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Madman's Maze

New Releases - Wed, 07/02/2025 - 17:00

MISDIE: Into the Game

New Releases - Wed, 07/02/2025 - 17:00

Seinfeld Complete Series On 4K Blu-Ray Drops To Best Price Yet Ahead Of Prime Day

Game News - Wed, 07/02/2025 - 14:27
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Seinfeld fans can save big on the complete series on 4K or 1080p Blu-ray at Amazon ahead of Prime Day 2025. Sony finally released the legendary '90s sitcom on Blu-ray last December, but adding the remastered complete series to your collection in time for Festivus would've set you back $250. At the moment, you can get Seinfeld: The Complete Series for $167 on 4K Blu-ray or $103 for 1080p. This is by far the lowest price yet for the 4K collection and just about matches the briefly offered all-time low for the standard Blu-ray ($101 in April).

And if you love Seinfeld, you may also be interested in checking out Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Series on DVD while it's on sale for the pretty, pretty, pretty nice price of $69.

Seinfeld: The Complete Series on 4K Blu-ray $167.59 (was $250)

Seinfeld: The Complete Series remasters all 180 episodes in 4K resolution with support for HDR10. The 4K remaster retains the show's original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Audio was upgraded to DTS-HD 5.1 surround sound.

With 180 episodes at around 22 minutes each, all nine seasons provide roughly 66 hours of watch time. In addition to every episode from Seinfeld's remarkable run, this box set comes with roughly three hours of bonus features, including deleted scenes, bloopers, and featurettes. Select episodes also have audio commentaries.

The 4K edition of Seinfeld: The Complete Series has one exclusive bonus feature: a two-part roundtable discussion featuring the cast.

Seinfeld's 4K Blu-ray collection was originally priced at $250, which is quite a lot, but 4K TV collections of this size often cost $200 or more out of the gate. Another '90s TV juggernaut, Friends, released on 4K a few months before Seinfeld for the same $250 price. For comparison, Friends: The Complete Series on 4K Blu-ray is currently available for $133.

See at Amazon Seinfeld: The Complete Series on Blu-ray $103.54 (was $150)

The Blu-ray edition of Seinfeld: The Complete Series includes all 180 episodes in 1080p resolution. You'll miss out on HDR, and the show is displayed in widescreen format with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. This will be familiar to anyone who has watched Seinfeld on Netflix. If you want era-accurate presentation, you'll want to opt for the 4K edition instead. The audio is the same across both sets (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1).

The 1080p Blu-ray edition comes with all of the extras found in the 4K collection except for the roundtable discussion. As mentioned, the roundtable is exclusive to the 4K edition.

Seinfeld's complete run released on DVD back in 2018. If you'd like to watch the series in standard. definition--ideally on a CRT TV--you can pick up the DVD box set for $75 (was $120) at Amazon.

See at Amazon Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Series (DVD) $69 (was $165)

As great as Seinfeld was, series co-creator Larry David followed it up with an even better television show: Curb Your Enthusiasm. If you haven't watched it, Larry David stars as himself, the co-creator of Seinfeld. Not only is David a terrific writer, he's one of the funniest actors around.

Curb Your Enthusiasm's similar style of humor, wit, and outlandish antics make it feel like a spiritual successor to Seinfeld. But since Curb aired on HBO, it had the freedom to cross lines a network TV show like Seinfeld can't get away with.

Curb Your Enthusiasm debuted in 2000, two years after Seinfeld wrapped, and ended its run last year with a total of 120 episodes across 12 seasons.

You can stream the complete series on Max, buy digital episodes from platforms like Prime Video, or pick up all 12 seasons on DVD. Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Series is discounted to $69 (was $165) at Amazon.

Unfortunately, Curb hasn't made its way to 4K Blu-ray or even 1080p Blu-ray. The original $165 price for the 24-disc DVD box set was rather high, but for nearly $100 less? As Larry would say, that's "pretty, pretty, pretty good."

See at Amazon See more sitcom box set deals Elaine bought the 4K Blu-ray box set of a show called Seinfeld!

More Gaming, Tech, and Entertainment Deals & Preorders

New Lego Star Wars AT-ST Is The Most Affordable Ultimate Collector Series Model

Game News - Wed, 07/02/2025 - 08:23
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The next Ultimate Collector Series set in Lego's Star Wars collection focuses on one of the most beloved transport vehicles from the original trilogy: the AT-ST Walker. Slated to launch August 1, the 1,513-piece AT-ST model kit for adults is the cheapest member of the exclusive UCS club that you can find in stores today. You can preorder the Lego Star Wars: AT-ST Ultimate Collector Series set for $200 at Amazon.

