"A Mortal Kombat game has never been so amazingly fun"
Graphics: 9 out of 10
Personally, I think Deadly Alliance was a little better in terms of character detail but when it comes to stage detail, it blows DA out of the water. Each level is detailed extremely well. From the interactive items in the levels, to even being able to damage the arena, it all looks beautiful. If it takes having to dull down the characters a bit to have such beautiful arena's, so be it.
Kontrol: 9 out of 10
The kontrol (sorry =D) in the game is just as good as it was in DA. The combo system is a bit lacking though. You still have to punch in the entire combo before it has even executed. Because of this, if your opponent dodges it, they basically have a free hit. This is my only complaint though, as the rest of it is very well done.
Story: 9 out of 10
The story takes place right after DA ends. Basically, every fighter failed to defeat the Deadly Alliance. Raiden tries to take on both of Quan Chi and Shang Tsung, but fails. Just as the two sorcerer's start to turn on eachother for control of the Dragon King's army, the actual Dragon King walks in. The two sorcerer's try to defeat him, and even with Raidens help, can't hold him back. In one final attempt to defeat the Dragon King, Raiden creates a huge explosion, only to destroy himself, Quan Chi and Shang Tsung. The Dragon King has now returned and is now in control of his army once again.
Alright, its not Shakespear, but it is a decent story for a fighting game. In normal Arcade, theres the normal, if you beat it, you get that characters ending. The endings aren't bad, but Konquest is where you find the story. You start as a young boy named Shujinko who is about to start martial arts training. Once you complete this basic training, Damashi, a messenger from the Elder Gods comes to you with a Quest. During this quest, you will visit all the different realms in the MK universe and progressively grow older. This tale takes place all the way from MK1 to DA.
Sound: 7 out of 10
It's a fighting game, what other noises besides "Ugh!", "Ah!", and "Oh!" do you expect? Well, the sound is actually well done in the fighting aspect of MK:D. In Konquest however, the voice acting is HORRIBLE. I have never heard worse in a game. The music is good though, so that boosts the score back up a bit.
Gameplay: 10 out of 10
Ahhh, here we are at last, the most important aspect of a game. If a game has horrible gameplay, even if its the most beautiful thing you've seen, its still a horrible game. Thankfully, this is not the case with MK:D. The gameplay is awesome. I've never played a fighting game more fun (no, not even VF4). The 3 stance fighting style is back from DA. Now, each stage is interactive. Some hold Death traps, traps that where if someone is thrown into, they automatically lose the round, weapons that are insanely powerful and contain their own set of combos, and even multiple levels. The designers really cranked up the interactivity in levels. Now, it actually MATTERS what level your playing and it can even effect your strategy in the fight.
Besides the classic Arcade, there are three new modes (well, 2 new, 1 reworked), Chess Kombat, Puzzle Kombat, and Konquest. Chess Kombat, is actually fun. Honestly, when I first heard about Chess Kombat, I thought, WTF? The idea is that you play chess with your favorite MK characters, but instead of normal chess where the attacking piece automatically takes the square, you play Mortal Kombat between the two pieces and whoever wins, takes the square. This makes it much more fun than what it seems.
Next is Puzzle Kombat. Basically, colored blocks fall and the goal is to collect all of the same color together to get rid of them. Before this happens though, you choose your character. These miniature characters fight it out while you play and can even help you by using special techniques that either help you or harm your opponent.
Konquest is last. Konquest, returning from DA, is totally revamped. Now, you journey through the world of Mortal Kombat as Shujinko, one of the new characters to the series. Here you will encounter all of your favorite characters and learn how to play as them. Konquest plays two roles. 1st, as a tutorial, you basically get to learn how to play as each of the characters in the game. 2nd, as the story aspect of the game. Here you will learn what happens in the life of Shujinko and how he affects the world of Mortal Kombat. Thankfully, even though its heavy in tutorials, its very fun to play. It could seriously be sold as a game in itself.
Also, not to forget, the Krypt is back. Although it isn't as big as the one in DA, it is a bit better. The better unlockables in the Krypt can only be unlocked when you find the certain key in Konquest mode, giving another reason to play through it.
Overall: 9 out of 10
Mortal Kombat: Deception is a true gem of a fighting game. It takes what was good from Deadly Alliance and puts a diamond casing on it. If you are a fan to the MK series or fighting games in general, pick this up. Even if you aren't a fan, give it a try. No matter what, don't miss this title.