In this imaginative follow up to the classic Tecmo title ‘Tecmo’s Deception’, first released in 1996 on the PlayStation, players get a taste of what it’s like to play on the side of evil. Much like its predecessors, Deception IV: Blood Ties is a strategy-focused action game revolving around a deceitful main character known as the Devil’s daughter who, assisted by three Demons, defeats her foes through trickery.

Deception IV: Blood Ties follows the story of Laegrinna, an animated fragment of an imprisoned Devil’s soul, as she battles her enemies by mischievously luring them into strategically placed traps. From rolling boulders and spiked walls to spring boards, iron maidens, human cannons, falling bathtubs and banana peels, the player can choose from a multitude of dramatic, sadistic, and comical traps in order to finish off an enemy.

However, simply setting traps is not enough, as they need to be activated in turn. Timing also plays an important role, as an untimely activation could result in Laegrinna falling into her own trap or allowing her rivals to catch her. Depending on the manner in which an enemy is killed or captured, the Devil’s three servants - Veruza, Caelea and Lilia (each representing a different aspect of cruelty: Sadistic Torment, Elaborate Death and Humiliating Demise) - reward points and upgraded traps.

The Deception series was born from the fusion of two gameplay concepts: playing as an evil character and using traps as weapons. The combination of these features creates a truly unique gameplay experience – one in which you can plan and lay out traps, lure enemies into them, find the right timing to activate them, and enjoy the reactions of your victims. The thrill and anticipation as you watch for that perfect moment to press the button and activate a trap is a feeling we really strove to capture for players in Deception IV: Blood Ties.

The real fun, however, lies in combining these traps into combos. When your enemy slips on a Banana Peel, you could follow it up by pushing him into position with the Nudge Wall, picking him up with the Claw, and then finally taking him out with a strategically-placed arrow, for example.

Players can take advantage of the themed traps that come with each stage, and combine them with their own equipped traps for even more possibilities. This gives each trap battle an element of strategy, as players must decide which traps to utilize and how to combine them for maximum effect.

In the early stages of development on Deception IV: Blood Ties, when we were gathering a lot of new trap ideas, we came up with the idea to categorize the traps into three different “styles”: Sadistic traps for maximum damage, Elaborate traps for complex combos, and Humiliating traps for entertaining enemy reactions. This encourages players to find their favorite play style to suit their own tastes.

One example of a Sadistic trap is the Maiden’s Embrace. As our starting point, we took the Iron Maiden – a notorious medieval torture device – and added our own special touch to up the adrenaline factor.

Elaborate traps embody the technical aspect of trap combos, so we have a variety of traps like the Springboard and Claw that have special effects or lead into to other traps.

For Humiliating traps, we looked to places like comedy shows and comics for inspiration. We thought it would be funny to be able to use classics like the banana peel and the pie-in-the-face gag (well, a birthday cake, in this case) as weapons, so these make appearances as well.

How you use these traps in battle is only limited by your imagination. We hope you’ll give Deception IV: Blood Ties a try and experience this unique gameplay for yourself!

Those playing the PS3 version of Deception IV: Blood Ties will be able to upload their combos online or challenge other players to beat their highest-scoring, funniest, or most sadistic combos.

The PlayStation Vita version boasts additional features, like Cross Play and Cross Saves between PS3/ PSVITA and touch-screen functions to select and activate traps.