In two and a half months, Mortal Kombat 11 will hit the scene. Normally, NetherRealm Studios gives us about nine months to a year before the next big release, but with only four months between the announcement and launch, the studio has picked up the pace with the reveals.

Originally, NetherRealm’s Mortal Kombat 11 Kombat Kast live stream was supposed to happen last week, but due to weather, it was delayed. Now we’re all caught up and the inaugural episode has introduced one of the big returning characters: Kabal

Kabal was a bit overpowered in Mortal Kombat 9, so to hold him back a little bit, the developers have replaced his gas mask blast attack with a poison gas that weakens the opponent if they walk into the cloud. He also has a jetpack that allows air-dashes.

Let’s check out Kabal, the hook sword-wielding speedster:

Introduced in 1995’s Mortal Kombat 3, Kabal was a member of the Black Dragon syndicate who turned his back on crime and chose to fight it as a police officer. He and his partner, Kurtis Stryker, were overwhelmed by Shao Kahn’s invasion and Kabal ran afoul of a fire-breathing Kintaro. Burned beyond recognition, Kabal was rescued by Kano, who used Shang Tsung’s sorcery and makeshift Black Dragon technology to keep Kabal alive in hopes that he would return to the fold and fight under Shao Kahn’s banner. Kabal refused.

In the original timeline, Kabal became a vigilante until facing near-death at the hands of Mavado. Saved by Havik, Kabal chose to return to the criminal underworld and restarted the Black Dragon as its new leader. He and his new recruits eventually died during the Battle of Armageddon along with nearly all of the Mortal Kombat cast.

In the rebooted timeline, Kabal didn’t last so long. Shortly after joining the heroes, Kabal was one of many murdered by Queen Sindel. He was resurrected as a revenant, controlled by the whims of Quan Chi. Now, Quan Chi is dead, meaning Kabal’s fate is up in the air.

Due to the new game’s approach to time travel and timelines, you’re able to play as Kabal from before he was horribly scarred and fight without his trademark mask. It was also announced that D’vorah from Mortal Kombat X will be returning, though without any actual footage to go with that.

Mortal Kombat 11 will be released on April 23 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows.

In what will certainly come across as a surprising statement to many, Disney CEO Bob Iger stated that he’s actually happy with Disney’s partnership with EA. Why? Well, it seems to have something to do with his feelings that Disney has never really been that good at video games.

“We’re good at making movies and television shows and theme parks and cruise ships and the like, we’ve just never managed to demonstrate much skill on the publishing side of games,” said Iger during a recent earnings call. “We’ve had good relationships with some of those we’re licensing to, notably EA and the relationship on the Star Wars properties, and we’re probably going to stay on that side of the business and put our capital elsewhere.”

In the minds of gamers everywhere, this statement probably doesn’t make much sense. Even if you put aside the subjective feeling that EA’s recent Star Wars games are horrible compared to the Star Wars games of old (they are), there’s still the business-side of the relationship. EA hasn’t actually developed that many Star Wars games in recent years and one of their biggest games (Star Wars: Battlefront 2) featured such a controversial microtransaction system that Disney’s Bob Iger reportedly had to call EA and request a change. On top of that, EA has killed off some high-profile (and potentially incredible) Star Wars projects. 

Still, the sad truth of the matter is that Iger’s statement does make sense from Disney’s point of view. In the minds of Disney, the best thing about EA is that they’re a huge company that Disney can just offer a license to and (mostly) forget about it. If Disney isn’t really that concerned with the overall creative quality of the games that utilise their properties, it just significantly cheaper and easier to license them out to the biggest company that will have them. This point was driven home by the company stating that they expect to lose quite a bit of money on the Disney+ streaming service simply because they will lose the licensing fees they have with Netflix and other content providers.

That will probably offer no comfort to the legion of Star Wars gaming fans who are left to wonder whether or not we’ll ever get games like KOTOR 3. There was some hope that the success of Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS4 would inspire Disney to shop the Star Wars license, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. 

We suppose there’s always the hope that Jedi: Fallen Order turns out to be a worthwhile game. 

