On Monday Microsoft unveiled its plans and development for new game streaming service Project xCloud, which will allow users to play from any device, anywhere. Designed to work across consoles, PCs, tablets and smartphones, the core aim of Project xCloud is to allow users to experience a high quality, immersive gaming experience without the necessity…
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Rockstar changed the face of gaming in October 2001, and they did it by taking a pretty bold risk, the impact and effects of which are still being felt throughout the industry almost 20 years later. The game they dropped in October 2001 represented a seismic shift in immersive gaming that is often imitated but…
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Before we begin, a personal note: Between Nintendo and Ubisoft, I have had to write out the word “Odyssey” so often over the last two years that I’ll never misspell it again. Big thanks to both companies for that little toward self improvement. One year on from Ubisoft’s drastic reconstruction of its most popular franchise,…
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It’s been three weeks since Forsaken, the latest expansion for Destiny 2 launched, and in many ways I’m still struggling to wrap my head around the enormity of it. I’ve got a life outside of my work on this website — I have a side job, I have obligations to friends and family, I have…
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I’ve come to look forward to new entries in the Forza Horizon series more than any mainline Forza Motorsport title. Eschewing the more serious simulation of its sister franchise, the heart of Horizon is built around a single question — are we having fun? In Forza Horizon 4, the answer is still yes. It’s just…
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The NBA 2K series is back for its 20th anniversary, which seems like a long time for a video game franchise, but has proved to be time well spent, with the NBA 2K franchise becoming the preferred platform for many NBA fans, including myself. It is with great satisfaction that I can say that while…
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Gaming and physical disabilities have a long history of not working well together. Back in the early days of arcade joysticks and two-button controllers, the hurdles disabled players had to overcome in order to enjoy a video game were fewer. Even if you didn’t have great dexterity in your fingers, you could rest your palm…
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The closest media analogue I can think of for Shadow of the Tomb Raider is Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. I’m sure I’m the latest in a long line of critics to make this comparison, but it’s an apt one on just about every level. Shadow represents a stark shift in tone, character…
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Pro Evolution Soccer has always been appreciated by fans for its uncompromising, detailed and rewarding structure and gameplay; and with PES 2019 the series continues this tradition. Thanks to some fantastic overall gameplay, admirable presentation and slight adjustments to modes PES 2019 may scratch that football itch as a valid alternative to the wildly popular FIFA series….
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Epic Games’ Fortnite has quickly taken the world by storm following the launch of its Battle Royale mode in September last year. Its meteoric rise was bolstered by its rapid expansion to other platforms — initially on Windows PC, Mac OSX, Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and now on iOS and Android devices. Fortnite‘s popularity…
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Ok, first things first? Do you like going fast? I mean really, really, really fast? Well then F1 2018 may just be suited to you. The latest iteration of developer Codemasters’ premiere Formula 1 franchise may just be the best we’ve seen so far, thanks to some handy improvements presentation and controls, all while holding…
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If Assassin’s Creed Origins was to be the new franchise blueprint, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey feels like series with its mission statement clarified. It stands on the edge of a big leap, the way one of its protagonists might. So what’s it waiting for? Its release date, probably. The build of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey I played…
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Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Strikers feels like a massively missed opportunity for a fun and robust multiplayer Naruto game. Building off the success of the Ninja Storm series, Shinobi Strikers is a weak follow up that rarely capitalises on the unique appeal of the Naruto franchise. Essentially, Shinobi Strikers is a multiplayer fighting game that…
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‘Have you ever wondered how the mind of an assassin works?’ HITMAN 2‘s newest trailer gives us a glimpse of what goes through the assassin’s mind. Let’s give it a look. It looks like the new game will feature a new mechanic called “Picture-in-Picture”, which “Alerts you to important events as they happen”, as the…
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Xbox Australia are celebrating the launch of PLAYERUNKNOWN’s Battlegrounds 1.0 with an extremely limited new Xbox One controller. On the surface of it, it doesn’t appear different to any other themed hardware — new colour scheme, limited run tied into a popular title — but there is a difference. It’s greaseproof. Yeah, no, you read…
