This is D'Arque Bishop, reporting to you from the show floor of the Electronic Entertainment Exposition. As promised, we're here to cover Midway's new fighter, Mortal Kombat: Deception. After spending last night and this morning playing the E3 build of MK Deception, we feel that it's time to present our impressions of the game so far.

The E3 build has twelve characters playable: Scorpion, Baraka, Mileena, Sub-Zero, Hotaru, Sindel, Kenshi, Bo'Rai Cho, Ashrah, Li Mei, Nightwolf, Ermac. The characters have the same level as detail in MK: Deadly Alliance, and we've noticed some details in the characters that have not been seen in renders so far. For example, characters returning from MK Deadly Alliance tend to have the same fighting styles in MKD. However, we have been told that this is not set in stone; their styles may change. Also, small little graphical details can be seen, such as the fact that Mileena's veil is translucent; you can see her teeth underneath the veil. Li Mei's costume is also much improved, in that while her costume is the same color has her MKDA one, it is much more reminiscent of the armor of a soldier in the Dragon King's army. The three ninjas, while LOOKING like ninjas, are VASTLY different in appearance. For example, Ermac's mask is actually black bandages wrapped around his head, while Sub-Zero's is more like a samurai helmet. Also, some characters have returning moves, such as Sub-Zero's ice clone and Scorpion's teleport punch. (In the case of the teleport punch, Scorpion disappears in a whiff of black smoke, and appears on the other side of the current view in a blast of flame.) Ashrah possesses what appears to be souped-up versions of Raiden's torpedo and Kung Lao's spin. Finally, Baraka's weapon style is referred to simply as Blades, and not Baraka Blades.

The core fighting engine and how characters move is little changed from MK Deadly Alliance. We have been told that more characters now have throws, and also we have observed that combos are easier to pull off. The biggest change in how the game plays is in the interaction of the characters with the environments. One thing we noticed is that a death trap is considered to be the gameplay equivalent of a ring-out. It does not end the entire match; the game continues to the next round with the characters returning to their starting point in the arena. One thing we noticed in the arena that is constantly falling to pieces is that both characters can fall to their deaths on the spikes below at the same time. We have yet to figure out, however, what method they use to determine the round winner. That part may not be finalized. To pick up a background weapon, you choose your weapon style when within range of the weapon, One thing I did notice is that once you grab a background weapon, you cannot change back into another fighting style. Also, if you get knocked into a death trap and the map resets, you keep your background weapon and a new one is put in place.

Not much can be said about Chess Kombat that has not already been said. However, one item that may not have been noticed is that the fighting arenas in Chess are NOT from Deception; the two used are actually 3-D versions of MK1's The Courtyard (complete with aged Shang Tsung on his throne) and MK2's The Dead Pool. As far as Puzzle Kombat goes, one item that makes it much different from games like Puzzle Fighter is that there are multiple rounds in Puzzle Kombat. Also, fatalities are done automatically in Puzzle Kombat.

We have also acquired several official images from MK Deception, including the proposed box art for the game. In addition, we have gameplay movies recorded, and will get those to you ASAP. Finally, for those interested in our Fan Interview, the Interview was performed at the party last night, and we hope to have it online as well.

This is D'Arque Bishop signing off from the E3 show floor. We will be back later tonight with more information.

Last night, we at Mortal Kombat Online had the privilege of attending a party held by Midway Games in honor of their new game, Mortal Kombat: Deception! During the party, a special presentation was made by Reilly Brennan and Ed Boon, giving a brief history of Mortal Kombat, and more importantly, a brief rundown of MK: Deception. During the presentation, Ed gave a detailed rundown of the game modes, including Arcade, Konquest Adventure, Chess Kombat, and Puzzle Kombat.

However, rather than go into detail, we'd rather just have Reilly and Ed speak for themselves. Our intrepid reporter ]{0MBAT managed to videotape the entire presentation. The presentation can be downloaded here. We do warn you that the download is over 240 MB and lasts over twenty minutes. A smaller version is available here thanks to Konqrr.

More information and media will be coming today. Stay tuned to MK Online for the latest in E3 information!

