Customer Reviews

Mortal Kombat Deception

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My love for Street Fighter has waned and for whatever reason Soul Calibur never really did it for me but Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance had renewed my interest in fighting games. Mortal Kombat has come a long way in the last decade and MK: Deception is probably the series pinnacle. I don't buy into the claim that Mortal Kombat is a button masher, it's not. The other argument is that it's nothing more than a dial-a-combo. So what? Combo's are about timing and memorization which is about all you can ask from the current generation of fighting game.

MK:DA and MK:D are about the same in fighting and graphical quality. In some respects I liked the graphics in Deadly Alliance better. The long combo's seem to be easier to pull off in Deception particularly the branching combo's. Deception is blessed with a very large cast of characters. It's nice to see the return of Ermac, Smoke and Noob Saibot but my favorite, Quan Chi is absent in Kombat mode however he can be fought in Konquest. Someday I'd like to see the return of Shinnok and Reiko.

Konquest is where the main difference lies. Konquest mode is practically a game in itself. If Konquest were the sum total of the game I'd give it a failing grade. The graphics are bone ugly and the movement is poor. The main goal of Konquest is amassing Koins and unlocking secrets and its pretty fun despite the eye blisting textures and character design. It seems as if the designers worked to put every single character from Mortal Kombat into the Konquest mode. You'll find the original Reptile, Rain, Lung Lao, Kano and even the horrendous Stryker. Even non-playable characters like Shang Tsung and Quan Chi are available to fight as you wander through Earthrealm, Outworld and the other Mortal Kombat realms. Seriously, I think they may have included every MK character ever created.

The true test of a games quality is how much it's played and how much you want to play it more. In that respect Deception is grade `A' material. Without even trying Chess Kombat and Puzzle Kombat I've already found more than enough stuff to keep me absolutely satisfied. The Gamecube version has the distinction of being the only one with playable Goro and Shao Khan. GC doesn't have online play but I never play online anyway so Gamecube is my choice.

Mortal Kombat: Deception is the latest installment in the MK series, and continues the plot threads started in Deadly Alliance as the kombatants struggle to defeat the newly released Dragon King.

If you're going into Deception expecting a whole new MK experience, you might be surprised that its pretty much unchanged from Deadly Alliance. We've got a new roster of characters, death traps in the environments and some tweaks to the fighting engine, but on the whole it's pretty much the same gameplay you experienced before. There's no noticible leap like the transition from MK1 to MKII, or MKII to MK3. This isn't a bad thing however, as the fighting experience in Deadly Alliance was top notch. The controls still take a bit of getting used to - the D-Pad is definitely the way to play MK, but its placement on the gamecube controller means you'll be pressing at an angle when what you really want is to press 'up' or 'back'. It's slightly frustrating, but can't be helped.

What's interesting is that Deception feels like the other half of Deadly Alliance, especially in the character selection. Regulars Johnny Cage, Kung Lao, Jax, Sonya, Kano, Kitana, Shang Tsung and others are missing, and in their place we get the return of cool characters like Jade and Baraka, as well as second-stringers like Kabal, Tanya, Nightwolf, and Ermac (really...who invited them back?) It's a little odd not having some of the main guys around, but you get used to it quickly. There's also the return of a classic warrior...though he's definitely looked better...

Deception also includes a ton of extra playing modes. There is a bizzare Tetris-style puzzle game, and also an MK version of chess. On top of that there is a huge RPG-style tutorial mode that chronicles the backstory of one of the game's main characters. And that's not even counting the bonus production art and videos that can be unlocked. The RPG levels are a little barren and blandly textured, but its definitely a huge inclusion for a fighting game. That Midway crammed all of this into a Gamecube disc is an amazing feat (I could hear my Gamecube clicking like crazy to process everything).

The Gamecube version trades online play for the inclusion of Goro and Shao Kahn as playable characters. Both of these characters are fully realized and not just cheap inclusions - they include special moves, combos, finishers and bios like the regular characters, which is a nice touch. As the Gamecube never really supported online play, its a decent exchange. If you've been holding out for the Gamecube version of Deception, this is definitely a great buy and highly recommended.

Mortal Kombat Deception is probably the BEST 3D iteration of the Mortal Kombat games. But the Gamecube version is slightly better than the PS2 and XBox versions. First of all, the Gamecube version features 2 fan favorite karacters that PS2 and XBox don't: Goro and Shao Kahn. Secondly, many karacters that need to be "unlocked", via the Konquest mode, on PS2 and XBox are readily available from the begining. Third, Gamecube games are playable on the Nintendo Wii, allowing Wii owners to experience this awesome game.

