Active Reviews

Written by Edward Hankins

The Mortal Kombat series of games are true “classics” in arcade gaming. While Street Fighter was arguably the first commercial fighting style game in the States, Mortal Kombat quickly created its own market niche with gruesome fatalities and enough blood to furnish a Red-Cross aid station. Mortal Kombat followed up with part two, which many feel was the best of the series and was the game that cost me countless hours and dollars in early high school. Over the years we have seen several incarnations of the Mortal Kombat series, but now nearly 10 years after its first release the Mortal Kombat series has new blood, Mortal Kombat: Deception. Can Deception be another successful addition to the Mortal Kombat series, and will it live up to the high expectations left by its predecessors.

Mortal Kombat Deception follows in the same concept as previous versions. The game is a 3D Fighter with special moves, fatalities, and stage deaths; everything that made the original series so popular. In Deception you can choose between 24 different fighters and over 20 different arenas. This is where the game changes paces from its predecessors, also included in Mortal Kombat: Deception are several mini-game modes. There is a “Puzzle Fighter” style game, similar to the original concept but with simpler rules, a chess style game played with characters from the series and basically bastardized chess rules, and finally there is “Konquest” mode; which is a story mode that is part fighting game part role playing game. As you progress in the story you collect prizes, coins, and more importantly insight into the various plotlines.

The main plot of the game is the fighting, either you vs. computer or you vs. another player, which has made this series famous. As mentioned before you can choose between 24 different fighters. Each fighter has two martial arts styles and one weapons style to choose from, each fighter also comes with their own special moves and fatalities. Deception uses the same fighting interface engine as Dark Alliance, so the controls are the same and pulling off combos is similar. The “new” feature to Deceptions is the counter-move, which basically auto counterattacks when you opponent is pressing you. You are only given three counters a match so there is some strategy involved in their use. The fighting definitely lives up to the Mortal Kombat name, be prepared for death and mayhem from the first minute. The action is fast paced and it will take more than a few practice rounds to get the hang of it. It seems that the timing is slightly faster for pulling combos than in Dark Alliance, and that throwing is much more difficult. But with the artificial intelligence and countless number of challengers online there is no excuse not to be pulling impressive combos after a few hours. Deception made sure to keep the gameplay simple enough for younger users, but challenging enough, with multiple combos and special moves, to keep veterans busy in practice.

The second part of the game is the various mini-games. The “Puzzle Fighter” style game allows you to unlock various levels, moves, and characters. It is played just like the arcade game “Puzzle Fighter” by moving blocks and battling your opponent, pretty simple stuff. The chess style mini-game I did not really enjoy. It is based very loosely on chess, and I stress loosely, but with various power-ups and special spaces on the board. Overall I did not spend very much time here. The final mini-game is actually a lot of fun and will probably take up the majority of your time, if you aren’t spending all your time online. In “Konquest” mode you are sent on various quests, and by completing quests you are issued rewards (gold coins), something everyone truly loves! You will also learn various martial arts styles and unlock the basic storyline of the game.

I realize when reviewing games, we tend to compare them to their previous versions, in this case Mortal Kombat Dark Alliance. Comparing these two games graphically you will find much in common, which is rather disappointing. Not that there were any problems with graphics, character movement was fluid and the frame rate was fine; but there was just not that awe inspiring graphics I was hoping for when I loaded up the game. The levels I also found a little paradoxical; though you can tell the programmers spent an immense amount of time on the architecture of structures, on certain levels like “Hidden Gardens” textures on the ground are clearly visible and choppy. I wish the developers would have just created small impressive levels rather than the graphical beasts they tried to create.

The audio component of Deceptions is adequate in a somewhat unusual sense to the killing spree going on before your eyes. Its mix of ambient monk chants, rumbling drums, and fading instrumentals creates a macabre haze as you compete in the Mortal Kombat tournament. As you drift in the game you will be snapped out of the haze to the sound of backs being crushed or of swords meeting flesh. The sound team did an excellent job recording all of the various sound effects and with a good system turned up you can really get that adrenaline going.

Coming 10 years after the original, Mortal Kombat: Deceptions will make a welcome addition to the Mortal Kombat series. Though it was slightly lacking in the graphics department, it more than made up for it with innovative gameplay and a brand new story mode and online play. We can only hope the next installment of Mortal Kombat is as enjoyable as this one.

Go back to the Mortal Kombat: Deception page.

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