Mortal Kombat: Deception
NTSC PlayStation 2 Version Cover of Mortal Kombat: Deception
Developer(s)	Midway
Publisher(s)	Midway
Designer(s)	Ed Boon
Series	Mortal Kombat
Engine	RenderWare
Aspect ratio	480p (EDTV) 480i (SDTV)
Platform(s)	GameCube, PS2, Xbox
Release date(s)	PlayStation 2, Xbox NA 2004-10-04 PAL 2004-11-19 GameCube NA 2005-02-28
Genre(s)	Fighting
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	BBFC: 18 ESRB: Mature OFLC: MA15+

Mortal Kombat: Deception is a fighting game in the Mortal Kombat series. Deception was developed and published by Midway for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in October 2004. A GameCube version was published in February 2005.

Mortal Kombat: Deception precedes Shaolin Monks (in release date only) and follows Deadly Alliance. Deception was released in two versions for the Playstation 2 and Xbox; the regular version for both systems, a "Premium Pack" for Playstation 2, and "Kollector's Edition" for Xbox; both of which added a metal trading card and a bonus disc containing a history of Mortal Kombat, several video biographies of characters, and an "arcade perfect" version of the original Mortal Kombat. The game is known as Mortal Kombat Mystification in France.

Storyline

In the final events of Deadly Alliance, Raiden's warriors (Kitana, Kung Lao, Jax Briggs, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade) lay down during their battle against the Tarkatan warriors and ultimately, the Deadly Alliance itself (Shang Tsung and Quan Chi). The Elder Gods had advised Raiden not to interfere, but he defied their wishes; alone he challenged the alliance of Tsung and Quan Chi inside Shang Tsung's palace, in Mortal Kombat. Raiden fought well but Quan Chi proved to much for him. Shang Tsung then cheats, and absorbs a soul from the soulnado. He uses this to strike down Raiden, and the Deadly Alliance then combine their magic and take the thunder God down.

With Raiden defeated, the Deadly Alliance turned on each other, with Tsung wanting Quan Chi's amulet. The Deadly Alliance was no more and Tsung found himself facing his one time partner Quan Chi. Despite Tsung's efforts, Quan Chi proved too much for him. Quan Chi struck Tsung to the ground, snapped his arm, then strangled Tsung, gagging blood out of his mouth. It proves that Quan Chi is a much deadlier enemy. When Quan Chi stood alone, a hulking form entered the tomb, and the mummies of the Dragon King's army turned to kneel. In disbelief, Quan Chi looked in shock and in great horror... Onaga, the Dragon King, had returned.

Quan Chi knew what the Dragon King had come for: his amulet. Quan Chi unleashed his powers on Onaga, and as Tsung awoke, they combined their powers and used their projectile streams. Onaga began to run toward them, just as Raiden stalked forward and stood by the sorcerers. The three pooled their efforts together, and struck the Dragon King. Momentarily staggered, Onaga begins to sprint forward now. Realising that it was not working, Raiden starts an incantation, while thunder and light flies around him. Onaga comes closer and closer, as Quan Chi finally notices Raidens energy fluctuations. "What are you doing?!" he snapped desperately. Raiden's intentions then become clear, as he unleashes all his Godly essence in a colossal explosion. The blast snuffs out the soulnado, kills both members of the Deadly Alliance, and devastates the surrounding area. But it had little effect on Onaga, who has now recovered his amulet...

The Kamidogu represent the six main realms (clockwise from top left): Earthrealm, Netherealm, Chaosrealm, Edenia, Orderrealm, and Outworld

Onaga now seeks to use six artifacts called Kamidogu, literally "Tool of God" from the Japanese words Kami (God) and Dogu (Tool), to fuse the realms into the One Being, resulting in the destruction of everything therein. Those fighters not killed in the battle against the Deadly Alliance (Li Mei, Raiden, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Kenshi and Bo' Rai Cho) must now stand against him and his supporters. These include the Tarkatan horde (led by Baraka) and their former allies, who were resurrected by Onaga and are under his control.

