Mortal Kombat: Deception

"Soul Kalibur? No."

Introduction-
Long story short, I've played Mortal Kombat in some form for lots of years. Back to the old days of Genesis MK1 and MK2 (oh, good times), towards UMK3 on the SNES, and MK Trilogy on the N64 and PS1. Essentially, Mortal Kombat games provide wonderful nostalgia to this fighting junkie. After the backwards steps of MK4 and that awful mess that was the Sub-Zero spinoff, it seemed like MK just might be back on the right track with Deadly Alliance, a game I've yet not played. I did, however, play Deception. Therefore, I must review.

Graphics-4/5
The graphics are quite nice in this incarnation of MK. Character models are decently detailed and the environments in which you fight are stunning. Gone is the ridiculous popcorn blood of MK4/Deadly, and back is the obscenely unrealistic arterial spurting of the old games. Just like '95, you're hitting a vein every time you punch now. Oh good. Aside from that, blood levels can be adjusted to your liking. Character animations are great, and moves flow fluidly into one another. Except for a few gripes regarding Konquest mode's bland look, all is well.

Sound - 4/5
Like most fighting games, the soundtrack isn't exactly memorable, but the music actually is pretty good. Thankfully, the classic 3-note sting of the fatality is back! This piece will bring an instant grin to the MK junkie within earshot. The impact sounds in this one pack some serious punch. You'll feel steel join with flesh all too viscerally. Character voices are so-so, and like most things in the game, falter in Konquest mode. What else can I say?

Control - 3/5
The controls are a bit simplified, to my surprise. You can switch through one of your character's three fighting styles on the fly to wreak havoc, but this makes comboing a bit too easy. Not only that, you can whip out weaponry and unleash a Soul Calibur-esque beatdown on your unfortunate foe. Controls are solid, to be sure, but I want some hardcore timing challenges and serious button-pressing like the insane super-combos of the old MK games. I'll bet some great combos can be pulled off with practice, but I've seen the same rote combos for each character again... and again... and again.

Gameplay - 5/5
MK Deception offers blissful fighting action on its own. Stage design, in particular, is awesome. Stages are massively interactive, allowing for environmental fatalities of amusing magnitude. From battling on an island shifting between good and evil versions to Kombat on a collapsing mountaintop to a furious melee aboard a prison ship, the stages are excellently crafted and remarkably useful in turning the tides of a fight. The Arcade and Versus modes are what we'd all expect to see running in the mall next to a DDR machine. However, Midway's thrown in a plethora of modes and unlockables. One mode is the Konquest mode (AKA the mode in which you unlock most important things). Here, you play through a somewhat contrived story where you do lots and lots of fetch quests interspersed with decent tutorials. Thankfully, there are LOTS of nods to the MK series and its pantheon of characters to keep fanboys somewhat interested. Another mode is Puzzle Kombat. Yes, Puzzle... Kombat. You basically play the MK version of Puzzle Fighter. Not a bad diversion if you crave a puzzle game. Not only that, the character models are superdeformed. That's either cute or irritating, depending on your opinion of that style. Now, that's enough, right? Oh no it's not! There's Chess Kombat. Let me repeat that in case you think those two words belong together. CHESS KOMBAT. You play chess. You resolve space conflicts with in-game fighting. Oh my, that's Chess Kombat. It has to end there, right? Oh, but you'd think so. Playing any of the MK modes grants you Koins (yes, with a K) to go to the Krypt (also with a K, but of course). Here you can spend Koins on TONS and TONS of surprisingly neat unlockables. You'll have characters and arenas and costumes and music and promo art and concept art and fighting style profiles and movies and little commentaries and photos to unlock, to a number of which I cannot even try to count. You count them. With all the unlockables, minigames, modes, and such (not even counting online play), plus very fun multiplayer, the game has a quality of play all its own.

Summary-
If you want a good 3D fighter without the virtuosity requirements of VF4, or the simplicity of Tekken, or you've simply worn out your copy of Soul Calibur 2, this game really should be one to play. Merely unlocking everything is a long job in and of itself, and discovering all moves and fatalities the proper way can take up even more time. I guess I really CAN use that Deception tagline they're so very proud of: it will konsume you.

Pros-
- It's a Mortal Kombat game
- SO many unlockables
- ONLINE!

Cons-
- Extraordinarily difficult arcade boss
- Konquest mode
- Where's The Pit?!?!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/12/05