Author: David Smith

David Smith is the former games and technology editor at The AU Review. He has previously written for PC World Australia. You can find him on Twitter at @RhunWords.

Super Mario 3D All-Stars

Super Mario 3D All Stars Review: Nostalgia bob-omb

I reckon Super Mario 3D All-Stars will give video game preservationists a lot to think about. I find myself thinking about video game preservation a lot lately. I imagine this is because I’ve reviewed a lot of remasters and remakes in the last few years. Super Mario 3D All-Stars is neither a remake nor a…

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PlayStation

Here’s where you can watch the PlayStation 5 Showcase in Australia

The PlayStation 5 Showcase, an epic 40-minute show-and-tell, is set to be Sony’s last big livestream ahead of the PS5 launch in November. This is good news. 2020 being what it is, fans have had to wait much longer than usual for details on the hardware. At this point, we know what it looks like…

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Series X

Xbox confirms Australian Series S/Series X launch date and pricing

Following the announcement of its low-cost Series S console on Tuesday, Xbox has formally announced pricing on the higher-end Series X. The Xbox Series X will retail for $499 in the US, in line with price points indicated in Tuesday’s leaks. This translates to $749 AUD, as announced by Xbox ANZ on socials earlier this…

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Xbox Series S

Xbox Series S officially revealed, Series X pricing to follow

After images of the console leaked earlier today, Xbox has confirmed the existence of the Xbox Series S. Series S is a smaller, less powerful, budget-priced version of the Xbox Series X hardware arriving later this year. The Series S will set you back USD $299. As this story was being prepared, Xbox UK announced…

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Mafia: Definitive Edition

Mafia: Definitive Edition Preview: Got the life

Though still in production at the time of writing, the Mafia: Definitive Edition remaster feels like it’s stretched between two extremes. It wants to pay homage to a well-liked yarn, ensuring players in the modern era can still experience Tommy Angelo’s rise to power. But it also has to translate game design and mechanics from…

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The AU’s Father’s Day Gift Guide: Nintendo Edition

For the dad that likes to stay mobile, but still squeeze a bit of gaming in, there’s no better platform than the Nintendo Switch. An ideal Father’s Day gift idea, the Switch can be a constant entertainment companion. Hardware Nintendo Switch Lite This one’s for the dad who doesn’t spend much time in front of…

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The AU’s Father’s Day Gift Guide: Xbox Edition

The Xbox One is a console with serious Dad Energy, and we say that with love. It’s full of military shooters and high-quality racing sims, the kind of games that get dads of all stripes a touch excited. If you’ve run out of ideas for Father’s Day gifts, look no further. We’ve got this handy…

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The AU’s Father’s Day Gift Guide: PlayStation Edition

Father’s Day approaches. Dad’s doing the right thing, he’s staying home and helping to stop the spread! He loves his games, but all those weeks cooped up in the house have left him a bit starved for entertainment. He’s actually managed to chew through the old Pile Of Shame, the games he bought but never…

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Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League set for 2022

Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League, Rocksteady Games’ follow up to Batman: Arkham Knight, will arrive on next-gen platforms in 2022. The reveal trailer came during the DC FanDome livestream. Though it features no gameplay, it does present a concept that piques interest. How does a motley crew like the Suicide Squad — in this…

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Gotham Knights

WB Montreal reveals Gotham Knights at last

We finally know what WB Games Montreal has been working on all this time — Gotham Knights. The Batman: Arkham Origins studio has spent the last four years teasing a Batman game of their own creation. Now, all is revealed at last. The trailer, released this morning during the DC FanDome livestream, shows a world in…

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Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator Review: Wings of liberty

I knew from the first that Microsoft Flight Simulator was something special. More than just a graphical showpiece, it had a clear goal in mind — to instill the joy and wonder of flight in anyone who decides to install it. It worked. From the earliest trailers, it captured the industry’s attention, an industry that…

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Battletoads

Battletoads Review: Return of the weekend rental

There’s a lot I like about Dlala Games’ take on Battletoads, but there’s just as much that I don’t. The latest Battletoads arrives almost 20 years after the NES original. It’s a side-scrolling beat-em-up in the same vein as the original, but it makes several changes to the series’ formula that may not sit well…

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Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 Preview: Pretending I’m a Superman

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 are the video game equivalent of The Beatles. Even if you’ve never actively played them before, you still know a lot about them by pure cultural osmosis. I could ask you about Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and, if you care about video games at all, you could likely tell me something…

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Xbox Series X

Xbox Series X will officially launch in November

Microsoft has narrowed down the Xbox Series X launch window from Holiday 2020 to November. The news comes as 343 Industries confirmed Halo Infinite will miss the console’s launch date, and Xbox works to get its house in order. Though Halo Infinite‘s delay is a substantial blow to its launch fortunes, Microsoft quickly took to…

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Halo Infinite

Halo Infinite delayed to 2021, no longer a launch title

343 Industries have delayed the release of Halo Infinite into 2021. The delay means it will no longer be a launch title for the Xbox Series X in November. The announcement came via the official Halo Twitter account. 343 were not specific about when in 2021 they intend to launch, citing the difficulty of developing the…

