Since the original Mortal Kombat appeared in arcades in 1992 to compete with the likes of Capcom’s Street Fighter series, the game has become infamous in both its arcade and home incarnations. Bloody and violent to the point of cartoon-on-acid levels and with graphics sufficiently real to tell the violence was being perpetrated against people, the game has long been criticized as the ruination of youthful innocence and possible inciter of real-world violence. While I would never give the game’s over-the-top visuals that much credit, I do believe it has kept what is actually just a derivative fighting game on the market and popular far longer than the game’s play mechanics would otherwise have warranted.

Mortal Kombat: Deception brings Midway’s digitized-graphics-pioneering and violence-in-video-games-lightening-rod Mortal Kombat back for yet another sequel. And while the franchise is not as fresh as it once was and the shock value has worn off, MK: Deception throws in a ton of game modes that will almost overwhelm the average gamer with different ways to play.

At its heart, Mortal Kombat: Deception is the same 2D fighting game it was in the beginning. The backgrounds have become 3D and the fighters have traded in their digitized graphics for some shiny new polygons that look terrific, but overall the game’s core fighting style has not changed. The additions of different fighting styles and weapons are welcome, as is the improved blocking and combo-breaking moves. As always, the fighting system requires a lot of memorization of combos to do real damage to an opponent – something I have never cared for in any fighting game. And the game can be damned difficult to control due to a control scheme designed for the arcade. The thumb controllers just don’t cut it, they are not as accurate as a joystick, and that is a sure combo-killer. If you have a joystick controller, and if you are a true fighting game fan you probably do, you’re in better shape to play MK: Deception.

As mentioned before, Mortal Kombat: Deception has a great variety of play modes that will keep the gamer occupied for some time.



Kombat mode is what the quarter-dropping superstars of the arcades will first be looking for. In this mode the player takes on CPU-controlled opponents in a series of fights and climbs the ladder to ever-more-difficult foes. This is also where two players can challenge one another to some one-on-one, smack-talkin’ beat ‘em up with their favorite fighters.

Konquest mode is a quest game that sees a new hero, Shujinko, enter the MK mythos to stop the evil Dragon King from taking over the realms. In this mode the player will get a chance to role-play in the MK: Deception universe. He will learn the art of fighting styles, explore the various realms and (of course) do a lot of fighting as he works toward defeating the Dragon King and saving the world. While it is a neat new addition, it feels a little forced and is really not much fun. But it is the main way to get to Deception’s unlockable content from the “Krypt”, so it becomes a necessary evil.

Chess Kombat mode is actually a lot more like an old Electronic Arts/Free Fall Associates game called Archon from the 8-bit era than it is chess. The game is played on a 10x10 square board rather than chess’ 8x8 board. Like Archon, when two pieces occupy the same square there is a fight to see which will retain control of it. The losing piece is removed from the board. Also present are Archon’s board power points that give an advantage to the side that controls them and spells that can be cast by each side’s wizard or sorcerer. A definite rip-off … but a pretty fun rip-off.

Puzzle Kombat is a mode also derived from another game almost in whole. In this case theTetris-esque Super Puzzle Fighter II games from Capcom. The player maneuvers pairs of blocks into place and then destroys them with special Breaker and Bomb pieces. As the blocks are broken the player’s Super Meter fills up. When full, the player presses a button to perform his special attack on his opponent. It sounds a bit silly, but it is actually one of the most challenging and fun aspects of MK: Deception.

In addition to the ability to play all the modes on a single system, MK: Deception also offers Kombat, Chess and Puzzle modes for online play. Yeah, I know you’ve been wondering – there are fatalities. And two per character instead of the usual one. In addition there is a new hara-kiri move that lets a beaten player take his own life rather that letting the victor have the satisfaction.

All of the gameplay comes wrapped in some very nice visuals. Character design is good. Animation could have been a little smoother but is not a big detriment. The fighting levels are well designed with some wicked environmental traps to exploit in combat. Sound is just kind of so-so. But how many grunts and groans do you really need?

While Mortal Kombat: Deception is not a great game, it is a worthy entry into the Mortal Kombat pantheon. It still labors under a fighting system that rewards memorization over improvisation far too much for my taste, but I’m sure the Mortal Kombat faithful are going to be thrilled.



© 2004 GameShark.com