A lot of great cultural exports have come from Britain--like The Beatles, Bovril, and Shaun of the Dead--and one of its finest is easily Wallace and Gromit. Often seen as the gold standard in the art of claymation, the iconic duo has starred in several shorts and a feature-length film over the years, and if you're looking to own some cracking good entertainment, you can check out this extremely limited box set coming out soon. Only 5,000 copies of Wallace and Gromit: The Complete Cracking Collection are being made, and this is priced at $120 ahead of its December 10 release.

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Inside, you'll find the following Wallace and Gromit specials:

• A Grand Day Out
• The Wrong Trousers
• A Close Shave
• A Matter of Loaf and Death
• Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
• Cracking Contraptions

The first four Wallace and Gromit specials have been remastered in 4K and can be found on that UHD-format disc. If you don't have a 4K player, there is a standard Blu-ray disc with all the shorts included, as well as The Curse of the Were-Rabbit film and Cracking Contraptions--a series of micro-episodes about Wallace's weird ideas to make your life easier. You'll also get audio commentaries on all four of the short films, an interview with creators Nick Park and Peter Lord, a stills gallery, and several behind-the-scenes features for a grand collection of content, overall.

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While the 2024 iteration of Fortnitemares hasn't yet been announced, this week's Fortnite update included a loading screen that appears to be the key art for this year's version of Fortnite's annual spooky event--and it spills the beans on six new skins you'll be able to buy this October. The headliners are two new horror movie collab skins: Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Billy the Puppet from Saw.

Fortnite's newest Fortnitemares event looks packed with horror collabs.

On top of that, there are five other previously unrevealed new skins here. There's a new purple version of Guff, a new remix of Red Knight that glows purple, a pumpkin remix of Ultima Knight, a witchy new iteration of Lexa, and a spooky new version of Marshmello. Considering how Epic has handled the Ariana Grande and J Balvin Icon skins lately, it's very possible that this new Marshmello is an entirely new skin that will have to be purchased separately, rather than a new style for the existing Marshmello skin.

We don't really know much else about what's in store for Fortnitemares this year since nothing has been announced yet, but it usually involves at least one existing map location being converted into a new creepy place, and a mythic gameplay item of some sort--leakers indicate it may be an exploding Saw puppet on a tricycle.

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A small update has arrived to both Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone. The patch notes reveal buffs for several Modern Warfare 2 weapons. Other small changes include spawn adjustments for Shipment map variants in multiplayer and improvements for challenges in Warzone.

For Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer, the update adjusts the spawns for Shipment maps to make them more consistent across the different variants. The developer says this change was based on player feedback and analytics, which revealed the spawn quality was better on the Shipmas version of the map, so now all Shipment maps should have spawns more in line with the Christmas variant.

The crossbow from Modern Warfare 2 received a significant buff to make it more viable to use. The changes include an 81% increase to the bolt velocity, a 70% decrease to bolt-gravity influence, and a small increase to the neck-damage multiplier. The update also removes the aim-down-sight spread for the Brightblaze, Blastcap, and Caustic 20" bolt types.

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Say hello to Big Fan Games, a new spin-off label of Devolver Digital that will publish titles based on movies, TV shows, comic books, and more. The team wants to take a "new approach" to licensed games after working on titles like John Wick Hex and Hellboy: Web of Wyrd.

No new games were unveiled with the introduction of Big Fan Games. The publisher notes that it wants to work with indie developers on games that aren't just "marketing tie-ins" to help launch a movie or comic book. Instead, Big Fan Games wants its titles to do their own thing.

Those projects could possibly be collaborations with Disney or Dark Horse Comics, for example. Big Fan Games namechecked those two companies--along with Rebellion and Lionsgate--and added that it's "actively working with these partners right now."

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After completing The Promised, Broken main story quest in Starfield Shattered Space, you get to choose what sub-house to help. There are three houses within House Va'ruun you can help in order to gain access to the Scaled Citadel. One of those houses is House Veth'aal, whose headquarters are located in The Keep within Va'ruun'kai.

When you arrive at The Keep, you can enter and speak to the Ministry of State and the head of House Veth'aal, Viktor. Viktor will state that his son, Vaeric, has decided to give up his claim to House Veth'aal, which makes him a traitor and sentenced to death. To get House Veth'aal's help for the main story in Shattered Space, you need to find Vaeric and decide his fate. Here's how to do that.

How to locate Vaeric in Starfield

After leaving The Keep once you're done speaking with Viktor, you can head over to Herald's Rest. This is a bar in Dazra that Vaeric was known to frequent. Here, there are three NPCs you need to speak with to try and get information on Vaeric's whereabouts. The first NPC is Bianca Latif, an old friend of Vaeric's who is near a railing in Herald's Rest.

