Mortal Kombat: Deception

"The only deceptive part about this game is the "good gameplay""

Unlike probably most of the reviews you will see on www.gamefaqs.com, I will take a strong emphasis on reviewing Mortal Kombat:Deception's engine. I will also review extra features that Boon has put into the game as well; however, they will not play a vital part of the final score. In addition, I will also review online play and graphics. Now, onto the review...

Mortal Kombat:Deception (I will use MK:D as an abbreviation throughout the review) has been finally released as fans of the series, and other fighting game fans, have been waiting to get their copy of the game. Although MK:D is undoubtedly better than Mortal Kombat:Deadly Alliance, MK:D still faces the same problems its predecessor did - MK:D lacks a deep engine, move properties, and a legitimate reason to keep players interested who want to play the game for its gameplay.

MK:D's Engine - very disappointing. Combo Breakers have been added which let you escape every dial-a-combo (basically a predetermined combo that may end in a hit that knocks the opponent away or a juggle starter that launches him/her for a possible juggle) and the Combo Breakers also allow an escape while you're in mid air being juggled. However, you only have three Combo Breakers (represented by lightning bolts under an opponent's life bar). Although MK:D desperately needed these, it's a lame excuse for attempting to prevent infinite combos (such as the ones that were possible in Mortal Kombat:Deadly Alliance). Also, due to these dial-a-combos, juggle creativity is very limited, and thus, don't expect the free juggle options you would get in Tekken or Soul Calibur. In addition to that, MK:D doesn't even have any kind of move properties. Apparently, Boon and his crew have never heard of stuns, block staggers, anti-high or anti-low moves, moves that track to the right, moves that track to the left, etc. etc. Furthermore, what hurts the game the most is that there is no frame advantage. Every move in MK:D is considered unsafe (I'm not 100% sure about the moves that push you away on block). In any case, all you need to do is turtle, wait for the opponent to attack, and follow up with your dial-a-combo to punish him/her properly. The truth is, at high level play, you really need to use only one stance (the one that has the best combo/juggle options) and you will also need to use one low (the safer, the better). To make matters even worse, an infinite combo has been discovered as of this review...and the game hasn't even been out for two weeks. Fortunately, it isn't game breaking due to damage scaling

Continuing on, there are other flaws in the game that could have been done better in terms of gameplay. Throws aren't escapable unless they are multi-throws. Walls don't play a role in this game at all -- they are no wall stuns, or anything like that, where you could take the walls to your advantage in order to create some kind of mind games. There are, however, some stages where you can strike the opponent through a wall or through the floor. That's really nothing spectacular here considering that it doesn't affect the gameplay whatsoever. In addition to that, there are also Death Traps (I guess you could refer to them as stage fatalities). They can only be performed on specific stages at any time where appropriate. Basically what happens is your opponent falls on huge spikes, falls from a large building onto the ground,etc. These basically kill your opponent for the round. Again, there's nothing really deep or strategical to this, but it can dramatically affect a certain round of a match obviously. There are also three little rectangles under your life bar - they can basically flash red, blue, and yellow. They have no real purposes besides informing you when you are attacking/when you cannot move anymore, when you are being comboed or juggled, and when you are a victim to Death Traps and other environmental hazards (like being struck through a wall). In conclusion to MK:D's engine, it's pretty bad considering it's years behind Virtua Fighter's, Tekken's, and Soul Calibur's engine. There is a lot of work to be done for Mortal Kombat:7, but knowing Boon, it's likely we'll get a similar engine with new mini-games, which brings me to my next discussion...

MK:D's Mini-games - I cannot find myself to complain here. The MK team made sure there are many features in the game. In fact, MK:D has a Puzzle Kombat, Chess Kombat, and an improved Konquest Mode, which looks somewhat like an RPG to me. In any case, there's also the Krypt where you can unlock characters as well as everything else character related, such as different costumes. As I already mentioned, these mini-games are a nice addition that are always welcome in fighting games.

Online Play - I simply have to praise Boon here. No questions asked. Online play is incredible and surprisingly lag-free. This definitely creates a major fun factor. You play against different people online and improve your skills by doing so. It's just sad, on the other hand, that MK:D's engine limits "fun" as far as serious playing and high level play are concerned. Nonetheless, a good features nobody cannot deny.

Graphics - Now days, every fighting game has decent graphics, and MK:D is no exception. In my opinion, Tekken 4's and Virtua Fighter:4 Evo's graphics are better. In any case, the blood in MK:D could have been done better; people already complained it looks like popcorn. In addition, there seems to be some graphical errors or glitches next to walls. It's not something to cry about, but it's something that could have been avoided. To sum it up, however, MK:D graphics aren't the greatest, but they're not the worst either.

Rent or Buy? Conclusion
It's really up to the seriousness you consider fighting games. If you are a casual gamer and an MK fan, just go ahead and buy this without any hesitation. The mini-games and online play will satisfy you as well as the gore and blood presented by the game. However, if you're a little bit more careful about what you are playing and you want a fighting game with a good engine, or you plan on playing a fighting game a little bit more seriously with your friends, don't pick up this one, or even rent it. MK:D's engine isn't deep; in fact, it's dull and boring, especially after you've played all the better fighting games and now expect to play this one. It simply lacks in the "gameplay department" if you consider taking it seriously. Anyway, for whatever reason you buy the game, have fun, and let's hope Boon will fix the gameplay and add depth to a future Mortal Kombat game.

~dmario14

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/13/04