The story behind Deadly Alliance is a dark and complex one, far too complex to try to explain here. In essence though, it's the age-old battle between good and evil for control of Earthrealm. The evil sorcerer Quan Chi has escaped from Netherealm, after being sent there in Mortal Kombat 4. He has teamed up with Shang Tsung to try to take control of both Netherealm and Earthrealm, hence the Deadly Alliance of the title. On the good side Raiden has relinquished his status as Elder God to come back to Earthrealm and organise the defence. This is where game begins.

Over 20 fighters are included in the game, including old favourites such as Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Sonya Blade and Raiden. Only about half of the fighters are available at the start of the game, with others unlocked through extended gameplay.

There are several modes in the game, including the standard Arcade, Versus and Practice modes, as well as adding Konquest mode (explained later), the Krypt and Kontent modes.

The arcade mode is the main part of the single player game. For the novice player lower difficulty levels are available, and practice here will provide good experience for later stages. At the higher difficulty levels a good mix of strategy, skill and experience will be needed to progress through the Arcade stages, and the high level of difficulty here certainly gives the single player experience some longevity.

Throughout the game, the player is rewarded with Koins, which can then be spent in the Krypt. The Krypt holds literally hundreds of bonuses that can be purchased with Koins. These bonuses range from artwork and screenshots, through to videos and playable characters. This feature is very well done, and certainly provides the player with an extra incentive to unlock as much as possible.

Once purchased these bonuses can then be viewed in the Kontent mode. Also available in the Kontent are a music video and movies covering the history of Mortal Kombat and the making of Deadly Alliance. These are both excellent introductions to the Mortal Kombat series, and an example of how the developers have gone the extra mile to give gamers a quality title.

Important for a fighting game is the quality of the actual fighting, and in this respect Deadly Alliance does not disappoint. Each fighter has three different fighting styles, two hand-based styles with most fighters having a third weapons-based style. Familiar fighting styles such as Karate or Tae Kwon Do are represented, as well as dozens of other less known ones from around the world. The sheer number of styles is impressive, with each working very well within the game.