First Encounter

MOOOOOORTAAAAAAAAAL KOMMMMMBAAAAAAAAT! There, that's out of my system. I promise. That somewhat-cheesy battle cry is about the only thing missing (or maybe I just haven't gotten to it yet) in the latest incarnation of the legendary fight series on Xbox®.

Midway has pulled out all the stops to make Mortal Kombat®: Deception™ the greatest game in the 3-D fighting series yet. Deception builds on the strong showing of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and enhances the adventure-roleplaying-syle Konquest mode. It also adds in complex mini-games like Chess Kombat and the Tetris-inspired Puzzle Kombat. And, to top it all off, it lets you pit your skills against other gamers on Xbox Live® with one-on-one gameplay in any of those three game types. Along the way, Midway also dishes up more background story about its characters' never-ending struggle, which is sure to please continuity-loving fans and gamers trying Mortal Kombat for the first time. It also wouldn't be Mortal Kombat without even more bloody and downright-gruesome fatality moves.

Lethal deathtraps aren't just for ambience.

Whether you've played every Mortal Kombat game since the eighties or are entirely new to the series, you'll probably want to begin with Konquest mode. Sure, you could easily head onto Xbox Live or into the arcade-style Kombat mode, but you'd be missing out of some crucial training on the basics and the specialized lessons in each of the fighting styles used by the Mortal Kombat fighters. Adventure mode shows you each of the three styles the hero Shujinko starts out with. You'll also learn increasingly more complicated combo moves and attacks that cross more than one style (like a strike that begins with fists and ends with a deadly sword strike). As you move throughout the realms, accomplishing mini-missions for the people you meet on your travels, you'll find treasure chests that contain different types of coinage and sometimes even unlock playable fighters—of which there are many. You can also take the coins you earn here to the Krypt, a virtual "graveyard of coffins" that you can dig up if you've got enough dough. And, you never know what you're going to dig up (it might be concept art, it might be Kenshi the blind swordsman), but the cost listed on each tombstone is a good rough guide to the in-game value of whatever's in that coffin.

Unlock new fighters and styles in Konquest mode.

Konquest mode is how you unlock all of the game's fighters and learn their unique styles, but sooner or later, you're going to be itching for a fight. Then, it's time to go on Xbox Livewith a friend or go up against the CPU in Kombat mode.

(Incidentally, if you're like me and have been playing the bejeebers out of Def Jam® FIGHT FOR NY™, I'm here to tell you that you'll have to give up that left thumbstick and return to the D-pad pretty darn quick. The stick just doesn't have the fine control necessary for the complex moves required in Mortal Kombat.)

But, this isn't just the same old Mortal Kombat smackdown online, either. In addition to the graphically gorgeous classic combat, Deception gives gamers a chance to stretch their intellect and tactical skills with Chess Kombat or sharpen their reflexes in fast-paced Puzzle Kombat. All three modes are fully Xbox Live-enabled!

A classic rematch on Xbox Live!

Mortal Kombat fans should be extremely pleased with the latest take on this classic series. I'll admit this is my first in-depth Mortal Kombat experience, but it sure didn't take long for me to get completely hooked. (Even as I was getting my glutes handed to me online by our own Ryan Treit. Watch out for that guy, he's a killer.) With addictive online play, the deepest and most intriguing Mortal Kombat storyline yet, and a training-themed adventure mode that even newcomers can get into quickly—to say nothing of the excellent and unexpected mini-games—Deception is well worth your hard-earned cash.

By Danny Chihdo