In the words of a fallen emperor - "OUTSTANDING!"
Already establishing a solid fighting mechanism in its predecessor, Deadly Alliance, Midway were able to work on other aspects of the game that were not included previously, and they did not disappoint.
Boasting a cast of 24 characters (half of which would have to be unlocked, however), Midway listened to the fans’ please for more fatalities per character. The fighters only had 1 fatality each in Deadly Alliance, and on top of a second fatality the characters have an additional ‘ality’ called ‘Hara-Kiris’, or suicidality! That’s right, if you don’t want to kill your opponents, you can kill yourself! But wait! This can only be done if you lose the match, and in which case you have the chance to finish yourself off (with pride) before your opponent does. As soon as the announcer says “Finnish Him / Her”, it’s a race of who can execute his or her character’s fatality button codes the fastest. The victor would of course be executing a fatality, and the loser the ability to kill himself!
Also, like Deadly Alliance, the fighters retain their 3 diverse fighting styles (2 fighting, 1 weapon). However, gone are the abilities to perform a power-up, a taunt or reversal. The fighters do have a new feature called a ‘combo-breaker’, which allows you to break up a combo that’s being performed on your character at any time, but limited to 3 breakers per character, so use them wisely. Also, those with swords or blades and such cannot impale their opponents anymore, so goodbye to all those people who just impale their opponents and then run for cover!
However, the biggest addition to the arcade mode of fighting has got to be the arenas! Hearing the fans’ complaints on the lack of stage fatalities in MKDA, Midway have gone all out to make this a huge and influential feature in the game! Practically every arena is now an interactive arena, and multi-tiered! Each arena has a ‘hazard’ zone, and most have deathtraps! A hazard zone is outlined with a blinking yellow line, which serves as a visual border to indicate to the player that their character could be seriously injured if the line were to be crossed. These could be falling from a high place to a floor below, for instance. In one arena there are prison cells all around the fighting area, equipped with prisoners. Get a little too close and they’ll catch you and choke some energy out of you!
The deathtraps are where the arenas really shine. These are areas that are marked with a blinking red line. Pass this line, and you’re history! And there are plenty – you can get impaled, burnt by acid or lava, eaten by piranhas, fall off a ledge or building, crushed by rotating spikes or moving walls, crushed by rocks or statutes, cut to pieces by lasers, and much more! Some of the arenas even have specific weapons stored within them, and can be utilized by the player to wield excessive damage!
Apart from the arcade mode, another big addition to Deception is the Konquest mode. The mode this time is more storyline based, and tells the story of one Shujinko and his travels through the different realms that concern the Mortal Kombat universe. You start off as a young boy, and by the time you’re done, you’re an old man. In Konquest, you have the opportunity to interact with EVERY Mortal Kombat character ever created! Some of the characters that you meet give you side missions to complete, and in return reward you with differing amounts of koins. Through the Konquest mode, you get to unlock outfits, arenas, characters, videos and artistic renders. The storyline in Konquest basically reveals the story behind how the Dragon King becomes the boss in MKD, and also reveals the reason for the name ‘Deception’. Complete Konquest, and you get to unlock Shujinko as a playable character in Arcade mode.
The kurrency system from MKDA is back, and as well as arcade mode, you gain kurrency through your travels in konquest. The Krypt from MKDA is back, but unlike MKDA where all coffins were unlockable with a price, this is not the case in MKD. Certain coffins can be unlocked by finding specific keys in Konquest, which can only be obtained at a specific time and specific place.
The Krypt is back but now set in an open air environment, and in reference to all the rumors that arose from MKDA that certain ‘characters’ were seen running around in the Krypt, characters can be seen running around in the Krypt in MKD.
Apart from that, Deception is also inclusive of 2 other modes of gameplay, namely Puzzle Kombat and Chess Kombat.
Puzzle Kombat is somewhat of a tetris game but with a twist. In chess kombat, the pieces are MK characters, and each will have their won special abilities. For instance, you have a champion, a leader, and sorcerer, all of which with differing levels of power. You can use your sorcerer to perform spells on your opponent, like imprison them or teleport them. When 2 ‘chess pieces’ collide, then you’ll have to engage in a single round arcade style Mortal Kombat to determine who wins the spot. Again, rank is also a determining factor in terms of your fighter’s health. The higher the ranking, the fuller the energy bar of that fighter.
MKD also incorporates an online mode for those who want to play MK on an online basis, which is a great, great feature when you’re bored with the CPU’s A.I.!
All in all, this is a great sequel to Deadly Alliance! With added fatalities, a larger roster, interactive arenas, a revamped konquest mode and the inclusion of mini games like puzzle kombat and chess kombat, Midway have a winner in Mortal Kombat Deception. Compared to Deadly Alliance, the level of graphics seemed to have taken a tiny dip, probably due to all the added content in the game. But nevertheless, MK fans will love it, and non fans will pleasantly surprised by what this game has to offer! Fight!