Lego Star Wars: AT-ST Ultimate Collector Series (1,513 Pieces) $200 | Releases August 1

The All Terrain Scout Transport, better known as AT-ST, has been part of the Star Wars movie universe since The Empire Strikes Back. The 1,513-piece building set creates a detailed replica that looks quite similar to the AT-ST from Return of the Jedi.

The completed build measures 14.5 x 8.5 x 8.5 inches and has multiple interactive components, including an openable top hatch covering the cockpit, a rotating head, viewport shutters, and adjustable laser cannons. The AT-ST is well-known for its unique gait that resembles a chicken. Lego's AT-ST has articulated legs, so you can move it around like a real chicken walker.

As an Ultimate Collector Series set, this AT-ST has a myriad of small details that you won't find on transport walkers in Lego's playsets. The spacious two-person cockpit has finer details that make it more aligned with its appearance in the movies. UCS builds also take a more thoughtful approach when it comes to layering and visible studs, and the promotional images reflect that here. The build process is generally more complex with an Ultimate Collector Series set, so the AT-ST and UCS sets are recommended for experienced builders ages 18 and up.

Like all UCS Star Wars builds and other large-scale display models, the AT-ST comes with an information plaque and a minifigure. Appropriately, the minifigure for this kit is an AT-ST Driver.

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Lego Star Wars: AT-ST UCS (2025)

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How To Get Gimmighoul In Pokemon Go

Game News - Wed, 07/02/2025 - 08:21

Pokemon Go is celebrating its birthday with a special ninth anniversary event until July 6, and as part of the festivities, you'll have a chance to get the rare Gimmighoul. The Coin Hunter Pokemon is typically hard to find in the mobile game, but during this event, you'll be able to catch some by completing Research tasks. What's more, you may even come across a shiny one.

To help you add the elusive Pokemon to your collection, we've put together this guide detailing how to catch and evolve Gimmighoul. Be sure to also check out our Pokemon Go July 2025 events guide for a look at everything happening in the game this month.

Table of Contents [hide]How To Get Gimmighoul

Aside from trading, there are two main methods of getting Gimmighoul in Pokemon Go. The first involves the Coin Bag, an item you receive after connecting the mobile game with Pokemon Scarlet or Violet, while the second is to simply wait for the Pokemon to appear during special events.

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How To Start Red Dead Online's Zombie Mission And All Strange Tales Of The West

Game News - Wed, 07/02/2025 - 07:12

Rockstar Games has released a new content update in Red Dead Online that offers four new Telegram missions for players to complete. The Telegram missions are called the "Strange Tales of the West," and there are four missions you can complete in this set. The missions are centered around zombies, science, and robots, so there's certainly some variety compared to the other missions on offer in Red Dead Online. For longtime Red Dead fans, this marks the game's return to a stranger side not often seen since Undead Nightmare, the standalone zombies-themed storyline set in the world of the original game.

The four new Telegram missions give 3X gold, RDO$, and XP through August 4, making them worth your time. However, you first need to know how to start each of the four Strange Tales of the West missions before you can think about the rewards for completing them. We'll show you how to start each of the new Telegram missions and explain a little bit about what the missions entail.

Table of Contents [hide]Starting the Strange Tales of the West missions

Fortunately, it doesn't take much to get started with the Telegram missions, even if you're on a brand-new Red Dead Online account. All you have to do is follow the steps below to begin completing the missions:

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Death Stranding 2's Gameplay Is Too Good For Me To Waste My Time Watching Its Bad Cutscenes

Game News - Wed, 07/02/2025 - 06:53

I tried to play Death Stranding 2 the "right" way. For 12 hours, I had Sam hike all over Mexico and Australia delivering packages and battling brigands, and I watched every cutscene as I went. And despite being once again enamored with the moment-to-moment experience of being a porter in Death Stranding--it genuinely may be my favorite gameplay loop ever--I was having a bad time because I couldn't find any rhythm to the experience. The problem, as it was with the first game, is that Death Stranding 2 is full of cutscenes that are unnecessarily long, very poorly written, and don't fit together into any legitimate greater context.

