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Mortal Kombat is now in theaters and on HBO Max, so you can choose your destiny in order to watch it. While the movie veers away from one major thing from the original game, it does have plenty of nods to familiar faces from the franchise, including a big Easter egg in the final scene. However, that’s not the only Easter egg. The movie has plenty.

It can be hard to take note of all of the nods, references, and Easter eggs on display in any movie, let alone one as action-packed and fast-paced as Mortal Kombat. Don’t worry, though, we’ve done the heavy lifting for you. Take a look below at the 25 best Easter eggs we found hidden in the movie, then test your might by sounding off in the comments with your favorite, and check out GameSpot’s review of Mortal Kombat.

Warning: The following contains literally all of the spoilers for the new Mortal Kombat movie. If you haven’t watched it yet, you should clearly just bookmark this and come back after you have.

1. Hanzo vs Bi-Han

This one shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, due to it being in the trailers and also released online ahead of the movie, but Mortal Kombat opens by showing the history between the men who would eventually become Scorpion and Sub-Zero. You can dig into the details of the moment in our breakdown of the scene.

2. Lord Raiden

After the death of Hanzo, Raiden appears to save his last surviving child. That’ll become important later.

3. “Cole Young, the man who took the belt from Eddie Tobias.”

Cole’s own introduction is one of the movie’s best Easter eggs. While he may be an original character, it’s said that he defeated Eddie Tobias for a championship. Eddie Tobias is a mix of Ed Boon and John Tobias, the creators of the Mortal Kombat franchise.

4. Dragon birthmark

Corporate branding as a birthmark? Test your might!

5. Find Sonya Blade

Before we meet Sonya, Jax tells Cole to find her. It shouldn’t be too difficult, she’s in so many video games and even a couple of movies.

6. Jax’s arms

Jax losing his arms to Sub-Zero is not canon in the game’s lore. However, he does lose them in the series, leading to the robot replacements we see in the movie.

7. “The reptilian, Syzoth”

Here, Shang Tsung is referring to Reptile, whose actual name is Syzoth. In the movie, he’s not quite the green colorway ninja you’re used to from the games. Once we see him, he even hits acid and has cloaking abilities–like his video game counterpart.

8. Night Wolf

While Night Wolf isn’t in the movie, his image can be seen on Sonya Blades Mortal Kombat murder wall. He’s labeled a Makota Warrior.

9. Black Dragon clan

Kano is introduced, chained up in Sonya’s bunker, as a member of the Black Dragon clan. This clan of mercenaries is pulled directly from the games and also includes Kabal, who we meet later in the movie.

10. “Kano wins”

When Kano defeats Reptile, he pulls out his signature fatality from the first Mortal Kombat game–ripping out his opponent’s heart. He then lets us know, “Kano wins.”

11. Fireballs

What better way to introduce Liu Kang than by including something the original movies didn’t–his ability to throw fireballs?

12. Shaolin Order of Light

Liu is introduced as a member of the Shaolin Order of Light. In the games (and even the previous movies), the Order of Light is a sect of monks that first nominated Liu Kang to be a combatant (kombatant?) in Mortal Kombat.

13. Those paintings

Raiden’s temple has some interesting art on the walls, including paintings of Shao Kahn and Goro. After all, when decorating, make sure to highlight your various nemeses.

14. Cheap shots

During his first sparring session with Liu Kang, Kano falls victim to the most dastardly maneuver in Mortal Kombat history–repeated leg sweeps. In the games, you were either someone who hated this as a fighting tactic or the person deploying it.

15. Kano’s laser eye

When Kano finally unlocks his arcana after throwing a hissy fit, he unleashes that nasty laser beam from his eye you know and love from the games.

16. Special moves

This movie is loaded with signature non-fatality moves, from Liu Kang’s bicycle kick to Scorpion making liberal use of his spear and chain to Kabal’s dashing tackle maneuver. It may be hard to keep track of them all, but rest assured you can do just about any move in this movie (other than Cole Young’s) in the games.