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A new era for the world of Thedas begins this month in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and Dark Horse is planning to celebrate the launch of the game with several new collectibles. Not only are there some exquisitely detailed art books to look forward to, but fans can also get their hands on some fine art in the form of a sixth-scale statue and a map of the Dragon Age world so that you'll never get lost while adventuring. These will be available through the Dark Horse Direct store.

See at Dark Horse Direct World of Thedas Map PrintWorld of Thedas map printGallery

First up, there's the $60 World of Thedas map that you can frame and hang on your wall. Illustrated by Francesca Baerald, this is an ornate piece of art that shows off the various lands of Dragon Age, and each location is enhanced by illustrations of characters, monsters, and dragons. It reimagines the land as it exists in Dragon Age: The Veilguard and it measures an impressive 24 inches in width and 18 inches in height. This is expected to arrive by Winter 2025, and preorders for it will close on November 5.

Neve Sixth-Scale Statue -- $200Neve Galklus sixth-scale statueGallery

Then there's a lovely replica of Neve Gallus, the Tevinter mage who works as a private investigator out of Minrathous and is one of the companions who'll join you in the new game. This statue features her in an alert pose, and it'll catch your eye with all of its small details. From her ornate leather armor to her snake-inspired fashion accessories, this replica of Neve has a commanding presence.

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After its original release on mobile devices, Fantasian is finally coming to consoles and PC on December 5. Fantasian is developed by Mistwalker and written and produced by Hironobu Sakaguchi, who famously directed a bunch of the best Final Fantasy games, including the original Final Fantasy VII. It also sports music from Nobuo Uematsu, another alumnus of the best FF games. Up to now, though, you could only get Fantasian on iOS, macOS, and tvOS, but the turn-based RPG is finally coming to consoles and PC. Fantasian Neo Dimension preorders are now live, starting with the Switch edition on Amazon.

Fantasian Neo Dimension Preorder Bonuses

Preordering Fantasian gets you the Vibran Secret Stone, an in-game equipable item that increases the amount of experience points awarded to characters in battle, allowing you to level up faster as you play.

Preorder Fantasian: Neo Dimension $50

Fantasian: Neo Dimension is available for preorder on Amazon for Nintendo Switch.

Fantasian is getting physical editions on Switch and PlayStation 5, but currently they're hard to come by at retailers. You can also preorder to game digitally on the PlayStation Store and the Microsoft Store for the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions, and on Steam for the PC version.

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In Fantasian, players take on the role of Leo, an amnesiac protagonist journeying through the world to recover his memory and battle a strange mechanical infection known as "mechteria" that's slowly destroying the world. The game riffs on classic turn-based combat, mixing modern sensibilities with the classic gameplay of 1990s RPGs for which Sakaguchi is known.

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Amazon's popular Prime Big Deal Days sale is making a return on October 8-9, but you’ll find a surprising number of great discounts available ahead of the big event. Square Enix games are a notable inclusion in these discounts, as you’ll find hit games like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Octopath Traveler 2 available for some of their best prices of the year.

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At just $50, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is down to its lowest price ever. Along with the game, this version includes a PS5 controller skin featuring Cloud and Sephiroth. Our Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth review gave it an 8/10, citing its impactful side quests, unique combat system, and memorable cast of characters as highlights. It'll take close to 50 hours to roll credits on the adventure, so consider picking it up if you need a deep RPG to keep you busy this fall.

Another great price cut is for Octopath Traveler 2. Typically $60, it now matches its best price ever of $30. The deal applies to both the PS4 and PS5 versions of the game. There’s no need to have played the first game in the series to enjoy Octopath Traveler 2, as they tell standalone stories--so even if you missed out on the original, you can take advantage of this impressive discount.

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The Duel is a side quest you can begin fairly early on in the Starfield Shattered Space DLC. The quest starts by listening to a heated conversation between three individuals in the main courtyard of Dazra, the sacred city on Va'ruun'kai. After listening in to the conversation, you learn that all three of the individuals are siblings, with there being two brothers and one sister.

Once you talk to the siblings, you understand why they are having a heated discussion. One of the brothers, Amila, desecrated their mother's urn and this caused the other brother, Borhal, to challenge him to a duel. The Duel allows you to determine the outcome of the brothers by working with their sister, Danika, so what choices should you make?

Can you stop the duel from happening in Starfield?

First and foremost, it appears impossible to stop the duel from taking place. The first part of The Duel requires you to visit with Danika and then the two brothers, who are both hell-bent on facing the other in combat. However, Danika wants you to try and convince them to see reason.

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Tony Hawk's Pro Skater celebrated its 25-year anniversary on September 29, 2024. Below, we look back at how it began, and its influence as an unconventional platformer.

