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The 2021 winter storms have been especially destructive in U.S. states like Texas, which normally don’t experience such harsh weather. Sub-zero temperatures have left millions without basic resources like power and water, and have exposed many even further to the ongoing, dangerously-cold weather. Here are ways you can help those affected during this difficult time, or if you or people you know are stranded in areas like Texas, here are some resources to help stay safe and warm.

Warming Centers and Shelter

Texas Warming Stations

There are dozens of warming stations across Texas where those without power and heat can go to stay warm. An interactive map from the state of Texas shows you exactly where one is located closest to you.

“For stranded motorists, those without power, and anyone in need of warmth, warming stations are available at locations across the state. To find the closest warming shelter, please use the map below or for information on additional assistance and resources call 2-1-1.”

https://tdem.texas.gov/warm/

Austin Street Center

Austin Street Center is collecting donations of warm articles of clothing, including coats, hoodies, boots, gloves, and more. If you aren’t near the area, you can donate money online to help with their operational costs.

https://www.austinstreet.org/donations_/

The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center

The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center has an Amazon Wishlist set up so you can purchase essential items for those in Dallas to stay warm. They are specifically looking for sleeping bags, hand and foot warmers, batteries, bottles of water, and boots.

https://www.bridgehrc.org/donate-to-the-bridge

American Red Cross

The American Red Cross is providing dozens of warming centers with blankets and cots. You can donate to help the organization assist where it is most needed.

https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation.html/

Food Services

Free Lunch

The organization Free Lunch is delivering healthy, home-cooked meals to the Esperanza Community residents, along with blankets and hygiene kits. You can donate to help fund their cause.

https://freelunchatx.com/contribute

Austin Area Urban League

The Love Thy Neighbor Texas campaign has launched to help give emergency support to Austin communities. They are asking for donations to provide others with food, shelter, water, clothing, and other items. They are also using the hashtag #LoveThyNeighborTX to spread awareness.

https://aaul.org/love-your-neighbor

The Salvation Army of North Texas

The Salvation Army is asking for donations specifically to provide food, shelter, and electricity to those in Texas.

https://salvationarmyntx.org/

Lucille’s 1913 Community Kitchen

The non-profit organization Lucille’s 1913 Community Kitchen is delivering meals to those in need in the Houston area and is accepting both one-time and recurring monthly donations.

http://www.lucilles1913.org/support-lucille-s-1913.html

Pets

Austin Pets Alive

The non-profit organization Austin Pets Alive is raising funds to help keep animals warm. They are asking for heating pads, dog beds, Styrofoam coolers, heat lamps, as well as monetary donations for immediate supplies.

https://www.austinpetsalive.org/donate

How to Stay Safe

If you are currently enduring the effects of the winter storm, here are some tips and resources to help stay healthy and warm.

How to Stay Healthy During a Winter Storm

If you don’t have power or other resources after a winter storm, the CDC offers guidelines on health and safety in very cold weather. This page contains many tips, from how to heat your house safely to how to care for infants. Here’s a selection of tips from the page:

• Turning on the stove for heat is not safe.
• Use fireplaces, wood stoves, or other combustion heaters only if they are properly vented to the outside and do not leak gas from the flue or exhaust into the indoor air space.
• Avoid unnecessarily opening doors or windows.
• Close off unneeded rooms.
• Stuff towels or rags in cracks under doors.
• Close draperies or cover windows with blankets at night.
• Use battery-powered flashlights or lanterns rather than candles, if possible. Candles can lead to house fires.
• Never use generators, gas or charcoal grills, camp stoves, or similar devices inside your home, in basements, in garages, or near windows. The fumes are deadly.
• Extreme cold can cause water pipes in your home to freeze and sometimes rupture or break. When you are expecting very cold or freezing temperatures. Leave all water taps slightly open so they drip continuously.
  

There are many more tips regarding transportation, hypothermia, and other topics on the CDC site. The CDC offers more guidance on winter storm preparation and safety here.

