RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Games and Tech Mortal Kombat: Deception

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Mortal Kombat: Deception First Look


Mortal Kombat: Deception is the recently announced sixth installment in Midway's Mortal Kombat series. This long-running franchise is arguably one of the most pivotal entries in the fighting genre because of its mature content and heavy use of blood. Over the course of several arcade and console installments the series continued to evolve but lost a bit of focus as it moved forward. Fortunately, 2002's Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance brought the franchise back up to fighting form with impressive graphics, a new fighting system, and a generous helping of blood. From the looks of the trailer for Mortal Kombat: Deception, the franchise will be maintaining the momentum started with Deadly Alliance and will offer plenty to look forward to. After obsessing over every frame of the trailer and cross-referencing the images with the press release, we now offer some thoughts on the upcoming game. (It's not likely we'll be the only MK fans doing frame-by-frame analyses in the coming days.)

As with every installment in the series, our first viewing of the trailer had us looking out for which fighters we recognized. The heavily edited clip and the grainy filter used to give the piece a nicely gritty look made it a challenge to single out everyone, but we feel pretty confident in naming a few folks. Baraka is back in all his toothy, blade-wielding glory. Three ninjas in the clip, each bearing one of the three colors from the classic MK ninja rainbow, make it pretty obvious some old friends are also returning. The first two ninjas appear to be Scorpion and Sub-Zero, and it looks like they're sporting fashionable updates of their classic looks. The third ninja, clad in red, is what we would certainly like to hope is Ermac. Mileena is also back, in what appears to be two purple outfits. While a variation on her original togs is in the mix, a new Jennifer Lopez-inspired ensemble is also on hand. It should be noted that both outfits appear to possess powerful magical properties, as they hang tough to Mileena's junk real good, even in the midst of combat. We also caught a few flashes of other characters who were harder to identify. A very brief flash of a battle between two characters toward the end of the trailer shows what could be Nightwolf; it's a stretch, we know, but we could swear we see deerskin boots and a tomahawk. As for the second fighter, clad in white with a funky hat, we're not sure. The color scheme is wrong for Raiden, unless he's gotten a makeover, which is possible. The last potential member of the cast--which we'll admit is a long shot, but we'll throw it out there anyway--could be Shao Kahn. During the dramatic cuts in parts of the trailer, a very Shao Kahn-like helmet appears several times. We never actually see him in action at all, so we may be stoking the sure-to-be-busy rumor mill, but we'd like to think that we know our skull-shaped metallic helmets pretty well.

The next topic for obsession is the gameplay. The trailer backed up some of Midway's press releases and showed off hints of the new gameplay elements slated for inclusion in the upcoming game. The most dramatically displayed element was the interactive environments. Based on the CG clip and the snippets of gameplay, it appears that the environments will feature a few types of functionality. In addition to being the standard Dead or Alive 3-style multitiered environments, it looks as though the environments will be large enough to have different areas that the fight can spill into and will also feature objects you can send your foes smashing through. Some stages also appear to have the potential for some very nasty drops. One arena, set atop a large pillarlike structure, looks tailor-made for some deadly falls. We caught two elements in the levels that should keep battles interesting. The most striking is what appears to be level-specific fatalities. The end of the clip shows Scorpion juggling a hapless Baraka into two very spiky pillars that did some unpleasant business that we heard but didn't see. The more subtle element may be tied to these new fatalities, though we're not quite sure just how it fits into the fighting system. This element is a green square that we noticed on the playfield before the move occurred, and this square was also visible in the brief glimpses we saw of some of the other arenas. From what we've seen in the snippets of gameplay, the combat system appears to be a mix of armed and unarmed combat similar to the system in Dark Alliance. Of course, fatalities are back. The trailer showed tantalizing glimpses of a few choice fatalities from our icy-blue ninja, which seem poised to follow ably in the footsteps of such classics as "rips out spine" and "punches head off."

As for the arenas you'll be duking it out in, we saw precious little of these environments, although we did pick out what appeared to be six different areas. We already briefly touched on an arena set atop a large pillar in the midst of an abyss. You can see mountains and a temple in the distance. Another arena with a similar theme is set atop the roof of a building during a rain shower. Yet another arena appears to be set in a good old apocalyptic wasteland, complete with bodies on pikes. The last few areas we saw offered a change of pace from the unholy locales. A factory, complete with the pool of flaming hot lava you always seem to find in them, was briefly shown. The interior of a castle, which seems to have troublesome floors, was on display as well. The most intriguing of the areas shown has a nice Hellraiser touch in the form of bodies apparently swinging from chains. We'll be curious to see if the corpses wind up being interactive during combat.

All told, the trailer for Mortal Kombat Deception, although brief, certainly offers enough tidbits to get fans worked up. The roster of characters revealed covers most of the right bases (personally, we'd like to see Sheeva and Stryker), and the level of violence is right where we'd like it to be. The interactive environments seem like a good new addition to the fighting mix as do the level-specific fatalities. Once you factor in the other bits of information revealed in yesterday's Q4-financial-results conference call, where Midway's president and CEO mentioned online play for both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions, as well as some of the modes in the game--such as conquest and adventure--you've got a slick new entry in the series that should prove that the Mortal Kombat franchise is back on a promising bloody track. Look for more on the game before it ships for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox this fall.

For Midway's official company line on Mortal Kombat: Deception, check out the game's announcement. To see the exclusive first trailer for the game, visit our media page.

By Ricardo Torres, GameSpot [POSTED: 02/26/04 10:25 AM]

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I just watched the trailer for it and it looks fucking GREAT!!! Can't wait!!!

Here is the link- Mortal Kombat: Deception
And another- Mortal Kombat Online

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Rob Kamphausen said:
the sixth installment?? geez... i though this'd be the fourth!

the renders look nice, but i never liked this game. gameplay was always way off... and a block button?? that hurt back in the day.

