Also On: PS3
Publisher: Tecmo Koei
Developer: Tecmo Koei
Medium: Digital/Vita Card
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: M
Hereโs the full extent of my knowledge of Deception IV: Blood Tiesโ plot: youโre playing asโฆa woman? A witch? A she-devil? Something like that?
In all honesty, I have no idea. Iโm pretty sure itโs in that ballpark. I mean, youโre dressed all provocatively, you talk toโฆwitches or demons or something, and you lure your enemies โ who Iโm 99% sure are โthe good guysโ โ to their deaths. Oh, youโre possibly after something called the Holy Verses. Or you need to stop other people from getting them. Again, not totally sure.
As you can tell, I wasnโt paying very close attention to everything that happened during cutscenes. In my defense, however, this is because I was speeding through those to get to the good part of Deception IV โ otherwise known as killing all those aforementioned good guys in the most delightfully gruesome and inventive ways I could come up with.
In this respect, Iโm kind of tempted to compare Deception IV to Earth Defense Force. After all, in both games (at least for me), whatever story or plot there may be takes a back seat to the joys of sending people to their bloody dooms and blowinโ stuff up real good, respectively. Though that comparison isnโt entirely perfect, since plot is much easier to ignore when it comes to EDF, on account of the fact itโs so basic; in Deception IV, there was clearly some effort put into creating some kind of narrative, and I just chose to ignore it.
I donโt feel that bad about doing so, however. Like I said, itโs really hard to care too much about this like plot development and characterization when you just want to launch your enemy into a furnace shaped like a cow. Or, better yet, when you just want to drop a pumpkin on their head, catch them in a bear trap as theyโre lurching around, hit them with a giant swinging blade while theyโre stuck, have them step on a rake, and then watch as they stumble forward and land in a heap. Right in the path of an oncoming train, naturally.
Now, if that description didnโt get you all tingly insideโฆcongratulations on not being a psychopath, I guess. But more to the point, a) whatโs wrong with you? Cow furnaces and whirring blades of death and whatnot!, and b) then this game probably isnโt for you. Because, attempts at story aside, thatโs really all you do in Deception IV: plot out elaborate Rube Goldberg machines of death, and then hope that your enemies step on just the right space so the mayhem can begin. And when they donโtโฆyou run around avoiding being hit until your traps have a chance to reset, and the cycle begins anew.
Is it repetitive? Sure, if you donโt get a perverse thrill out of launching people through the air and into the path of an oncoming boulder. But if you do โ and boy, do I ever โ then Deception IV should be right up your alley.