And there are a lot of them. So many that I wasn't able to get into the flow of the gameplay experience. I'd have a great time walking around delivering stuff for an hour, then watch a 15-minute cutscene that sucked out all my energy, and then turn the game off because I needed a nap. Since I'd really been looking forward to playing Death Stranding 2, I was starting to find it disappointing, even though I was actually massively enjoying the "play" side of it.

My last straw was the introduction of the character called Rainy. Her first scene is a lengthy dance number in the rain that Sam watches. Her second scene is a tearful reunion with Sam's friends, who all apparently know Rainy very well even though none of them had ever mentioned her before. It isn't until her third scene that anyone tells Sam who Rainy is. But even then, her introduction doesn't matter--nothing about the gameplay experience changes at all as a result of meeting her, even though she's another magic person. These scenes look nice--very "cinematic," as it were--but they're completely devoid of substance or content. I was being forced to take breaks from the parts of the game I actually enjoyed so that I could watch some self-indulgent nonsense that I found incredibly grating.

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Super Nintendo-Inspired Steam Deck & Switch Docking Station Is 50% Off At Amazon

Game News - Wed, 07/02/2025 - 06:41
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Steam Deck, Windows handheld, and Nintendo Switch users have no shortage of USB-C docks to choose from, but one of the coolest options we've seen is currently on sale for only $25 (was $50) at Amazon. If you love retro Nintendo games, check out GuliKit's 7-in-1 Docking Station that pays homage to the Super Nintendo. Unsurprisingly, this SNES-inspired USB-C dock isn't officially licensed by Nintendo, but it captures the style and color scheme of the legendary 16-bit console rather well.

To get this early Prime Day deal, you need to check the 50% off coupon box below the price on the store page or click "clip coupon" after adding it to your cart. This deal is available until July 7 or until the dock sells out.

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Sony Partners With Blackpink's Lisa To Remind You The PS5 Exists

Game News - Wed, 07/02/2025 - 05:41

Sony has enlisted the help of Blackpink member and actor Lisa to help promote the PlayStation 5. She stars in a new promotional video set to her own song "Lifestyle," and the footage shows Lisa holding a PS5 controller as video from popular Sony games like Helldivers II, Marathon, and Astro Bot flash on the screen.

It's an eye-catching video and a big get for Sony, as Lisa and Blackpink are very popular. She also recently made her acting debut in the newest season of HBO's The White Lotus, playing Mook.

Lisa is just the latest celebrity that Sony has partnered with to help promote the PlayStation brand, as the company previously worked with basketball superstar LeBron James for a variety of accessories designed by the man himself. This was part of the PlayStation Playmakers program, which sees PlayStation team up with famous people for a variety of initiatives.

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Best Buy 4th of July Sale Is Live - Save On Video Games, TV, Accessories, & More

Game News - Wed, 07/02/2025 - 05:30

Best Buy's 4th of July Sale kicked off this week, making now a great time to shop for video games, electronics, and more. The site-wide sale, which runs until Sunday, July 6, offers major discounts on hundreds of products, both online and in-store. You can pick up PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch games for cheap, upgrade your PC gaming setup, or outfit your home theater with a new TV or soundbar. There are also deals on plenty of other electronics and accessories to explore--and to help you find the best deals in Best Buy's 4th of July Sale, we combed through the listings to put together this round-up of our favorites.

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While all the deals and price cuts we've included are available to all shoppers, My Best Buy Plus and Total subscribers can unlock additional discounts and exclusive deals as part of their membership. This includes up to $100 on select TVs and home audio equipment, $25 on select Windows PCs, $20 on Nintendo products, and more. Most of these extra offers are available for longer than the 4th of July Sale, with most ending on July 13; the Nintendo offer ends on August 3.

My Best Buy Plus membership costs $50/year and offers free standard and 2-day shipping on online orders, an extended 60-day return window, early access to select sale prices, and exclusive member deals. The My Best Buy Total membership is $180/year and includes all the aforementioned perks, plus enhanced customer support, 20% off repairs, free protection plans, and more. Joining at either membership level grants you immediate access to the bonus deals.

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Marvel Rivals Season 3 Adds Phoenix And Blade, Introduces New Villain

Game News - Wed, 07/02/2025 - 05:26

Jean Grey aka Phoenix has been rumored to be Marvel Rivals bound for a while, and now it's official. NetEase has confirmed that Phoenix will arrive in Marvel Rivals Season 3 alongside Blade, the popular vampire hunter. But their mutual enemy won't be Dracula or any of the undead. Instead, the heroes of Marvel Rivals will be going up against one of Venom's deadliest foes: Knull, the King in Black and the God of Symbiotes.

