As strange as it is, the German division of Official Playstation 2 Magazine got exclusive pictures and information that isn't in any American publications. Since we acquired a copy of the magazine (written in German), and translated it into English, here's what's new. Midway Games has gone on record as saying some of the information is inaccurate; so unfortunately not everything in the article is 100% true. With that in mind, here's what the article had to say:

• Added to the list of new characters are Tanya, Smoke, Liu Kang's Spirit, Skab (another dead looking guy), Dairou (who you may remember from MKDA's Krypt), a female replacement for Kano, and Ken Masters (We're pretty sure that last one was intended to be a joke, but there it is.)
• They also mention the possibility of Sektor and Kabal, probably in Konquest Mode
• Hotaru is described as an evil Samurai
• The 5 different realms that can be explored in Konquest Mode are: Earthrealm, Outworld, Netherealm, Orderrealm and Edenia
• As in MKDA, most of the motion capturing will be done by Carlos Pesina (who played Raiden in MK1 and MKII)
• No 4-Player mode this time, but perhaps in a future Mortal Kombat.

Again, keep in mind that Midway has said SOME of the information is inaccurate, and hasn't specified which is correct and which isn't.

Interestingly enough, Ed Boon mentions in the interview that MKDA had sold 3 million units. This is a much bigger figure than the 1 million something it was at not too long ago.

Special thanks go out to VainQueur, tgrant, MortalKombatde and Gambid (of MK Secrets) for the news this time!

UPDATE: We have spoken to Midway's internal media relations team about the information in this article, and they have said, "The news source was an outdated and unofficial gameplay document that was not intended for media use. The unofficial information was taken without prior consent or approval from Midway Games and therefore should not be considered accurate and/or official Mortal Kombat news." Therefore, this validity of this news is still very much in question; we'll learn more as we get closer to E3. Our thanks to Midway for the heads-up on this information!

More and more print magazines are coming out with pictures and information on MK: Deception. The Official Playstation Magazine and EGM magazines are available in news stands now.

Although MK Online has already reported all the information in the mags, the OPM magazine is definitely worth checking out. There is a picture of Sindel in her alternate costume fighting what appears to be either Li Mei or Mileena, but could possibly be a new character (not 100% confirmed yet). There's also a really nice looking, previously unseen, concept sketch of Sub-Zero in it.

Lastly, the OPM magazine has another MK related article, this time on Midway Arcade Treasures 2. They confirm the appearance of Mortal Kombat 1, II, and 3 though we're still not sure if the third MK could really mean Ultimate or Trilogy. They have screenshots of the classic MK's in this article, but they do not appear to actually be from the MAT2 disc itself.

Thanks to CAMK and many others for the tip!

GameSpot has announced that if you pre-order Midway's upcoming game, Psi-Ops, you will receive a copy of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance for free! Since Midway let Mortal Kombat Online have a sneak peak at this game at last year's E3, you can take it from us that this game is worth it even without MKDA. But if you've been waiting for some reason to get your own copy of MKDA, then here's a great reason!

Thanks to everyone who mailed in and let us know!

Yet another member of the press reports from their attending Midway Gamers Day, this time IGN. Most of the article covers what we already know from previous news bits, but they go a bit more in depth on how the indicator lights work in determining what state your character is in during gameplay. From the article:

As far as the fighting mechanic is concerned, the biggest change is the inclusion of indicator lights that show you what state your opponent is in. For instance, if an opponent launches an attack that misses, he may be open to a counter, and the lights will indicate that. By the same token, if you unleash a strong attack, your own fighter's light will show that, and give your opponent information on how to go about attacking you. While some fans may balk at this concept, it seems like it will add an interesting dynamic to each fight. Those well-versed in reading the indicators should do a lot better. And of course, there is always the option to turn the lights off completely.

Also, they touch on how each of the two confirmed consoles will get online:

The PS2 version will go online thanks to GameSpy, and the Xbox game will, of course, use Xbox Live.

As well, IGN also has three exclusive screenshots, showing Nightwolf, Ermac and Baraka, and alternate uniforms. In one background shown, there is a bloody tornado which has bones swirling in the mass...very likely a stage element which can be interacted with. You can read the full article and see the screenshots for yourself here.

Special thanks to forum members Agilo, Cham, and ShoHayabusa for the news.

Game Informer was also able to attend Midway Gamers Day. The most exciting news on MK Deception from the article is the fact that they have confirmed the presence of Kabal. The plan is to have 24 characters total (as reported by GameSpot yesterday, with 14 available from the start, 10 unlockable. 8 of the characters are brand new (like Hotaru and Ashrah), 6 are returning from Deadly Alliance, and 10 from classic MK games. Also, check out some of the really cool stages we can look forward to in Deception:

One was a collapsing pillar level where through out the match, the outer rings will continue to collapse until you have a small center pillar. The other was a Ying Yang type level where the Ying side was a nice beach area, and the Yang side was a rainy, desolate opposite. While you are fighting the Ying and Yang sides switch randomly.

They also go into detail on the Puzzle Kombat mode:

Puzzle Kombat is basically a puzzle fighter type game with a Mortal Kombat twist. There will be special moves that you can perform, and of course fatalities will also play a role as well.

Read the article in its entirety here. Thanks to MK Online Forum members ShaolinChuan and mister_satan666 for the news.