The PS2 and XBox versions feature "online" play and the Gamecube version doesn't. But, as of 2007, PS2 no longer supports online play for ANY of the PS2 library. And PS3 has NO BACKWARD COMPATIBILITY with the PS2 library. The XBox version still supports Online play, but ONLY through an "emulator" on the XBox 360. Given the bonuses of the Gamecube version, and the hang-ups of the PS2 and XBox versions, the Gamecube version of MK Deception is your best bet. If you own a Gamecube or Wii, buy Mortal Kombat Deception, you won't be disappointed.

Seldom you expect a newer game to a franchise to be worse, or a step back from the previous one.
Deception is literally a deception.
Trying to go back to MK2 and it's juggling systems was a mistake in my opinion. Deadly alliance had a very well calibrated and timed fighting system that fitted perfectly the 3D world provided by the game.
Graphics are impossible to compare to the previous MK, they almost feel like a game from a previous console than to a gamecube game.
Fatalities where able to be done anywhere on the arena, now they require perfect distances and perfect timing, making it frustrating to pull them off.
The story mode is just repetitive, has awful controls and even worse graphics.
It feels like Deception was actually Mortal Kombat 5 and deadly alliance is the newer MK 6.
On itself MK:D 6 is not THAT bad, but it just pales badly when compared to its immediate predecessor.

Adventure games and special editions aside, this game is the sixth of the MK fighting series.

Pros
Konquest, the exploration part is fun for a while.
Buying in the Krypt is fun for a while.
Most of the returning characters.
The GameCube version includes Goro and Shao Kahn.
The weapon based disciplines.
The team of Noob Saibot and Smoke into one character is interesting.
Fairly easy for beginners.
The profile password protects your games from accidents
Interactive stages, multiple levels, arena-specific weapons, breakable boundaries, and instant-death traps
Aside from Konquest there are other 2 extra game modes, Chess Kombat and Puzzle Kombat, no big deal.

Cons
IMO the graphics are unimpressive. Specially if you compare MK against Soul Calibur.
The multi kurrency gets bothersome really fast.
Konquest, some secrets are nearly impossible to find without searching for walkthroughs in the web.
Some kombos are really complicated, nearly impractical unless you have the time and willingness to master them
Multi-Discipline Kombos, IMHO these are the worsts kind of kombos, mainly because I find the L and R button unsuitable for a fighting game
I don't believe that the GameCube control was designed thinking about fighting games. But this is no failure of MK itself.
No online play.
There only one alternate kostume for each character.
Most of the new characters are uninteresting.
This game doesn't include some of the most popular characters like Sonya, Kano, Kitana, Reptile, Kung Lao, Jax, Cyrax, Sektor, Quan Chi and Shang Tsung which were available in the previous MK.

New characters
Ashrah
Dairou
Darrius
Havik
Hotaru
Kira
Kobra
Onaga
Shujinko

Returning characters
Liu Kang
Bo' Rai Cho
Ermac
Jade
Kabal
Kenshi
Li Mei
Baraka
Mileena
Nightwolf
Noob-Smoke
Raiden
Scorpion
Sindel
Sub-Zero
Tanya
Goro - GameCube exclusive
Shao Kahn - GameCube exclusive

All the MK games are OK, if you want to buy one then buy Armageddon (MK7), but if you don't have a ps2, xbox or wii, then you could rent this one and Deadly Alliance (MK5) for your GameCube and then decide which one you prefer, in my case I'm happy having the 3 of them (MK5 for NGC, MK6 for NGC and MK7 for PS2).

The game is good I had it before but i let a old friend borrow the game and never got it back so i had to get it again because it is better than Armageddon to me

I knew right off the bat that Mortal Kombat wouldn't disappoint and because its on gamecube you get 2 extra characters to make up for there being no online gameplay.You get former boss characters Goro and Shao Kahn as playable characters.I recommend it highly to any MK fan or to any gamer period.

You should get "Mortal Kombat: Deception." The "Mortal Kombat" games have always been the definitive games of the fighting genre. It's clear why. First of all, there are no annoying cut scenes before every battle. No cheesy trash-talking lines spoken by the characters before you can throw the first punch, just that familiar, near-demonic voice that says "Round 1. Fight!" before each battle, and you're off.

