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[DrDogg]

http://www.gamedaily.com/playstation2/review/?id=470&game_id=2257

Even the addition of interactive environments and combo breakers fails to extend the depth of Deception. Combo breakers can be used to interrupt any combo or juggle your opponent attacks you with. However, you are only allowed three combo breakers per match (not per round, per match), so you can't rely on them until the end of a round. Therefore they have very little effect on the fighting.

For casual fighting game fans, this is fine. You won't be looking for the depth of games like VF4 or Tekken 5, and the interactive stages, combined with the standard MK draw of blood and gore will be more than enough. However, for hardcore fighting game fans looking for some depth in their games, MK: Deception comes up extremely short in the fighting game category. Luckily, fighting is not the only thing Deception offers.

After everything is said and done, there are two clear cut choices in regards to Mortal Kombat: Deception. If you're a fan of MK: Deadly Alliance, there is absolutely no reason to pass this one up. It's everything Deadly Alliance offered and a ton more. However, if you weren't a fan of Deadly Alliance, the only thing really new here are the Puzzle, Chess, Konquest, and online modes. None of these really stand on their own as a $50 value, but coupled with the Kombat Mode, it's hard not to recommend at least trying out MK: Deception. Midway has packaged Mortal Kombat, Capcom's Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, and Battle Chess, all with online play, and a nice mini-RPG that will keep you occupied for some time. Deception may not be the best MK title to date, but it's certainly the best total package on the market.

Score: 3.5 / 5.0 (when you consider the whole package)

If I had to score this as a stand alone fighter without the online play, Puzzle, Konquest or Chess modes, it would get a 2.5 / 5.0 at best. Maybe even a 2.0 / 5.0.

The embargo is up on the game, so I'm open to any questions you guys have on the title. GameDaily is also working on a Konquest Mode mini-guide, but the person working on it hasn't found everything yet, so it'll probably go up in sections starting Tuesday.

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

havent been into hardcore fighting games since 1998 so this suits me just fine


already got my collectors edition paid for.

 

[bishoptl]

Rental at best, purchase when it hits 20 bucks used.

Hey, where's Solomon with his regular Def Jam FFNY pimp? it doesn't feel like an MK thread without him.

 

[DrDogg]

As a fighting game I think MK: D is better than Def Jam: FFNY, but I've had a lot more fun with Def Jam. Problem is I got bored after 3 days and haven't gone back to Def Jam since. The fighting engine was just too shallow and the removed online play left nothing for me to be entertained with.

But Tekken 5 will own them all.

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

no shit



fucking hoss....



and bish DJV > DJ FFNY

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

As a fighting game I think MK: D is better than Def Jam: FFNY, but I've had a lot more fun with Def Jam. Problem is I got bored after 3 days and haven't gone back to Def Jam since. The fighting engine was just too shallow and the removed online play left nothing for me to be entertained with.

But Tekken 5 will own them all.

dont let soloman see that youll be a homo erotic wrestling fan begging to suck his cock!

 

[bishoptl]

Just to completely derail this thread, I just rented FFNY and completed the Story Mode - I gotta say, it's much tighter than the original. More focused on the fighting aspect, and while I love AKI's wrestlers, I'll pull out my N64 for that. FFNY is a brutal game, and I mean that in the most positive way possible.

Back on track...MK is a good diversion when I don't wanna play Tekken or VF, but the only reason I'd pick this up is to see all of the Fatalities myself. Other than that, MK is in the DOA ghetto of fighters - pretty to look at, but little depth.

 

[DrDogg]

Combo breaker sounds like it's comparable to a limited version of GGXX's Burst function.

The problem with the Breakers is that you only get 3 per match as I said. Plus when you use them, they inflict no damage, but the move that you broke will still damage you. So all it really does is stop the combo/juggle, you get no other advantage and you still take a hit. They're also super easy to do so there's no learning curve other than knowing not to use them all at once.