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PSM Article Gives New Insights Into MK: Deception!
Posted at 11:54 PM EST by DArqueBishop

Forum/chat member Hydro was able to get us a copy of the PSM feature article on Mortal Kombat: Deception, and it was worth the wait! The issue is chock-full of information on the different play modes. Rather than quote the article, we're going to summarize what we have learned.

Konquest mode has returned in a much expanded form. Unlike MK: Deadly Alliance's Konquest, the new version is much more akin to something out of Grand Theft Auto. You still have to attend the dojo to learn from characters like Bo'Rai Cho, but there are also random encounters and events in the village that can be the clue to secret techniques and other rewards. (You can even beat up hapless villagers for the heck of it). As in MK:DA, the goal of Konquest is to learn the combos and strategies of the game. Best of all, Konquest acts as a create-a-character mode, where you build up your generic monk character through the Konquest, and when done, can use him in the other game modes, including online play.

As far as characters go... Nightwolf is indeed confirmed to return in the game. Noob Saibot is also poised to return. One surprise, though, comes in the form of Sindel, who, like Nightwolf, is making her first appearance in MK since Mortal Kombat Trilogy. New characters include an armored warrior named Hotaru, and the mysterious white-clad woman in the trailer, called Ashrah. The unknown warrior referred to in the last news article is in fact Sub-Zero's alt costume; not much is revealed about him either. Moreover, it is revealed that the boss in this game is the Dragon King, whose unseen presence figured prominently in the events of MK: Deadly Alliance. Speaking of said events, it is also confirmed that the game takes place in the aftermath of Deadly Alliance.

The gameplay also has been tightened up since the last MK. As before, each character has three fighting stances, though they are barely touched upon in the article. However, the characters are now quicker and easier to move around. In addition to their armed fighting styles, the arenas now have weapons available that can be picked up, and they are more powerful than the characters' standard weapons. Also, stages have what are known as "Death Traps" (aka, stage fatalities), which are red areas in which a stage fatality can be performed. It doesn't say explicitly, yet it sounds as if Death Traps can be used in mid-battle. Other, more minor traps can be present, such as flames and the like. The levels are often huge, taking up multiple levels. An example of one arena was shown in the form of the Netherbelly, which is presumably the interior of the Nethership from MK: Deadly Alliance. This is the arena featuring the swinging corpses, and concept art shows Kenshi being grabbed if he gets too close to a wall with people looking through a window. Each character, according to Boon, will have two or more fatalities, and there are even rumours of "hara kiri" moves, which bring to mind the Suicidality rumours of yore.

Side games? They show that as well. These side games are different from the Test Your Might/Sight of old. The first is a strategy board game akin to chess or Archon, with the kombatants as pieces on a chessboard. Attempting to capture a piece requires the opponents to duke the characters out a la standard arcade mode. The other game, Puzzle Kombat, is similar to Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, where small deformed characters have it out in the middle of a Tetris-style puzzle game.

Due to copyright reasons, we are not able to provide scans of this article. You can find the PSM article in newsstands near you very soon!

Our thanks to Hydro and Dragula21 for the heads-up on the article!

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March 20, 2004
Game Informer gives their impression on Deception
Posted at 10:53 AM EST by ]{0MBAT

Game Informer was also able to attend Midway Gamers Day. The most exciting news on MK Deception from the article is the fact that they have confirmed the presence of Kabal. The plan is to have 24 characters total (as reported by GameSpot yesterday, with 14 available from the start, 10 unlockable. 8 of the characters are brand new (like Hotaru and Ashrah), 6 are returning from Deadly Alliance, and 10 from classic MK games. Also, check out some of the really cool stages we can look forward to in Deception: One was a collapsing pillar level where through out the match, the outer rings will continue to collapse until you have a small center pillar. The other was a Ying Yang type level where the Ying side was a nice beach area, and the Yang side was a rainy, desolate opposite. While you are fighting the Ying and Yang sides switch randomly.They also go into detail on the Puzzle Kombat mode: Puzzle Kombat is basically a puzzle fighter type game with a Mortal Kombat twist. There will be special moves that you can perform, and of course fatalities will also play a role as well.Read the article in its entirety here. Thanks to MK Online Forum members ShaolinChuan and mister_satan666 for the news.

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March 19, 2004
GameSpot Reveals MK: Deception Preview!
Posted at 6:17 PM EST by Scott-Howell

GameSpot has released a massive two-page preview of the next installment of the bloodiest franchise ever, Mortal Kombat: Deception! Included is new information that was not mentioned in the April issue of PSM. For instance, from the start 14 playable characters will be available with a grand total of 24 on the select screen. GameSpot also dwells in further on the improved fighting system. Though based on the popular Deadly Alliance core engine, the following details have been learned:The additions to the combat system appear to be adding a level of strategy that should please fighting fans looking for more depth. A new position switch move, similar to the position swap seen in Tekken 4, will let you quickly switch your place with an opponent if you're backed into a corner, which should come in very handy. However, the most interesting addition is undoubtedly what Boon dubbed "fight state indicators." The indicator appears vertically on the lower left- and right-hand sides of the screen and identifies your fighter's current state on-the-fly during a battle. The color-coded indicators let you know when you're vulnerable to attack, able to counterattack, or are in a danger zone. Obviously, when the indicator isn’t reacting at all you'll know all is well. The stoplight-like meters, whose appearance is still a work in progress, struck us as a training wheel-like addition to the game. The indicators should help veteran players hone their skills to perfection and let new players get a better understanding of the fighting system, which seems like a pretty savvy equalizer to include.The article also gives a great description on the new interactivity associated with the different stages and backgrounds:Another sign of the fighting system's evolution is the way its new features relate to the game's backgrounds. The arenas will be multi-tiered and feature a high level of interactivity that will end up enriching the fighting system. Boon stated that the arenas will end up playing a big role in the flow of the battle, almost as much as the character you choose, based on their unique size and shape. Some will slowly crumble as you fight on them, making a "ring out" sort of victory possible. Another background Boon talked about was a sort of "yin and yang" arena that randomly flips between good and evil. On the good side, you'll see a Virtua Fighter-like beach, complete with seagulls and a generally peaceful setting. But when that flips around, you'll get an evil version of the same background. Getting knocked out of the arena on the good side won't be so bad for the losing player... but getting knocked out when things aren't so pleasant will probably be a bloodier affair.For the rest of the gruesome details, you can check out the preview in its entirety here. Thanks to Mortal Kombat Online forum/chat user JRF and MK Online Network member Murdoink for the news tip!