Despite the rumour mill strongly suggesting that it was going to land in our laps today, we still don’t know what the Star Wars: Episode IX title will be. Instead, what we got was some people taking to social media with their own amusing ideas about what the upcoming trilogy-closer should be called. 

Following on from Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens and Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, this upcoming ninth instalment in the space opera’s main numbered storyline is being directed by J.J. Abrams from a script by Abrams, Chris Terrio, Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly. This as-yet-untitled movie is one of our most anticipated upcoming flicks and we are, at this stage, chomping at the bit like rabid mutts, desperate for extra info or even – imagine it! – an actual trailer.  

For now, while we have no clue about the title and not even the slightest whiff of a promo vid, we’ve compiled some of our favourite jokey title ideas from the internet at large. Prepare to raise a wry smile, or perhaps even break into a light chuckle…

One of the best jokes, which even Mark Hamill got involved with, harks back to a background gag from an episode of Futurama…

And, as for Balance Of The Force, which sounded like the most likely rumour at one stage, it looks like that idea has been quashed…

When we do eventually find out the title for Star Wars: Episode IX, we’ll be sure to let you know. In the meantime, what’s your guess? Let us know in the comments below…

With The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part due to assemble in cinemas on February 8th, fans around the globe will shortly be introduced to some cool new locations, vehicles and characters from Emmet’s extended universe. This, of course, means there are awesome tie-in LEGO kits available in real life. And the biggest kit from this new range, by quite some distance, is the epic ‘Welcome to Apocalypseburg!’ set.

With a brick-count that clocks in at several thousand, this kit recreates an apocalyptic location from the film that is built around the ruins of the Statue Of Liberty. It comes with 12 brand new minifigures and packs in loads of neat design flourishes and fun moving parts. The RPP price tag of £279.99 might mean that this kit is usually out of your reach, but we’re pleased to report that Den Of Geek can help on that front: we’re teaming up with LEGO to give away two ‘Welcome to Apocalypseburg!’ sets!

You can learn more about the kit, including such fun facts as the exact number of pieces it includes, by clicking over to The LEGO Shop website. Or, for more details on the competition, read on…

To be in with a chance of winning, all you have to do is correctly answer one simple question in the box below. Two winners will be chosen at random from the people that answered correctly, with each winner receiving a ‘Welcome To Apocalypseburg!’ kit. You must be aged 16 or over to enter, and the competition is only open to residents of the UK and Ireland. Here we go, then…

This competition began on February 6th 2019 at 2pm GMT, and it will close at 5pm GMT on February 11th 2019. The winners will be contacted by email before 5pm GMT on 15th February 2019. Postage costs will be covered by Den Of Geek.

Whether or not you’re lucky enough to win one, you can check out the full range of tie-in kits from The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part over on The LEGO Shop website.

This review contains spoilers.

5.13 Goldfaced

Goldfaced combines elements of a fish-out-of-water heist story, introduces a new comic book-based meta-villain, and plays matchmaker and relationship therapist across multiple earths all in one plot crockpot that is light on costumes or superpowers, and contains a pinch of Eobard Thawne for flavouring. Sadly, it also adds the tiring Cicada storyline, which makes this a tasty story, but one with an incredibly overused ingredient, like truffles.

After the attempt in the previous episode Memorabilia to incept Orlin Dwyer/Cicada’s niece failed, and instead created a child villain to deal with later on, Barry decided Cisco’s cure – which is apparently good to go – should be administered to the serial killer. But they need a neuro stasis field generator, naturally, to hold him in place long enough for the cure to take effect. And, the only place to get one is at a weapons market run by the gangster Goldface.

Enter Ralph Dibny, who will take Barry into the criminal underworld to get one. With their powers dampened by stalling bracelets, they are vulnerable. So Barry just needs to act cool, let Ralph talk, and not blow their cover. So, of course he screws that up. We love Barry for his unwavering goodness, but sometimes he should get his head out of his Flash – suit, that is. Certainly the ends of stopping Cicada justify the means of shopping at the bad guy weapons mart. Yes, the CCPD-killing guns should be kept off the street, but Dwyer nearly killed Barry’s daughter (oh, and a lot of metas), so it was a stretch for even him not to be able to contain his heroism long enough to get the generator from Goldface.

