Review: 'Kombat' online a beautiful thing
By Tom Lane
CNN
(CNN) -- In the gaming world, certain things just go together: football and John Madden, "Grand Theft Auto" and expansive environments, even Mario and Luigi.
Now, another peanut butter and jelly combination comes to video games: fast-paced fighting action and online play.
When video arcades all but disappeared several years ago, a key element of fighting games went with them. Players could no longer prove their worth against strangers on neutral ground, only among their circle of friends at home.
"Mortal Kombat: Deception" fills that void by creating a virtual arcade online where players of all skill levels can compete across the globe. All the competition, spontaneity and even trash talk from arcades of yore are available in living rooms everywhere. It's a beautiful thing.
New school meets old
"Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance" relaunched the "Mortal Kombat" brand two years ago with a new look and feel, and "Mortal Kombat: Deception" is its logical sequel. The game features more of everything -- fighters, backgrounds, fatalities (thankfully two per character) and secrets.
The fighting structure is largely unchanged, but subtle tweaks such as the inclusion of teleport moves mix up the action. It's much easier for players to employ the classic "get in, hit, get out" strategy, making the game feel more like, well, "Mortal Kombat."
Combatants not seen in almost a decade also have been resurrected. Sindel, Kabal, Ermac and Nightwolf are among the fighters making a return, joining a typical number of newcomers.
Another change is the inclusion of multitiered interactive arenas. Several areas feature two and three levels to fight on, and booby traps add to the danger by spelling instant death for any fighter that falls or is knocked into them.
Plethora of new game modes
Developer Midway made sure to pack a ton of extra gameplay modes into "Deception." A puzzle game similar to "Tetris" has been included, but with comically deformed "Mortal Kombat" characters that automatically fight depending on what happens with the puzzle pieces.
The classic game of chess also makes an appearance, with board pieces that must fight over who occupies a contested square.
 Deathtraps can put a premature and grisly end to the fight. |  |
A role-playing-inspired adventure feature called "Konquest" mode is also available and is necessary to play through to unlock most of the game's secrets. Players guide a kung fu student named Shujinko through several realms to complete rather uninspired missions and engage in traditional training exercises.
Though fans of the franchise will enjoy learning more about the "Mortal Kombat" universe, most players are likely to find "Konquest" a tedious and clunky way to open features to be enjoyed in arcade mode.
While the new modes are interesting diversions from the fighting action, classic "Mortal Kombat" is still the meat and potatoes of the game.
In light of all the additions to "Deception," online play is the real revolution here. Knowing that you are about to take on a human opponent whose fighting style is not easily predicted is the best feeling to have when you hear the familiar command, "Fight!"
"Mortal Kombat: Deception" is available for PlayStation 2 and Xbox gaming consoles.
