I like the idea of the Konquest mode, and found myself having a pretty good time with it after the various tutorials were over, but I can’t help but notice that there’s some unmet potential here. This mode could have fleshed out the various levels you fight in, or offer some depth into the history of the Mortal Kombat universe, but instead it feels tacked at the last minute. It also looks horrible! The various objects use extremely simple textures, and most of the realms are pretty boring to look at. I suppose the graphics get the job done, but for not much more than minimum wage.
The good thing about the Konquest mode is that when you grow tired of doing the same thing over and over, you can always move on to any one of the other slightly out of place extra modes. Puzzle Fighter, for example, is a perfectly good rip-off of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo that you can take online. Like Capcom’s puzzler you choose from a limited selection of Mortal Kombat characters, which fight at the bottom of the screen while you try to eliminate various blocks and colors. The result is humorous, especially when you see how they’ve adapted the levels, but Puzzle Kombat is not nearly as addictive as the puzzle games it’s playing homage to.
You can also try your hand at Chess Kombat, which combines the game play of classic games like Archon and Battle Chess with the button mashing that is Mortal Kombat Deception. Although not completely original, there’s something fun about playing Chess with Mortal Kombat pieces. There is enough new here to warrant more than a few plays, especially with friends.
But at the end of the day, the more rewarding new feature in Deception is not a gimmick or a bonus game, but rather the addition of Xbox Live support. Although the Xbox Live has been around for a couple of years now, Mortal Kombat Deception is the very first 3D fighting game to allow you to play gamers anywhere in the world. While I did run into a few games plagued with laggy connections, my experience online was usually pretty stable, and a whole lot of fun. Fighting games have always been meant to be played against real people, and with online play you should always be able to find somebody to fight with.
Even with a few faults, Mortal Kombat Deception has a lot going for it. There is quite a bit to collect in the game, a number of fun multi-player modes, and an online component you’ll keep coming back to day after day. I wish the fighting system was a little tighter and didn’t feel so much like button mashing, but generally speaking, this is a step in the right direction for Mortal Kombat.
B-
If you can forgive some sloppy controls and a few other hiccups you’ll find an entertaining fighting game that manages to set itself apart from the competition. Throw it an online mode and a bunch of mini-games and you have the best Mortal Kombat game in years.
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