 

[Anyanka]

You said it would take a while to unlock Liu Kang. Does this mean you how now? I'd like to nkow how to unlock Liu, Tanya, Sindel and Shujinko.

What is one player puzzle and chess like? Do you just play one match then go back to the title screen or is there like a one player tower to do like arcade?

Is it true you can't play as everyone in puzzle?

Have you seen any fatalities we haven't seen in vids yet? Like what are Shujinkos like?

 

[DrDogg]

You said it would take a while to unlock Liu Kang. Does this mean you how now? I'd like to nkow how to unlock Liu, Tanya, Sindel and Shujinko.

What is one player puzzle and chess like? Do you just play one match then go back to the title screen or is there like a one player tower to do like arcade?

Is it true you can't play as everyone in puzzle?

Have you seen any fatalities we haven't seen in vids yet? Like what are Shujinkos like?

I'm not working on our Konquest mini-guide, and I Liu is the only character I don't have unlocked. I've been through Konquest once and played through for about another 3 or 4 hours after beating it. I've found a lot of stuff, but no Liu. Trained with him in the White Lotus temple area, but haven't unlocked him yet. That's why I said it'll take awhile to unlock him.

Shujinko you unlock by beating Konquest. Tanya and Sindel are hard to find in Konquest, you have to discover their chests, which hold keys to up their koffins in the Krypt. IIRC they're both time specific chests which means you have to be in the right place at the right time in Konquest or you'll never find them. I'll ask the guy doing the mini-guide where they're at, but he may hold the info until it posts on the site.

One player Chess, there's no tower. You can play over and over, but there's no set ladder or anything. One player Puzzle is just like normal Kombat with the tower and all.

I've only got 12 characters in Puzzle and that fills all of the select boxes. So as far as I know there are only 12. You get 6 from the start and unlock 6 more in the Krypt/Konquest.

Midway only gave me a select few fatalities, so I haven't seen anything new. Sorry.

 

[bishoptl]

I still have my old saves from the previous MK Deadly Alliance - do you get any bonuses for those?

 

[DrDogg]

I still have my old saves from the previous MK Deadly Alliance - do you get any bonuses for those?

I deleted those saves a LONG time ago, so I wouldn't know. Midway didn't mention anything about it though.

 

[shuri]

Enough of the single player nonsence. What about multiplayer?

- Can you disable death traps?
- How is it on xbox live?
- Can players with unlocked characters use them against people who still have them locked?
- Is fatality time really unlimited? How are the hara kiris?
- How are the special minigames online?

.. and whats that talk about using your konquest character online?

 

[Anyanka]

I remember at MKO you said you fought Jax, Quan Chi and a few others. Who else(if anyone) did you end up fighting? And did you REALLY meet everyone in Konquest the past games like Boon had hyped?


Is there any explination for why characters like Stryker and Jax are in Konquest despite the fact that it takes place int he past? How exactly does the aging and stuff work anyway?

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

the thing i hate when people discuss mortal kombat is that they have to get a jab in no matter what. "it's not as deep as virtua fighter" who gives a shit, how many people do you honestly believe spend enough time to "master" VF? how many people can pull off the spinning palm of death or even want to invest the time to pull it off? a game should be fun, first and foremost. depth and so on can come after that.

i don't find virtua fighter fun. i don't find soul calibur fun. i find dead or alive very fun, and i found MK DA to be very fun.

bottom line is if you want to have fun, and not worry about the timing of your ten hit infinte combo damage blahblahblah, then games like MK and DOA will probably suit you just fine

 

[bishoptl]

Some of us like depth in our fighters, FMT. The difference is I can still have a lot of fun with MK - just not on a long term basis. Without depth, after a few days you've seen everything you're gonna see, and that's what I base my purchases on.

MK is still pretty damn entertaining, and fills a niche quite well.

 

[DrDogg]

Enough of the single player nonsence. What about multiplayer?

