Mortal Kombat: Deception PS2 Review

Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance was almost everything a next generation update of MK should be. It retained the amusing dark and often macabre humour that the series has so long been renowned for and the gameplay itself although losing much of its simplicity was still satisfyingly easy to get into. Mortal Kombat: Deception is much the same, but features some fantastic new additions such as the extensive Konquest mode along with a couple of other modes plus the nice inclusion of combo breakers as well as impressive online play.

Deception features an incredible amount of variety and some genuinely new modes for a game of its ilk. Puzzle Kombat is comparable to Capcom’s Super Puzzle Fighter, playing similarly to Tetris, with super deformed versions of the characters duking it out at the bottom of the screen. Whilst Chess Kombat is a more simplified version of Chess, which has you taking part in classic combat whenever a piece meets, with the attacker getting an attacker bonus over the defender and the winner eventually taking control of the square.

Konquest mode on the other hand is an RPG of sorts as well as an extensive training mode, which has you exploring the MK universe, discovering koins and keys with which to unlock things with (which you use in the returning krypt which is still disappointedly full of mildly interesting stuff) and carrying out missions for familiar MK folk from just about every MK game (shame they’re not all playable though, but maybe that’s asking just a little too much) as well as generic townsfolk. Konquest may look terribly primitive and features some truly atrocious voiceacting and scripting (though it does add to the appeal and could very well be intentional, since the series has never been one to take seriously) and there’s certainly far better RPGS out there. But it’s still a fantastic mode, which takes ages to complete and unlock every hidden object. It certainly beats the standard, irksome Arcade mode of the average fighting game and we hope to see its return in the inevitable future games.

But all other modes aside, what about the fighting engine? Which, however nice the other modes may be is still without doubt the primary reason we play a MK game. Like Deadly alliance, every character (with Noob-Smoke bizarrely being the exception) have three fighting styles to switch between during combat (or should that be Kombat) including a weapon based stance. Styles can be impressively mixed up into dazzling combos and the incredibly satisfying uppercuts (which were an odd omission in Deadly alliance to say the least) make a more than welcome return. The new combo breakers are a fantastic inclusion, allowing you to stop opponent’s combos in their tracks that otherwise could leave you helpless. Thankfully, since you only get three per match, it’s not possible to abuse these and for that reason you should use them sparingly during a match.

Deception also features some truly impressive combat arenas, which not only look fantastic but many are also multi tiered allowing combatants to be knocked to lower levels where fighting commences (DOA style) as long as you still have life remaining in your life bar that is. Many environments also feature the new addition of death traps, which allows you to instantly win a round by knocking your opponent into a particular object or perhaps off of a incredibly high place where they will more than likely meet an amusing bloody death.

All game modes (with the obvious exception of the konquest mode) can be played online, allowing you to find out if you really are the best, we’re unfortunately not one of them, damn. Online performance is remarkable with next to no lag (which could be a real detriment to such a game) and is largely identical to its offline counterpart. The more demanding online gamers could be disappointed at the simplicity of the online mode and should if they possess an Xbox, probably wait for the forthcoming and online focused Dead or Alive: Ultimate instead.

As fans of the ancient 2D games, we have no qualms in saying that Mortal Kombat: Deception is one of the finer fighting games of this generation. The new modes, though inferior to the core fighting are all fantastic additions, especially the Konquest mode (we like our RPGS here at Console Obsession) and the online play is a technical marvel. Outstanding and just short of a flawless victory, hence the score.

9/10