(LAST UPDATE: 7/7/09)
Developer(s): Midway
Publisher(s): Midway
Designer(s): Ed Boon
Platform(s): Playstation
2, Xbox, Gamecube
Release: October 4th 2004 (PS2/Xbox), March 1st 2005 (Gamecube)
Characters:
Scorpion,
Sub-Zero,
Sonya,
Kenshi,
Ermac,
Baraka,
Mileena,
Nightwolf,
Noob
Smoke, Darrius,
Kira,
Kobra,
Kabal,
Li
Mei, Shujinko, Tanya,
Raiden,
Jade,
Hotaru,
Havik,
Dairou,
Bo
Rai Cho,
Ashrah,
Sindel,
Liu
Kang, Onaga, Goro
(Gamecube exclusive), Shao Kahn
(Gamecube exclusive)
Related Games:
Mortal
Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal
Kombat 3, Mortal Kombat 3 Ultimate,
Mortal
Kombat 4, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon,
Mortal
Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Mortal Kombat Gold,
Mortal
Kombat Trilogy, Mortal
Kombat VS DC Universe
Review: Deception's story begins where Deadly Alliance's left off... Unfortunately, Midway and their team of designers don't really know how to tell a proper story... Which makes for an awkward first impression within the intro, where the audience doesn't know whether to take the intro seriously, or to laugh (although, this is Mortal Kombat, so I guess the obvious answer would be to laugh). To further explain; during the game's introduction, two prominent characters end up getting killed off (Raiden and Shang Tsung), and then magically come back to life (in the very same intro). I suppose that's possible because they're both gods or whatever, but in the fast-paced manner in which it's done, it's a really ineffective story element; because the intro is obviously going for a more serious tone. If you remember correctly, they made a big deal about Liu Kang dying in the Deadly Alliance storyline. Well... Guess what... He's back as a selectable character. Baraka also supposedly died in the MK4 series (as seen in his ending), but he's back too without any explanation as well. Nice "planning" guys... Ohh well, so the story sucks, let's move on.
There
are over 26 selectable characters, each of which whom apparently know 3
different martial art styles. The only problem is, nearly all of the
fighting styles are laughable and nowhere near "authentic."
As you might expect, most characters also have "some sort of projectile"
and a decent selection of special moves. Some special moves are well designed,
but others are just plain uninspired and silly. 
Each character also has two fatalities at their disposal, and one Hara-Kiri
(where the player can kill himself at the end of a match)... Yaaay, kill
yourself. 
...Great.
I personally don't see the point in fatalities anymore quite honestly...
Seems like Midway is trying to cash in on the shock value of gratuitous
violence, which just isn't
there like it used to be. Now that fighting
games have become much more technical, winning a match using skill
is much more impressive (and satisfying) than doing some silly tap-tap
button command and watching a redundant fatality move... It's not 1993
anymore.
The game engine is very similar to Deadly Alliance, which wasn't
that good
then, and isn't very good now either. Combo breakers are one of the featured
new gameplay elements, but is a frustrating obstruction during a fight
more than anything else... It worked in Killer Instinct,
but that doesn't mean it's going to work in Mortal Kombat... That Ed Boon...
Always "borrowing" ideas.
Overall, the gameplay seems a bit more rough around the edges this time,
and is still entirely too dependent on "tap-tap" chain combos and
juggles, and not enough on timing and range (which is no doubt a staple
of a quality 3D fighting game these days). Switching fighting styles
mid-game is pretty cool, but again, a lot of the fighting styles are far
from realism... For example: Scorpion wouldn't know Hapkido if it punched
him in the junk. I know Hapkido... Scorpion does not. He doesn't
have one friggin Hapkido "lock" or "throw" in his arsenal. It's okay Scorpion,
you're still cool... Someone just lied to you and taught you some fake
Hapkido... Maybe it was Ed Boon.
Deception puts an emphasis on stage fatalities this time around, as quite
a few stages include multiple levels and pit fatalities (death traps)...
I give them some points for their creativity, and some of them are quite
entertaining (the first couple of times that is). They even brought back
a few classic stages (with the original music themes intact) from previous
Mortal Kombat games, and they actually did a pretty good job on most of
them. The only flaw is, it's way to easy to get knocked into a death trap,
and equally as easy to kill your opponent in just a few hits; knocking
them into a death trap off of a decent combo. That means it doesn't take much
skill to win,
but I suppose it's slightly amusing for casual gamers, who might enjoy seeing someone
get crushed to death or fall on a giant spike.