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Following our first look at the trailer for Mortal Kombat: Deception, we were able to get a rundown of what the game is going to offer from none other than Ed Boon, cocreator of the bloody juggernaut series, at Midway's gamers' day. The presentation gave us an overview of the game and its various features and offered us one of our first genuine surprises of 2004. While we expected the next entry in the Mortal Kombat series to build on the promising elements introduced in 2002's Deadly Alliance, we weren't really prepared for the insanity laid out before us. Boon and company's latest evolution of the venerable franchise goes crazy in what appears to be the best possible direction.



The environments in Deception will now feature new and painful interactive elements.
Boon's presentation covered six topics: gameplay, backgrounds, characters, fatalities, new game modes, and online. The gameplay segment shed light on the surprising number of tweaks and additions to the already-solid fighting system introduced in Deadly Alliance. Mortal Kombat: Deception's core system will feature the basic elements that worked so well in Deadly Alliance, so you can plan on each fighter having three fighting styles with unique combos, special moves, and fatalities. Returning characters will likely retain some, but not necessarily all, of their existing styles. The current plan is for each character to have roughly six special moves and multiple fatalities (more on that in a bit).

The additions to the combat system appear to be adding a level of strategy that should please fighting fans looking for more depth. A new position switch move, similar to the position swap seen in Tekken 4, will let you quickly switch your place with an opponent if you're backed into a corner, which should come in very handy. However, the most interesting addition is undoubtedly what Boon dubbed "fight state indicators." The indicators appear vertically on the lower left- and right-hand sides of the screen and identify your fighter's current state, on the fly, during a battle. The color-coded indicators let you know when you're vulnerable to attack, are able to counterattack, or are in a danger zone. Obviously, when the indicators aren't reacting at all you'll know all is well. The stoplight-like meters, whose appearance is still a work in progress, struck us as a training-wheel-like addition to the game. The indicators should help veteran players hone their skills to perfection and let new players get a better understanding of the fighting system.

Another sign of the fighting system's evolution is the way its new features relate to the game's backgrounds. The arenas will be multitiered and will feature a high level of interactivity that will end up enriching the fighting system. Boon stated that the arenas will end up playing a big role in the flow of the battle, almost as much as the character you choose, based on their unique size and shape. Some will slowly crumble as you fight on them, making a "ring out" sort of victory possible. Another background Boon talked about was a sort of "yin and yang" arena that randomly flips between good and evil. On the good side, you'll see a Virtua Fighter-like beach, complete with seagulls and a generally peaceful setting. But when that flips around, you'll get an evil version of the same background. Getting knocked out of the arena on the good side won't be so bad for the losing player, but getting knocked out when things aren't so pleasant will probably be a bloodier affair.

Deception's final roster of characters is still being kept a secret, but we sussed out a number of them from the trailer, such as Baraka, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Ermac, Mileena, and Nightwolf. The game will feature 24 fighters in all, 14 of which you'll be able to play with right off the bat. In talking to Boon, we discovered that the white-clad fighter shown in the video wasn't Raiden, or even a man, for that matter. Boon didn't reveal much other than to say it was a woman named Ashra. Given her appearance, we figure she's probably related to the god of thunder in some way. Ashra will be joined by around seven more new characters.



The fighting system has been buffed up considerably.
The basic level of interactivity offered by the backgrounds will match everything seen in Deadly Alliance, so you'll be able to break objects around the arenas and exploit areas within them that will do damage, such as the acid pits in the previous game. That's just for starters, though--certain breakable background elements will act as weapons you can use to dole out damage to your opponent, specifically the walls you'll be knocking them through in spectacularly violent fashion. In addition, you'll now find color-coded squares that will clue you in to the good, the bad, and the ugly of your surroundings. The good will be indicated by green squares that will tip you off to useful items, such as weapons strewn about the arena that you can pick up and use. The bad will show up as yellow squares that represent danger zones, which will harm you or your opponent in some painful way. The ugly is shown with red squares that clue you in to death traps, an evil, new addition to the MK franchise's meaty selection of ways you can bring instant, and gruesome, death to your foe.

Speaking of ways to die, MK Deception will come fully loaded for those looking for ways to eviscerate their opponents. As mentioned, each character will have two fatalities to brutally finish off their foes, but that's not the only way to rid yourself of an enemy. The death traps in each arena feature some truly spectacular ways to end a fight. The sequence at the end of the trailer, where Baraka is thrown into the pair of menacing spiked rollers, offers a taste of what's possible. However, if you happen to be competing against someone who thrives on humiliating you, Deception offers a nice way to tell your opponents to suck it. When your battered fighter is wobbling about and waiting to be finished off, you'll be able to perform a suicide move and finish yourself off before your opponent does. This new move now makes the end of a battle as hectic as the fight itself, as both players will have to race to input their command before the other.