17. Kung Lao’s fatality

Possibly the best fatality in the movie comes when Kung Lao uses his hat as a saw to cut Nitara in half in one of the film’s most graphic moments. This, like most of the fatalities, is pulled directly from the games. He then proclaims his win a “flawless victory.”

18. Ol’ faithful

How does Cole finally get the upper hand on Goro? By using the best and most effective move in Mortal Kombat history–the uppercut.

19. “Your soul is mine.”

Shang Tsung’s immortal line from the original Mortal Kombat movie lives on as he kills Kung Lao.

20. Jax’s head clap fatality

Thank goodness for Jax’s robotic arms. Though we see a bit of it in the trailer, his head clap fatality in all its glory is disturbingly cool.

21. “Get over here”

You didn’t think we’d get through a Mortal Kombat movie without hearing this iconic line, did you?

22. Sub-Zero classic

During his battle with Scorpion, Sub-Zero loses some of that over-the-top armor he wears in the film, and is left with a costume that looks a lot closer to the classic outfit from the games.

23. Scorpion’s fatality

While it doesn’t leave a pile of bones behind, we do see Scorpion’s fire breath fatality and it looks exceptionally cool.

24. Citizen Cage

The poster for Johnny Cage’s next movie looks as ridiculous as you’d expect. While we don’t see Johnny’s face–for a very good reason–we do see he has the massive belt buckle with his name on it. Is he playing himself in the movie?

25. The theme

There’s no post-credits scene, but you should stick around for the credits anyway. After all, so many people worked hard to make this movie a reality–and the ending theme song is clearly inspired by the greatest song of all time–the theme from the original Mortal Kombat movie.

If you haven’t preordered New Pokemon Snap for Nintendo Switch, Walmart has a pair of adorable bundles up for grabs. The bundles cost $60 each–the regular list price of the game–and come with Pokemon-themed hats. We imagine these will sell out before the game launches next Friday, April 30, so you may want to lock in your preorder as soon as possible. Walmart is offering free release day delivery for both bundles.

These bundles are the best preorder deals we’ve seen for New Pokemon Snap thus far. Target was offering a magnetic picture frame with New Pokemon Snap preorders, but the retailer sold out of all preorders a while back.

The sequel to the N64 classic places you in the role of a Pokemon researcher in the Lental region. There’s a strange phenomenon occurring in the Lental region that’s causing Pokemon to glow. Your job is to take photographs of Pokemon in their natural habitat to observe their behaviors and unravel the mystery. New Pokemon Snap features a wide variety of Pokemon across numerous generations.

The Fortnite Championship Series, Epic’s marquee esports event for its biggest game, is back for another round. While few will compete, many more will watch. If you’re wondering how and where to watch the FNCS, what the schedule looks like, FNCS Twitch Drops, and what’s up for grabs for competitors, here’s all you need to know about the Fortnite Championship Series for Chapter 2 Season 6.

Fortnite Championship Series Schedule And Where To Watch

The Fortnite Championship Series will take place over the next month, with the entire show available to watch on the official Fortnite Twitch channel. The opening rounds consist of three qualifiers which will be streamed live every Sunday for the next three weeks on April 25, May 2, and May 9.

The weekend of May 16 is a bye week for all players before the FNCS Semi-Finals begin on May 22 and continue the next day, May 23. This includes the dramatic Reboot Round, which gives disqualified teams one last chance to make the finals. Once that last piece of the bracket is set, the FNCS Finals will kick off on May 29 and run through May 30.

In every instance, the live coverage begins at 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET, though as an international event, there are start times and streams in different languages all over the world, so you may want to consult the FNCS website for further details if you’re planning to watch outside of the US.

FNCS Twitch Drops

Normally Epic would entice some of the millions of viewers to keep tuning in with Twitch Drops, free in-game cosmetics earned through accumulating viewing time, but Epic has hit some technical difficulties on that front as of late so the company is delaying those rewards for now.

