The latest issue of Wizard Magazine (Issue 163, May 2005) reveals a bit of new information on the Mortal Kombat: Deception comics slated for release sometime this April. From the article: Wanna know what happened to your favorite Mortal Kombat warriors between Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and Mortal Kombat: Deception (the last two games in the series)? Then you must get this book. Small press publisher Atomeka is primed to hit the big-time with this hot video game adaptation by Brian Hill, John Vogel, and Walter McDaniel. The book comes in three covers, one by McDaniel, one by Mark Texeira, and this Limited Edition Chrome variant. It should be noted that they are referring to issue #0, and the chrome variant will look just like the MK: Deception box art. They're slated to be $4 each, except for the chrome variant, which will be $10. Look for this issue of Wizard on newsstands now!

FileFront has posted a new preview of Midway's upcoming action/adventure game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks! The preview doesn't really tell much that we didn't already know, but it still provides a good summary of what to expect. From the article:

Paradox Entertainment is taking the straight combat style of the original Mortal Kombat and putting it into an adventure style that is sure to fulfill any Kombat fan's desires to see the series taken to new levels. The game will revolve around the two Monk characters in the lineup: Liu Kang and Kung Lao, though a few more familiar faces will make an appearance. And even though you are not going to be taking on single opponents in the usual fighting style, there are going to be references to the original games that will make gamers happy the developers decided to embrace the nostalgia.

For instance, Mortal Kombat II had quite a few maps and backgrounds that held a lot of ground with the original fighting areas. With Shaolin Monks, players will get these same backdrops and fighting areas, but in a completely new 3D style. Like other old games that are slowly being swept up into the newly envisioned mainstream, new replicas of the past are going to become awesome places to explore, as you challenge enemies in a familiar landscape.

The developers started with concepts and the actual maps from the Mortal Kombat II game and created entire levels around them. In the case of the spiked ceilings, for example, levels have been designed in order to use those spiked ceilings in order to cast your characters into the eternal abyss. There are going to be quite a few surprises throughout the game, including fatalities worked into various areas of the levels, and other various attributes that will make the game an interesting venture.

To read the preview in its entirety, click here.

Our thanks to forum member mikemcdnet for the heads-up on this preview!

The Mortal Kombat: Deception Online Tournament has raged for the past few months. Kombatants across the continent have pitted their skills against one another in a bid to win prizes, including autographed copies of Mortal Kombat: Deception! But now, the tournament is winding down to a close, and now, we are proud to announce the winners:

Playstation 2 Online Ladder:

Grand Prize Winner: CRKFIEND
Second Place: Aldagod
Third Place: Skaven13

Xbox Live Ladder:

Grand Prize Winner: redsaleen02
Second Place: MrSchpfmut
Third Place: SatanicFreak

Our congratulations to our winning players! Be sure to check your email, as we will be contacting you about getting your prizes out to you ASAP. To everyone who participated, we thank you for joining us in the tournament. We had our ups and downs in this endeavor, but you pulled through, and we appreciate your taking part in this event.

Mortal Kombat Center has interviewed MK team member and Producer John Podlasek about a variety of subjects, including Mortal Kombat: Deception, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, Mortal Kombat: Devastation, and even the classic MK games. Although not a whole lot of new information was revealed, many rumors that have been surfacing can be put to rest for good, thanks to this interview. Here's a small portion of it:

MK Center: Are there any secret characters in MK: Deception (without this ones you can have through the Krypt)? We heard rumors from many sources about playing as Motaro or other characters in as 'Super Unlockables', is this true?
John Podlasek: No.

MK Center: Why won't MK: Deception for GameCube be on sale in Europe?
John Podlasek: Business decision by management.

MK Center: Do you have any plans of making MK games for the PC? (would be great for online fighting with todays internet avaible for everyone etc...)
John Podlasek: No.