Hmm... Haven't I seen this before somewhere? The violence and gore shock value might be the only thing that this series
has going for it anymore, because that seems to be the main focus... While
actual gameplay feels more like an after-thought.
The graphics are pretty nicely done overall, but not nearly the best we've seen in a 3D fighter... Not a huge improvement over the prequel, Deadly Alliance, but the visuals get the job done. Characters appear a bit on the skinny side and don't really seem to have much "weight," which I think is a result of the somewhat low polygonal count... There's really not a whole-lotta detail on the character models this time around. Sound effects and music are what you'd expect, but it sort of sounds like something we've heard before. Lots of grunts and moaning, and not very much talking... Kinda like a really bad porno.
Deception
includes two mini games, "Chess Kombat" (which isn't bad), and
"Puzzle Kombat" which a straight
up ripped off version of Super Puzzle Fighter.
Seriously, I've never seen such a blatant rip off of anything before in
my entire life... Capcom should sue their balls off.
The Krypt is also back, with loads of useless crap to unlock... Some of
the commentary movies are simply hilarious to watch though. You've got
to hear Boon tell the audience how "his favorite character is Scorpion"...
What a goon. Good extras overall... Besides, you'll most likely need
some incentive to play this game, because you probably won't be
playing it for fun.
The
Konquest mode featuring the new character Shujinko
is somewhat fun, somewhat monotonous... It's like a dollar store version
of Shenmue. Some of the dialogue is so stupid that it's funny, and it was
so silly that it actually made me want to keep playing all the way through.
Was that your plan Midway? Well it worked... 
They didn't do a terrible job on Konquest, but they certainly could have
made the story a lot deeper. Hell, it doesn't even make sense at times,
but it's a semi-fun play through; and has some moody environments. I think
I played this mode at least three times longer than the actual 1-on-1 fighting
game mode... I swear while playing Konquest I thought to myself... Wait,
isn't this supposed to be a fighting game that I'm playing? 
No, I'm not
done bashing this game... Remember the new characters they introduced in
Deadly
Alliance? Hmm, I think their names were... Nitara,
Mavado,
&
Hsu Hao. Well,
they're not playable in Deception, but you can see
them in the jail stage, behind bars (where those crappy designs belong).
Ha Ha Ha... That's just great... Why introduce "new characters" in the
next-gen Mortal Kombat game, and then in the sequel, stick them in a jail
cell? 
...Good
one MK development team. I guess you took my advice on those crappy character
designs. Anyway, Deception
has a brand new batch of lame designs, and is unfortunately missing so many of
the "classics"
that made the MK series what it was back in the day.
I've got no words
for some of the new designs... Because they're that boring. But
I will say that Noob Smoke is the no doubt the top tier of most
retardedly named characters ever, despite the fairly cool moves. The boss
of this game, Onaga The Magical
Dragon... I mean... The Dragon King... is also a rather lame design in
my opinion, and does absolutely no justice to the series whatsoever. Their
attempt to hype and introduce the design within the intro is also quite
laughable (it's hard not to laugh randomly during this game sometimes).
*sigh* Seriously... Sometimes it appears as if this game is made for kids
or something... But no, it's rated M... M for Moronic.
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- Review is for PS2 version of MK: Deception - |
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6 / 10 |
Closing Comment: Overall, MK: Deception isn't terrible in casual play... You can still have some fun projectile wars, and if you waste some brain space to memorize some of the chain combos, you can definitely "type your friends an ass kicking." This game falls very short at competing with the top 3D (and 2D) fighting games of this era. The gameplay and characters just can't measure up to any of the top fighting games out there... Not even close.
The presentation
feels rushed, and I even think Deadly Alliance was more thought
out and was an overall better game. Deception might be worth a buy if you're
looking for some funny, violent, and stupid entertainment... There's no
doubt you'll find yourself laughing at random things during the game. There
are some good flashback movies that are worth seeing... It's definitely
cool to be able to look back see how far Mortal Kombat has come (and where
it went wrong)... Yeah, so I guess it's mildly entertaining unlocking all
the extras, but don't think that makes this game any good.
~F.Yagami,
Webmaster of TFG
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