There's also the famous violence that has come to be associated with the MK series. I'm not usually a big fan of blood and gore, but the MK games have made the violence so over the top that's it almost comical. Characters bleed crimson, almost gelatinous blobs every time they're hit. The blood can be switched off on the options menu, but this takes away MK's unique sparkle, including the ability to perform a Fatality. As a finishing move, mash a few buttons you found on the Internet and your character will disembowel the opponent, removing generic organs and leaving a pool of blood. Even the bugs that are trodden underfoot in one arena leave behind a gratuitous amount of guts.

Of course, replayability factor in very high. In the one player arcade mode, you will be randomly assigned a series of opponents and arenas to fight in each time, always climaxing with the ridiculously hard-to-beat Onaga, the Dragon King. And, of course, the two-player battles never get old, with each character having an incredible variety of unique combos and fighting moves to perform (as in the previous game, "Deadly Alliance", each character has two martial arts styles and a weapon.) Though some of the combos (especially the fatalities) are so difficult they'll make you swear your controllers are broken (especially in "Konquest" mode.)

"MK: Deception" is the peak of the series. There are some unfortunate changes from "Deadly Alliance", but unless you were a big fan of that game, you won't even miss them. The biggest change is the cast of characters. It's almost completely different, missing most of the classic characters that were featured in "Deadly Alliance", as well as the newly-introduced characters like Sub-Zero's protégé' Frost and vampire chick Nitara. However, perennial favorites Sub-Zero and Scorpion do return, as does Li Mei, my favorite "Deadly Alliance" fighter. There's also a handful of newcomers, including Kira, a sexy-redheaded member of Kano's syndicate.

Gone is the ability to impale the opponent with your weapon, forcing them to kill immediately or bleed to death. Arenas are also darker and less whimsical than in the previous game. However, "Deception" introduces some vast improvements, including interactive environments. Objects in the arenas can damage an opponent, or mangle them completely in graphic "stage fatalities." Also, some arenas contain weapons that can be picked up and used by the fighters. There's also a "blocker" feature, which will finally enable you to do something about that friend who uses the same cheap combo over and over, but only up to three times per fight. The best improvement, however, is the inclusion of multiple fatalities, including the Hira-Kira, or self-fatality. The Hira-Kira deprives your opponent of the satisfaction of a fatality and makes even the worst loss feel like a victory.

Also, "Test Your Sight" and "Test Your Might" mini-games are missing, but they are replaced by chess and puzzle games. The chess game is a complete mockery of the game of chess, taking away all of the strategic elements, but is a somewhat amusing way of putting a tournament together. The puzzle game, however, is strangely addictive for a generic "Tetris" knock-off. Finally, there's a Konquest mode, an RPG game that incorporates typical MK violence and provides a back story for the main game's tournament. Unfortunately, it requires you to learn every character's most ridiculous combos, and, unlike in "Deadly Alliance", must be completed in order to unlock certain characters and costumes in "the Krypt."

This was one of the best in the Mortal Kombat series, even though it was lacking a bit in the number of characters department. The Gamecube version has both Shao Kahn and Goro, and they are a nice addition.

Deception has one of the best story lines in the MK games, assuming that the "good guys" lost in the previous game. The game's strength lies not in any one area, but in combining all of the areas and playing them to learn the entire story.

The Konquest mode is not incredibly difficult, but it is the only way to unlock all of the secrets of the game, and it is enjoyable interacting with all of the characters in the MK universe.

The Chess mode and Puzzle fighters are a lot of fun, and offer new twists on old ideas, along with the typical buckets of MK blood.

The fighting in the game is fast paced, and much more streamlined over Deadly Alliance. The fighters are a bit smarter and that adds to the challenge, and there are enough special moves and fatalities to keep everyone happy. Also, the booby traps on some of the levels are truly ingenious.

Overall, I'm happy with the game and fans of MK should really love it.
Fans of fighting games will have little use for the other game modes, but there is enough here to keep most everyone else happy for quite a while, especially if playing with other Human players.

No, really, it's not a bad game.
But it's really nothing great. It has its moments, if you're just looking to kill some time or if you're really into strong bloody violence (I know I am).

Very good graphics, and the character designs are (mostly) great. Animations and so forth are also examplory.

Low Points: Very frequent and long loading screens --- Very complex and difficult-to-execute combos necessary to complete "Konquest Mode" or play on high difficulties --- AI which often just spams unbreakable combos [there are "breakers," but they often seem not to work... unless of course the computer uses them, then they never fail]

It's a good way to kill some time, and it becomes infinitely more fun with friends [and alcohol].