Boil Water Notices

After winter storms knocked out treatment plants and caused damage to water systems, many jurisdictions issued boil water notices for public safety. If advised in your area, you should boil water before usage. Here’s a helpful video on how to boil water safely from the City of Austin Water Utility.

How to Boil Water During a Boil Water Notice: currently affecting customers in southwest Austin and Lost Creek neighborhood. More info @ https://t.co/s2dd1OlBCh pic.twitter.com/nDH0v9TAu5

— Austin Water (@AustinWater) February 17, 2021

How to Conserve Power

If you have power and are near a region affected by power outages, putting less strain on the grid may help your neighbors get power restored faster. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas offers these guidelines on how to save energy:

• Turn down thermostats to 68-degrees.
• Close shades and blinds to reduce the amount of heat lost through windows.
• Turn off and unplug non-essential lights and appliances.
• Avoid using large appliances (i.e., ovens, washing machines, etc.).

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It’s here! The first trailer for the upcoming Mortal Kombat movie has arrived and, thankfully, it’s loaded with the kind of blood, gore, and crazy superhuman abilities fans of the video game series have come to expect. The film will release in theaters and on HBO Max on April 16. This version of Mortal Kombat is rated R, unlike the previous live-action movies, and the first red band trailer has no problem showing that rating off.

It’s also packed with a bunch of iconic characters from the franchise, giving them each time to shine (and mutilate their opponents). Given that this is a Mortal Kombat movie, the trailer also thankfully includes a very bloody montage of fatalities and a number of signature catchphrases (from “Get over here!” to “Finish them!”).

Take a look at every Easter egg and reference we managed to dig out of the trailer below. If there are any we missed, you should absolutely shout them out in the comments. Then, if you’re feeling nostalgic, take a look at our deep dives into the original films, Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.

1. Red band

Right from the start, we know this will be more graphic than either of the first two Mortal Kombat movies. A red band trailer means things are going to get messy.

2. Sub-Zero labeled a “wanted fugitive”

A voiceover from Sonya Blade reveals that Sub-Zero is a “wanted fugitive” in Brazil. There’s no hint at what his crimes were, though chances are they have something to do with freezing and exploding people.

3. Sub-Zero’s powers

Before his proper introduction later in the trailer, we see just how powerful Sub-Zero is. Not only does he freeze Jax’s gun as it’s firing, he uses his icy powers to inflict some serious damage on the character.

4. He freezes and rips off Jax’s arms

We get a brand new origin story for Jax’s metal arms here, which have already had a number of origin stories in the past. This time, he’s going to become a cool cyborg thanks to a really gnarly run-in with Sub-Zero. Ouch.

5. Enter Sonya Blade

In the games, Sonya Blade is a member of a special forces team focused on Outworld-related activities and it seems like at least a portion of that backstory is being adapted for the movie. She and Jax are apparently working to hunt down Sub-Zero, who they know as a fugitive with supernatural abilities. Interestingly, the trailer doesn’t seem to play up the ongoing rivalry between Sonya and Kano, which has always been a big part in the games, but may not make it into the new movie.

6. A familiar mark

Why does Cole Young, a character created for the film who seems to be the movie’s lead, have the Mortal Kombat logo on his skin? As the trailer tells it, that mark (which he’s had since birth) means he’s destined to take part in the tournament.

7. Quick shot of Mileena from behind

We’ll see a better–and bloodier– shot of her later in the trailer, but this is the first look at Mileena in the film.

8. Is that Shao Kahn?

We briefly see a painting of what looks like a previous tournament–perhaps the first–in which one competitor stands tall over another, who happens to be spewing blood. The victor could very well be Shao Kahn. The best evidence of that is the spiked bracers he wears on his wrists.

9. “A great tournament”

The first we heard of the “great tournament” is from Sonya Blade, explaining to Cole what the dragon mark on his chest actually means. Sonya believes it’s his invitation to compete.