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You'll have the opportunity to put the fighting system through its paces in a robust assortment of modes, and this is where we found some of the game's biggest surprises. In addition to the standard assortment of single-player and versus modes, you'll find some cool new additions. The konquest mode has been completely overhauled to offer a deeper, free-roaming, RPG-like experience that will put you in control of a teenaged character and charge you with guiding him to adulthood and victory. The missions will again range from standard tutorial missions, which fill you in on the combat system, to battles with a variety of victory conditions. You'll take on the missions by roaming freely through six realms populated by old and new faces whom you'll interact with. Boon mentioned that every character that's ever been in a Mortal Kombat game will make some sort of appearance in this mode.



You'll now find weapons strewn throughout the environments that you can use in battle.
The konquest mode will include a feature that will track time in the game. In addition to tracking the age of your character, the feature will work in tandem with the day and night cycle in the game, since many unlockable secrets will be tied to a specific time and place. For example, you may see a character moving among the rocks in the distance in a certain area. If you try to be in the area when that happens, you'll engage the character in battle and earn something if you win. Boon stated that, while the koin currency system and the krypt will be in the game, the majority of the hidden characters will be found in konquest. Once you complete konquest mode, you'll be able to take your character into the other game modes with three fighting styles of your choosing.

Speaking of other modes, Boon's demo of the other modes was pretty jaw-dropping. The versus and konquest modes were impressive but not entirely unexpected; however, the two new modes--puzzle kombat and MK chess--were. Apparently, Boon and company weren't content with just buffing up the fighting system and overhauling konquest mode and have thus created two all-new game modes. The resulting modes are complete changes of pace that look to be pretty fun. Puzzle kombat is a Tetris-style puzzle game proudly cut from the same cloth as Capcom's classic gem, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo. The game will feature superdeformed versions of the main cast who will duke it out as you try to clear like-colored blocks. A super meter will let you perform various attacks based on the blocks you remove, with combos allowing for better attacks and even super moves. And, of course, this mode will also feature some superdeformed fatalities.



Puzzle kombat is a decidedly different spin on the classic franchise.
MK chess is an even greater throwback that recalls both the old-school classic Archon and the board game Stratego. The mode lets you select an assortment of fighters that you assign a class to and move around on a chess-style board in an attempt to take out your opponent in turn-based combat. Your class selection will affect that fighter's stats while providing unique abilities. For example, Scorpion can be cast as a healer, which will let him heal units but significantly reduces his attack power. There will be multiple arenas in this mode, and some classic backgrounds from previous MK games will appear here, as well.

The icing to this already sizable cake is the online support in Mortal Kombat: Deception--you can play versus, Puzzle kombat, and MK chess online. The exact details are being kept under wraps, but we'd like to think the game will include leaderboards and the expected stat tracking, at the least.

While we went into the presentation with certain preconceptions of what to expect out of Mortal Kombat: Deception, what we saw easily surpassed them. The game's impressive overhaul is a bold move that recalls some of the insane, old-school brilliance of the classic early entries of the series. It's good to see that nearly every aspect of the game is being given some depth and that the additions are so well polished. Puzzle kombat and MK chess seem to be solid enough that they could have worked as stand-alone games (although we're glad to see Midway didn't actually try to ship them as such). However, the strongest aspect of the game will likely be its online play. In an era when the arcade scene is all but dead, the chance to test your skills against random strangers is a dope reminder of the days when you would roll up to a machine and set your quarter down. If the ambitious package works as well as it looks like it might, Mortal Kombat: Deception may well be the best entry in the series yet.

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By Ricardo Torres, Jeff Gerstmann, GameSpot [POSTED: 03/19/04 01:51 PM]

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At Midway’s recent spring gamers’ day, a select few members of the press were ushered in to a special suite, where they met legendary Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon, who answered a few questions and showed a demonstration video for Mortal Kombat: Deception. So, Game Informer Magazine newbie Joe Juba and myself joined Ed, and sat back in awe at what was revealed to us.



As far as the way the fighting game portion plays (yes, now there are different portions of the game – more on that later), it seems like a major extension of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. Midway has decided on sticking with the same 3 fight styles system, yet they will be expanding on it. There will be 24 total characters – 14 of which will be initially selectable. There will be 8 new characters, 6 characters will be returning from Deadly Alliance, and there will be 10 classic Mortal Kombat characters from earlier installments – like Baraka, Kabal, Nightwolf, and Sindel – who will be making their 3D debut. Boon explained that returning characters will have some similar moves to Deadly Alliance, but they will have some new move sets, so players who are more familiar with certain characters will feel much at home.



To teach people the different nuances in fighting games – like counters and reversals - Deception will feature on screen indicators to help teach players when the proper time is to block, attack, perform a counter, etc. There will be 3 indicator circles (red, blue, yellow) on the side of the screens which will tell you the strength and weaknesses of your attacks, as well as when you are the most vulnerable.



Obviously, one of the staples in the Mortal Kombat franchise is Fatalities, and Deception will be chock full of them. Each character will have 2 fatalities, and stages will also have stage fatalities. Deception will also feature a slight twist on the fatality scheme with adding Hari Kari to the mix. For example, say you get rocked by a buddy, and he’s about to pull off a fatality. By pressing a certain button combination, you can commit suicide before the fatality is performed. So, you’ll ultimately be racing against your opponent to kill yourself before he pulls off a fatality.

Boon stated that the backgrounds in the game will be “more than a portrait.” Environments in Deception will be much more expansive, and some will feature multiple tiers – much like the Dead or Alive series. You’ll be able to blast opponents through breakable walls and watch them fall, and then chase them below, and continue smacking the snot out of them. Boon described two of the levels that will be in the game. One was a collapsing pillar level where through out the match, the outer rings will continue to collapse until you have a small center pillar. The other was a Ying Yang type level where the Ying side was a nice beach area, and the Yang side was a rainy, desolate opposite. While you are fighting the Ying and Yang sides switch randomly.