MK Center: What other bonuses will be for GC version of MK: Deception (besides Goro and Kahn)?
John Podlasek: 6 more characters will be unlocked without having to do it in Konquest.

MK Center: Before the premiere of MK:DA there was a rumor that in game there will be possibility to rip up to pieces your opponent clothes by weapon (there was even an example picture in Midway www site). However in the final version there isn't such a possiblity. Some of us (players) hoped that this would be in Mortal Kombat Deception, but there isn't. Why did you withdraw from that idea? In our opinion it would be a great idea.
John Podlasek: Technical tradeoff. By doing something like this we would have to have dropped something else (or more) to keep the game running at 60 fps.

To read the article in its entirety, click here. Thanks to MK Center's own Bodzio for the word on this update!

Mortal Kombat: Deception has won yet another award for best fighting game of 2004... this time, when popular video game rental service GameFly announced the winnners from its 2nd Annual GameFly Q Awards earlier today. (Also mentioned is Def Jam: Fight for NY which came in second.)

At the 2005 Game Developers Conference, GameFly, the smartest way to rent, play and buy video games, today announced the winners of the 2nd Annual GameFly Q Awards™. The Q Awards are gamers' annual opportunity to vote for their favorite games of the past year. The GameFly Q Awards are named for the GameQ™, a GameFly subscriber's video game wish list that manages which games the subscriber wants to rent and in what order.

"Response to the GameFly Q Awards more than tripled this year," said Jung Suh, co-founder and VP of content/strategic alliances, GameFly. "Our subscribers called 2004 'the year of the sequel' with Halo® 2, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and even classic franchises like Mario Party® taking top awards."

We extend our congratulations to Midway for another well deserved win! To check out the full list of winners, click here, and to read the full press release, click here.

The guys over at G4TV will be airing (well, re-airing) some footage from Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks on March 10, 2005 at 9:30 A.M. EST (8:30 A.M. CST) on their show, Cinematech. The episode, "Hodge Podge" originally aired on a few days ago on March 5, 2005. For more information on this episode, click here. Thanks to MK Online reader (and forum/chat member) DECEPTION for the news on this update!

The folks over at GameSpot have acquired and posted some more screenshots from Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict. To check out the rest of the screenshots, click here.

There's also some videos worth checking out. GamePlay Footage 14 features Raiden actually doing a FATALITY. The new Developer Interview video features Epic Games President Mike Capps briefly discussing what it's like working with Midway and his praise for the Mortal Kombat series, as well as how well Raiden fits in to UC2's environment. To check out all the videos for this game, click here. As always, streaming videos are free for all, to download is also free, albeit as a GameSpot Basic member. Thanks to MK Online forum/chat member DECEPTION for the tip on this update!

The guys over at GameSpot have posted another video clip from Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. This is actually some more stuff from Midway Winter Gamer's Day, but it's high quality footage and worth checking out (especially for those who may have missed it the first time it was posted).
To check out the video, click here.

Word has come out that a murder that took place in a northeastern town in Latvia has been linked to the Mortal Kombat game series. A teenager was killed by a group of friends who claim they were imitating moves from the popular fighting game series. From the article:

The five boys, aged 13 to 16, were arrested Sunday by the police of this town of 43,000 inhabitants 120 kilometres (74 miles) north of the capital in connection with the murder which occurred on Saturday, the spokeswoman said.

They explained that "they used techniques borrowed from the video game 'Mortal Combat' in dealing with their victim", the spokeswoman, Kristine Mezaraupa said.

The boys described how they beat up their friend, Marcis, born in 1991, and threw his body in the nearby Gauja river, according to the head of Valmiera police department Juris Andersons.

Later on in the article, psychologist Zaiga Blaua points out, "Videogames could be a catalyst for violent behaviour, alerted by alcohol, but one cannot reduce the real motives of the teen murderers to the influence of video games."

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

Our thanks to forum members DECEPTION and JayboH for the heads-up on this tragic story.