10. Raiden and Shang Tsung meet

While both will be shown in better detail in the trailer, the first glimpse of both Raiden and Shang Tsung shows both silhouetted as they face off in a room filled with ice crystals, no doubt created by Sub-Zero.

11. Scorpion’s origin

Scorpion’s origin story is pretty komplicated, but we can make some assumptions about the version this movie is going for based on these scenes. Hanzo Hasashi was an ex-assassin and member of a cabal of ninjas called the Shirai Ryu, who had “retired” and started living as a pretty regular guy with a quiet life and a family. However, tragedy struck when his entire clan and family were wiped out by Sub-Zero (or, one of the Sub-Zeros in MK’s lore, but don’t worry too much about that). Hanzo himself didn’t survive the encounter and was sent to the hellish Netherrealm where he was resurrected by Quan Chi, transforming him into the nightmarish Scorpion. In more recent versions of the story, it was revealed that Sub-Zero actually had nothing to do with the murder of Hanzo’s family and the whole thing was, in fact, a ploy by Quan Chi meant to manipulate and puppeteer Scorpion into working for him.

It’s not completely clear if we’re going to see Quan Chi in the movie, or if we’ll get the version where Quan Chi is manipulating the rivalry between Sub-Zero and Scorpion, but we’re definitely going to see Hanzo experience some real tragedy and bounce back from it as a new and presumably more dangerous man. And he’ll probably have a huge, climactic fight with Sub-Zero somewhere in here, too, just based on Sub-Zero’s status as one of the featured antagonists for the Earthrealm gang.

12. Kano

Aussie cyborg Kano is one of the franchise’s recurring antagonists, especially for Sonya Blade. Originally from Earthrealm, Kano used his conniving instincts and cut-throat tendencies to work his way into Shao Kahn’s inner circle in Outworld (in some versions of the story, at least). Also his cybernetic facial features were care of a wound inflicted by Jax in the games–but it’s impossible to tell if that story will make it into the movie.

13. Liu Kang

Liu Kang is one of Mortal Kombat’s most prominent protagonists and eventually became champion after the first tournament was finished. It will be interesting to see where he fits into the Earthrealm team in this movie, however, since Cole Young has been introduced and will apparently be serving the protagonist role for this story.

14. Jax’s arms

Our first look at Jax’s cybernetic arms is pretty impressive. Hopefully, they’ll be a little bit harder for Sub-Zero to freeze and shatter than his organic ones.

15. Kung Lao

A new addition to the classic (sorry, klassic) team from Earthrealm compared to the original set used in the ’97 movie: Kung Lao, a Shaolin monk who uses his razor-sharp hat as both a weapon and a shield. In the games, Kung Lao is a descendant of the Great Kung Lao, the first person from Earthrealm to represent the Order of Light in Mortal Kombat.

16. Lord Raiden

One of the most iconic characters in the franchise, Lord Raiden, the eternal god of thunder and sworn protector of Earthrealm, is naturally going to be in the movie. In the games, Raiden has been a mentor and father figure to many of Earthrealm’s champions, so we can expect him to step into that role yet again in this movie.

17. Mileena

A mutant hybrid clone from Shang Tsung’s “flesh pits,” Mileena is a monstrous fighter and threat from Outworld who traditionally hides her massive fangs and split-mouth behind a mask. We see her unmasked here licking the blood from one of her trademark daggers and, while her teeth definitely do look pretty inhuman, she doesn’t have her extremely split cheeks. That’s likely to change as the movie progresses, however, if the burn marks and scaring along her face are any indication.

18. Shao Kahn statue

Yes, it seems Shao Kahn had a truly gigantic statue of himself created to lord over Outworld. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, though. This tyrant has been the central antagonist for practically all of the Mortal Kombat franchise, since debuting in the second game.

19. Shang Tsung

Shang Tsung is a sorcerer who is powered by the souls he steals from combatants in the tournament. He was also the primary antagonist of the first game (and the first film). Among his more devious powers is the ability to shapeshift. We don’t see that in the trailer, but hopefully, it’s shown in the film.