Some levels will also feature deathtraps (different than stage fatalities), which will be indicated by a red marker. You’ll personally want to avoid these, but you can throw an opponent into a death trap and kill them. One area that we saw had hot fire and coals as the floor. An opponent got tossed in there and quickly crawled on his hands and knees to get out. Right before he was about to exit his burning crawling spree, a large metal brick came down a grinded him into pulp.



If the main fighting portion of the game isn’t enough, Deception will also feature a quest mode, board game, and puzzle Kombat. Yes folks, Deception is going to be the complete package.



Konquest Adventures, the free roaming quest mode will reveal much of the story in Deception. You start as a young teen, and play until you are an adult. This mode is going to be completely time based, and to witness certain events you’ll have to be at the right place at the right time. Much like Animal Crossing, if you’re not next to this specific tree at this certain time, you will not meet up with a certain character. While you don’t exactly create your character from the ground up, you’ll receive items to wear, which will act much like badges of honor. Once you’ve played through the entire adventure mode, you can pick your three fighting styles and take your character online.

The Mortal Kombat Board game (tentative name) portion is much like the classic Archon and Battle Chess titles. What this will boil down to is you’ll have a chess board with Mortal Kombat characters and you’ll battle characters to take over their square. While still based in the fighting game realm, there will be quite a bit of higher level strategy integrated in this mode, and there will be different piece classes.



All you Super Puzzle Fighter fans will be pleased to know that Midway will also be including a Puzzle Kombat mode to round out Deception. Puzzle Kombat is basically a puzzle fighter type game with a Mortal Kombat twist. There will be special moves that you can perform, and of course fatalities will also play a role as well.



If this wasn’t enough, Mortal Kombat: Deception will be completely online on the PS2 and Xbox. Whether you want to play the fighting portion, board game, or Puzzle Kombat, you’ll be able to take all these modes online.

Walking out of Ed Boon’s suite, we have to admit that we had been reduced to drooling, giggling little girls. Mortal Kombat: Deception is an extremely ambitious project. The fighting game alone is impressive, but the additions of Konquest Adventures, the board game, and Puzzle Kombat, and then bringing it all together online really seems to up the ante for all fighting titles. If Ed Boon and the Mortal Kombat team can pull this off, Mortal Kombat could be back at the top of the fighting genre once again.

-Billy Berghammer

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March 24, 2004 - The new ad campaign for Las Vegas states that "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." Well, that's only partially true. A few weeks back, a number of IGN editors were able to sit in on a special presentation of the latest Mortal Kombat offering, subtitled Deception at Midway Gamer's Day in Las Vegas. Game creator Ed Boon walked us through several of the new features and game modes that Deception will include. Now we're sharing it with you, and breaking the chain. Sorry, Nevada… guess you'll need a new slogan.


First things first: Fatalities. We know it's what you want to know about, so we won't make you wait. In Mortal Kombat: Deception, each fighter will have two unique Fatalities, and from what we've seen, they're more gruesome than anything the series has ever offered. But that's how we like our Kombat… bathed in blood.

In addition to individual fighter Fatalities, each character will also be able to trigger a hari-kari move. So when the ring announcer announces the famous words "Finish Him!" both characters will have an opportunity to do a finishing move. Pull off the hari-kari maneuver before your foe does his/her finisher, and you'll rob them of the satisfaction. Did we mention that the hari-kari moves are also horrendously bloody?

But wait, there's more! Since Midway is committed to giving Kombat fans all of the liquid red krovvy they desire, they have added some extra goodies in the area of Fatalities. For the first time ever, players will be able to use the actual fighting environments to produce what Boon referred to as "Background Fatalities." Those who took a look at the Mortal Kombat: Deception trailer will recognize one of these areas—the meat grinder that resulted in the blood storm at the end of the trailer.

The mechanic for triggering the Fatality is simply a red square on the arena floor. Step in it and trigger the Fatality, and you could completely change the outcome of the match in one move. Background Fatalities are primed to make Deception a much more wide-open, free-for-all affair than Deadly Alliance, as fighters will have the ability to use them as a sort of "ring out" from anywhere in the environment.

Speaking of arenas, Boon revealed even more interesting information about how they will be used to enhance the fighting experience. First off, as suspected, Deception will feature destructible areas and multi-tiered fighting, much like that in Dead or Alive 3. What's more, players will be able to interact with elements of the environment. In the exclusive screenshots included in this article, you'll see this dynamic at play, as Baraka interacts with the hanging corpses in an especially brutal stage.





In addition to being able to destroy arenas, certain environments will change on their own, posing new threats and challenges. One such arena is beach that flips continuously throughout the fight. At first it's a bright, cheery day conjuring up images of bikinis and pineapple drinks, and then it flips into a dark, stormy and dangerous map. When it changes to the dark side, different elements of the arena become danger zones, forcing players to adapt quickly. Another fight we saw took place atop a large, crumbling spire of rock. As the battle raged on, rings around the outside of the fighting surface sloughed off, leaving less and less real estate to battle on.

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As far as the fighting mechanic is concerned, the biggest change is the inclusion of indicator lights that show you what state your opponent is in. For instance, if an opponent launches an attack that misses, he may be open to a counter, and the lights will indicate that. By the same token, if you unleash a strong attack, your own fighter's light will show that, and give your opponent information on how to go about attacking you. While some fans may balk at this concept, it seems like it will add an interesting dynamic to each fight. Those well-versed in reading the indicators should do a lot better. And of course, there is always the option to turn the lights off completely.


