The release of Mortal Kombat: Deception is finally upon us. The PS2 and Xbox versions, along with their respective collectors/premium editions, will be hitting stores this week. Several retailers have varying release dates, but all fall within this week.
Please use the comments area for this story to report on which stores received their copies and are selling them, along with any purchase bonuses included.
Both the major game sites have put up their reviews of Mortal Kombat: Deception. First off, GameSpot's text review is up along with their video review and 5 new game footage videos. They give it a 8.5. Here is a snippet.
The standard fighting mode is playable versus the computer or against another player. When you play against the computer, you'll fight your way past a number of combatants until you finally square off against a typically overpowered Mortal Kombat boss. Each character has a fairly elaborate ending, should you win the bout, so fans of the MK mythos should enjoy the arcade mode if not for this reason, then because the enemy artificial intelligence is actually pretty fun to play against. It's susceptible to some tricks and patterns, and at higher levels of difficulty it fights pretty cheaply, but mostly it's a good way to practice your skills, master some combos, and maybe see a fatality or hara-kiri you've never seen before.
IGN's 5 page review is now online, which seems to have been written by a hardcore Street Fighter fan. Even with this initial bias, the reviewer looks past his hang-ups with the MK franchise and actually has some positive things to say about the game. They give it a 8.8. Here's a quote regarding Puzzle Kombat that pretty much sums up the entire tone of the review. Bash and forgive.
But twitchier gameplay fans may want to turn their attention towards Puzzle Kombat instead. A direct rip-off of Capcom's PSOne hit Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, this Tetris-inspired head-to-head is a pretty straightforward block dropping game. Truthfully, it's not quite as polished as the Chess game is, as it's often difficult to tell why your opponent gets some of the combo bonuses (or penalties) that befall him. Even so, it can still be great fun when playing with determined Tetris fans, and is a nice diversion from the bigger and beefier game modes.
IGN has a look at the first Mortal Kombat: Deception inspired "M" rated controllers from Nubytech. Each of the 4 controllers contain graphic artwork of fatalities on the face of the controller. Depending on the quality of the controller these might be just a little gimmicky.
Midway is sending certain retailers an exclusive version of the Xbox Kollectors Edition set. Depending on what retailer you visit you will only be able to choose from one character. Also, the spines of all 4 Kollectors Edition boxes combine to display a MK dragon symbol. Note that the PS2 Premium Edition, featuring Sub-Zero only, is available at most if not every store that sells the PS2 version. Please add any additional sightings to the comments.
[color=red">Baraka: GameStop
[color=gold">Scorpion: EB Games
[color=lightblue">Raiden: WalMart
[color=violet">Millena: Best Buy, Toys R Us, GameCrazy, GameRush
Again, for an extra $10 at most stores, you will receive the following bonuses:
An arcade-perfect, playable of the original Mortal Kombat® videogame
Over 40 minutes of bonus DVD video content featuring a "History of Mortal Kombat" movie that chronicles the origins of the franchise through the release of Mortal Kombat: Deception, along with exclusive biographical videos for each of the 25 characters in the game.
A serialized, embossed metal Kollector's Card created exclusively for the Limited Edition sets; there will be five unique cards in total (each of a different MK character), corresponding to the respective packaging.
The official site for Mortal Kombat: Deception has been updated with tons more media and bios. Check out what's new.
5 New arenas: the pit, dead pool, living forest, nexus and the Dragon mountain. 3 new videos Charaters bio revealed: Havik, Jade, Kabal, Kira, Kobra, Noob-smoke, Dairou, Darrius and Tanya
After months of anticipation, the game we've all been talking about is here -- Mortal Kombat: Deception. And, as with every new game release, we have compiled a list of moves and information to help you enjoy your purchase to its fullest extent. TRMK's MK:D Strategy Guide is now up and available for your perusal!
We will continue to add to this guide over the coming weeks, so feel free to check it often. A humongous thank you goes out to all of the contributors who submitted (and continue to submit) their findings.
GameSpy has one of the first mostly negative reviews of Mortal Kombat: Deception. They rate it a 2.5/5. The reviewer has some choice words about the fighting mechanics. Here's a sample.
