Mortal Kombat: Deception

"Is it this a truly good improvement? Compared to previous versions? Yes, in general? Not really..."

For over a decade now there have been some rather twisted “Macabre Escapist” games in Video Game history. Despite on how their not really labeled as “Horror” video games their often containing all sorts of serious amounts of vicious bodily damage which can result in all sorts of really gory messes on the pavement. And yet despite on how ghastly morbid it looks their often over-the-top featuring all sorts of satirical jabs at many a subject from over the years. (Especially including at themselves…) There is a pretty good amount of games that go by that description such as Postal, the Conker games and of course the Grand Theft Auto series. But of course the Video Game series whom is the most infamous for seemingly perfecting it is of course none other than Midway's Mortal Kombat. Oh sure the first Mortal Kombat was not the first ultra-violent game but lets just say it's been considered more memorable than snuff-film wannabes such as Chiller and the like. But still while the series may've had its ups and downs its still well known for what it is as a ultra-violent mix of gruesome dramatic action and wicked dark comedy.

This recent wonder of the Gamecube world was initially thought to never happen. You see Midway was seemingly going to stop making games for the Nintendo Gamecube and only for the GBA especially since “Mortal Kombat Deception” was initially for the Playstation 2 and X-Box only. However fortunately the good ol' folks at Midway had a change of heart and decided to make a new version for the Nintendo Gamecube. And luckily unlike other certain ports on the GameCube this one has some interesting improvements over its earlier versions. I mean well yeah you don't have the online mode anymore. (Though to be honest I personally don't care too much about that.) But luckily Gamecube gamers such as myself get a chance to play as Goro and Shao Khan, get much better controls in Puzzle Kombat, lot more characters are available to play as from the start.

For those whom aren't already familiar with this game and have NO clue of what I'm talking about well okay I'll inform you about it here. You see this is Mortal Kombat Deception or A.K.A Mortal Kombat 6 (but apparently Midway stopping using numerals and just went with subtitles after the 4th one). And alike its earlier 3-D counterpart namely Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance it has the still-fresh concept of each character having three styles of fighting, two barehanded ones and a weapon. The main overall plotline of this game is that Onaga the Dragon King is revived and despite the efforts of Raiden and the formerly Deadly Alliance Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, Onaga still stands. How did he come back into the world? Well more on that later, however the additions to the plot and character roster namely former MK bosses Goro and Shao Khan make surprise returns. How can that be you may ask which is a fair question. I mean even those whom don't regularly follow the MK storyline would be thinking that surely these two MUST'VE been dead by now right? Well actually no their not in fact while Shao Khan was recovering from his injuries he deceived Shang Tsung into thinking he killed him by making an illusionary clone of himself and while he traveled to find allies he recovered his right 4-handed man also in terrible shape. (Yeah it may seem far-fetched but Midway has done worse.) They recovered from their wounds together and Goro rejoins Shao Khan into defeating Shao Khan's former master Onaga. Apparently the reason why Onaga needed a resurrection is because he was treacherously killed by Shao Khan himself. (Which is considerably ironic in a way if you think about it.) But other than that the plot is for the most part intact compared to its earlier version.

Aside from the already aforementioned lack of online mode and new character additions are there any other noteworthy differences in this version? Oh absolutely I mean for starters a lot more characters are available right from the start including the two aforementioned former MK bosses. (This is really a good thing IMO since it makes Konquest mode not as necessary, but for those whom liked it more it still has its use.) I mean sure there are still some characters that need to be unlocked but not much. And while Puzzle Kombat is still pretty difficult even in easy setting it's easier in the previous versions due to much smoother controls and easier control setting. And like the previous versions its no Tetris or Puyo Pop but it's a genuinely entertaining little diversion nevertheless. Chess Kombat is still the same but it was my favorite one IMO as its still wonderfully addictive and by all means an interesting mode to play in. As for Konquest which is Midway's interesting idea but flawed executed idea of a single player action RPG. You get to play as young newbie Shujinko whom over the years develop his fighting skills while you get to meet various other MK characters. There is also one big story twist which I won't spoil here but its one of the most seemingly obvious looking twists since Iroquis Pliskin of Metal Gear Solid 2. (Though to be fair even Midway acknowledges it since they tell you how it goes in the opening intro for the game.) Very interesting idea but the absolute requirement of having to learn to do combos in order to advance make it awfully tedious pretty quickly. (Especially since the questionable quality of the button responsiveness makes it all the more harder.)

This game still has some flaws from its previous versions namely on the aforementioned complaint about trying to perform combos is a bit too difficult. Being occasionally able to pick up your weapons is nice but I kind of prefer the impaling moves you can do via the grab button. (Not too mention on how unlike Deadly Alliance no matter which style your in the grab move is still the same. Which is pretty lame IMO since it was one of the more interesting parts of the gameplay IMO.) While the Graphics are pretty good but is barely an improvement from Deadly Alliance. And while the “Death Traps” are a pretty cool Kon…errr…concept it can also lead to some pretty cheap losses as well. (Sure you can be able to beat a foe easily that way but they can still do that to you even if it seemed like you were winning.) Music and Voice acting are pretty good and aside from combo-performing difficulty the Control is just fine. The game is still substantially challenging even in its easiest mode but the difficulty factor is a bit more reasonable here. (And like certain previous MK releases the violence can be considerably toned down if you wish.) Except that its awfully hard to unlock the truly interesting unlockables so unless you're a really hardcore player I'd get an Action Replay if I were you.

Overall is it a more worthwhile purchase compared to its previous versions? Yes, in General? Sort of but not as much… It's a nice step-up from its 2K4 counterparts but it's not a truly higher step-up for the series. Absolutely dedicated fans and the like will love it and this will most likely please fans of its genre as well. But anyone else might want to consider renting it first. But still its nice to see another game that is good proof on while some old series' just never die. It may not be one of the best but its still pretty darn good nevertheless…

+ A nice improved version of one of the better MK Games.
+ Goro and Shao Khan
+ Many more characters are playable from the start
+ There are some more interesting different unlockables
+ Puzzle Kombat is easier to play
- Still has some of the previous version's flaws
- Unless you have an Action Replay some unlockables will be awfully hard to get.
- And no Online Mode (its not a big deal to me but it would be to others).
- Konquest Mode while a nice idea is still pretty tedious
- Tis' not a HUGE improvement over the previous versions and the series

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/16/05, Updated 03/17/05