpse of the original arcade machine. However, those instances do appear 2 be shrinking. It seems 2 be the right time 4 this series 2 reinvent itself, as the initial concept has been stretched 2 the point of breaking on more than one front & the threat of a descent into complete self-destruction looms on the horizon. I'm really looking 4 this series 2 re-establish itself as pushing the envelope, as it seems 2 have slipped into complacency in the last decade. What made it so special & so unique in the first place was its willingness 2 do what other games wouldn't. Deception has a lot of good elements - it's still a very challenging game, it provides a lot more variety than many of its peers, & it provides a good blend of comedy & stone-faced sobriety. As a "greatest hit," there's no question I'm happy with my purchase. What it doesn't do, unfortunately, is bode well 4 the future of the franchise if this path is continued 4 much longer.
Rating: 2 of 5
What has Midway done 2 this franchise?
I picked up this game a while back 4 my Xbox, after not picking up a MK title since the disappointments that were Mortal Kombat 3 & Mortal Kombat 4. This game also failed horribly 2 impress me.
First off, one of the things that was great about the early Mortal Kombat games was that you could pick up your controller, choose your favorite character & just kick some serious butt. Now, the Kombat franchise has been so overly saturated with half-assed characters that Deception is almost unrecognizable as a Mortal Kombat game, except 4 the fact that Baraka, Mileena, Sub-Zero & Scorpion are selectable from the get-go. Kitana was one of my favorite characters in the series, & I found out later, on gamefaqs, that this character had 2 be unlocked in the "Konquest" mode, with another character that this player really couldn't care less about. This is one way that Midway has messed up this franchise.
Gameplay is also another screw-up. The combo system that was implimented in Mortal Kombat 3 was horrible. This system, on the other hand, with 3 separate fighting styles, & God knows how many combos you have 2 learn, & not 2 mention the fact that the combos are almost impossible 2 pull off, makes this addition 2 the franchise even worse.
I played my way through the game, up 2 the final fight against the Dragon King, with Sub-Zero. This boss has the worst case of the SNK boss syndrome that I've ever seen. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, the King of Fighters series has always been well known 4 end bosses that can beat you in 3 hits or less. The Dragon King in this game can do just that. The only end boss I've seen worse than this thing is the end boss in Dead or Alive 4 on the 360, who can take off 65% of your life bar in 1 hit.
Now, allow me 2 talk about the additional modes in Deception. Puzzle Kombat is just another "Puzzle Fighter" clone, only with MK characters. Did Midway really need 2 add this? I don't think so. Kombat Chess just about made me weep 4 this franchise that revolutionized fighting games, as it's been turned into a cheesy "Battle Chess" clone. "Konquest" Mode was just another quest mode, taking Mortal Kombat & turning it into an RPG.
Midway, you've messed up one of your best franchises. Stick a fork in the Mortal Kombat franchise, people, it's done.
First off, one of the things that was great about the early Mortal Kombat games was that you could pick up your controller, choose your favorite character & just kick some serious butt. Now, the Kombat franchise has been so overly saturated with half-assed characters that Deception is almost unrecognizable as a Mortal Kombat game, except 4 the fact that Baraka, Mileena, Sub-Zero & Scorpion are selectable from the get-go. Kitana was one of my favorite characters in the series, & I found out later, on gamefaqs, that this character had 2 be unlocked in the "Konquest" mode, with another character that this player really couldn't care less about. This is one way that Midway has messed up this franchise.
Gameplay is also another screw-up. The combo system that was implimented in Mortal Kombat 3 was horrible. This system, on the other hand, with 3 separate fighting styles, & God knows how many combos you have 2 learn, & not 2 mention the fact that the combos are almost impossible 2 pull off, makes this addition 2 the franchise even worse.
I played my way through the game, up 2 the final fight against the Dragon King, with Sub-Zero. This boss has the worst case of the SNK boss syndrome that I've ever seen. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, the King of Fighters series has always been well known 4 end bosses that can beat you in 3 hits or less. The Dragon King in this game can do just that. The only end boss I've seen worse than this thing is the end boss in Dead or Alive 4 on the 360, who can take off 65% of your life bar in 1 hit.
Now, allow me 2 talk about the additional modes in Deception. Puzzle Kombat is just another "Puzzle Fighter" clone, only with MK characters. Did Midway really need 2 add this? I don't think so. Kombat Chess just about made me weep 4 this franchise that revolutionized fighting games, as it's been turned into a cheesy "Battle Chess" clone. "Konquest" Mode was just another quest mode, taking Mortal Kombat & turning it into an RPG.
Midway, you've messed up one of your best franchises. Stick a fork in the Mortal Kombat franchise, people, it's done.
Mortal Kombat: Deception pushes martial arts-style fighting 2 new heights. The game features an innovative fighting systems, returning & new characters & the deadliest combinations. Unparalleled violence & brutality as you face the deadliest martial arts battles you've ever seen!
($4.20)
Buy Mortal Kombat Deception Now!