- Can you disable death traps?
- How is it on xbox live?
- Can players with unlocked characters use them against people who still have them locked?
- Is fatality time really unlimited? How are the hara kiris?
- How are the special minigames online?

.. and whats that talk about using your konquest character online?

- You can disable death traps.
- Xbox Live is very smooth, but the servers had a handful of people on them so the test conditions weren't very harsh.
- I think so, everyone I played online appeared to have everyone unlocked. They're all journalists, so it was never really brought up.
- Fatality time is not unlimited. Seemed the same as DA to me. Hara Kiris were about the same as the normal fatalities. A bit out there, but standard MK fashion.
- Puzzle Kombat is nice. I'm a big fan of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo and Puzzle Kombat is almost identical to it. Although it doesn't feel quite as polished. I saw no lag, but unless you're near the top it wouldn't really have much of an affect anyway.
- Chess was okay... I like the strategy elements like casting spells and the power cells, but it all comes down to the actual kombat. Whoever is better at the fighting will have the advantage in Chess. If there's a significant difference in fighting skill, the superior fighter will almost always win Chess.

- Originally, Midway said you could customize Shujinko and use him online. As far as I know, that has changed and he has a preset movelist (that you have to unlock). So he's pretty much just like any other fighter.

I remember at MKO you said you fought Jax, Quan Chi and a few others. Who else(if anyone) did you end up fighting? And did you REALLY meet everyone in Konquest the past games like Boon had hyped?


Is there any explination for why characters like Stryker and Jax are in Konquest despite the fact that it takes place int he past? How exactly does the aging and stuff work anyway?

You fight everyone who's playable in the game, plus Jax, Quan and Shang. I haven't come across anyone else who you can fight.

I also haven't seen everyone in Konquest. I haven't seen Chameleon, Goro, Sonya, Cage, Meat, Shao Kahn, or a few others.

Konquest starts before all of the MK games, but by the time you complete the game, you're up to the beginning of Deception. Konquest runs on a set timeline. After you complete certain mandatory tasks, you see a cut scene where you age. This happens 3-4 times IIRC.

 

[Lyte Edge]

Since you like the more simplistic fighters, I'm surprised you don't like Soul Calibur, FMT. It's certainly deeper than the likes of DOA, but very easy to play/get into.

Some of us like depth in our fighters, FMT. The difference is I can still have a lot of fun with MK - just not on a long term basis. Without depth, after a few days you've seen everything you're gonna see, and that's what I base my purchases on.

MK is still pretty damn entertaining, and fills a niche quite well.

Yeah, I had fun with MK: DA for about two months and really never played it much after that, but the sequel should last longer with all the new modes. The online play will also definitely add to the longetivity of the game; even if your friends grow bored of this game after a while, it won't matter. That's part of the reason I didn't get Def Jam FFNY myself; we played it this past weekend and it was already played out after an hour among my friends.

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

bishop did you get my message on XBL? make your time

 

[Anyanka]

According to IGN you can use characters the opponent still has locked.



So does konquest fit in well with the MK story? Like does it make sense for Jax to be hanging around or is it kind of like a non-canon cameo?

 

[DrDogg]

the thing i hate when people discuss mortal kombat is that they have to get a jab in no matter what. "it's not as deep as virtua fighter" who gives a shit, how many people do you honestly believe spend enough time to "master" VF? how many people can pull off the spinning palm of death or even want to invest the time to pull it off? a game should be fun, first and foremost. depth and so on can come after that.

i don't find virtua fighter fun. i don't find soul calibur fun. i find dead or alive very fun, and i found MK DA to be very fun.

bottom line is if you want to have fun, and not worry about the timing of your ten hit infinte combo damage blahblahblah, then games like MK and DOA will probably suit you just fine

I don't have fun unless the game is deep. Bottom line. And 15,000 members over at Tekken Zaibatsu would agree with me. Sure we're in the minority, but there are still a lot of us.

MK isn't bad. Like you said, it's for the casual players. But that doesn't mean everyone finds it fun either.