In the story explored in Konquest mode, a young man named Shujinko is deceived (hence the game's title) into spending his life collecting the Kamidogu for Onaga, who uses the guise of an emissary of the Elder Gods named Damashi. This is prior to Onaga's resurrection in the body of Reptile. Onaga only reveals his identity and intentions after Shujinko has gathered all the Kamidogu. Shujinko, led to believe he was working for the greater good, joins the others opposing Onaga.

Roster

New characters

• Ashrah – A demon searching for redemption by killing demons with a magic sword called a kriss; she seeks to destroy Ermac and Noob Saibot in order to gain full purification.
• Dairou – Formerly Hotaru's subordinate, he is now a mercenary for hire. He was contracted by Darrius to assassinate Hotaru.
• Darrius – The leader of the resistance in Seido, the realm of Order.
• Havik – A cleric of Chaos who saved Kabal from death; he wishes to consume Onaga's heart and revive Shao Kahn (unaware that this was a clone) to ensure chaos reigns, instead of the forced order that would follow if Onaga fused the worlds into the One Being.
• Hotaru – A warrior of Order, pledged to serve the Dragon King.
• Kira – A cunning and brutal Black Dragon recruit recently hired by Kabal. Her fighting styles and special moves are taken from Sonya and Kano.
• Kobra – A brutal and bloodthirsty Black Dragon recruit.
• Onaga – The Dragon King and former emperor of Outworld, reincarnated by using Reptile as a vessel.
• Shujinko – An old warrior who was deceived by Onaga when he was a young adolescent. Onaga (under the guise of Damashi) gave him the power to mimic the abilities of his opponents.

Returning characters

• Baraka – The leader of the Tarkatan race.
• Bo' Rai Cho – Hailing from Outworld, he trains Shujinko in the arts of Kombat.
• Ermac – A mysterious fighter made of fused souls who assists Liu Kang in his mission.
• Jade – A loyalist to Queen Sindel who agrees to help her save her daughter Kitana, and also seeks to see Tanya dead.
• Kabal – The leader of the new Black Dragon clan.
• Kenshi – The blind swordsman who was saved by Sub-Zero.
• Li Mei – A young warrior saved from the Deadly Alliance by Bo' Rai Cho.
• Liu Kang – Earthrealm's protector, the undisputed Champion of Mortal Kombat, returns as a zombie and spirit (unlockable through Krypt-Key).
• Mileena – A grotesque clone of Kitana created by Shang Tsung who poses as Kitana to disrupt Edenia's defences.
• Nightwolf – A Native American warrior who acts as the "Sin Eater" of his tribe, allowing him to enter the Netherealm due to the "sins" in his soul.
• Noob-Smoke (The alliance of Noob Saibot and Smoke) – The joint team in which Noob Saibot looks to create an army of Cyber-Demons with Smoke as a template. They are the first humanoid sub-boss in the series. Deception officially revealed Saibot as the original Sub-Zero.
• Raiden – The God of Thunder who has become enraged at how mortals have repeatedly endangered Earthrealm.
• Scorpion – The Champion of the Elder Gods who has been sent to Outworld to destroy Onaga.
• Sindel – The Queen of Edenia who looks to save Kitana and defend her realm from Shao Kahn.
• Sub-Zero – The Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei clan who looks for a portal back to Earthrealm.
• Tanya – The traitor of Edenia, who now serves Onaga.

The GameCube version has two more playable characters.

• Goro – The Shokan Prince, saved by Shao Kahn after being left for dead on a battlefield.
• Shao Kahn – The former Emperor of Outworld, escaped death by use of a clone.