20. Smoke

Yes, you know Scorpion and Sub-Zero, and you are probably even familiar with Reptile. What about Smoke, though? This character, who resembles yet another colorway of the iconic ninjas, appears from a cloud of Smoke in the trailer. Smoke was first introduced in Mortal Kombat II, but wasn’t a playable character until Mortal Kombat 3, when he was redesigned to be a cyborg. Why a cyborg? Great question.

21. Liu Kang’s animality

Liu Kang summoning a massive dragon made of fire could be a reworked version of his animality, which originally saw him transform into the creature. Then again, this could also simply be one of his special powers or fatalities on display.

22. Goro

In the original Mortal Kombat movie, Goro was a hulking brute in all of his puppeted glory. At times the character looked silly, but it was still an intriguing visual. Now, the CGI version of the character looks truly horrifying in the brief glimpse we see of him in this trailer.

23. Blood swords are the coolest weapon

In a fight with Scorpion, Sub-Zero pulls off perhaps the coolest move in the entire film. He uses an ice sword to slash at his opponent, causing blood to spurt out. Sub-Zero quickly freezes that blood into a second ice sword, attacking Scorpion with his own blood.

24. Get over here

Scorpion yells one of his signature taunts from the original games during battle.

25. Finish them!

The most iconic Mortal Kombat line of them all also makes it into the trailer. For players who know what they’re doing, this line usually precedes a brutal fatality. Naturally, a long line of fatalities follow in a montage, complete with some surprises.

26. Is that Reptile?

In the original MK movie, Reptile was shown as a terribly animated little lizard creature inhabiting a body similar to Scorpion and Sub-Zero’s. If this is the new movie’s Reptile–a walking dinosaur man of some sort–we’re hopefully going to see him in his ninja form, as well. Then again, this could also be some version of Liu Kang’s animality, in which he turns into a dragon.

27. Kano wins

The final shot in the trailer shows none other than Kano with a beating heart in his hand. “Kano wins,” he proclaims, before looking at the heart. “You f***ing beauty.” This is a nod to his fatality in the first game, which saw him rip his opponent’s heart out of their chest.

Shudder’s original anthology series Creepshow has its second season premiering on the streaming service on April 1–and it’s already been renewed for Season 3. One thing horror fans will love about Season 2 though is that one tale is a love letter to Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead.

The story titled “Public Television of the Dead” pays homage to the classic Evil Dead franchise. During AMC Networks TCA winter tour presentation, director Greg Nicotero spoke about this specific feature. “Rob Schrab wrote that episode,” the director said. “I realized in retrospect that a lot of my episodes were period pieces. A lot of them take place in the ’70s. I have a big affection for growing up in the ’70s and reading Famous Monsters magazine and watching chiller theater.

“So, having directed “Model Kid,” which is the first segment in the premiere, ‘Public Television of the Dead’ is really sort of my kind of big thank you to Sam Raimi because I worked on Evil Dead 2, and I worked on Army of Darkness. I had always had a massive affection for Sam, so I feel like I channeled my best Sam Raimi in that episode, and damn, I had so much fun like getting that camera whipping around and like the evil for his point of view and designing our own version of the Necronomicon. It was really a blast so much fun.”

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Here’s all the biggest trailers that were showcased during Nintendo’s first major Direct of 2021.

About an hour into Little Nightmares II, I found a toy duck resting on a hardwood floor. It was the kind of carved, wooden plaything that kids drag around on a piece of twine, with wheels where the real waterfowl’s webbed feet would be. A dim spotlight from somewhere above shone on its reflective wings. Behind it, there was an oaky barrier, formed from leaning one table against another–too tall for my character, a tiny child named Mono, to climb. When I approached, the floorboard the duck was sitting on sunk into the floor. I turned to run just as a metal light fixture swung down from the ceiling, smashing me into the barrier and killing me.