“Our intent is to bring Twitch Drops back into our broadcast later this season,” said Epic on the game’s website. “We’ll provide an update when we can start rolling out Twitch Drops again.”

In the meantime, make sure your Epic account and Twitch account are linked if you wish to receive those Twitch Drops once they’re available.

FNCS Prize Pool

In total, $3 million are up for grabs across the seven participating regions in the Fortnite Championship Series. On top of that, another $3 million is reserved for the All-Star Showdown, a Creative Mode skills competition featuring some of the game’s flashiest solo stars. Think of that event like the FNCS Pro Bowl, with its own schedule that kicks off in June, a month after the newest FNCS winners have been crowned.

Epic has also highlighted some of the rules changes to watch for during the new competitive season, even providing a video that breaks down everything new and different in the FNCS since last season.

If you’d rather play than watch, don’t miss the new weapons recently added to Fortnite Season 6, like the Recycler and the Grappler Bow.

Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis will launch globally this June, Sega announced during its recent Prologue 3 livestream. Ahead of its launch, the publisher is holding a New Genesis closed beta test on PC from May 14-16. Registration for that beta is now underway.

To participate in the test, you’ll first need to download the Xbox Insider Hub, then search for the the Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis beta within that app. Detailed instructions on how to join the beta, as well as system requirements, can be found on the official PSO2 website.

Sega notes that space is limited for this closed beta test, with players being granted access on a first come, first served basis. If you do get in, you’ll be able to earn a variety of rewards for accomplishing different tasks during the beta. Players who suppress a boss, for instance, will receive a Clinging Rappy Earring accessory and a special stamp. Sega says these rewards will be distributed after New Genesis officially launches.

New Genesis was first revealed last July during an Xbox game showcase and is a massive overhaul/expansion for Phantasy Star Online 2. Although it revamps many aspects of the MMO, it will exist alongside the base version of PSO2. Characters can be shared across both games, but almost all progress will be independent in each version.

In the meantime, Sega is holding multiple giveaways and events in PSO2. For a limited time, those who play on PC or Xbox One will earn various rewards for logging in and completing recommended quests. There are also new Limited Time, Urgent, and Ultimate quests to complete in the MMO.

James Gunn has clarified where the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special takes place within the continuity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Gunn, who helmed 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy and its 2017 sequel, shared a photo of the title page for his upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which also confirmed that it was the first draft of the script for the seasonal special, coming to Disney+ in 2022. “This is the wrapping,” he wrote in the tweet’s caption. “The present is inside.”

The filmmaker participated in a short Q&A directly beneath the tweet, as a couple of fans asked for clarity on how exactly the Holiday Special fits into the MCU timeline. In response, Gunn confirmed that it will take place after the events of Thor: Love & Thunder, which hits theaters in May 2022, but before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which is scheduled to debut in 2023.

 

This is the wrapping. The present is inside. #GotGHS pic.twitter.com/NqDw5s6ed8

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 22, 2021

However, we may see Peter Quill and his ragtag crew before they set off on their holiday hijinks as they’re slated to appear in Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love & Thunder. Gunn previously confirmed that he had joined forces with Waititi to discuss MCU characters before work began on the fourth Thor script. He said they both swapped scripts to figure out “where the characters are and where they’re going.”

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Quill and Thor enjoyed a friendly rivalry in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the latter of which saw the heavyset Bro Thor leave his fellow Asgardians behind on Earth whilst he joined the Guardians in space. The two characters are now expected to reunite on the big screen again in Thor 4, a movie that has been described as having an “Avengers 5 feel” due to its supersized cast.

Thor 4’s all-star ensemble features the likes of Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, Christian Bale, and Russell Crowe as the mighty Zeus, father of the Olympian gods. Waititi will also once again voice Thor’s alien pal Korg in the movie, which is currently slated for release on May 6, 2022. It will follow Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and many more in the MCU’s Phase 4.