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Cyberpunk 2077

New Cyberpunk 2077 trailer digs into lifepaths, music and weaponry

Cyberpunk 2077 is now only three months away. The second episode of Night City Wire, a periodic web series by developer CD Projekt Red, debuted overnight. In this episode: Lifepaths, the music of Cyberpunk 2077 and getting to grips with weaponry. You can watch the full broadcast right here, or hit the embed below. Lifepaths…

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PGA Tour 2K21

PGA Tour 2K21 Preview: The unlikely career of the malignant Clint Golfboy

After proving their bona fides with The Golf Club series, developer HB Studios has gone all in. PGA Tour 2K21 aims to return the humble golf sim to the glory days of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14, with real-life courses and real-life golfers in the mix. Unline any of these real-life golfers, I am not very…

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Assassin's Creed Valhalla

This new Assassin’s Creed Valhalla EP is a viking symphony

Ubisoft has released a second EP of select tracks from the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The EP, called The Ravens Saga, features music from composers Jesper Kyd, Sarah Schachner, and two originals by Einar Selvik. Packed full of hard-edged strings, thunderous percussion and strident, chanting choirs, it is every inch a viking symphony. Kyd is…

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TikTok

*Updated* Donald Trump signs Tencent order, may make many video games illegal

Update 3:00pm AEST Here is the (rather oddly written) section that indicates the order is targeted at Tencent’s WeChat app and not their broader portfolio. Update 2:45pm AEST Sources have reportedly confirmed to the LA Times that the executive order itself pertains only to Bytedance’s TikTok and Tencent’s WeChat and was written to specifically exclude…

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State of Play

Every trailer from today’s PlayStation State of Play

A brand new PlayStation State of Play broadcast has arrived, this time focusing on forthcoming third party titles. From Crash Bandicoot 4 to forthcoming PS5 releases like Godfall, there was a little something for players of every stripe. Good to their word, Sony had no news on PlayStation 5 hardware, pricing or release dates —…

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Hitman 3 to bring VR support across entire trilogy

Hitman 3 will bring PlayStation VR support to the entire World of Assassination trilogy. The VR trailer debuted during this morning’s PlayStation State of Play broadcast and gives a short but solid sample of what the game will look like in VR. Support will be applied retroactively to Hitman and Hitman 2 as well, so you can play…

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Crash Bandicoot 4

Watch Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time‘s brand new gameplay trailer

Today’s PlayStation State of Play broadcast opened with a brand new gameplay walkthrough of Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time. The walkthrough, narrated by producer Lou Studdard from developer Toys For Bob, showed off the game’s classic design, and new features like the Quantum Masks and new characters. Fans will be able to play through…

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Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator Preview: Pure, unalloyed joy

Microsoft Flight Simulator feels really good and is happy to meet you where you are, regardless of whether you’re a long-time fan of the series or a complete aviation novice, and that’s all you need to know. End of preview? No? I’ve still got another 1700 words to fill? Okay, no, no it’s fine, I…

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PlayStation Plus

PlayStation Plus giving away Modern Warfare 2 and Fall Guys for free

PlayStation have confirmed their August 2020 line up of free games for PlayStation Plus subscribers. August will bring a little single-player action in Activision’s recently released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remastered. For those looking for multiplayer fun, the excellent battle royale indie Fall Guys will be your new favourite after-work game. Modern Warfare…

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Carrion

Carrion Review: This hideous beast will devour us all

Carrion is a new Metroidvania game from indie developer Phobia Game Studio. You are fast-moving, utterly vicious monster on the loose in a remote science facility. Carrion delights in taking the tropes of the genre — power creep, exploration and backtracking — and turning them on their ear in ways that are surprisingly effective. One…

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Halo Infinite

Here’s your first real look at Halo Infinite

Halo Infinite has gotten its first public demonstration at the Xbox Game Showcase overnight. The demo began with a sequence set on the titular ring world, one that looked very like the original before the player opened what appeared to be an open-world map. Whether this points to an actual, larger scale open world design…

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Xbox Series X

Every trailer from the Xbox Games Showcase

Xbox has pulled back the curtain on what players can expect when the Xbox Series X launches later this year. From Halo Infinite to a brand new Fable, Xbox rolled out old favourites and new surprises to entertain the faithful. We’ve collected everything they had to talk about in one handy list. You can find…

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EPOS GSX 300 revives the glory days of the PC sound card

I can see consumers turning the box for the EPOS GSX 300 over and wondering why they might need such a device. Sound cards are not, strictly speaking, the kind of hardware one thinks about when building a gaming PC. Most motherboards these days come with on-board sound that works just fine, negating any need…

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Mafia: Definitive Edition

Mafia: Definitive Edition gets huge 15-minute gameplay trailer

Originally announced back in May, the first look at Mafia: Definitive Edition in action has arrived. The fifteen minute gameplay walkthrough examines a number of the game’s finer points in detail, including exactly what has been altered from the 2002 original. The game, which has been rebuilt from the ground up by current Mafia developer…

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Audio Settings: Songs to prepare you for Ghost of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima marks the end of an era. It is the final first-party exclusive for the PlayStation 4, which is both bittersweet and hard to believe. Ghost of Tsushima is an open-world samurai adventure developed by Sucker Punch. It recalls the drama and majesty of Kurosawa in full flight, putting players in the shoes…

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