Still, Barry’s overzealousness in the attempt to buy all the guns – how good is his credit line? – does lead to a satisfying scene of him and Ralph facing down Goldface, and his goons. Barry gets to channel his inner Heisenberg, and creates the mysterious character of The Chemist (a minor character seen in Batman: The Animated Series).

I enjoyed Goldface’s market, and would like to spend more time there. And his heist to rob a hospital of a 3D organ printer started out lame, and with far too many goons with guns (and very bright flashlights). But it opens up to a really fun sequence of the de-powered Ralph and Barry having a full-on video game shoot out. I don’t know where Barry learned to shoot (and why he can’t apply some of his Flash fighting manoeuvres in normal speed), but Rob Zombie “Dragula” backed scene tickled me. Extra kudos to the show for allowing the characters to put their guns on stun and exchange blaster fire without killing the henchmen.

The face-off with Goldface was a great capper to the action. Shooting a bad guy mid villain-speech is always a kick, and the over-the-top treatment of a baddie covered in gold with a gold-chain whip? I am so there for that. Also, Goldface has some history. A villain who originally vexed Green Lantern in the comics before annoying Flash, he was married to the rogue Amunet Black. Anyhow, along with hearing some great gold-plated puns, our heroes stopped Goldface while reminding us of the highly conductive properties of the element (that’s in addition to the moral of the ends not justifying the means). While not surprising he lived, I almost wondered if they’d kill him considering the oozing gold from his eye sockets.

The subplot between Nora and Sherloque, and Renee Adler (Kimberly Williams-Paisley of Father Of The Bride, and Cavanagh’s How To Eat Fried Worms costar) was delightful. Even if Nora is manipulating Sherloque’s emotions (must be some evil Eobard Thawne influence), it was refreshing to get time between them. Williams-Paisley, as five versions of the same woman from different earths, is a joy to watch. Nora’s attempted relationship therapy/ex-wife intervention left me wanting more from this League of Super Adler Friends out there. More importantly, she also gives depth to Sherloque. And it gives him a renewed interest in stopping Cicada (and off of Nora’s case) once he learns Adler is a meta.

Just as an aside: I love that a) Superman followed through and delivered alimony to Earth-38 Adler, as promised in the Elseworlds crossover, and b) the bounty-hunting, alimony-collecting Breacher might return if Sherloque doesn’t pay up.

The Thawne scenes presented intriguing thoughts for me. It seems as if Nora is leaning pretty readily on ol’ Eobard’s guidance pretty heavily. Despite her anger at him, is she becoming more of a mentee to the mentor? Also, since the timeline is malleable, and little alterations can lead to big changes, how might Eobard use that to his advantage later on? Additionally, it is pretty, pretty, pretty interesting Thawne knows so much about Sherloque – and all the other Wells’ he has shared a face with.

With so much fun to be had this week, the Iris subplot was frustrating. Set aside the fact a journalist is baited by an online troll (a daily occurrence), but she goes from making a smart decision to meet an interview subject in public to pursuing Dwyer at the house he’s living in. Chris Klein is marginally better in the episode, but Iris’ “lead poisoning” ruse doesn’t work. Thankfully, she has a solid badass moment while attempting to escape Cicada, and stabs him.

Can we talk about The Flash’s Cicada problem? Cicada could be a meta-killer akin to Batman, a misguided killer on a mission to avenge his family, and protect others. He could almost be sympathetic, and given more to do than glower. And, it would be interesting if Cicada had more of a code, and rules he followed. If he did, it would make for a compelling encounter with Iris this week. He could realise she is onto him, and choose to break his own rules to serve his mission. Or he might instead let her go, or imprison her until his killing is done. Hell, he could have given Iris an amazing interview so the growing anti-metas of Central City may believe him to be a hero.

There is so much to be done with this character, and enough to justify keeping him around as a threat. Instead, the wheels are spinning, and even though it’s The Flash, those wheels are moving slowly.

Even without Barry suiting up until the very end, and minus too many superpowers on display, Goldfaced is a lean story, if quite fun. But the ongoing Cicada thread is a buzzkill.

Read Mike’s review of the previous episode, Memorabilia, here.