By Jim Shea

Who knew that two simple words “FINISH HIM!” could revolutionize an entire industry? Mortal Kombat was the first ever video game to depict realistic, but digitalized violence which caused quite a stir with parents groups and politicians such as Sen. Joe Lieberman (D) and Tipper Gore. Despite all this controversy, Mortal Kombat reached record sales thanks to its “Fatalities” and ultra-violent game play. From 1993 to today, Mortal Kombat established such an enormous fan base as well as being a hot seller for all these years.

In any case, Midway comes out with its eighth Mortal Kombat game entitled Mortal Kombat: Deception and it appears Midway has put a lot of work into this game just to reinvent the series into this generation of video games. Mortal Kombat: Deception will please longtime fans of the series as well as those just looking for a good fighting game. However, what’s surprising is that Mortal Kombat: Deception has many features such as “Kombat Chess” and “Battle Puzzle” which will definitely contribute to the replay value.

If you haven’t played Mortal Kombat for awhile, it’s time for a little crash course for controlling Mortal Kombat in the 3-D world. Now, each fighter has two fighting styles as well as access to their own weapon. Obviously this brings up the ante in fights in Mortal Kombat: Deception, since there’s a number of ways to defeat your opponent, but the “fatalities” haven’t changed a bit though.

One unfortunate downfall of Mortal Kombat: Deception is the controls. At times they may seem stiff, but it doesn’t take too much away from the game. It would be frustrating however pulling the combos and finishing moves that you want. Some of the fan-favorites like Scorpion and Sub-Zero are in Mortal Kombat: Deception, but not all of the classic characters made it to the final cut for this game. Although they do appear in the “Konquest” mode, fans will still have to wait next time for all of the old school characters to go back at it.

Speaking about the “Konquest” mode, it’s a very deep concept for the Mortal Kombat series as it’s basically what would happen if Mortal Kombat ever did a RPG game. “Konquest” is very fun indeed as you’ll be devoting a lot of time into “Konquest” since you’ll be able to unlock many characters, arenas, and assorted items in Mortal Kombat: Deception.

The real highlight of Mortal Kombat: Deception is the fact that players can now battle it out online, marking the first time Mortal Kombat has gone online and the end results are incredible. There are virtually no signs of slow down while playing online and you can play all three modes: Kombat, Chess, and Puzzle online.

Mortal Kombat has come a long, long way and Mortal Kombat: Deception just proves that a fighting game such as itself can compete with modern console gaming. Hours and hours of playing will probably be used competing across the nation with other players because each player has their own style.

Mortal Kombat: Deception has its ups and downs, but mainly it’s good for the most part. Along if Midway does some fine-tuning before they release the next, then without a doubt Mortal Kombat will reclaim its throne in the video game world.

Final Grade: B+

If Midway makes some minor tuneups, Mortal Kombat (Image courtesy www.gamespot.com)