Mortal Kombat: Deception (Second Opinion) Review

The events of Mortal Kombat: Deception strangely take place both before, during and after Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.

While the actual introductory FMV of Deception has the story taking place after Deadly Alliance, the main Konquest mode actually spans a number of years functioning like previously mentioned.

In the introductory FMV, it is explained what happened after Deadly Alliance. Apparently since Liu Kang was killed by Quan Chi and Shang Tsung, Earthrealm is in deep trouble. Unfortunately without their prized warrior who happened to win the first Mortal Kombat tournament, his successors failed in their mission. They were charged with stopping the Deadly Alliance in their goal of resurrecting the fallen Dragon King’s mummified army, but were unable to do so.

So in a last ditch effort to save Earthrealm, Raiden himself challenges both sorcerers in mortal kombat. Seeming to take his battle to them in some kind of ancient looking castle in Outworld, Raiden fights. At the beginning, he actually seems to have the upper hand in being able to fend off both opponents and putting a nice “buzz” on them. But these guys are two of the most powerful warriors in the Mortal Kombat universe, and even for a Thunder God, it’s just too much.

They eventually defeat Raiden, but then something unexpected happens. Because of their greed for lust and power, Shang Tsung and Quan Chi turn on each other in an attempt to gain ultimate control over the army and the realms. So they begin fighting and Quan Chi ends up victorious. However, that victory is very short lived, as merely seconds later, the “true” ruler of Outworld and the rightful commander of this army has resurfaced! Onaga, the Dragon King, has returned to reclaim that which was once his. Quan Chi is puzzled at how this could be, but without thinking another second, he begins attacking the demon-like being. Onaga is hardly phased by his spells, and all of a sudden Shang Tsung and Raiden come back to life. So all three of them begin using their special abilities in an attempt to take this new threat down. But unfortunately they aren’t even close to successful, as Raiden in final attempt sacrifices himself in an ethereal blast to kill Onaga. But the Dragon King is barely scratched by the attack, and all three warriors are gone, with him standing alone.

The whole time you are watching this, an older sounding man by the name Shujinko is actually narrating the story. This man claims responsibility for Onaga having gotten the power that he has to shape the realms, and how he was “deceived” to cause it to happen. It is now his duty to correct that which he has done wrong, or else all the realms may be soon doomed!

In terms of Konquest mode, you simply take Shujinko starting out as a mere teenager and take him through the six realms of Mortal Kombat. You are practically forced into a mission by the Elder Gods in collecting items called Kamidogus from each realm in order to stop an evil entity from achieving its goal of realm domination. In reality, the events you experience in Konquest are actually what lead up to the introductory FMV, which is a very cool concept. Then after you defeat Konquest’s main mission, you can then help Shujinko in his “final objective” to correct what he’s done. You will age, you will learn the fighting styles of many warriors and you will be ran through the ringer in order to complete your mission!

Mortal Kombat: Deception without a doubt has one of the best stories if not the best story so far for a MK game since the franchise started. A lot of the twists and turns of the plot were a pleasant surprise as it truly isn’t expected, and that all starts when you begin the game.

Arcade mode is practically no different than the arcade mode from previous MK games, but it still maintains that awesome MK atmosphere that fans of the franchise have come to love since it was birthed. But in Konquest mode, you will be immersed in an atmosphere of many human emotions. Shujinko, a mere young boy who aspires to defeat the dreaded Shang Tsung in mortal kombat someday will allow himself to be drawn into anything to achieve that goal. He isn’t stupid by any means, but just how human he really is and how well we can really relate to him offers some great first impressions of the game.

You should immediately feel like a part of Deception, as how everything presented to you helps you to connect with it all. MK: Deception just has a great beginning overall, as it presents something new while offering other things that very much maintain the traditional MK glory.

Mortal Kombat: Deception is quite similar to Deadly Alliance in terms of learning time, but it is a tad easier. Yes all the warriors still have three different styles of fighting while also the insane special abilities and combos very much make returns. But the engine that drives all of them is somewhat simplified so as to make it easier to get familiar with how each character actually utilizes the face buttons to execute their arts. Each warrior generally has a certain style of fighting and/or combo that is emphasized through their presentations, so as long as you understand what that is quickly enough, you’ll be ok.

This doesn’t go to say it still can’t be frustrating to try learning all the specific moves of each character, but it isn’t quite as daunting as it may have been in Deadly Alliance. Plus how you actually receive your training in Konquest mode this time around makes things a bit more interesting and exciting, which in turn helps you learn your stuff easier. So it really all comes down with just how experienced you are with the MK franchise. If you’ve played a lot of the games in such, you may just feel right at home with how the game controls. If you’re a moderate fan like myself who’s played a few of the games in the franchise, it may take a couple hours or so to really get familiar with how the fighting functions. If you’re completely new to the MK franchise and this game, it could take a while for you to get a hold on what you need to do to become good enough to compete. But nevertheless, it’s never a bad thing to get yourself to learn a game that may be a little more difficult to do so, but the choice is obviously yours.