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MK-All the Way

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Deception takes all the aspects that made Deadly Alliance great and improves them. Puzzle Kombat and Chess Kombat are tons of fun. The RPG starring Shujinko is like playing a whole other game. It's fun but prepare to invest a lot of hours into it. There's a lot to do in that adventure. And the fighting roster is a good pick with new characters and old classics mixing it up in beautifully detailed battle arenas. The blood just gushes from the screen and much gore is to be had during character fatalties, stage fatalities, and the slightly disturbing Hara-Kiri suicide move. Gruesome but that's the MK legacy. My only gripe is the expanded Krypt. Some of the graves involve some pretty crazy keys like going to the RPG game and putting Shujinko behind the tent in Edenia on Thursday at midnight so he can meet Jade to unlock the crypt. I had to scout the internet for that bit of info. I never would've discovered that on my own.

As for the bonus disc, as a fan I would say that it's nice to have but it's not really vital to your MK existence. The interviews are nice but they don't go far enough for me. It's just icing, I would've liked to have more cake. Bonus points for including "cast members" from previous MK games like John Turk(Sub-Zero) and Kerri Hoskins (Sonya Blade) to share some of their MK memories but they were so brief it's like a cameo. Basically, the actors just said what character they played and how much they fun they had. I was a bit amused at the very tiny mention of the MK film sequel "Annhilation". I agree that not every MK franchise was flawless. The Mortal Kombat game was a nice addition for fans of the first game. Unfortunately, I didn't become a fan until Mortal Kombat II so it didn't do me much good. Overall, the bonus disc is nice but I expected more.

All in all, if you planning to buy this special edition Deception 2-Disc pack try to find it as cheap as possible but if you are a true fan like me price really isn't an object. Who can resist that infamous dragon icon. Kombat Forever!

about up to the same standard as the other MK games

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 24, 2007
Author: Amazon User

a solid entry into the MK series. It was great being able to play so many of the MK characters. That was the best part. I've yet to really have any great love for the whole konquest mode. but the gameplay is what we've come to expect-which is never a bad thing. Even the changes to the fatalities didn't bother me too much.

Fatality!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Well, Deception probably has the greatest opening sequence that I've ever seen in any game, whether it be fighting game, racing or RPG, and the endings are really awesome. Other than that, the core gameplay hasn't changed much from Deadly Alliance aside from combo breakers, and that's not such a good thing in my mind. Although the likeness of the Chess and Puzzle Kombat mini games (Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, but with MK characters and Stage fatalities), and the increasingly boring and freaquently dry Konquest mode make a mountain out of the replay value, the core gameplay is just as hard to get used to as in the last game.

I miss what MK 4 used to be, which was in my opinion the best of the series, which basically proves what most gamers (hopefully) believe, it's the gameplay not the graphics. The one thing I could do without is the Krypt, which is annoying and tedious, and requires you to actually go through the ever dragging Konquest mode mentioned above. It basically takes you from the beginning of Mortal Kombat to the current story of Deception as Shujinko, and gives you a better understanding of how Onaga, the Dragon King (Cheep Boss) resurrected and tricked the nutty old narrator (Shujinko) of the opening sequence (breathtaking), all just to collect stupid "Krypt keys" that unlock stages and characters, which by the way are awesome and make the nostalgia factor go through the roof. All in all, the obligation of Konquest mode makes unlocking the characters seem more like a dragging job than a fun and rewarding experience.

The core gameplay isn't what it's cracked up to be, as said earlier, not much was changed from Deadly Alliance. If you loved Deadly Alliance, though, you're in luck. They did add one more fatality per character, making 2 for each, and probably the coolest addition to Mortal Kombat, Hara-Kiri's. That is basically a chance for you to kill yourself at the end of a lost match before your opponent does a fatality on you, making it sort-of a race to see who can do a fatality first, and still giving you a chance to control your character after you've lost. Classic stages like the Pit 1, the Dead Pool and the Living Forest make a return and are looking prettier than ever. The return of Ermak, Nightwolf, Baraka, Milleena, Sindel and Noob-Smoke, the tag-team version of Noob-Siabot and Smoke. Each of them seemlessly change out like switching fighting styles, but they have no weapon. Those classic characters are definetly something to look forward to!

