First of all, Deception is shaping up to be the best MK game yet, Boon and Co. have been working overtime to put this together. They've been listening to the fans for the first time in a while.

Deadly Alliance was a big triumph for the MK Team, they got past the stigmata of MK4, introducing kickass new characters, the 3 style fighting system, and upped the graphics supremely, and created one of my fav MK plotlines of all time. Still, there was HUGE room for improvement, and Deception has improved on almost all of them.

First of all, the fatalities, were, for lack of a better name, lame. They lacked creativity and that special flair that the fatalities of MK2 and 3. But now, just by looking at Deception's fatality video (and Jade's new kickass fatality, you go girl!!!) I can tell the fatalities are back to they're status as AWESOMELY BADASS that they reached in MK2. Notable ones are Sub's fatality (did anyone becides me notice that it's a hybrid of his spine rip and freeze shatter fatlities?) and Bo Rai Cho's (I hate to say that, but I love the torch fatality, uber-creative!).

Next up are the new characters, which I have to say look AWESOME!!! There are a few that I'm a bit edgy about (Ashrah and Kobra come to mind here.). I am intrigued by the Darrius/Hotaru/Dariou feud (I would see Dariou as someone from Chaosrealm, he just doesn't look like Darrius and Hotarue, I know it's a stupid reason, but still. Plus, we haven't had anyone from Chaosrealm yet, except maybe Scab). I am a bit skeptical about Kobra, as I sense a Johnny Cage clone (could be worse though cough...Mokap...cough), also Ashrah has a nice look, but I'm interested in seeing exactly how they're going to pull off her demon huntress story. But other than that, the new characters look very much worthy of MK.

Moving on to the returning characters. I CAN NOT BELIEVE HOW AWESOME THEY LOOK!!!

Sub-Zero: Shredder look absolutely beautiful!
Scorpian: Not much changed from MKDA, which I'm thankful for.
Ermac & Noob: Thank god!!! No more pallette swaps for these guys, they have a look all they're own, and it's AWESOME!!!
Smoke: Transparent look is cool, though they need to touch up on the smoke.
Mileena: Persian look absolutely awesome.
Baraka: Looks even scarier than usual (hard to pull that off, props to the MK Team!)
Jade: Unmasked look is great! She looks hot too.
Tanya: I cannot believe how they pulled this off, she looks totally EVIL AND I LOVE IT!
Sindel: Hard to make someone who looks 50+ look hot, but they pulled it off.
Li Mei: Only one that I'm disappointed about, though I like the armor.

And I have yet to be disappointed by any of they're stories yet (even though only a handful have been confirmed)

Stage Fatalites: Although I agree that they are glorified ring outs, they still retain the MK Sprit, gory and creative. Personal favorites include the Kuatan Palace and Pit (for obvious reasons) I'm still hoping for the ACID BATH!!!

Graphics and Sound: Improved tremendously since Deadly Alliance, plus with the tiny details(The icy steam coming off of the Ice Clone) they add a whole new layar of realistic play.

Gameplay: The only thing that I'm still crossing my fingers about. The stage fatalities and the faster gameplay add a whole new dimension to it. But I'm still hoping that the Dial-A-Combo system is gone for good. Add in some real combos, and MKD will be the best fighting game to come out this year.

Thoughts on my thoughts?