At its best, the core fighting mechanic behind Deception is amusing, and deep-seeming. It's amusing because of the stilted, almost vulgar way in which it's all choreographed. It's definitely a product of its legacy -- the deliberate way in which all the fighters move hearken back to the older MK games, stylistically.
1UP.com has published their review of Mortal Kombat: Deception. They give it a 80%. Here is what they liked about the Konquest mode.
On the 'best' side, it shows just how far the light-hearted story and unlockable extras have come since the series began. To complete the mode and find everything should take non-FAQ reading players the better part of a year, and along the way is a fleshed out story that builds mountains on top of the back stories players have seen in past games, incorporating the campy storyline all the way through with some of the funniest bad voice acting around.
TeamXbox has a go with their review of Mortal Kombat: Deception. They score the game an impressive 9.1. The review lauds the game's overall value. Here is their take on the game's audio.
It is aurally evident that much care went into crafting the soundtrack for MK: Deception. The myriad of instrumental tracks update much of the driving beats and sounds that have been thrown down by the game’s predecessors. Many of the tracks sound like far eastern string and percussion instruments fused together with modern-day synth, rock guitar, and digital post production effects. The end result is just plain wicked, and sets the tone perfectly for your basic, disembowelments, decapitations, and impalements.
A bit of MK news makes it way on TeamXbox. The Xbox fansite reports that Midway Games has filed for a trademark for the game title Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks.
Midway Games President and CEO, David F. Zucker, confirmed in August that work has begun on the development of Mortal Kombat 7 for the Xbox 2 and PlayStation 3.
This latest filing, made only a couple of weeks ago and published this week, lists computer and videogames, strategy guides, clothing, and action figures as the categories for which the patent applies.
Game Informer has revealed on their website that the November 2004 edition of Game Informer Magazine features a world exclusive cover story on the latest chapter in the MK saga, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. The cover features Kung Lao and Liu Kang and hints to the fact that this game may not be in the standard tradition of most Mortal Kombat games and is most likely an adventure-type fighting game. Here's a local copy of the cover image.
TRMK Forum Member nixts has the first details on the world exclusive Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks article in the November 2004 issue of Game Informer. Apparently, Shaolin Monks will be an adventure/fighter in the genre of Special Forces and Mythologies. Here is nixts synopsis of the article.
Got my copy of the new Game Informer today which features the first details on MK: Shaolin Monks. Unfortunately, it's not going to be a fighting game, rather more of an action/adventure style title. The game's story will focus mostly on the MK2 era, with characters and backgrounds from that game. It will also feature secret characters including Smoke and Ermac.
Shaolin Monks will feature cooperative play, and feature classic MK characters as bosses. Your main character will have 10 fatalities which can be used against bosses. There will also be brutalities, team fatalities, and other finishing moves. The backgrounds will be highly interactive, with updated versions of the dead pool and living forest making appearances.
As much as 30% of the game will be secrets which must be unlocked. Shaolin Monks will hits stores for PS2/Xbox in September 2005.
Read on in the comments for even more information!
Next up on the release week wagon, Midway Arcade Treasures 2 for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube. This classic arcade compilation contains the greatest arcade game of all time, Mortal Kombat II. In addition, Mortal Kombat 3 and 18 other golden arcade classics are crammed into 1 disc for the unbelievable value price of $19.99. Most stores are expecting their copies on Tuesday, the 12th. EB Games is advertising a $10 mail-in offer when you buy Mortal Kombat: Deception and Midway Arcade Treasures 2.
Need a moves list? We've got them for MKII and MK3.
Here is a full list of all 20 games: A. P. B.™, Arch Rivals™, Championship Sprint™, Cyberball 2072™, Gauntlet® II, Hard Drivin'®, Kozmik Krooz'r™, Mortal Kombat® II, Mortal Kombat® 3, NARC® ,Pit Fighter™, Primal Rage®, Rampage World Tour®, Spy Hunter® II, Timber™, Total Carnage™, Wacko™, Wizard of Wor™, Xenophobe®, Xybots™.
Midway has announced that over 1 Million copies of Mortal Kombat: Deception have been shipped to retailers nationwide within the first week of availability, surpasing sales of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance by 35%.