The graphics are the best in the series and some of the best I've seen the PS2 put out, and immensly impressive when juxtaposed to the august visuals of Tekken 5 and VF4 Evolution. The characters have an almost un-precedented amount of detail, and the stages are vast and, surprisingly vibrant considering the dark moodiness that MK games have delivered since MK2, but that's not a bad thing, especially since it shows off how awesome the game looks. The sound, however, is definetly this games knight in shining armor, but as long as they don't get rid of Dan "Toasty" Forden, nobody has anything to worry about.

The Premium Packs for (Sub-Zero for PS2 and Mileena, Baraka, Scorpion and Raiden for XBOX), includes a serialized metal trading card of the character on the cover and an extra disk with some behind-the-scenes-esque footage of most of the characters and an arcade-perfect port of The One that started it all, baby! Other fighting games take note.

Mortal Kombat Deception is great and delivers the bloody Kombat that people have come to expect and love, although it's just in need of an overhaul gameplay-wise, it's still well-deserving of all the hype it has recieved and fans should definetly not have to think twice before making a purchace!

Could of made package better

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 10
Date: August 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

If they threw in a stragegy guide this would be totally awesome package but they didnt some good goodies though if your a true fan maybe i can see you picking this up but is it really worth (...). I suggest you wait it out to see if another package is made possiblily with the stragegy guide. I rate 1 star for the package not for the game cause its gonna kick butt!

Parents and Politicians Beware

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: November 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

