Tecmo's Deception: Invitation to Darkness

"Revenge is.... so very sweet."

Ahh... Deception.. a game that was truly not scared to break the mold of ''normal'' games. While dealing with a very taboo subject it still remains one of the best games ever for the Playstation.

Story: 10

You are a prince of a Kingdom who has been off visiting your soon to be wife.. However, when you return you look on in horror as your father, the king, is killed before your very eyes. Your brother quickly thinks you killed him and has the guards arrest you.. for the next day you will be burned at the stake..... With your last breath you call for help be it good or evil and your request is answered...
You find your self outside a strange mansion in the woods as you enter you are greeted by a strange women named Astarte she tells you that in this house lies the gateway to your revenge.. all you have to do is defeat the current master of the castle and take the covenant ring.. the sign of a follower of the dark prince. With this ring you will have the power to get revenge on your brother for framing you..but in payment for this power you have to help bring Satan back to this world. Will you take your revenge? Will you aid Satan by releasing him in to this world? The choice is yours...but choose wisely.

Gameplay: 10
Now that you have the power you seek you can place traps to take care of any visitors that happen to find your new home.
There is three types of traps:
Capture traps such as Cages, Cranes, Bear Traps, Giant Hands, etc..
Confuse traps such as Buckets that fall on peoples head (..kind of.. weak for a power of Satan..), Mist that blinds them, etc..
And now the good ones: Attack traps! Such as Spikes from the wall, Rocks falling from the ceiling, Arrows shooting across rooms, etc..
If you kill your new friends you get money for their death.. however capturing is MUCH more satisfying as you get to choose if you want to kill them for money or sell their soul for magic points (which is used to place traps) or, later in the game use their bodies to form monsters.
Yep, you heard me right! Later in the game you can stockpile all the bodies of those who tested your dark power and use them to form monsters such as HUGE Golems, Dragons, Zombies, Werewolfs, to munch on people.
You also have several masks you can use to lure people in to traps. Each mask makes a different sound, like a young women screaming to lure the caring fools in to your traps or a mask that sounds like a demon screaming which will lure the brave.. (and dumb).
At one point in the game the women you was going to marry before your little accident comes to the castle looking for you... This is where your first choice comes in.. Does enough of your humanity remain in you that you spare her? Or will you kill her and turn her in to a banshee...? Once again, the choice is yours.

Sound: 8
The sounds are.. ok, nothing huge.
You hear the cages clank as they fall, your victims screaming, as well as the masks you can use which have great sound.
One of my favorite sounds in the game would have to be Astarte's laugh which I think is just cool.

Graphics: 7
Ahh... the graphics.. the single thing that more people judge a game by.. Well, if your looking for mind blowing graphics this is not your game.
They are blocky at times and this game is several years old to boot.. So if your trying to find a ''pretty'' game to play stay away from this because you will not like it. It's a dark setting which I think fits a house of Satan.

Overall: 9
Great game that really just lacks in graphics.
If you are looking for something different to play I strongly suggest you try this game.. HOWEVER if you are easily offended by satanic references I STRONGLY suggest you stay far, far, away from this game.
To the rest of you who still want to play it.. go get it now! I consider this the best in the series and I still to this day pop it in my Playstation from time to time to bring death to some victims!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/18/02, Updated 06/18/02