Season 3 is subtitled "The Abyss Awakens," and it's going to launch on July 11. Phoenix will be joining the roster right away, and she will be classified as a Duelist. Even without the Phoenix Force, Jean is an immensely powerful telepath and telekinetic mutant. With the Phoenix at her command, Jean is fire and life incarnate, and imbued with the power of creation itself.

Marvel Rivals' new map, Klyntar: Celestial Husk, as a link to the Guardians of the Galaxy's favorite hangout, Knowhere. The entirety of Knowhere was constructed inside the severed head of a dead Celestial. The Celestial Husk is the rest of that Celestial's body.

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Steam's New Performance Metrics Can Tell The Difference Between Real And Fake Frames

Game News - Wed, 07/02/2025 - 05:17

The difference between real and generated frames is a hotly contested topic, especially when it comes to their prevalence in PC gaming. Nvidia and AMD have made big improvements to their own solutions for predicting and simulating frames that can be inserted in-between real ones spat out by your GPU, and now Steam is making it a little easier to determine the difference between the two.

In an update to its in-game performance tools, Valve has added the ability to differentiate between frames generated by your hardware, and ones generated by your pick for frame generation, whether it's Nvidia's DLSS suite or AMD's FSR toolset. A new frames-per-second counter can show you what frame rate you're currently seeing with frame generation on, and what is actually being rendered by the game, which can be useful to determine issues with the technology.

Usually, issues arise with frame generation when your base frame rate isn't high enough, creating a mismatch between the responsiveness of the game and the fluidity you see on-screen. Valve's approach lets you determine if your settings are still a bit too demanding for your hardware by letting you see the true frame rate at a glance, so that you can make adjustments to fine-tune this balance.

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You Can "Break" The New Destiny 2 Expansion, But Bungie Wants You To

Game News - Wed, 07/02/2025 - 05:15

During a Destiny 2 livestream for The Edge of Fate, which is set for release on July 15, Bungie developers explained how they expect players to sequence break the new planet of Kepler--and that's intentional.

The new destination of Kepler is described as being similar in depth to the Rise of Iron content from the original game in 2016. It was complex with many puzzles and mysteries to solve. The Edge of Fate's content has been designed so that the campaign missions "slowly" lead players into unlocking different abilities and the varying levels of them, as well as uncovering more of Kepler's explorable areas.

There are puzzles to figure out, secrets to unlock, and particular routes that will be inaccessible without using abilities, such as Matterspark, to shrink down and traverse through vents or hidden paths. During the stream, Bungie developers explained that this was done in order to teach players that it's necessary to look at and think about the world around them in a different way.

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Amazon Prime Members Get These 7 Free Games In July

Game News - Wed, 07/02/2025 - 03:00

Amazon has revealed the PC games that'll be coming to Prime Gaming in May, and this month, there are seven games that have been announced. Admittedly, this is a small selection when compared to previous months, and the majority of these games are probably ones that you haven't heard of before.

What is worth noting is that Amazon added bonus games last month--like Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered, Toem, and Saints Row 4--as part of the lead-up to Prime Day, and Amazon is teasing that it'll have more great offers for subscribers on the titular day.

As a reminder, all of the free games that you claim through Prime Gaming are yours to keep forever, even if your subscription expires. If you aren't a member, you can sign up for Amazon Prime for as little as one month to take advantage of the subscription and the freebies offered through it. If you're looking to get some great deals on games, Prime Day 2025 will take place from July 8-11 this year.

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Street Fighter Movie Finds Its M Bison, Fittingly On A Tuesday

Game News - Wed, 07/02/2025 - 02:46

The cast for the live-action Street Fighter movie continues to grow, as the project has just found its M Bison in the form of David Dastmalchian. The actor--who previously appeared in The Life of Chuck, The Dark Knight, and Late Night With the Devil--will be stepping into the boots of the iconic Street Fighter antagonist.

According to Deadline, Dastmalchian's reps have declined to comment, but this news comes amidst a flurry of recent casting news. Andrew Koji, Callina Liang, Noah Centineo, Jason Momoa, Roman Reigns, and Orville Peck are all linked to the project, and last week, it was announced that Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson will play one of Bison's top enforcers, heavyweight boxer Balrog.