As you might of noticed in a press release sent out yesterday by Midway Games, they mentioned a special invite-only party that would reveal all of the official details on the current project in works by Ed Boon and team. You'll also notice that during our announcement of our E3 coverage this year, that we have made no mention of this party, and that our coverage would start on Wednesday during the first day of the E3 Expo. Well.. is it ok to say we lied? If there's anything we like to do at Mortal Kombat Online it's keeping secrets. But it's now time to take the the cat out of the bag. We were invited to the official party itself on May 11, and later today we are bringing you more then just exclusive details!

Last night we got our first hands on impressions of  Mortal Kombat: Deception, and we were more than impressed! During the party we had several conversations with various members of the Mortal Kombat Team including Ed Boon, Steve Beran, Mike Taran, and Tony Goskie among others.  We've returned home from the party late, so we need to get some rest for the big day, but expect all the information on the party and more when our E3 Coverage kicks off later today!

We're packing our bags, getting on a jet plane.. and we're not sure if we'll even want to come back again! Get ready as Mortal Kombat Online takes the sky to Los Angeles, California to kick off its LIVE coverage of the Electronic Entertainment Expo on Wednesday, May 12^th! With Mortal Kombat: Deception and Midway Arcade Treasures 2 center state at the Midway Booth, we envision this being our most exciting coverage ever done from the E3 show floor. Last night the deadline came for our fan interview with series co-creator Ed Boon, and well over a hundred die hard questions were submitted. We've picked the top ten, and they will be released as well during the week of E3; you won't want to miss out! With that, here's a little something to hold you over...

As previously mentioned, GameSpot has given to us 3 new videos featuring the upcoming Mortal Kombat: Deception! We start things off with yet another "official trailer" that begins much in the same way as the first of two trailers that IGN released two days prior. There isn't too much in this one that hasn't already been seen. This time we're treated to an excellent shot of Nightwolf facing off against Sindel on the spire-like arena followed by several glances of the "Yin Yang" arena, Ermac performing his Telekinetic Slam (which gives an early indication that he does indeed retain his telekinetic powers in spite of Kenshi), and finally, the Courtyard background featured in Chess Kombat that GameSpot mentions in their preview, complete with monks and patrolling guards.

The second video is more interesting than the official trailer and shows a few special moves, more weapon use, and more detail in the modes overall. It opens up with Scorpion performing his Summon Hellfire move from Deadly Alliance on Baraka. Beetles can be seen crawling on the wall in the background. This is followed by a shot of Li Mei performing her Flying Fists on Ermac. Sindel wields a hammer of sorts and knocks Sub-Zero off of the Sky Temple, with the fall shown in its entirety. From this it cuts to Chess Kombat, which looks to be coming along quite nicely. Again, the MK1 Courtyard background is shown in this mode and a better shot of the patrolling guards is given. This segment ends with a brief scene of Li Mei and Ermac duking it out for a square, finishing him off with yet another special move, her Klock Kick. Ermac now has his own icon below his life meter (fans everywhere can rest). The video wraps up with various shots of Konquest and Puzzle Kombat. Some old, some new. One scene, located in a dojo, shows your Konquest character facing up against Bo' Rai Cho, completing objectives via moves much like in Deadly Alliance's Konquest mode. The Puzzle Kombat shots are completely new and sport a background with a steel press on each side.

The third video is an interview with the man himself, Ed Boon. While brief, he discusses various details about the game, such as the main grid of characters, gameplay improvements, and the Krypt and Konquest mode. As for the the number of characters that will be playable in the final game, the given number by Ed is 24, but also makes note that there will be more. Though it is unclear if these characters will be playable or not. Also hinted is the possibility of features that will not be apparent on any main select screen. Moving on to the topic of gameplay, fighting styles will be even more distinct from each other. The combo system has been revamped. While still elaborate, it will play less of a role in the actual fight, for players can now break out of combos, creating more of a strategical battle. Expansion upon the juggling system will give players more control over where you want to position yourself and your opponent with respect to the background. Finally, Ed discusses what's in store at E3. The E3 build of the game will feature 10 playable characters in the fighting game, 6 to 8 selectable characters along with 4 backgrounds complete with fatalities in Puzzle Kombat, Chess Kombat will be playable and mostly complete, as well as a peek of the first and second realms in Konquest mode. In actuality, there is a 4th trailer. However, it's identical to IGN's Trailer 2. On a final note, you must be a subscriber to GameSpot Complete in order to view the interview with Ed Boon.

You can find all of the media located here. Our thanks go to Mortal Kombat Online forum member Konqrr for the news tip!