10/09/04

Parents and Politicians Beware The New Mortal Kombat Game Is Here

The latest incarnation in the ongoing Mortal Kombat series returns once again with a slew of new additions to an already excellent franchise which is sure to keep fans and newcomers coming back for more.
With the series first arriving in the arcades back in 1992, Mortal Kombat quickly became one of the most controversial and to the dismay of parents and senators everywhere, most successful selling game of all time. The series, which spawned a total of five top selling installments and two movies, returns once again to wreak havoc upon the home console world with versions for both Playstation 2 and Xbox.
Mortal Kombat Deception starts off right where 2002's Deadly Alliance left off, we learned that bad guys Shang Tsung and Quan Chi were successful in defeating all of the earth realm combatants except for the thunder god Raiden. Raiden unfortunately is unable to take on both of the sorcerers and is defeated. However, Shang Tsung's and Quan Chi's victory would be short-lived when they immediately turn on each other. To make matters worse a new villain known as the Dragon King returns to claim what was taken from him. So once again gamers must resume the roles of a number of different fighters with different abilities to defeat a foe more menacing than the first.
As far as the game's graphics go they're almost exactly the same as the last game, which isn't a bad thing. Deception is a very polished looking game although it still doesn't compare to the graphic detail found in other fight games such as in Tekken 4 or Dead or Alive 3. The game's audio is also the usual oriental and rock mix that has permeated through all of the games which has always worked well for the series.
In the game's arcade mode players can choose from a total of twenty-four characters to fight their way up through the ranks in order to take on the big bad guy at the top. Fans of the previous games will be glad to see old school characters such as Sub-Zero, Kabal, Ermac, Scorpion, and Nightwolf, to name a few, have returned for another round; with many more old and new characters locked away in the game until gamers unlock them. The returning characters have retained all of their beloved special moves with a few new ones, as well as two new fatalities and new suicide move called the Hari-kari.
For newcomers one of the Mortal Kombat series hallmarks is the gruesome finishing moves known as fatalities where the winner of the match can dispose of their opponent in a number of gory and gruesome manners such as tearing off their arms or legs and clubbing the loser to death with them. Nice, I know. A nice new touch to the game is the Hari-kari moves in which defeated opponents can now finish themselves off before the victor does, this adds some funny and over the top gory deaths which robs your opponent of the satisfaction of getting to perform a fatalities on you. As for the fatalities in this game they are by far the goriest, over the top and best of the series yet, which was something that was seriously lacking in the last game.
Perhaps the biggest change to the game play is the addition of Death Traps that are placed in certain arenas. These death traps consist of stone grinders, molten lava pits, and other assorted nasty death devices, which will kill any player instantly if, knocked into, ending the round. This new addition to the game play is both a plus and a minus. On the one hand these traps will make players play more strategically than they normal would have, paying close attention to not only their opponent but also the surrounding environment. However, since it's fairly easy to knock anyone into them, the death traps can become rather cheap when a player constantly uses them for an easy win. Thankfully they can be shut off in the option menu. The arenas that house these traps are also multi-level arenas meaning in order to take advantage of the traps a player must first be knocked into the area where the trap is located. An example of this would be the Slaughter House arena where a player can be knocked through the floor only to continue fighting below but now there's a chance any player could be thrown into the large rotating meat grinder in the corner of this lower level.
The addition of combo breakers is also another smart addition to the game, which really brings balance to the game's fighting system. In the previous games players who had mastered the ability to string together attacks could really deliver massively damaging combos, which resulted in beginning players being at a serious disadvantage as their fighter got annihilated round after round. With the combo breakers any player can now halt any string of attacks instead of taking a massive beating, however each player is only allowed three combo breakers per a match. Players now have to play conservatively choosing when the best time to break a combo would be most effective during the match.
Besides the normal combat mode, Deception also includes a number of extras that are really like new games. First up is what is called Khess Kombat, which is a spin on the game of chess with Mortal Kombat characters and other interesting twists, including magic spells and fighting matches to determine which player take the chess piece. Then there's Puzzle Kombat, which is a hybrid version of the classic Tetris game. In Puzzle Kombat players select miniature Kombat characters and play a Tetris like game while the little miniature fighters duke it out below your game window. In true Mortal Kombat fashion both puzzle games have a set of fatalities to go with them. Both games are highly addicting and can be played with one to two players or online.
The weakest aspect of Deception, though, is the new Konquest mode, and yes that's spelled with a "k" too. In Konquest mode you assume the role of Shujinko, a young warrior who is on a quest to recover certain mystical artifacts from different worlds of the game. Along the way you'll run across characters from the game that will either assist you or need a favor from you, such as finding Scorpion's missing ninja comrade. This mode becomes tedious rather fast when you must travel and fetch certain items from one location to the next, only to go back again and again. Unfortunately, players will have to play through this mode if they wish to unlock all of the game's content, such as hidden characters and arenas, which is really the only reason why anyone would. This mode also seems like the least polished of all, with horrible voice acting, a predictable storyline and a poor graphic interface. On a more positive note, this mode will teach newcomers the basics to advanced game techniques they'll need in order to compete against other players at home or online. Maybe the developers will work out these issues with the next game.
But perhaps the best reason to pick up the new Mortal Kombat game is just for the online competition. Both the Playstation 2 and the Xbox support online gaming for the standard Arcade mode, Khess Kombat and Puzzle Kombat so you'll always be able to find some kind of competition to play against once your friends get sick of losing to you every turn.
All in all though Mortal Kombat Deception is an excellent game that has enough going for it to please just about any fighting game fan. Whether you're a Mortal Kombat nut or just someone looking for a good, solid fighting game Deception really delivers on multiple levels. However, gamers that are a bit squeamish should probably stay away, Deception is definitely a violent and gory game that should be played by mature players only.