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For more on Marvel’s upcoming slate of projects and releases, read our breakdown of the biggest and most noteworthy developments in the MCU, on Disney+, and in Marvel’s comics throughout this year.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

This review contains spoilers for Marvel’s The Falcon and The Winter Soldier episode 6, ‘One World, One People’, now available to view on Disney+. To remind yourself of where we left off, check out our The Falcon and The Winter Soldier episode 5 review.

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With its numerous characters, ambiguous antagonists, and heavy themes, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier was always fighting against the odds to properly explore everything within its six episodes. And while its dogged determination to be a character study piece has constantly worked in its favour, that has come at the expense of story pacing in its final third. Sadly, the season finale struggles under the weight of the many threads it must conclude, and the result is a messy, unsatisfying hour of superheroics.

The episode does thankfully have a small share of strong moments, rightfully dedicated to Sam Wilson and his ascent to the role of Captain America. His speech to the GRC, witnessed by dozens of inspired New York bystanders, is a cathartic end to his transformation. While the Flag Smashers may ultimately have worked their way beyond redemption, it’s powerful to see the show hold onto the group’s message, and even reinforce their violent desperation as something to think about in a sympathetic light. Following in the footsteps of his old friend, Sam holds authority to account on behalf of the people they claim to protect. More than any of his shield-slinging antics this episode, this was Sam’s shining moment as Captain America.

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But, as they say, not all heroes wear capes (or Wakandan suits). It’s Sam’s actions out of the costume that really resonate here. His establishment of a tribute to Isaiah Bradley at the Smithsonian Museum is a fantastic final statement on The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’s exploration of race. The quiet, painful relationship between the two characters has been this story’s most important thread, and this was a fitting conclusion. It’s representative of Sam’s fight for justice rather than patriotism, which once again reinforces the true nature of Captain America.

Unfortunately, practically everything else in the finale is messy. With many storylines still in need of conclusion, the episode zips from topic to topic with barely any time to dedicate to them. This being the finale of a Marvel project, it naturally has a surplus of action, but frequently it feels as if these elements are getting in the way of important progression. An entire sequence dedicated to Sam saving a group of hostages in a helicopter steals precious moments that should have been exploring more vital issues. We already know Sam is a worthy hero, we don’t need to see that. Every second spent dealing with elements like this slimmed down the time spent exploring the headspace of Karli and John Walker, both of whom had underwhelming parts to play.

After building him up as an angry, unstable man over the season, the penultimate episode’s post-credits threatened a vengeful return from John Walker. Instead, with absolutely no examination of his character at all, the finale has him save some hostages, and even work with Bucky to arrest some Flag Smashers. The guy who murdered a man using Captain America’s shield in broad daylight is just accepted by our heroes, no questions asked. Absolutely zero space is provided for an engaging redemption arc, with Walker himself having very little dialogue to convey his changing mindset.

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This makes Walker’s transformation into U.S. Agent all the more confusing. It’s completely unclear if the character is one to be feared or respected. This is further complicated by the lack of transparency in regards to Valentina Allegra de Fontaine’s morality; we have no idea if she’s a hero or villain, which further obscures what it means for Walker to become her U.S. Agent. It’s less a cliffhanger than a missed opportunity.

As for Karli Morgenthau, while it seemed inevitable that she’d never make it out of the hole she’d dug alive, her last moments are particularly unsatisfying. Her fight with Sam is full of cliched “I don’t want to fight you!” platitudes, and Sam is robbed of the chance to make a difficult, character-defining decision due to Sharon firing the killing shot.

That move was dropped in order to ensure Karli could not alert Sam to the finale’s deeply unsatisfying reveal that Sharon Carter is the Power Broker. While this was certainly the internet’s dominant theory thanks to her activities in Madripoor, the mystery simply goes nowhere interesting. Episodes’ worth of build-up around the character conclude in just a minute of Mexican Standoff between Sharon, Batroc, and Karli. The post-credits scene does go on to position Sharon as an ongoing big bad for the MCU, but this is a move that – at best – feels thin and unearned.