New features

• Deception adds Chess Kombat and Puzzle Kombat game modes. Chess Kombat is similar to classical chess, but uses player-selected characters as pieces, and pieces must engage in Kombat to take a piece (much like the 1980s computer game Archon). Puzzle Kombat is reminiscient of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, a puzzle game by Capcom. The character roster for Puzzle Kombat is Scorpion, Baraka, Nightwolf, Ermac, Sindel, Sub-Zero, Bo' Rai Cho, Kenshi, Mileena, Jade, Kabal and Raiden.
• Deception has highly interactive stages, with multiple levels, arena-specified weapons [1], breakable boundaries, and instant-death traps. Characters can no longer be slammed against walls, however.
• Deception also has a "Combo Breaker" system which allows players to interrupt combos up to three times per match.
• Weapon impalements are no longer in the game, due to the introduction of death traps.
• Deception characters have two Fatalities and a hara-kiri suicide move.
• Characters are more specialized as well, boasting unique (though sometimes held over from Deadly Alliance) throws, finishing poses, and rises after losing one round (e.g., Sub-Zero shoots ice to the floor to lift himself up, etc.).
• Deception is the first game in the series to assume that the "good guys" lost the battle of the previous game.
• The character Noob-Smoke switches character models instead of fighting styles (Noob fights with Monkey style, Smoke with Mi Tzu), with no weapons style. They are playable after unlocking, and appear in Arcade Mode as sub-bosses.
• Deception is the first Mortal Kombat to feature an extensive online mode.
• The GameCube version has Noob-Smoke, Jade, Li Mei, Kira, Hotaru and Havik as already unlocked characters, and Shao Kahn and Goro as playable characters; however, it does not support online mode.
• Deception marks the return of Stage Fatalities, which were absent in Deadly Alliance.

Krypt

Returning from Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, the Krypt in Deception was cut down significantly from 676 Koffins to 400 Koffins.

The major new feature of the new Krypt was the inclusion of Krypts that could only be opened through the use of keys. These keys could be found in Konquest mode, where they could be obtained through opening treasure chests, collecting items, and defeating characters throughout the realms of the mode. These keys also came with a built-in "homing" feature that allowed a player to click a button in order to zoom to the Koffin for which he or she had the appropriate key for.

Krypts in Mortal Kombat: Deception included 12 unlockable characters (however, this was cut down to 6 characters in the GameCube version.

Konquest

Deception contains a RPG-style game called "Konquest". Konquest mode explores the history of Shujinko, starting prior to his training with Bo' Rai Cho and ending with the beginning of Deception. While mostly an adventure game, the combat elements take place in the normal Deception fighting mode. Players seeking to unlock much of the bonus content in Deception are required to play through the Konquest mode. By Finishing the Konquest-Mode "old-Shujinko" becomes playable

Mortal Kombat: Unchained

Mortal Kombat: Unchained
Developer(s)	Just Games Interactive
Publisher(s)	Midway
Series	Mortal Kombat
Platform(s)	PSP
Release date(s)	NA 2006-11-13 EU 2006-11-23 AUS 2006-12-09
Genre(s)	Fighting game
Mode(s)	1-2 players. Wi-Fi
Rating(s)	BBFC: 18 ESRB: Mature OFLC: MA15+

Mortal Kombat: Unchained is the name given to the PlayStation Portable version of Mortal Kombat: Deception. The game was shipped on November 13, 2006. The game includes all of the characters from the GameCube version of Deception, and four more characters from Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance that are exclusive to the PSP system:

• Blaze – An Outworld elemental who was captured to incubate the means of Onaga's return, but is now free to pursue his own quest: to monitor the realms' companions and prepare for Armageddon, should they grow too powerful.
• Frost – Sub-Zero's traitorous disciple who was revived after her own freezing ability appeared to kill her.
• Jax – Soldier of the Outer World Investigation Agency who fell in battle, and revived to serve Onaga.
• Kitana – Princess of Edenia who was killed in battle and revived to serve Onaga; appears to be fully aware - if not in control - of her actions.

An Endurance mode was an exclusive new feature in the PSP version, where players can compete against a constant wave of opponents. Also, the PSP's Wireless Ad-hoc functionality could be used for Multiplayer games.

Because Frost, Kitana, Jax, and Blaze were merely ported to Unchained from Deadly Alliance, they only have one fatality (or in the case of Blaze, none at all), and no hara-kiri.

References

• IGN Reports on MK: Unchained

External links

Official Websites:

• Official Deception website