GameSpot has updated with a video review for MK: Deception on the GameCube platform.
Overall, they gave the game a score of 8.3 (Great!) You can check out the video review here (free to stream for everyone, free to download as a GameSpot Basic member). Also be sure and check out their 4 new gameplay footage videos and 17 screenshots, as well!

The guys over at 1UP.COM have also have their review of Mortal Kombat: Deception for the GameCube. From the review:

Naturally, given the GameCube's limited online support, the Cube version of Deception does not have the online play that stood out as the main new feature in the other versions. What it has in return are some changes to the character roster – half of the 12 fighters that were locked away at the start in the other versions are available here from the beginning, and former MK bosses Goro and Shao Kahn are playable exclusively in the GameCube version.

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

The guys over at IGN have now gotten their chance to review the GameCube version of Mortal Kombat: Deception, which just hit most stores yesterday. From the article:

Unfortunately, the GameCube version of Mortal Kombat: Deception has arrived both five months after its PlayStation 2 and Xbox counterparts and without an online version. That's definitely disappointing when you consider that the technology is in place to sustain an online for Nintendo's console. Sega did it years ago with Phantasy Star Online.

The good news, however, is that GameCube owners do at least get a very competent port with a couple of unique exclusives. Not only are all the main modes and Kontent extras perfectly intact, but the GCN build also boasts two new extras sure to please Mortal Kombat fans. Franchise characters Goro and Shao Kahn are unlocked and fully playable from the start. The fighters come to GameCube complete with unique fatalities and Hara Kiris, and they look better than ever thanks to realistic 3D modeling and animation.

To read the article in its entirety, click here. By the way, IGN Insider members get access to more web features, such as their Head-to-Head Comparison, Video Review, and Strategy Guide. Thanks to MK forum forum/chat member Baraka_MK for the tip!

The guys over at GamePro have released Fatalities and Hara Kiris for everyone's favorite two "boss" characters from the GameCube version of Mortal Kombat: Deception: Goro and Shao Kahn. Without spoiling what they are, here you go:

GORO

• Fatality 1: In close, press Left, Left, Right, Right, A
• Fatality 2: In close, press Right, Left, Right, Left, B
• Hara Kiri: Press Up, Right, Right, Left, X

SHAO KAHN

• Fatality 1: Sweep distance, press Down, Up, Up, Right, Y
• Fatality 2: In close, press Left, Right, Down, Right, Y
• Hara Kiri: Press Down, Up, Up, Down, B

More on this story soon! In the meantime, check out their full review of the game here. Thanks to MK Online forum/chat member DECEPTION for that last bit of info!

Figures.com updated today with more information on the upcoming line of MK Deception action figures by Jazwares. The figures, first mentioned by MK Online in an October 2004 update, will be six inches tall and out in stores this summer. The first line of figures will include:

• Scorpion (in armor)
• Raiden (with cape)
• Sub-Zero (in armor)
• Baraka (in armor with arm blades)

To read the full article, click here. Thanks to MK Online forum/chat member BigCen for the news!

Midway's financial statement for the fourth quarter (and thus the full year) of 2004 are in; and it's looking good for them. Two of their main financial highlights were the release of Mortal Kombat: Deception as well as the announcement and planned release of Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks for 2005. From the article:

"Our 2004 fourth quarter results cap a year of progress at Midway which has positively repositioned the Company for the future," commented President and Chief Executive Officer, David F. Zucker. "By focusing on improving our key operating functions such as product development and marketing, Midway produced much higher quality games and generated much better visibility and demand for our games in 2004. In addition to the progress we made in improving our operations, we also made several strategic acquisitions and partnerships that strengthened our product development capabilities, brought us key franchise content and extended our reach into new markets, such as PC games," added Mr. Zucker.

To read the entire press release, click here. To read it in its original Adobe PDF format, click here. Our thanks once again to MK Online forum/chat member DECEPTION for the heads up!