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Review:
Wounded, and with globs of blood running down his body, Nighthawk
swings his double tomahawks in a deadly rush of fury, slamming
Mileena's body into the ground again and again. She screeches
as more blood spurts into the air. Seconds later, she blocks
his attack, and returns the favor-charging in with a variety
of kicks and punches. Taking advantage of the sudden upset,
Mileena finishes Nighthawk with an uppercut punch, knocking
him from the arena. In the next scene Nighthawk plunges screaming
to his death, skewered on a spike at the bottom of his fall.
Mortal
Kombat has long been known as a game to push the boundaries.
The latest version, Mortal Kombat: Deception, continues
by ratcheting up the blood and gore. The game has four basic
modes of play: Kombat, Chess Kombat, Puzzle Kombat and Konquest.
Kombat allows the player to fight one-on-one rounds of combat
with increasingly difficult opponents. Chess Kombat is played
similarly to chess; however, when a piece takes another piece
they fight for the space, allowing the defender to potentially
win and keep the spot. Puzzle Kombat is a variation of Tetris.
Konquest
contains the storyline element of the game. The player explores
six 3D worlds, talking to characters, accomplishing quests
and training, primarily under the tutelage of Mortal Kombat
character Bo' Rai Cho. While the Konquest portion of the game
is large and diverse, it primarily focuses on combat sequences
and side quests. Much of the combat sequences are similar
to training and are focused on learning different combinations
of keys to enact blocks, attacks, special moves, etc. The
side quests vary greatly, but many of them require fighting
to accomplish.
Some of
the minor quests in Konquest mode do entail good deeds, such
as getting medicine for a sick boy. Most, however, involve
violence. For example, in the very first mission you help
a man with a toothache by punching him in the face. This knocks
out the tooth and the man rewards you for "solving"
his problem.
In Konquest
mode, the age of the character changes with time from a young
boy to an old man. This is disturbing in that even while the
character is a child, they are involved in violent and bloody
missions. The character of Bo'Rai Cho, the "guide"
for most of the game, leaves much to be desired as well. For
example, one of Bo'Rai Cho's "fighting styles" is
called drunken fist, and uses a secret move, referred to as
"puke puddle," to spew a pool of vomit on the floor,
causing the opponent to slip.
Perhaps
the greatest concern, however, is the amount of very graphic
violence in the game. Gruesome deaths are a highlight of the
game, and are strived for by the "best" players.
Players can throw their enemies onto spikes-piercing their
bodies, knock them into giant metal presses that crush them,
amongst many other bloody options. Characters bleed profusely
as they are hit. Secret moves include many ways to enact "fatalities"-with
the goal to "try them all out" and see how many
ways there are to kill off the opponent. Even the background
images are disturbing. In one level, for example, several
lifeless corpses dangle from rope, their necks broken. When
bumped into, they swing in arcs, getting in the way of the
battles fray.
Although
the Mortal Kombat universe continues to expand in terms of
depth of its storyline and the variety of options within the
game, the principle in Mortal Kombat: Deception is
the same as all predecessors-kill or be killed, and make it
as horrific as you can . . .
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Jeremy
Gieske has been an avid game player since the days
of the Apple II+ and Karateka. Recently, however,
his interests have developed beyond simply playing
the games, but also trying to understand the historical,
social and cultural impacts of video games. He recently
acquired his Masters degree with distinction from
the University of Salford in Manchester, England,
where he conducted research on videogames. Jeremy
has a background in design and marketing, and has
worked with several Internet and publishing companies.
Recently, he has written articles for DIGA-the Digital
Game Archive and has worked with the Computerspiele
museum in Berlin, Germany.