Perhaps the biggest revelation of the day, however, was the inclusion of three new modes of gameplay: Konquest, MK Chess and Puzzle Kombat. The Konquest mode will greatly expand on the story mode that was included in Deadly Alliance, including tons of extra gameplay. The Konquest will play out like an RPG, where the character begins as a teenager and grows older as you play the mode.

Time is a huge factor in Konquest mode, as there will be specific events staged at specific times (as in a game like Animal Crossing), where if you are standing at a predetermined place at the right moment on the game clock, you will meet a person who will give you an exclusive unlockable tied to that place and time. This should come as good news to the collection fiends out there.

MK Chess is perhaps the most intriguing of the new modes, as it seeks to combine the MK aesthetic with the old school charm of Archon. In the presentation, that game was mentioned directly several times, and it appears the concept behind the mode is right on par with Archon's mix of strategy and action. For those unfamiliar with the game, it is essentially a form of chess, where players try to control the board and maneuver their pieces into power positions to be victorious. However, whenever two pieces meet on a square, there is combat—or in this case, Kombat—to determine who gets to keep that chunk of real estate, and who gets toppled. In this mode, you will have the ability to set a role for each of your fighters before going into battle, enhancing their abilities in strategic ways in order to ensure victory.

Another interesting addition to the already plump package is Puzzle Kombat, a Tetris-style puzzle game that is similar to the Super Puzzle Fighter series. In this mode, cartoonish MK characters hang out beneath each puzzle and contribute to the action as it feverishly unfolds above. The mini-MKs will each have their own Fatalities as well, so rest assured that the blood doesn't stop at the main game.



Both Puzzle Kombat and MK Chess will also support online play, in addition to the main head-to-head game. The PS2 version will go online thanks to GameSpy, and the Xbox game will, of course, use Xbox Live. This promises to be a huge element of gameplay, and we'll keep you posted as we get more information about exactly what the online experience will entail.

From what we've seen, Deception promises to be a huge upgrade to an already robust fighter. The teaser footage was awesome, and we can't wait to get our hands on all the new tweaks and game modes. Color us Anticipatory Red. Which of the 24 Mortal Kombat characters will be in the game? Which 14 will be available right off the bat? Keep your dial tuned to IGN for future updates, coming soon.
-- Chris Carle
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April 20, 2004
Game Informer Provides Four-Page MK: Deception Preview!
Posted at 8:59 PM EST by DArqueBishop

The latest issue of Game Informer has hit newsstands, containing a four-page preview of Mortal Kombat: Deception! This issue sheds some new light on the game, and confirms some rumours that had been making the rounds. This article is more of an interview, with members of the MKD design team answering the magazine's questions.

The first point brought up is the character list, and John Vogel confirms that the boss is the Dragon King, and "he's been very 'deceptive'." Steve Beran confirms some of the returning characters: Baraka, Mileena, Noob Saibot, Smoke, Tanya, Ermac, Sindel, and Kabal are all returning. In addition, Luis Mangubat confirms that Liu Kang will be returning as both a ghost and a zombie. The reason for Sub-Zero's altered appearance is also explained, as they wanted to make him look more Chinese and distinct from Scorpion. Herman Sanchez also gives the names of some of the new characters, such as Kira (a female Black Dragon member, whose sketch is shown in the magazine; her costume looks similar to Sonya's), Dairou (a ronin samurai with a score to settle), Ben (a martial arts champion; possibly the source of the "Ken Masters" rumor?), and Ashrah (a mystical demon huntress).

In terms of gameplay, Ed Boon revealed that the characters will again have three different fighting styles, but that they will be even more distinct from one another this time around. Stage weapons were also touched upon, as Jay Biondo explained the stage weapons were much more powerful than standard weapons, but harder to get to. He explains that "getting these weapons will be a challenge, as they are placed near death traps, hidden in secret locations, and sometimes even encased inside other interactive background elements." In the realm of combos, Ed Boon explained that each fighting style and character will have more combos, but each character will also have "break out" moves (similar to combo breakers from Killer Instinct?). As he explains, "This should really even the playfield when fighting against someone who has mastered a character's combos."

They also discuss fatalities as well. Carlos Pesina confirms each character will have two "tasty" fatalities. In addition, he explains, "Unlike Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, limbs can be severed and there will be several Fatalities that take advantage of this new feature. One example would be the fatality in which the attacker rips the opponent's arms off and then beats him with them." A couple of new stage fatalities are also seen in the form of concept drawings. The first shows a multi-layer ice cavern stage, where characters break through floors of ice. If a character is knocked through the bottom-most one, he is devoured by the gigantic ice worm lurking below. In another, a large structure shaped like a dragon's mouth is at the side of an arena; when a character is tossed into it, it chomps down like a rock crusher and crushes the character within it. In addition, Mike Taran gives an idea of what to expect: "... you will see opponents get buried in rock avalanches, smashed by giant steel presses, ripped to shreds with grinders, eaten by giant slugs, gored with spikes, shaved into chunks with spinning blades, boiled in lava, impaled on stalagmites, or cut to pieces by lasers... Awww yea!" The article also covers Konquest, Chess, and Puzzle Kombat modes. Nothing really new is covered concerning the first two modes, but Nick Shin gives a bit of new detail concerning Puzzle Kombat: "You select a character that's unique by their special move abilities. Some of them have offensive power moves that fill up your opponent's screen, while others have defensive moves to help clear our your own screen. Each background in this game mode is also unique in that you get to see Fatalities performed on the victim of a poorly played game. Oh yeah, both of these games modes will be playable online." As always, we are not able to post scans of this article. However, this issue should be available at your local newsstands, so go on out today and pick up your copy!

Our thanks to all those who wrote in concerning this story, and especially forum/chat member GuiltyByDesign for providing us a copy of this article!