The 1990s were a wild time for skateboarding. Professionals like Tony Hawk were pushing the limits of what seemed possible by nailing unbelievable stunts for the first time in history--the loop of death, a 16ft ollie between water towers, and the first 900. Little did we know that these stunts and the people behind them would become part of the foundation of one of the greatest platformers of all time: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.

The 1999 classic has officially turned 25 this year. Its legacy of incredible arcade gameplay--the one that spawned eight sequels, millions in sales, and countless kickflips and heelflips--is still as prevalent today as it was when the X Games were at the height of their popularity. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater brought skateboarding to a new level of cultural significance as people of all ages, kids especially, found their way to real-world skateboarding after shredding through the digital remains of an old abandoned mall.

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Fortnite has slowly become the ultimate Celebrity Deathmatch game featuring, collaborations with Pixar, Marvel, anime series, and even real-life celebrities like Will Smith, Eminem, Lady Gaga, and now--possibly--Shaquille O'Neal. According to a leak by the famous Fortnite leaker ShiinaBR, Epic Games has teamed up with the basketball and entertainment icon to release cosmetics based on him to Fortnite on October 4.

Shaq, who sometimes goes under the alias of DJ Diesel, posted a clip of his latest set to TikTok Monday night. You can briefly see the screens at the venue showed brief clips of Shaq's apparent in-game Fortnite model (warning for those with photosensitivity).

FORTNITE X SHAQ - OCTOBER 4 pic.twitter.com/vPIQwftc21

— Shiina (@ShiinaBR) September 30, 2024

"Toronto...last night was EPIC ;)", Shaq posted along with the video, with the not-so-subtle nod to the Fortnite maker.

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John Wick was first released 10 years ago, spawning a handful of sequels, a TV spinoff, and even a few video games. You’ll soon be able to relive the original film with the upcoming John Wick: Titans of Cult 4K Steelbook, which is loaded with bonus features, exclusive steelbook packaging, and collectible materials. The Amazon exclusive is now up for preorder ahead of its November 5 release.

Preorder John Wick: Titans of Cult 4K Steelbook$70John Wick: Titans of Cult 4K Steelbook

This bundle includes 4K, Blu-ray, and digital formats of the original John Wick. The full list of collectibles and bonus features is yet to be announced, though it does come with a stylish steelbook featuring John Wick on one side and his lovable dog on the other.

Preorder at Amazon Bonus Content

For now, we expect the Titans of Cult 4K Steelbook to offer all the same content as the previously released John Wick 4K Blu-ray. These are spread across two discs--we’ve noted when the content is offered in 4K instead of standard Blu-ray:

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Nearly two years ago, word broke that Henry Cavill was leaving The Witcher after Season 3, with The Hunger Games' Liam Hemsworth on deck to take over the leading role of Geralt of Rivia. And while Hemsworth wasn't watching the show prior to joining it, he was already very familiar with the character and his world thanks to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

"I hadn't seen the TV show and I hadn't read the books, but I played the video game like ten years ago or something," said Hemsworth during an appearance on Live with Kelly and Mark via IGN. "It's still, to this day, one of the best video games of all time, and Netflix came to me almost two years ago now and said that they wanted me to step in and take over, and I was really excited by taking on that character because I was a fan of the video game."

However, Hemsworth did note that he didn't agree to join the show until he went back and watched the previous seasons in addition to reading the original books by Andrzej Sapkowski. Last year, Hemsworth said that he had been "devouring the books" while physically preparing himself to take over the role.

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This year has already been a wild ride for Tango Gameworks, the developer behind the fan-favorite rhythm-action game Hi-Fi Rush. Microsoft shut down the studio in May, only for Krafton to purchase Tango Gameworks in August as part of a deal that transferred the IP rights for Hi-Fi Rush to the developer's new owner. And according to Krafton's head of development Maria Park, Hi-Fi Rush 2 was already in the works when Tango was initially shut down.

Park told GamesIndustry.biz that Krafton "had big fans of Hi-Fi Rush and other titles, and I knew they were working on Hi-Fi Rush 2 when we started talking. We thought we could carry on that legacy and offer more creative ways to keep the game updated."

She went on to relate that Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer was very supportive of Krafton's bid to save Tango and acquire the Hi-Fi Rush franchise, which should ensure that the sequel will come to fruition. During the interview, Krafton also said that there are more than the previously reported 50 employees of Tango who came back to the revived studio.

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Deadpool and Wolverine is the biggest movie of the year earning $1.13 billion at the global box office and will become available rent or purchase on digital platforms, such as Prime Video and Apple TV+ starting today, October 1. The movie will release on 4K Blu-ray and DVD later on in the month on October 22. What better way to celebrate the release than for Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) to educate the home viewers on Testicular Cancer Awareness month in an exclusive clip.

