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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
"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."
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...
[color=red]0 wins
1000 losses
999,999 disconnects
If you see someone with those statistics, avoid playing them!
Thanks,
The MK Team
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.
Sincerely,
The BradyGames Team
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.
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.