Welcome to the Mortal Kombat Online Version 7 Preview Release! With the release this week of Mortal Kombat: Deception, we found it important that with the addition of online play in this new title, that we offer fans a true online experience. A foundation has been set and the goal to become the internet’s most trusted name of the Mortal Kombat Community has clearly been made. With Mortal Kombat: Deception out the door we are continuing to go the extra mile and build upon this site. A community has been established, however laid out below are some of the new Version 7 features that raise the bar in Mortal Kombat fan sites:

• Mortal Kombat Online Flawless Account (Yearly premium membership/$19.99 per year)
• Mortal Kombat Online Instant Messaging via integrated Jabber Protocol0 (With Warrior rank or Above or Flawless Account)
• Mortal Kombat Online Media Page (Coming Soon!)
• Mortal Kombat Online Member Photos
• Mortal Kombat Online Fan Fiction Page (Coming Soon!)
• New Mortal Kombat Online News Format
• RSS Support for Mozllia FireFox
• New Mortal Kombat Profiles and Settings
• Mortal Kombat Online Featured Profile Showcase

In the coming weeks we will be introducing the rest of our themes, as well as content that we have had to postpone. In addition we would like to send a warm welcome to our newest staff members ~Crow~, ThePurpleBunny, and Murdoink! Version 7 is just the start of great things to come as we prepare the first version release of the Mortal Kombat Bible website. Understand that you may run into bugs, and we will work to fix things throughout the coming weeks. Enjoy the new site, and thanks for making Mortal Kombat Online the leader in Mortal Kombat News!

After long months of waiting, the day is finally here. Midway Games released a press release today announcing that Mortal Kombat: Deception, the long-awaited new game in the Mortal Kombat series, has finally been released! From the press release:

Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading software industry publisher and developer, announced today that Mortal Kombat®: Deception08482;, the latest entry in the company's best-selling Mortal Kombat franchise, has shipped for the PlayStation ®2 computer entertainment system and the Xbox ® video game system from Microsoft. The game will be backed by the most extensive marketing campaign in Midway's history. The multi-million dollar marketing support for Mortal Kombat: Deception includes television, cinema, print and online advertising, innovative point-of-purchase materials and specialized events.

"Midway, along with the millions of MK fans around the globe, is extremely excited about the release of Mortal Kombat: Deception," said Steve Allison, chief marketing officer, Midway. "The Deception team has worked diligently over the past two years to ensure that this MK title will be the best yet. Not only will it be the first ever 3D fighter to be playable online via both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox Live 08482;, but the team has also succeeded in meeting a goal that some thought wasn't going to be possible... they made a fighting game that plays as responsive online as it does offline. To support these ambitious efforts and hefty accomplishments, we are backing Mortal Kombat: Deception with the most extensive marketing campaign in Midway's company history."

The press release also mentions the critical acclaim the game has received, including the 8.8 score it received from IGN and the 9.5 score it received from Game Informer. In addition, some of the details concerning advertising and other programs are mentioned in the press release.

To read the press release in its entirety, click here.

On behalf of Mortal Kombat Online, we'd like to extend our congratulations to Midway and the MK development team in particular for getting the game out to such high marks, and we look forward to seeing all of you in kombat online.

MK Deception is out in stores - shouldn't you be playing right now instead of reading this? In shopping malls and game stores all over North America, there are promotional MK Deception posters and cardboard standees everywhere. Haven't seen them yet? No problem, take a look at what the stores have:

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Thanks to EB Games, FYE, and GameStop for their cooperation in this update!

Well, the guys at GameSpot have gotten their hands on the latest in the Mortal Kombat franchise: Mortal Kombat: Deception. Their review of the game is pretty intense and covers all 4 modes of play:

The latest in Midway's influential and long-running fighting game series, Mortal Kombat: Deception, picks up where 2002's Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance left off by featuring lots of new and returning fighters, a variety of surprising new modes of play, and, perhaps best of all, the ability to play online. The strangest part about Deception is how it includes several completely off-the-wall modes, the likes of which you'd never expect from a fighting game. These include the single-player konquest mode, which is a story-driven adventure; puzzle kombat, a competitive Tetris-style puzzle game that's an unabashed homage to Capcom's Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo; and chess kombat, which is inspired by the classic computer game Archon.

Their general impression:

All told, MK: Deception is an outstanding, fully featured game. And it's one that's naturally best suited to series' fans--especially those who liked 2002's similar Deadly Alliance. It's these players who'll be most likely to appreciate the game's peculiar emphasis on story and unlockable extras. But make no mistake: The best, most fully developed part of Deception is its fighting system. Like any great fighting game, this one carefully strikes the balance of delivering fast-paced, visceral thrills and rewarding lots of practice and complex tactics. As such, any fighting game fan should be rightfully attracted by the prospect of Deception's online play, which works as advertised and truly does make a big difference, because it provides access to live competition all the time. Not all of Deception's modes and features are flat-out great, but the game's absolutely got it where it counts.

Overall, the game got an 8.5 out of 10 (not as high as the 9.5 awarded by Game Informer recently). Click here to read the full article.

IGN has posted their final review of MK: Deception, and they have many good words to say about the game. Their closing comments sum it up quite nicely:

The Mortal Kombat series has always been a phenomenon. There are legions of dedicated fans out there that absolutely love it, and even more that can't stand it. But more often than not, it seems to boil down to the one simple argument: Are you a Street Fighter guy or a Mortal Kombat guy? Yet despite the fact that I, myself, have always been a Ryu and Ken supporter, the last couple of fighters from Midway have really gotten my attention. Especially this one: which is so huge and intimidating, that it will take even the most dedicated franchise fans out there quite some time to vanquish it.

However, they also bear this warning:

Don't be misled by the overly positive score below, though. Because despite the fact that I enjoyed the game thoroughly, was impressed by its replayablity and depth, and felt that it has the best online fighting model of any other game on the market until Dead or Alive Ultimate comes out, it's still not recommended for everyone. Japanese 2D fighting elitists or hardcore Tekken addicts may not be able to accept it -- and that's fine, personal tastes are personal tastes.

Overall, they give the game an 8.8 out of 10 (IMHO, they marked the sound and graphics a bit too low, which probably brought down the final score.) Check out the full article here, and thanks to MK Online forum member Sub-Scorpion for the news this time around!