In the Street Fighter games, M Bison typically serves as the final boss. Not just one of the most powerful brawlers in the series thanks to his mastery of Psycho Power, Bison also runs the criminal syndicate Shadaloo--an organization involved in all manner of illegal operations--as part of his plan to rule the world.

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Studios Shot Down A Crash Bandicoot Movie, Says Sega Of America CEO

Game News - Wed, 07/02/2025 - 02:46

Crash Bandicoot may not be as popular as he used to be, but three decades ago he was one of PlayStation's first breakout original characters. But when former Sony executive Shuji Utsumi attempted to get Hollywood interested in making a Crash Bandicoot movie, he was given the cold shoulder by film executives.

Utsumi--who is currently the CEO of Sega of America--told The Game Business about his attempt to bring Crash Bandicoot to the big screen. Despite the success of the games--from 1996 to 2010, Sony released a Crash-related game nearly every year--no one seemed to share Utsumi's vision for what the film could be.

"When I started to get involved in the video game business, I picked up Crash Bandicoot and started asking some of the movie studios if they were interested in turning that property into a movie," recalled Utsumi. "But I was treated like, 'hey, video games is like a toy business.' They didn't really take it seriously."

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Mecha Break Cross-Play And Cross-Saves Explained

Game News - Wed, 07/02/2025 - 02:21

If you're a fan of piloting mechs around and blowing stuff up, you've probably had your eye on free-to-play shooter Mecha Break. This third-person action title features five classes and multiple chaotic modes, promising plenty of frenetic shootouts within an alternate future. It's fast, fun, and easy to dive into, so it's all but certain to remain a popular multiplayer option for fans of the genre.

And since Mecha Break is available on both Xbox and PC (with a PS5 version on the way at an unspecified later date), you may find that you want to team up with a friend who uses a different platform than you. That's where cross-platform functionality comes in. We've got some good news and bad news for you below, so let's dive in and take a look at how Mecha Break handles cross-platform play and cross-progression.

Is Mecha Break cross-play?

In a day and age where cross-play is becoming the norm rather than the exception, it would be somewhat of a shock to find that a free-to-play shooter doesn't have this beloved feature. Luckily, that's not a problem with Mecha Break. If you want to kick giant robot butts with your friends on other platforms, you'll be excited to know that Mecha Break fully supports cross-play between Xbox and PC.

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Young Americans Are Spending A Whole Lot Less On Video Games This Year

Game News - Wed, 07/02/2025 - 01:53

Perhaps responding to economic uncertainty and narrowing job prospects, young people in the United States are significantly cutting back on spending on video games compared to this time last year. While 18- to 24-year-olds aren't buying as much across a range of different categories, losses are concentrated in games.

New data published by market research firm Circana and reported by The Wall Street Journal suggests that young adults spent nearly 25% less on video game products in a four-week span in April than in the same timeframe last year. Other categories also dramatic drops: Accessories (down 18%), technology (down 14%), and furniture (down 12%). All categories combined, the 18-24 age group spent around 13% less than last year.

Games have been hit particularly hard by spending cutbacks (via Circana and WSJ).

This decrease is not reflected among older cohorts, whose spending has been mostly stable year-over-year. The WSJ report suggests that the economic context could be driving young adults to pull back; a tighter labor market, increased economic uncertainty, and student-loan payments restarting all may be contributing to an environment hostile to the spending habits of 18- to 24-year-olds in particular.

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Kojima Says Remote Working Is "Like A Fast Food Chain," Not Ideal For Making Games

Game News - Wed, 07/02/2025 - 01:51

Gaming industry veteran Hideo Kojima has commented on the semi-recent trend of remote working in the video game business, saying it might not be the ideal way to work but forcing people back to the office isn't a good option either.

Speaking to The Guardian, Kojima said remote work is "almost like a fast food chain" in that people are "just concentrating on one thing instead of the whole project." The publication further reported that Kojima said working remotely as opposed to being in an office together with colleagues can be inefficient for a variety of reasons, including the lack of back-and-forth with people working at a desk next to each other.

"Only 1% of yourself is on show during [online] meetings," he said. "This is not like building a team. Think about football. You hire someone, he comes to your squad--but you can't play together remotely. So that person doesn't change the way they played before; they won't fit in."

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