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It will help if you read this introductory par in the voice of a 1930’s movie serial announcer. Greetings fellow adventurers, and welcome to Strange Brigade, the new cooperative shooter from developer Rebellion. Right out the gate, Strange Brigade prides itself on blending Indiana Jones with Brendan Fraser’s The Mummy franchise in order to create…
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This month’s free game haul for Xbox Live subscribers is a pretty solid one. This month sees the usual drop of four free titles, ranging from strategy to indies, family games and retro gems. So here’s what you get: Xbox One: Prison Architect — available Sept. 1 to 30 Livelock — available Sept. 16 to…
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Multiplayer is something that, over the years, has moved further and further into the online-only space. All but gone are the days of friends or family paying with (or against) one another on a single console. The days of couch party titles like Mario Kart 64 and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 are gone, replaced…
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The games that make the biggest splash at E3 are the ones that debut a big, bombastic trailer to the public. What was remarkable about CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 was that it didn’t do any of that, and still became the talk of the show. The game didn’t even have a trailer that was…
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I’ve brought this up before but it bears repeating: while it’s easy to think of sports sims as lazy annual rehashes, upgrading or altering a few aspects of a game to justify their existence, the truth is that that’s rarely the case. Madden NFL 18 strode boldly into new territory, finally making the jump to…
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The final DLC expansion for Ubisoft’s acclaimed South Park: The Fractured But Whole has arrived. The Bring the Crunch DLC introduces Mint Berry Crunch to the story, a character who appeared in early promo shots but didn’t make it into the base game, a brand new part of town (Lake Tardicaca) and a new class…
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Daniel Bryan has had a long and varied career in WWE. From his introduction as part of the NXT‘s Nexus division, to his eventual firing, rehiring, retiring and return. WWE 2K19 is set to showcase his journey and triumphant struggle back to the ring with the return of 2K Showcase, a story-driven campaign mode within…
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Everybody’s favourite purple dragon is set to receive a wave of brand new themed merchandise in the lead up to November’s Spyro Reignited Trilogy. The collection includes a range of items including wallets, purses, pins, notebooks and apparel, including a t-shirt, hat, beanie and watch.
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Call of Duty is a franchise you either love or hate, there doesn’t seem to be much in between. There are a few reasons for this. It’s home to one of the most aggressive, toxic communities in gaming. It found its niche as a multiplayer twitch shooter years ago and hasn’t felt much need to…
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No-one is more surprised by that headline than me. When we reviewed No Man’s Sky at launch back in 2016, our reviewer took an especially dim view of the game’s failure to implement a litany of the mechanics it had promised. They were not the only person who felt this way. We all remember what…
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Yesterday, Rockstar Games announced that a gameplay trailer for their forthcoming open-world western Red Dead Redemption 2 would arrive overnight. Arrive it did, and goodness, what a trailer it is.
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The HyperX Cloud Stinger Core shouldn’t sound as good as it does. This is a $70 AUD pair of headphones. You expect certain things from $70 headphones. You expect them to be cheap. You expect them to be made from hard, unyeilding plastic that keeps them from being worn comfortably for long periods. You certainly…
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The Crew 2 immediately presents itself as a different kind of racer, drawing on its arcade-like mechanics of the past, while infusing they with new mechanics encouraging transformation and an even bigger variety of vehicles to choose from, across the land, sea and sky. Seems like an improvement right? Well, not exactly. While The Crew…
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There is a trend in modern AAA game design of pinching the best ideas from other games and building on them to create something new. Hi-Rez Studios is a developer that has built a successful portfolio by doing exactly this. They are very good at looking at successful multiplayer games, distilling their most enjoyable components…
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Unravel 2 is the sort of game that strengthens interpersonal bonds. It’s a wonderful team building exercise, a game cut from the same warm emotional mould as its predecessor but with a rather different point to make.
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