Marvel Studios provided GameSpot with a first look at a clip from the bonus features of the release. Even though Testicular Cancer Awareness Month is actually in April, it's never too late to get yourself checked out and tested as star Hugh Jackman exclaims after walking away from his "routine" self-examination led by the Merc with a mouth.

Deadpool's alter-ego mercenary Wade Wilson was diagnosed with terminal cancer during the events of the first movie, which led to an experimental procedure that unlocked his latent mutant ability. As Jackman and Deadpool both explain in the clip, testicular cancer is one of the most treatable cancers if caught early enough.

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PlayStation's 30-anniversary collection presale came and went, selling out within minutes, and this drove demand even higher. With the limited amount being only 12,300 units, some parts of the collection like controllers and PlayStation Portable have made their way to eBay with prices reaching wild amounts of money. There's even a seller who, for $50,000, will personally drive it to you...once he gets his new car. Japan wants to be different though.

In response to the demand and wanting to strike down the number of scalpers, Sony has decided to restrict preorders to those who can prove they are previous PlayStation owners and played games for a minimum of 30 hours over the last 10 years.

Sony Announces PlayStation 30th-Anniversary Collection Of Nostalgic Consoles And ControllersSee More

If you've signed into a PS4 or PS5 console between February 22, 2014, and September 19, 2024 you're in. Pre-orders are now open for the console on the Japanese PlayStation store, and those who want to buy one simply need to use a PlayStation Network login with a Sony account registered in Japan.

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The Office is being remade in Australia, with a new series set to premiere this October. Ahead of the show's debut on Prime Video, series star Felicity Ward said The Office creator Ricky Gervais himself approved her casting and the decision to make the show focus on a female lead. Ward also talked about how she did "zero" preparation for the role of Hannah Howard, because she felt the character already matched her style and personality.

"Ricky Gervais has approved a female lead; he's very excited about a female lead--just in case anyone is angry," Ward said at a recent event, as reported by Variety.

She went on to jokingly say she is feeling "pretty chill" ahead of the show's debut in Australia and the UK on October 18. "English people and people that love The Office, they're like, 'Hey, whatever you do with it is fine,'" she said with a laugh.

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In case you've somehow missed it, the internet's new obsession is Moo Deng, an adorable pygmy hippo calf from the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand. After taking over social media, Moo Deng fandom has now hit MMO Final Fantasy 14, where in-game prices for the game's hippo calf minion are hitting new extremes.

As picked up by GamesRadar, X user Cerulean posted a screenshot of a market-board search for the hippo calf, showing that prices for the minion had jumped from 17,400 gil in early September to almost 300,000 gil by the end of the month.

Square Enix have even gotten in on the fun, posting a gif of the hippo calf in a scene reminiscent of the Khao Kheow Zoo's viral videos of Moo Deng.

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Sony's plans to augment its game-development process with AI and machine learning is already underway, the company revealed in its 2024 Company Report. In one example cited in the report, Sony used machine learning to augment the subtitling process for certain languages in Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

Sony has revealed it used voice-recognition software to automatically synchronize subtitles with their corresponding voice lines in certain languages, dramatically reducing the speed of the subtitling process. Spider-Man 2 launched with text support for 27 languages, with 12 of those also available in fully dubbed audio.

The company said that this use of machine learning, a subset of AI computing, was part of a broader plan to "[deliver] our IP rapidly and at low cost to a broader range of fans." The segment of the report focuses on technologies that have the potential to improve efficiency in development processes, including AI and machine learning as well as real-time 3D processing, and sensing and capturing technology.

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Last year, Epic Games prevailed in court against Google in an antitrust case that alleged the Google Play Store is an illegal monopoly. Now, Epic has filed another lawsuit against Google that accuses the company of colluding with Samsung in order to make it difficult for users to install the Epic Games Store on their mobile devices.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney made the announcement on X, and his company posted a lengthy explanation for the case on Epic's official site. Essentially, Epic claims that Google directed Samsung to use its Auto Blocker feature to force anyone who attempts to get the Epic Games Store app to go through several unnecessary steps to download it on their phones.

We’ve filed new antitrust and Unfair Competition Law claims against Google and Samsung. A jury found Google’s practices illegal and we’re concerned that Google is encouraging Android hardware makers and carriers to adopt and continue Google’s unlawful practices in advance of the… https://t.co/gBRFYgripd

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) September 30, 2024

While the ease of downloading and using the Epic Games Store app is a big part of the case, the larger issue between Google and Epic is over the 30% fees the former charges for games and apps sold through Google Play. Epic has had the same issue with Apple's App Store, but without prevailing in its court case against Apple itself. The Epic Games Store allows Epic to set its own prices and serve as a competitor to both Google Play and the App Store.

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