Once the checkpoint reset, I tried again, attempting to quickly run away from the floorboard before the pendulum fell. No dice. Again, it smashed me against the wall.

“I wonder if I can…” I thought, eyeing the nearby toy, “…duck.”

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Few games get me as hyped as Final Fantasy XIV, the MMORPG that’s had a wild ride and increasing success over the past several years. Because of it, director and producer Naoki Yoshida, and the team behind the game, have made waves within Square Enix and now have the upcoming Final Fantasy XVI on their hands. But FFXIV’s journey is far from finished, nor is it taking a backseat. Endwalker, which is set to launch in Fall 2021, is the next expansion, and while it’ll conclude the 10-year story arc that’s been the centerpiece since the game’s early days, FFXIV’s scale is only getting larger.

The expansion was revealed and showcased in detail earlier this month, and I have a breakdown of everything you need to know about Endwalker (for one, we’re going to the moon). More recently, I was able to correspond with Yoshida-san via email to get some insight on the lead-up to new expansion–and I think the overall sentiment is that Endwalker and the position FFXIV is in today was never promised, but was always planned for.

“The idea of creating a large-scale saga and bringing closure to it after multiple expansions came about when we were working on A Realm Reborn (2013),” Yoshida-san started. He continued, “However, in order to make that idea a reality, gaining popularity and acquiring the adequate funds and acclaim to continue long-term service would be required.”

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A leaked press release containing information planned to be announced at BlizzCon Online reveals that Blizzard Entertainment is re-releasing the Word of Warcraft expansion, The Burning Crusade, and bringing the Forsaken Horde leader Sylvanas to Shadowlands in the Chains of Domination update.

According to the document Blizzard allegedly released early by accident (spotted first by MMO Champion), the company will re-release The Burning Crusade later this year, though exactly when remains unknown. Originally launched in 2007, The Burning Crusade will bring a number of changes to World of Warcraft: Classic, like adding the Alliance Draenei and Horde Blood Elves races. Like Classic before it, The Burning Crusade will roll out in phases, and subscribers to World of Warcraft can play The Burning Crusade Classic at no additional cost.

The leaked press release also reveals Shadowlands’ next update, which includes a new raid and boss. Titled Chains of Domination, players face off against the Jailer and Sylvanas Windrunner to unite the four covenants. The expansion also introduces a 10-boss raid called the Sanctum of Domination (located in Torghast), an eight-boss Mythic mega-dungeon set in a bazaar of the mysterious Brokers, a new season of PvP content, and more. There’s no word on when this expansion drops, but patch 9.0.5 is currently in the game’s Public Test Realm.

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Arcade1Up is adding to its lineup of legacy cabinets with a new machine featuring 12 games from Midway’s heyday. The Midway Legacy Edition arcade cabinet was revealed alongside the first trailer for the upcoming Mortal Kombat movie. Arcade1Up already revealed three legacy cabinets at CES earlier this year–Capcom, Bandai Namco, and Atari–each of which also have 12 games.

The Midway Legacy Edition doesn’t have a release date or price just yet, but you can sign up on the company’s website to receive notifications on availability. The Bandai Namco cabinet is up for preorder for $400, so that probably gives you an idea of what to expect with the Midway model.

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Ubisoft has announced that Year 5 of For Honor kicks off on March 11 for all platforms with an unexpected crossover event featuring items themed after Yacht Club’s Shovel Knight.

From now until March 4, For Honor players can dress their characters in a bunch of Shovel Knight-themed content. This includes emotes, mood effects, outfits, ornaments, and symbols. Each piece is available in the in-game store for anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 steel.

Then, starting on March 11, For Honor Year 5 begins. Called the Year of the Covenants, the new season “continues the narrative arc that began in Year 4,” Ubisoft said in a press release. Players can expect the usual For Honor content drops when Year 5 starts. This includes things like two new playable heroes, added in-game events, and extra customization options.

Continue Reading at GameSpot