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May 4, 2004
IGN Provides Two New MK Deception Trailers!
Posted at 10:33 PM EST by DArqueBishop

IGN has just posted not one, but two brand-new trailers from Midway's upcoming fighting game Mortal Kombat: Deception!

The first trailer is more of an official trailer, complete with the opening narration from the first trailer. It also continues the FMV battle between Mileena and Baraka seen in the first trailer, as Baraka is knocked through a wall into the temple below, followed by Mileena. As Mileena readies her sais, Baraka picks up the stage weapon, and they both charge at each other. The video then shows plenty of gameplay, including such scenes as a kombatant being kicked through the ceiling of a level, flying across the arena above, and crashing through the glass floor of said arena to land on the opposite end of the original arena. A number of characters are shown in the trailer, including the first known gameplay footage of Bo'Rai Cho. Chess Kombat is also featured, this time with actual MK: Deception characters instead of MK:DA placeholders. Puzzle Kombat is the next to be demonstrated; unlike Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, the cartoonish characters constantly battle each other while the game progresses, and a fatality is shown when Ermac drops a one-ton weight on Sub-Zero's head. Also, two known stage fatalities are shown: a character is kicked into a grinder, and a character is smashed by steelworks after being kicked into a forge. Then, once you think it's over... the fatalities start. Among the fatalities shown are Hotaru picking up a character and smashing him face-first on the ground several times until he explodes, a character ripping another's arm off and beating her with it, the aforementioned Hotaru snapping his own neck in a hara kiri move, Mileena biting off Sub-Zero's head, and Sindel kicking Nightwolf off a tall spire so that he impales himself on a spike far below.

The second trailer looks far less official, and seems to be comprised mostly of ingame footage. Of note in this trailer is the fact that in Konquest mode, characters speak using both voiceovers and subtitles. Moreover, it appears that buildings/doorways of note are indicated by a green light under them. Also, in Puzzle Kombat mode, Hotaru also drops the one-ton weight on Baraka; whether other fatalities are available is yet to be seen.

To see the trailers in their entirety, click here. Please note that you will need to be an IGN Insider member in order to acquire the higher-quality Quicktime versions of these trailers.

Our thanks to forum member Kel-X for the heads-up on these trailers

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Glacier16 said:
However, our contact did state that a final decision concerning the GameCube version was still to be determined, despite earlier reports.

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Midway Announces Limited Edition Mortal Kombat: Deception

CHICAGO– August 3, 2004– Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading software industry publisher and developer, today announced that special, Limited Editions of Mortal Kombat: Deception will be available when the latest iteration of Midway's best-selling fighting franchise ships to stores nationwide, scheduled for October 4, 2004. With more than 20 million copies sold worldwide, Mortal Kombat continues to be one of the most popular videogame franchises of all-time and Mortal Kombat: Deception will be the first 3D fighter to feature online gameplay for both the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system and the Xbox video game system from Microsoft.

The Mortal Kombat: Deception Limited Edition will feature distinctive packaging available in five unique box covers. The Mortal Kombat: Deception Premium Pack, available only on the PlayStation2, will feature exclusive premium box packaging featuring Sub-Zero.

The Mortal Kombat: Deception Kollector's Edition, available only on Xbox, will be available in four unique collectible box covers featuring: Baraka, Mileena, Raiden and Scorpion. The Limited Edition sets have a suggested retail price of $59.95 and will include the following:

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.
Midway Games Inc. is a leading developer, publisher and marketer of interactive entertainment software. Midway videogames are available for play on all major videogame platforms including the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system, Xbox , Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance.

For more information on Mortal Kombat: Deception, visit Mortal Kombat: Deception

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Capcom announces Street Fighter Anniversary Collection


PlayStation 2 compilation will feature Hyper Street Fighter II and Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike in a single package.

Street Fighter fans got a one-two punch of good news today when Capcom announced that it will release the Street Fighter Anniversary Collection. Created to celebrate the franchise's 15 years and 27 million copies on the market, the collection will contain both Hyper Street Fighter II and a PlayStation 2 port of the Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, which previously appeared in arcades and on the Sega Dreamcast console.

Ironically, Hyper Street Fighter II is itself a compilation--of sorts. Released in Japan in December, the game takes all the characters from arcade classics Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II Champion Edition, Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting, Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers, and Super Street Fighter II Turbo and combines them into a single 2D PlayStation 2 title. Players can mix and match the characters in three different modes: single-player arcade, two-player versus, and training, which lets players perfect their skills against programmable opponents.

The game also includes a gallery mode, which provides access to character intros and backgrounds, soundtrack selections, and images from the Street Fighter II series. While the Japanese release of Hyper Street Fighter II also contained the Street Fighter anime movie, Capcom makes no mention of it being included in the Street Fighter Anniversary Collection. Calls to Capcom had not been returned as of press time.

Released in arcades in 1999, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike features nearly 20 characters, including karate sensei Makoto and famed martial arts master Chun Li. Besides offering the same three modes as Hyper Street Fighter II, the PlayStation 2 port retains 3rd Strike's gameplay systems. Its Grade Judge System scores players' techniques at the end of each match, while its Progressive Hit Frame System provides for more-realistic fighting.

According to Capcom, the Street Fighter Anniversary Collection will be released "this summer," and its rating is still pending.

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpot POSTED: 04/06/04 06:15 PM

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In an interview that can be found in the upcoming issue of Nintendo Power, MK creator Ed Boon lets loose the gory details regarding the extra features the GameCube version of Mortal Kombat Deception will be recieving over it's Xbox and PS2 cousins.

Cube players will be able to enjoy two extra characters, those being two of the most famous characters in MK history; the four-armed Goro, and the evil Emperor Shao Kahn.

