Upcoming Mortal Kombat Movie Gets R Rating

The Exhibitor Relations Company, an analysis firm that “provides essential information and intelligence to the entertainment industry,” is reporting that the upcoming Mortal Kombat reboot movie has received an R rating for “strong bloody violence and language throughout, and some crude references.” By itself, this may not seem like major news, but as the recently tweeted insight also indicates–both 1995’s Mortal Kombat and 1997’s Mortal Kombat: Annihilation received PG-13 ratings. This new version is due both in theaters and HBO Max on April 16.

Those who have seen the recently released red-band trailer–which was a lot of people, as the promo was viewed more than 166 million times in its first week–likely won’t be shocked to hear what rating the film has earned. But more than any other well-publicized aspect of the movie that communicates what new approaches are being taken in adapting the franchise to a film in the 21st century, the R rating by itself may alone signal to fans this version is something different. We have a breakdown of how the 1995 original stacks up against the upcoming version–which also serves as a fun look at just how much CGI has improved in the last 26 years. While you’re at it, you should also absolutely check out our breakdown of the trailer, which is loaded with Easter eggs

Mortal Kombat is directed by Simon McQuoid and produced by Aquaman director James Wan. It was previously set to be released in January, but was moved back to April. As with all other Warner movies this year, it will be released in theaters and made available to HBO Max subscribers on the same day. Subsequently, it will then stay on HBO Max for one month before then being available on other on-demand streaming services.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Convince A Friend To Play Pokemon Go And Get In-Game Rewards

Niantic is implementing a new referral system in Pokemon Go. The feature will first be tested in Australia before being rolled out to other parts of the world, and it’ll dole out rewards when you refer new players to the game.

As Niantic explains on the official Pokemon Go blog, when you refer friends through the new system, both of you will receive rewards in the game such as Rare Candy, Incubators, and specific Pokemon encounters. The friends you refer can either be entirely new to the game or lapsed players who are returning after a while.

Niantic hasn’t announced when the referral program will officially launch, but the studio says it will send out referral codes to players in Australia first as it tests out and fine-tunes the feature.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Roku’s First Original Show Is Action-Thriller Cypher, And It Arrives This Month

Roku has confirmed the premiere date for its first ever original show. The action-drama Cypher hits the ad-supported Roku Channel on March 19, and the trailer has been released.

The series focuses on an cryptanalyst named Will Scott, who is recruited by the FBI to decipher a mysterious coded document. The trailer reveals that Scott is supposedly dead and leading a shadowy secret existence, but when he finds that the document is a hitlist with his name on it, things get very dangerous. Australian actor Martin Dingle Wall plays Scott, and it looks like a slick mix of explosions, code-cracking, and family melodrama. Check the trailer out below.

All seven episodes of Cypher will be released simultaneously onto the Roku Channel, which is free for anyone in the US or Canada with a Roku device. The series also stars Jaclyn Hales (Legion), Mary Helen Schmidt (The Thing About LA Is), Lauren Gravitt (Betrayed), and Brian Krause (Charmed). The showrunner is music video veteran Zeus Zamani.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

EAGate Scandal Alleges EA Employee Sold FIFA 21 Ultimate Team Icon Cards

An unknown EA employee is alleged to be selling FIFA 21 Ultimate Team cards worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars. The scandal has quickly been nicknamed “EAGate” and has prompted the company to issue a statement saying it has opened a probe.

Eurogamer reports that the messages, captured from WhatsApp, show the employee offering Icon card packages ranging from 750-1000 euros (roughly $840-1200). One package of Prime Icon Moments cards are even offered for 1700 euros ($2000). At one point the seller assures a potential buyer that there is no risk of being banned, but can’t say why for “security reasons.”

The messages appear to show the sale of a bundle of high-value cards going through and then showing up in the game shortly after.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Loop Hero, the Surprisingly Addictive Endless RPG, Sells Half a Million Copies in One Week

One week ago, a surprising little endless RPG about the end of the world launched on Steam, published by Devolver. Now, only seven days later, Loop Hero has sold half a million copies.

Loop Hero puts you in the shoes of a hero awakening in a world entirely destroyed but for an empty, circular path infested with slime enemies. As they set out around the loop, they fight enemies and gain memories of a world back in the form of cards — both equipment and terrain. Placing them brings back remembered elements of the empty world, creating new powers for the hero but also new monsters to fight. Loop Hero ends up being a combination of a rogue-like, a deck-builder, a strategy game, and an RPG as you place cards, change your equipment builds, fight, retreat or die, and return to camp to slowly build up your powers for your next run.

With half a million players now and an average playtime of 12 hours, that makes an estimated 3 trillion hours played and 18 billion loops, at least (at least, according to Devolver. who may be exaggerating that last bit some). Its soundtrack is also the fastest-selling in Devolver history.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/03/loop-hero-launch-trailer”]

Developer Four Quarters has released a new set of Steam trading cards to celebrate the milestone, and is currently working on further quality-of-life updates to Loop Hero such as an improved save system, new speed settings, and new rewards from bosses — as well as more content to come down the line including new cards, classes, and transformations.

“When we first encountered Loop Hero it led to a 98% drop in productivity at Devolver,” the publisher said in a statement. “We can’t thank Four Quarters enough for giving us the opportunity to share their incredible game with the rest of the world. They fully deserve all of the praise they’ve received so far, but seriously, we can’t get any work done and may never recover from this.”

Loop Hero is out now on Steam, and we have a walkthrough to help you survive your loops.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.