"Mortal Kombat is clearly a franchise that continues to deliver innovative gameplay along with the hardcore, intense fighting action that fans have come to know and love over the past 12 years," said Steve Allison, chief marketing officer, Midway. "We're extremely pleased to see that Deception has been received in such a positive light by both the media and consumers since we first announced the title in March. It's a true testament to the Mortal Kombat team's hard work and dedication that consumer interest is high enough to make Deception the fastest selling game in Midway's history."
The following update was made on the News & Updates section of the MK Online area of the PlayStation 2 version of Mortal Kombat: Deception.
Deception is also enjoying tremendous online success with hundreds of thousands of games already played online. With that many games being played, there are bound to be some cheaters. A few players have been using third party devices to cheat. Thankfully we can identify the cheaters and will be setting their accounts to...
Xbox mod scene, MaxConsole, has posted details on a trainer for Mortal Kombat: Deception on a modified Xbox that makes the classic characters encountered in Konquest playable in arcade mode. The trainer has been released in this thread.
However, don't get your hopes up believing that these characters are hidden somewhere in the game. When you select a classic character and an opponent performs a fatality or stage fatality on your character, the game crashes. The explaination is that there are no death animations created for these characters, which results in the conclusion that these characters were not ment for use outside of Konquest.
Brady Games, the folks behind the official strategy guide for Mortal Kombat: Deception, have posted a note on their website that they are to make the first in an apparent series of updates tomorrow, Tuesday the 19th, on the front page of their website. Here is the note.
Greetings,
We wanted to send a message out in response to the Mortal Kombat: Deception Official Strategy Guide feedback we have been receiving in the forums. Everyone here at BradyGames understands your frustrations and have been working to solve this problem. Tuesday, October 19th will be the first, of a few, information posts on our website. Please look to the homepage for its final destination.
Gamespot has posted a story with some details and eight high resolution screenshots of the upcoming Mortal Kombat action/adventure game, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. It appears to be some of the same screenshots featured in the new issue of Game Informer that is available at all Gamestop stores. Here is some of the text from their article:
The game will have both single-player and cooperative modes, and though the number of simultaneous players hasn't been revealed, it's worth noting that the screenshots don't seem to contain more than two classic characters onscreen at any one time. Like the recently released Mortal Kombat: Deception, Shaolin Monks will contain many backgrounds with interactive features like spiked ceilings, acid pits, and living trees (we appreciate the many nods to MKII that are apparently being included in the game). And of course, no Mortal Kombat game would be complete without a host of gory new fatalities.
Coupled with the "official" announcement of Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks, Midway is capitalizing on the lucrative sucess of the Mortal Kombat franchise and is stepping up the frequency of producing Mortal Kombat games to one per year. Assuming that since Shaolin Monks is slated for a 2005 release, we should expect a new fighter-genre Mortal Kombat title in 2006. The speculation currently is that a new adventure-based and fighter-based Mortal Kombat title will alternate every other year.
Will this new influx of Mortal Kombat games mean an oversaturation of games? Will this new schedule stretch the series' mystique and reputation thin and wear down even the most devoted MK fan and their wallets? Or is this truly a fulfilment of an outcry of fans asking for more Mortal Kombat games?
Midway is featured in an article in today's Business section of the Chicago Sun-Times. It is discussed how the Chicago-based Midway is hoping to turn profit for the first time since 1999 and it would be Mortal Kombat: Deception being the primary factor behind that happening. Here is a snippet from the article:
The ''Mortal Kombat'' series has generated $1 billion since its initial release in 1992, and the latest, ''Mortal Kombat: Deception,'' hit U.S. stores Oct. 4. Midway announced on Oct. 12 it had already shipped 1 million copies, and more than 130,000 matches were played over the Internet in the first week after the game was released.
With the holiday season approaching, Midway hopes ''Mortal Kombat: Deception'' will help it record its first profit since 1999. The company has added developers, streamlined the product line, and revamped its marketing strategy in the last year.
Congrats to Midway on their current and future successes. Big things are yet to come with the Mortal Kombat franchise with the upcoming MK: Shaolin Monks and the 7th installment of the core Mortal Kombat fighting game off in the near future.