"Since the Nintendo GameCube version is coming out after the other versions, we wanted to add something exclusive and special to set it apart. People have always wanted to control the boss characters in MK, and now we are giving them the chance to control two of the biggest, baddest bosses from any MK game!"

MK Deception is expected to be released this Feburary.

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Guile said:
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Those new characters are cool but theyre probably filled with exploit moves that 2 or 3 characters seem to have. Prolly better off without em. I do wish I had Kitana. . .

GameCube owners looking for a fun new 3D fighter are in luck: Midway's Mortal Kombat: Deception is scheduled to hit Nintendo's console on March 7, or a little more than a month from now. The fighter arrives several months after the release of the PlayStation 2 and Xbox builds, both of which featured online components sorely missing from the GameCube port. However, the fighter is still packed full of classic and new franchise characters, speedy brawl mechanics, and over-the-top gore and fatalities. In addition, Deception boasts a wide range of new features to the series, including Chess and Puzzle Kombat, a Konquest mode, a Krypt where items can be purchased, and a Kontent section that houses all sorts of extra goodies. On top of everything else, there are at least two unique reasons for GameCubers to be excited about this new rendition of the game: the exclusive inclusion of formidable boss characters Goro and Shao Kahn as playable fighters from the very start.

The reviews have already come in for Mortal Kombat: Deception. Readers who check gamestats.com will see that both the PS2 and Xbox versions of the game have earned an average 8.0 press rating and a gamer rating in the upper 8s. A solid 3D fighter, in other words. And since the GameCube version of Deception is just a port of these games, minus online play and plus two characters, it features most of the ingredients that earned its predecessors high marks. The question is, how competently has the game been ported to Nintendo's console?



The answer is very competently. Naturally, Deception for GameCube retains nearly all of the gameplay modes and "Kontent" extras as the other versions. More importantly, though, the game plays and looks good. A detailed opening cut-scene with surprisingly little compression loss tells the story. The fighters have unleashed the Dragon King, a giant, scaly nemesis far more powerful than they could have imagined and now they'll have to work together to defeat the foe. What all of this really boils down to is a series of bloody tournaments in classic Mortal Kombat fashion. The fights themselves are as fast and gory as ever. Fighters duke it out using an arsenal of quick melee and projectile moves, nearly all of which result in buckets of blood and ultimately a fatality (there are two per brawler), supposing players have the skill to pull it off.

The GameCube version of Deception easily draws environments and characters with no slowdown. The game runs at 60 frames per second regardless of mode. Detail seems about on par with the PS2 and Xbox builds of the game. Characters are fluidly animated. Fight locales are fully destructible, and this truth often plays into the bouts. For instance, returning fighter Scorpion may hurl Goro through a stone wall, which will in turn burst open, causing the character to plummet to an arena below where the match will resume. This is a trademark feature borrowed from the Dead or Alive series of fighters. Meanwhile, advanced lighting and particle effects provide atmospherically illuminated arenas and splatters of blood that spill from every punch and every kick during an encounter. The GameCube build of Deception is also able to display in progressive scan mode for added clarity.

Franchise stars Raiden, Scorpion and Sub-Zero are back, along with a wealth of old and new characters including Mileena, Baraka, Nightwolf, Sindel, Ermac, Ji Mei, Bo' Rai Cho, Ashrah, Hotaru, Dairou, Darrius, Havik, Jade, Kabal, Kira, Kobra, Tanya, and Noob Saibot & Smoke. From the very beginning of the game, GCN owners can also choose to play as Goro or Shao Kahn, the classic boss characters from MK1, MK4 and MK2, MK3 respectively. Being able to take on opponents with the latter two baddies is sure to be an enjoyable addition for Kombat fans, especially since these guys are positively enormous and just as ferocious.



Deception brings its different modes together under a single roof thanks in large to a new money system that entices gamers to try out each option. It's possible to ignore all of the play types except for the arcade challenge altogether, but those who do will not be able to buy all there is to buy and see all there is to see. Money is awarded for achieving various goals, from besting an opponent in the arcade offering to beating the pants off a foe in Chess or Puzzle Kombat. Midway has done a solid job of bringing Kombat fans variety. The Chess and Puzzle Kombat modes are actually a lot of fun and quite different from the standard game. Chess plays exactly like the real thing, except that instead of moving pawns and rooks across the board, they manipulate Scorpions and Raidens. The piece design is entirely up to gamers so they can choose whatever character they'd like for each position. Meanwhile, when the chess pieces meet, they do battle, and at this point the game reverts to a regular match, leaving the encounter more to skill than to chance.

Meanwhile, Puzzle Kombat may as well be Tetris with cute, pint-sized Mortal Kombat characters slugging it out at the bottom of the screen. When players vanish a line, their opponent's character takes a hard shot to the face and more pieces fall on their side of the screen. Good stuff, and an entertaining way to extend replay value. To top it all off, there's also a full blown Konquest mode in the game complete with a unique storyline that challenges participants to build a budding character into a master fighter. Money earned in all of these modes can be applied to the Krypt section to purchase items and the Kontent one to unveil bonus extras.

Speaking of which, one area in which the GameCube version so far seems to show some unfortunate subtractions in quality in Kontent section. Here, videos of each character -- call them profiles complete with interviews with the Midway development team -- can be viewed. There's quite a lot of compression artifacting in the GameCube videos. Perhaps this is to be expected given that Midway had to squeeze everything on a single GCN disc, but nevertheless it remains a disappointment.

All in all, though, Mortal Kombat: Deception for GameCube is shaping up to be a slick port of the already-released PS2 and Xbox versions that the MK die-hard will likely find of interest due to the extra playable boss characters.

We've uploaded first screenshots and videos of Mortal Kombat: Deception for GameCube to our media section. Click below to see for yourself how the game is coming along.