Badass bidet

We already knew a bit about the upcoming Deception IV: Another Princess expansion/re-release, including the addition of??????????????????????????? new traps, a new protagonist, and a quest mode, but seeing it in action is something else entirely.

In addition to new screens showing off the heroine Valgyrie, there's also a tease with the main character (which seems to be Laegrinna dressed in Deception II garb), a few of the new traps (toilet t?rap is the highlight), and the quest mode menu.

A localization can't come soon enough.

Deception IV [AGB]

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Appease the Goddesses of Humiliation, Elaboration, and Sadism

Deception IV is a unique release, mainly due to the fact that there aren't many trap-setting games on the market in general.

Because of that, it's often hard for people to acclimate if they've never played a past entry before (Trapt is on the PSN, by the way) -- so here are some ti??ps to help you along.

General tips:

• Every piece of damage you do contributes to each discipline -- elaboration, sadism, and humiliation. Think of Elaboration traps more as "setups" for other gadgets, as they tend to do miniscule damage, but position the target accordingly. Sadist traps are basically your major damage dealers, like arrows, buzzsaws, and the like. Humiliation is a unique discipline because those traps are kind of a mix of the other two schools.

  As a general rule, most players will probably want to min-max Sadism, so you have heavy traps to deal with some of the harder foes in the game. Play the game the way you want to play it, but if you're having trouble, consider using more damage traps so you can earn more Sadist XP and unlock better ones.

• Use line of sight to your advantage, especially with NPCs that can't jump or ninja-flip over walls. If you get a trap ready behind a wall, the enemy will often take the shortest path towards your character -- leaving them open to well-placed combo openers.

  Re-position your combos if a jumping enemy doesn't seem to quite fit into your master plan. Bait them into jumping right into a combo opener like a bear trap or a lethal lance.

• Speaking of openers, a really good early-game combo is as follows: start off with a bear trap one square away from a wall, then suck the enemy into the wall with the lethal lance. Place a spike ceiling trap there, and then initiate a pendulum guillotine to swing in any direction, followed by dropping a boulder on their heads. You can put this combo on stairs to give yourself even more leeway with boulders.

• Take lots of different traps -- don't just min-max with all ceiling, floor, or wall types. Having said that, ceiling traps are one of the most diverse categories in the game, as they can go practically anywhere with very little setup needed.

• Almost no one is immune to the wall spikes you get early in the game (lethal lance). Use this to your advantage, and set up traps that enemies otherwise resist (like boulders or guillotines) -- once they're stunned or open to attack, they're vulnerable.

• Periodically go back into your trap selection screen and see what your maximum (equipped) trap allotment is. It could increase randomly after a series of levels and you might not have noticed it.

• In order to create and download quests, you need to finish at least one mission in Mission Mode -- you don't have to beat the story to unlock it.

The post Very Quick Tips: Deception IV: Blood Ties appeared first on Destructoid.

Bloody great

The Deception franchise is a series I wish more people were aware of. Although the concept of a character that can't physically defend themselves isn't typically a popular go-to mechanic, this survival horror-like idea is turned on its head with the existence of deadl?y traps.

There's something soothing about setting up a ridiculously elaborate Goldbergian machine and unleashing it upon your foes that's insanely satisfying, and Deception IV ??is no exception. In fact, it may be the best and bloodiest entry yet.

Deception IV: Blood Ties (PS3 [reviewed], Vita)
Developer: Tecmo Koei
Publisher: Tecmo Koei
Release: March 25, 2014
Price: $59.99 (PS3) / $39.99 (Vita)

Blood Ties has little in the way of setup and nuance. In short, you play the role of Laegrinna, the "daughter" of the devil, whose sole purpose is to collect 12 artifacts and resurrect her father to create hell on Earth. She's not alone in this endeavor, as three demonic goddesses are at her side, representing elaboration, sadism, and humiliation. As usual, Deception follows the occult theme to the lette??r, offering up demonic and holy imagery galore, with Tecmo Koei's signature style mixed in.

This time around however Tecmo has opted to not record an English voice track, which makes it less cheesy on the whole and much easier to watch. The Japanese audio throughout mak?es for a better experience, albeit a more niche one if anime openings aren't your thing. The story is straightforward with almost no twists or turns along the way, but the macabre presentation and the chu??ckle-inducing writing helps draw you in. Make no mistake though, the story is mostly a delivery system for the gameplay, which is where the real meat of the game lies.

That demonic trio I mentioned earlier? They're conveniently color-coded as blue, red, and yellow respectively, representing the three "schools" of traps you can use. Elaborate traps tend to set up other types, sadist traps do the bulk of your damage, and humiliation is basically a mix of the two. If you know what you're doing you can jump right in and skip the tutorial, but most people will want to re-acclimate -- especially since Deception games are few and far between.

For the uninitiated, what you're essentially doing is? "rigging" various rooms with traps in a grid-like fashion from a giant arsenal of deadly tools ranging from anything to vases that drop from the sky to blind foes to simple arrow launchers to giant boulders that can roll down inclined surfaces. Note that this game doesn't take place all in real-time, as you'll pause the action momentarily to place said contraptions -- but once you put them down, the game will remember their locations within a level so you don't have to set them again.

Where Deception IV really shines is the sheer variety of traps on offer, as the humiliation tree in particular tends to go over-the-top with its stable of zany choices. It's really strange at first to set up a rake for someone to hit their face with, Looney Tunes-style, so that they can get impaled on a giant bed of bloody spikes, but you'll quickly get used to how much power Deception offers to play the way you want. You only?? start with the ability to setup a trio of traps in tandem, but eventually you'll unlock more, to the point where the possibilities are as endless as your imagination.

