Mortal Kombat: Deception

Game Informer

The gameplay has evolved to a frightening degree, and exacting painful death upon your opponent is only the tip of the bloody iceberg...Deception is easily the most-accomplished fighter to date. [Oct 2004, p.120]

Game Chronicles

It's bigger, it's badder and there's a whole lot of cutting... and hey, that's a good thing, for once. MKD is a can't miss game.

GamingTrend

The game also provides many good reasons to return to it, aside from its core fighting game mechanic, but those reasons support the core mechanic rather than overshadow it.

Gaming Age

This is the definitive Mortal Kombat title. You have more fatalities, self-fatalities (hara-kiri), stage fatalities, more characters, four deep modes of play, unlockable Krypt items, and online play.

AceGamez

Whilst Deception is much better than "Deadly Alliance" and the inclusion of online play is done flawlessly and is great fun, the main single player attraction is just so dumbed-down and chore-like that it's not a whole lot of fun and I couldn't imagine ever going through it again.

TotalPlayStation

It may seem odd to praise a fighting game that rests in the three foot end of the Olympic diving pool of fighters, but it's the combination of totally engrossing extra game modes, seemingly endless unlockables, an easily accessible mythology and the kind of passion and geeky pride that just rubs off on you.

Electric Playground

It's nice to see that Midway has really listened to video game fans in the development of Mortal Kombat: Deception. The game is a considerable improvement over "Deadly Alliance."

GamePro

Deception's drop-dead gorgeous graphics are loaded with clever details (Mileena's thinly veiled mouth or razor-sharp teeth, for instance) and vibrant colors.

PGNx Media

A good fighting game elevated by its fluid visuals, unique modes (for a fighting game anyway) and superb implementation of online play, which easily elevate it to great status. Unfortunately, the poorly implemented Konquest mode keeps the game from soaring too high.

IGN

More moves, more fatalities, more characters, more mini-games, and the addition of online play are what Deception is all about, and it makes for an end product that's just shy of excellent.

Next Level Gaming

The new Konquest mode is ok but nothing major. And I do wish the controls weren't so unforgiving sometimes. It's still Mortal Kombat though, and that's totally ok with me.

Game Over Online

The included game modes expands the replayability for Deception significantly, and the stability of online play will guarantee that this title will stay in consoles for a long, long time.

Jolt Online Gaming UK

If you’re on the market for a fighter then you could do a lot worse than MK:D. In fact, you’ll be hard pressed to do any better as this is a highly complete and well-rounded package with lots to keep you interested.

GameZone

It reminds me of the roller rink, the movie theaters-anywhere that had a working Mortal Kombat machine. That's the draw for this game ' nostalgia. The hook is everything else.

Worth Playing

Somewhere between the incredible combo system and the freakish amount of extras, this game captured my heart like no other in its series.

GameSpot

The core one-on-one fighting action--whether you play it offline or online--is easily the best part of the game. Like its predecessor, the fighting in Mortal Kombat: Deception is gory, intense, and quite complex, meaning it captures much of what's made MK an institution among fighting games.

Gamers' Temple

And one final word of warning ' Mortal Kombat is very liberal with blood and gruesome death, which is either a very good or very bad thing depending on your view of violence in games.

BonusStage

Every dollar you spend will come back threefold with this game.

Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)

It's the fighting game they threw the kitchen sink at...This isn't just the biggest Mortal Kombat to date - it's the biggest fighting game, full stop. Topping this will take some doing. [PSM2]

Armchair Empire

A great game that seems to be missing something, all of the great characters that we love to use.

Play Magazine

As good as the match-ups are, balanced through a generous, likeable collection of 24 old and new warriors, that comedic gore factor - as pervasive as ever - certainly strengthens the flavor. [Nov 2004, p.64]

RealGamer

The combat herein is a tour de force, oozing over-the-top charm and playing with as much balance as any of the more traditionally respected fighters out there. However, the experience will, most likely, be at least tainted for newcomers by a tacked-on one-player challenge that is not so much badly implemented, just poorly thought-out.

Yahoo! Games

Amazingly fun; once again, fans will be shouting "Finish him!" for months to come.

Stuff

We love it for the über-violent finishing moves and optional online action and hate it for the "instant death traps" we get stuck in on nearly every level. If only we were less clumsy!

1UP

If you're looking at the game for continuing the fun, campy Mortal Kombat legacy, you'll find a lot to like here. If you're looking for highly technical fighting matches or evolved modern game storytelling, you'll do better looking elsewhere.

PSX Nation

Ironically, Deception's Konquest mode that the developer has been pushing so much is the games only real weak point.

eToychest

Players who were not bowled over by "Deadly Alliance" will probably find little here that will tip the scales. On the other hand, for those who loved the last game, Deception feels like an expansion pack to an experience that they already enjoy.

Maxim Online

The added Puzzle Kombat is surprisingly fun—Tetris-style one-on-one gaming is punctuated by miniature, big-headed characters popping each other in the skulls. Throw out your old MK games; it's time to call this one your daddy.

Sydney Morning Herald

Considering the extremely fast response times needed for a fighting game, it's amazing how smoothly the online mode plays. It's just as responsive as it would be if you were playing with a pal sitting next to you, which is an astounding achievement.

PSM Magazine

Easily the best 3D fighter PS2 has seen since "Soul Calibur 2" and "VF4 Evolution." [Dec 2004, p.76]

G4 TV

With tons of secrets to uncover, and a surprising array of different gameplay options, Mortal Kombat: Deception is a surprisingly fun package.

Official U.S. Playstation Magazine

Puzzle and chess modes are great fun. [Dec 2004, p.119]

My Gamer

Perhaps the single greatest addition to Deception is the revolutionary online versus mode. So far the servers are amazingly free of lag, which would all but kill this timing-sensitive game.

Boomtown

The phrase fan-service has never been so apt.

GamerFeed

It's simply that the fighting aspects of the game remain very similar to "MK: Deadly Alliance," which caters to a casual market. The extra modes of Puzzle Kombat, Chess Kombat, online play, and Konquest certainly add a great deal to the title, but if you didn't like Deadly Alliance, chances are you won't like Deception either.

GameShark

It still labors under a fighting system that rewards memorization over improvisation far too much for my taste, but I'm sure the Mortal Kombat faithful are going to be thrilled.

Xequted

It seems unfortunate that the game’s strength depends on its weakness to gain lifespan, and while the Chess and Puzzle games are amusing, the core fighting element of the game is where most gamers will be directing their attention.

TotalGames.net

The extra games are all very nice and shiny but some more work should have gone into creating a level field of play, wherein each character can compete fairly and we aren't left damning Kobra's utter rubbishness as Noob-Smoke kicks seven varying shades of faeces out of him yet again.

Game Revolution

While the fighting engine is still decent and the combat graphics are fine, Mortal Kombat: Deception does little for the series. It's a victory, but hardly a flawless one.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

It's unfortunate that the underlying mano a mano action can't match the rest of Deception's ambitious package, but precious little has been done to improve upon the last MK's ("Deadly Alliance") leaden, mash-happy combat. [Dec 2004, p.152]

games(TM)

It's fair to say that Deception remains true to the series in that it delivers much of what you'd want from it, though this only means it's a reasonable fighting game with plenty of blood and some grisly deaths... Kould have been much better. [Dec 2004, p.110]

GameSpy

Despite how oddly compelling I found many of the diversions found herein, I couldn't get too into this game's dated fighting mechanic.

RewiredMind

Savage karnivores may still enjoy this bloody-rare slab of fighting beef, but genre gourmets should look elsewhere.