Online doesn't salvage...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: May 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game picks up control-wise where the last one left off, "Deadly Alliance." I actually like "Deadly Alliance" a lot and still play it (AND kept it), but this one is a little too "tweaked." The new 3D philosophy for the programmers was good last time, but this time it just doesn't work. They made jumping a lot slower, as well as movements, perhaps to create more realism, but it completely changes the gameplay and calls for a whole new format on things. One way to illustrate the amount of change needed for the new slower game is the fact that Scorpion has fewer moves. His swordswipe is gone, which was an awesome and easy-to-use move. Gone. So, a slower game, and the characters move slower in every way. When you get hit with Sub's ice, you slowly take the frozen stance. Every match just drags. As well, the characters are now huge, and for them to move so slowly is mind-numbingly annoying. It's too bad that they held back online until this. The last one would've been perfect. Although this new one has interactive environments, that just makes it a very complicated, slow-moving, ill-controlled mess. There's also chess and other featurette games, but these, again, do no compensate. If you look at it, it almost seems that they were paying too much attention to outer details, and failed to remember gameplay. It's obscure, but believe me, there is mondo difference between this and "Deadly Alliance." The hits on this one, too, are a little off, so that hollow feel is very present. The only thing I don't regret is that I got a copy of part 1, the original, in an "exact" port from its arcade self.

Mortal Kombat : Deception (XBOX)

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 8
Date: August 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I Think that This Will Be And Is One Of The Best Mortal Komabt Games Out.

Go back to what worked!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 4
Date: October 10, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I haven't purchased a Mortal Kombat game since Mortal Kombat 2. MK3 messed up the series in a couple ways(cheap combos and replacing the ninjas with robots).

I decided to finally give the Mortal Kombat series another try with Deception. My Decision was influenced by the addition of Mortal Kombat 1 (arcade edition) with the premium pack.

Well, I was very pleased playing Mortal Kombat 1 after all these years. I still think its a phenomenal game. Anyway, about the new game Deception...

Playing Deception reminded me alot of the Mortal Kombat movie(The scorpion fight VS Johny Cage fight). I see more positives then negatives with Deception, such as awesome interactive backgrounds and multiple fighting styles for each fighter. If I could compare Deceptions game style with any other game, it would be soul caliber(because of the 360 degree environment). Deception is full of bells and whistles(including Chess Kombat and Puzzle Kombat).

Now, on to the negatives of Deception. First, I found the fighting to be a bit stiff. The characters don't move with grace like Tekken. Second, the cheap combos! Not as bad as MK3s cheap 15 hit combos, but the computer isn't afraid to hit you with a couple 5 or 6 hit combos. Sometimes the computer gets so cheap with the combos, the only way to win is to go allout with special moves(which is boring).

If your a fan of Mortal Kombat 1, then try out the Deception premium pack. I kept my Mortal Kombat 1 disk and sold Deception on EBAY. MK2 and MK3 are available on a new 20 game disk called "Midway Arcade classics 2". I suggest you pick this up! Its only 20 dollars and it has many great games.

Graphics=5
Music=5
Control=4
Fun Factor=3.5
Replay value=3

Total=4.1

I hope the Mortal Kombat team decides to do a new 2D game with the old controls. 2D games are still marketable and Midway could make a phenomenal digitized graphics game with PS2 and X-Box technology.

Excellent Midway Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: September 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I have just pre-ordered this game, so my review is based on my expectations from the numerous articles I have read at http://www.ign.com, http://www.trmk.org, and http://www.davesmk.com . It is also based on all of the videos I have seen on the Internet. I have watched every video on this title that I have been able to find, including the ones from E3, the official Mortal Kombat Deception site, and http://www.gametrailers.com.

I believe this game deserves five stars because of the features that have been implemented. Each character has various fighting styles, similiar to the last installment. There are two fatalities per combatant. The hari kiri feature adds an interesting twist to the finishing moves. The levels have been vastly improved and are more interactive, with some of them being multi-tiered. There are even hidden weapons within the stages adding an exciting element of unpredictability to the game. Even though the graphics are not cutting-edge, I believe they are better than average.

I purchased the Premium Pack over the standard version for one reason. I sincerely want to play the original Mortal Kombat arcade version that is included. My first experience with this series of games was on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, so I wish to have the full effect. If you are not interested in the bonus features, then the regular edition would be a good choice.

I look forward to playing this and am terribly excited to receive my copy.

Good investment

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 8
Date: November 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Awesome gameplay, if anything, pick this up just for the original mortal kombat.

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