So does konquest fit in well with the MK story? Like does it make sense for Jax to be hanging around or is it kind of like a non-canon cameo?

Konquest spans from before MK1, to halfway through the intro of MKD. As far as characters showing up in the right places and all that... some of them are there when they shouldn't be. Like Jax (MK: DA version) is in Earthrealm from the moment you start the game (well before MK1). He's also hanging out in front of the White Lotus area, which doesn't make a lot of sense.

This happens throughout Konquest. Motaro is in Earthrealm, Sindel is in Earthrealm, Sektor is in Edenia, Nightwolf is in the Netherrealm, Scorpion is everywhere, etc.

 

[Ristamar]

...I got bored....

I felt the same way about Deadly Alliance, or any MK after the second. Two words always came to mind, 'stiff' and 'boring.' *shrug* Regardless, I'll give Deception a try when I get a chance.

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

oh that sounds interesting do they take a nod to past games (IE in mk1 era can u see some battle grounds from that time, and do they comment on those tournaments?)

 

[Sho Nuff]

I remember talking to a bunch of kids at an elementary school about living and working in Japan, and one of the questions that came up was "Do the Japanese play Mortal Kombat?", to which I replied "Well, not really." And the one asked "Is that because they're offended because they worship Raiden?"

 

[bishoptl]

:lol You shoulda slapped those little bastards.

 

[chespace]

blah blah blah, hasn't this been obvious for like, a decade now?

people don't play MK for the depth.

and that's why i don't like it.

 

[The Faceless Master]

the thing i hate when people discuss mortal kombat is that they have to get a jab in no matter what. "it's not as deep as virtua fighter" who gives a shit, how many people do you honestly believe spend enough time to "master" VF? how many people can pull off the spinning palm of death or even want to invest the time to pull it off? a game should be fun, first and foremost. depth and so on can come after that.

i don't find virtua fighter fun. i don't find soul calibur fun. i find dead or alive very fun, and i found MK DA to be very fun.

bottom line is if you want to have fun, and not worry about the timing of your ten hit infinte combo damage blahblahblah, then games like MK and DOA will probably suit you just fine

this isn't the type of post i would expect from someone who goes thru the trouble of finding even the tiniest type of detail in so many sports games...

seriously, like .. wtf? is this a joke post?

 

[DrDogg]

oh that sounds interesting do they take a nod to past games (IE in mk1 era can u see some battle grounds from that time, and do they comment on those tournaments?)

There's a big thing about Shujinko entering the MK1 tournament, but that falls through. That's about the only reference. However, in Outworld you can go through the Living Forest (and see Reptile).

 

[evil ways]

Hey Dogg, is every stage, including old ones like the Deadpool, The Pit, Living Forest etc., playable in both arcade and versus modes? I'm worried that certain stages will only be usable in Chess, when 2 chess pieces are about to fight eachother.

Thanks in advance.

 

[DrDogg]

Every stage you can play in Arcade/VS you can play in Chess Kombat. It actually gets a little boring in Chess because you play in the same stage for the entire match. Depending on your opponent, that could be a lot of fights.

 

[The Bookerman]

I'm not a hardcore fighter lover, but atleast I can enjoy Street fighter and MK games.

I have a deep hatred of fighters like tekken and VF cause I can't master them.

 

[bishoptl]

It actually gets a little boring in Chess because you play in the same stage for the entire match. Depending on your opponent, that could be a lot of fights.

What?!? Didn't the developers play Archon? You need to have different stages for each fight, that's part of the charm AARGRGRGGHHHHHHH

 

[shuri]

Cant wait for tomorrow**


** that means it will be available in 2-3 days in canada. fuckers

 

[DrDogg]

What?!? Didn't the developers play Archon? You need to have different stages for each fight, that's part of the charm AARGRGRGGHHHHHHH

Well, you can see the background around the board as well as in the fights. So if it changed all the time, it might look odd in the board view.

Best part about chess kombat... hitting a trap!