Author: Trafficblast

The second of NetherRealm’s Kombat Kast broadcasts dedicated to Mortal Kombat 11 is live right now on February 14. It began this afternoon, and you can watch the live stream here through the embed below. [Update: The stream is now over. It brought us a closer look at the previously confirmed Baraka, but the big news was that Jade is a playable character in MK11. The zombified character wields a bo staff, among other weapons, and she’s got some brutal moves and fatalities at her disposal, as is to be expected.]

The Kombat Kast started at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET / 9 PM GMT (8 AM AET on February 15). NetherRealm hasn’t shared exactly what to expect, but the first of these streams brought word on a new character–Kabal–along with a full breakdown of him, so that might again be the case with another fighter.

Shortly after that Kombat Kast, an Inside Xbox stream delivered the reveal of another returning character, D’Vorah. She was not showcased in great detail, nor has another character, Kano; further information on those two is also possible during the stream. You can see everyone who has been confirmed so far in our roundup of the Mortal Kombat 11 character roster. So far, it’s light on new fighters, with Geras being the lone original character to be confirmed at this point.

Whatever the case, we do know Mortal Kombat 11 releases for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on April 23 (though the Switch version comes to Europe on May 10). It features new ways to customize your characters and some new fighting mechanics. It’s also as brutal as ever; with the gameplay and fatalities we’ve seen so far, NetherRealm is not holding back on the violence at all.

The release of Bandai Namco’s fighting game Jump Force is imminent, and so we now know every playable character in the game. There are 42 fighters in total, with all but two coming from one of 16 different Shonen Jump manga. You can see every one of these below.

The two fighters that don’t come from any manga, Galena and Kane, are original characters made specifically for the game. The other 40 playable fighters come from major manga series. At launch, Jump Force is pulling fighters from Black Clover, Bleach, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, City Hunter, Dragon Ball, Dragon Quest: The Adventures of Dai, Fist of the North Star, Hunter x Hunter, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, My Hero Academia, Naruto, One Piece, Rurouni Kenshin, Saint Seiya, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Yu Yu Hakusho. Although they’re not playable, characters from other Shonen Jump manga, such as Death Note, are in Jump Force as well.

Jump Force’s release date is set for February 15 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. As part of Jump Force’s Character Pass, more playable fighters are scheduled to come to the game as post-launch DLC. Bandai Namco has not announced who will be released as part of that, though we have plenty of names on our wishlist. We’d love to see To Love-Ru’s main heroine Lala Satalin Deviluke, Nisekoi: False Love’s trigger-happy Seishiro Tsugumi, and Assassination Classroom’s Koro-sensei make the cut.

In our Jump Force review, I gave the game a 7/10, writing, “Jump Force is a worthy celebration of the legacy of Shonen Jump manga, but it honors its source material a little too well with how filler-heavy the middle of its story arc is. However, even if the game rarely provides a clear motivation for stopping evil other than good must always oppose it, the act of stomping out villains in Jump Force’s frantic bouts of tag-team arena combat is an enjoyable test of strategy. And with over 40 characters to master, there’s ample opportunity to develop new strategies and reach greater feats of combat prowess in online multiplayer.”

NetherRealm Studios has confirmed Jade is returning to the fight in Mortal Kombat 11. A new gameplay trailer for Jade dropped during the developer’s Kombat Kast live stream on February 14. You can watch it above.

Jade’s Mortal Kombat 11 trailer reveals her moveset now allows her to set up combos a little more easily in comparison to Mortal Kombat 9, and her new Crushing Blow and gruesome Fatality are proof she hasn’t lost her edge. She sports a new outfit in Mortal Kombat 11, but it’s still Jade’s staple green. The ninja also hasn’t lost her touch when it comes to delivering quips either.

Here’s how NetherRealm’s official announcement describes her MK11 incarnation: “Now resurrected by an evil sorcerer, she serves the Netherrealm as an undead Revenant. Death hasn’t slowed Jade down, though. She still thrashes her enemies with her bo staff, razorrang, and patronizing put-downs.’

Jade has been a part of the franchise since appearing as an unplayable character in the series’ second entry, making her official debut in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. She last appeared in Mortal Kombat 9. Jade is a fairly fast fighter who’s good at space control and pushing opponents back, able to use her staff and daggers to dish out damage from a slight distance as well.

Other fighters confirmed for Mortal Kombat 11 include Kabal, D’Vorah, Kano, and several other franchise veterans. Scooby Doo’s Shaggy, NetherRealm confirms, is not coming to Mortal Kombat 11 though. We’ve seen several cool skins for these characters as well, which are collected in a gallery.

During Mortal Kombat 11’s gameplay debut, director Ed Boon revealed in-game customization options. Each character has three pieces of gear that you can change, and there are more general makeover options as well. For example, Scorpion can switch up which katana he uses, as well as his mask and spear. A fighter’s abilities can be customized as well.

Mortal Kombat 11 is scheduled to release for Xbox One, PS4, Switch, and PC on April 23. The game will have a beta test beforehand though–currently scheduled for March and only for Xbox and PS4–if you want to try it out before pre-ordering.

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Capcom has announced that The Ghost Survivors DLC for the remake of Resident Evil 2 is coming out February 15. The expansion is free and will be available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

Much like The 4th Survivor mode, The Ghost Survivors focuses on other characters you never interacted with in Leon and Claire’s adventure throughout Raccoon City’s police station. However, unlike the fourth survivor, Umbrella Security Services agent Hunk, these three additional characters are not meant to make it through the zombie outbreak. In fact, some met their demise prior to the events of the game, as you can discover their fate in Resident Evil 2’s campaign.

The first story, titled No Time To Mourn, focuses on Robert Kendo. Robert is the owner of Gun Shop Kendo, who sets out with a small arsenal to brave Raccoon City’s streets–which are filled with a new type of poisonous zombie–in search of a means of escape. The second story, Runaway, follows Katherine Warren. The daughter of Raccoon City’s mayor, Katherine must sneak her way to safety, all while avoiding or fighting a strangely mutated zombie that can only be stopped with special ammunition. The third story, Forgotten Soldier, follows Ghost. Like Hunk, Ghost is a U.S.S. agent that also survived the initial outbreak and is now trying to escape.

Each story can be tackled on a regular difficulty, or an easier training mode. In a blog post, Capcom social media specialist Kellen Haney described each story as a “what if” scenario, providing “an alternate look at what things might have been like.” So The Ghost Survivors isn’t canon to the established lore of Resident Evil like The 4th Survivor is.

In our Resident Evil 2 review, Alessandro Fillari gave the game a 9/10, writing, “Resident Evil 2 is not only a stellar remake of the original, but it’s also simply a strong horror game that delivers anxiety-inducing and grotesque situations, topping some of the series’ finest entries. But above all, the remake is an impressive game for the fact that it goes all-in on the pure survival horror experience, confidently embracing its horrifying tone and rarely letting up until the story’s conclusion. Though Resident Evil 2 has its roots firmly in the past, it reworks the familiar horrors into something that feels brand new and all its own.”