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Similarly unearned is Zemo’s final act from behind bars. After seemingly concluding his story in the penultimate episode, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier grants Zemo one final moment to kill the remaining Flag Smashers. This does at least fulfill his aim to remove Super Soldiers from the world, but no time is dedicated to showing how he achieves this from his prison cell. It’s ultimately a one-note ‘scheme’ from a villain otherwise characterized by his ability to twist people to his own ends. That, after all his manipulative talks with Bucky, it wasn’t The Winter Soldier that caused any of the finale’s problems seems a missed opportunity.

In fact, Bucky is afforded very little drama at all. It’s only natural that he plays second fiddle to Sam in his moment of ascension, but Bucky’s own conclusions feel barely there. Thankfully his best moments of healing were already laid out in the previous episode, but his admission of guilt to Mr. Nakajima felt oddly hollow. Their relationship was such a major part of establishing Bucky’s troubles at the start of the season, and it deserved to be concluded in a similar manner to Sam and Isaiah’s brutally frank conversations.

SEGA has revealed a ‘Judgment Day’ countdown clock, and fans are keen to see if it’s going to lead to a sequel to the publisher’s 2018 detective-themed Yakuza spin-off.

The timer is currently ticking down on the Ryu Ga Gotoku website, and will stop on May 7, 2021 at 7am Pacific / 10am Eastern / 3pm UK (that midnight, May 8 AEST). A trailer is attached to the reveal, and you can join the waiting fans on YouTube.

Of course, many fans are speculating that this is going to lead to a sequel. A Japanese SEGA trademark for “Lost Judgment” was found in March, which could very well be its title. ”Fingers crossed for a reveal of Judgment 2” said Yakuza fan @PrinceWhatever on Twitter.

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“I’m guessing this is Judgement 2’s announcement. Glad we’re getting more from this spin off. Excited to see what RGG has in store for us,” said user cloudsheep0 on Reddit. Others have suggested that if it’s not a sequel, it could also be an announcement of a PC release date for the game.

A remastered version of Judgment for next-gen consoles launched today on PlayStation 5, Google Stadia and Xbox Series X and S, featuring 60 FPS, faster loading times and free DLC. You can check out our review of the game here, which we scored an 8.2, calling it a “superficial detective experience, but an extremely good Yakuza one.”

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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Call of Duty: Warzone saw a major map refresh yesterday – and developer Raven says it will never return to the original map, Verdansk.

Despite being the same fundamental part of the game’s world, introducing Verdansk ’84 changes a lot of what we know about Warzone’s map, and that’s seemingly a permanent change. Associate creative director Amos Hodge used a studio broadcast to say:

“Players don’t know it, but current day Verdansk, they’ll never play in that state again. Current day Verdansk is gone and it’s not coming back.”

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That change hasn’t been made simply for narrative reasons – the team’s using it to fix some legacy problems with the original Verdansk. Speaking to PC Gamer, Hodge explained that the switch fixes some common buggy areas that cause players to fall under the map: “This is a good chance for us to go in there and update all the glitch locations as well as make quality of life improvements.”

On top of that, Hodge says Verdansk ’84 is a chance to fix one of the most common complaints about Verdansk – that no one can work out how to easily mantle up its weirdly unclimbable rocks. Hodge says that rocks in the new map will be more easily readable for players, so you won’t unexpectedly get stuck on a cliff face with the gas rolling in (or at least, if you do, it’s more likely to be purely your fault now).

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Verdansk ’84 adds seven new locations, and fundamentally alters many more, making the area a more vibrant, slightly less rundown place than we’ve gotten used to. The separate Rebirth Island map is also currently shrouded in nighttime.

With 2021 Verdansk off the table (it did get nuked, after all), it remains a mystery where Warzone will head after its trip to 1984. The next Call of Duty game is reportedly set in World War 2, so a ’40s battlefield seems a possible location, but it’s entirely possible that, given its huge success, Warzone could head in entirely new directions after this.

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Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].