For instance, you can setup a combo to fling someone onto a specifi??c block by way of a pendulum-swung guillotine, then spring a bear trap to lock them in place. You can then use a moving wall to "push" them into another spot, and drop a vase on their head. As they're wandering around aimlessly, you can pop another trap that hits a flimsy column, causing it to come down smashing on ??their head, at which point you'll finish them off with a giant Indiana Jones-style boulder for extra measure -- the latter of which can be directed by placing spring board traps that come from underneath the ground.

You'll have four themed worlds to play around in, all of which have their own environmental traps that help mix up your combo creation even more -- I'm talking anything from tiny flying blimps with missiles to arcane artifacts that shoot magic bullets. I wish there was at least one ??more arena included, but all four are packed to the gills with personality. Enemies won't just sit idly by though as you hack them to bits -- many of the?m have the ability to jump, sneak up behind you, dodge traps, or nullify certain types entirely with bulky armor.

Often times three enemies appear at a time, sometimes with abilities that complement each other, like fire and ice magic that can burn you for damage over time and freeze you, respectively. You can use the "Devil's Eye" mechanic to learn more about each enemy (including a miniature backstory), but for the most part you'll need to rely on your wits and master every type of trap. Abilities like dodging and dashing make Deception IV more action-oriented than in the past,?? and offer even more customization elements for Laegrinna. So long as you can deal with pausing the action occasionally to put traps down, you'll enjoy yourself.

I've often said that I'll take smooth gameplay over cutting-edge visuals any day, and Deception IV embodies that philosophy perfectly. Deception IV features a consisten?t framerate, and the animations are flawless. It's not a technical marvel by any means even on the PlayStation 3, but it works, and that's what's important.

After you're done with the roughly 10-hour campaign, there's so much you can do in Deception IV it's almost overwhelming. There's a free battle mode that lets you run wild with any enemies or areas you choose, allowing you to practice combos to your heart's content and check out any environmental traps you might have missed. There's also 100 challenge missions on offer, which range from "kill this enemy within this time limit" to "complete these specific trap requirements." Although some are less inspired than others, they go by rather quickly and will challenge even the most learned of Deception veterans.

Then you have the Quest Creation mode, which lets you pick your own areas, enemies, and objectives, then test them out and post them online. Likewise, you can download? other creations and try them out. I should also mention that there are plenty of unlockables, including new traps and costumes -- all included in the base game without DLC. Well done, Tec??mo Koei.

If the idea of setting up methodical, creative puzzles sounds like a good time, you'll love Deception IV. It's easily the most packed game in the series, and with its optional tutorials, it's even a great first stop for genre newcomers. After many years of lying dormant with the franchise Tecmo Koei has once again showed us that they still have it, and I for one wouldn't mind seeing more Deception games in my lifetime.

The post Review: Deception IV: Blood Ties appeared first on Destructoid.

All Nightmare Long

Want to get an idea of what the gameplay is like in Deception IV? Watch these trailers to see how exactly the trap setting mechanic works. It's n??ot very action oriented, with more of an emphasis on the strategic placement o??f traps for fun and profit.

It may not be for everyone, but I've been waiting years for a Deception follow-up, so expect a full review sometime next week.

The post These ?new Deception IV trailers are sufficiently absurd appeared first on Destructoid.

Horse racking and more

Koei Tecmo does not let us down in this new trailer for Deception IV: Blood Ties. In just two short minutes you get brain bashing, face caging, stone crushing, horse ra?cking, bomb bowling, pole bonking, and so much more. Stick?? around for the very end of the video, too.

We just recently learned that the release date for Deception IV: Blood Ties is set for March 25. I can't wait.

The post New Deception IV: Blood Ti?es JP trailer is fantastic appeared first on Destructoid.

Coming to PS3 and Vita

Tecmo Koei has dropped the official date for Deception IV: Blood Ties for North America this morning: March 25, 2014. This follow-up to the PlayStation classic Tecmo's Deception is coming to PS3 and Vita -- traps and deaths an?d all -- comes with full Cross Pl??ay and Cross Save support between the two platforms. Yes.

The Vita has some touch sc??reen functions to set and activate traps, while the PS?3 version will let you upload combos or challenge other players' combos online. 

I don't know about you, but I am sooooooo ready to play this game. I love this series (Kagero, Trapt) so much. This sits ne?ar the top of my antic??ipated game list for early 2014.

We have a huge gallery of images from Deception IV to check out. 

The post Deception IV: Blood ties dated: March 25, 2014 appeared first on Destructoid.

Take a short trip through the franchise's history

Deception IV is coming in early 2014, but we've yet to see anything substantial in terms of gameplay -- until this brand new trailer, that is. After taking a short trip through the first few games, the video gets right into the action, showing off a hefty amount of gameplay and the available traps, which range from hammers, to bear traps, to good old fashio?ned spikes.

As you might be able to tell from the giant pumpkin that falls on a few of the foe's heads to obscure their vision, some of the series' trademark dark humor is back. We'll be able to try out Deception IV for ourselves in 2014.

The post De?ception IV: Blood Ties gets its fir?st gameplay trailer appeared first on Destructoid.

One of my newest most anticipated games

Deception IV is a thing that exists, and I couldn't be more excited for it as a fan of the trap genre. It also appears as if it's not that far of?f, as Gematsu has uncovered the Japanese release date of the game -- February 27th, 2014.

It'll hit the PlayStation 3 and Vita, the latter of which feels like the perfect platform for it. A localization has been announced, and given the past success of the Deception series in the US, it was highly likely.

Deception IV [Gematsu]

The post Deception IV has a release date in Japan appeared first on Destructoid.