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.

Lastpass

Why password managers like Lastpass have become essential when gaming online

For people who spend a lot of time gaming online, a password manager is likely the last thing on their minds. In fact, a strong password manager like Lastpass (who are currently offering 25% with their Black Friday sale) is a non-negotiable internet security measure for anyone who loves online gaming. Let us explain. Digital…

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Forza Horizon 5

Forza Horizon 5 Preview: No One Sleep In Mexico

Forza Horizon 5 has a formula that is, by now, well established. These are semi-arcade racers that are more concerned with taking dream cars for a joy ride than they are about being a detailed motorsport simulation. Forza Horizon 5 returns to the series to the Americas for the first time since the original, setting…

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Metroid Dread Review: Fear and legacy franchises

Metroid Dread is a game I thought I might never play, let alone review. For years, the Metroid franchise has sat among several other older Nintendo franchises, like F-Zero and Mother/EarthBound, gathering dust. For fans of the series, their own personal dread was real. Was their favourite Ninty franchise dead? As the wait dragged on,…

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transfer Nintendo Switch OLED

How to transfer your Nintendo account to your new Switch OLED

You’ve just opened your brand new Nintendo Switch OLED and you’re ready to transfer your account across. But wait a second — how do you do that, exactly? Here’s our step-by-step guide to transferring your user and save data to a new Nintendo Switch OLED. 1. First things first So to start with, let’s answer…

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Switch OLED

Nintendo Switch OLED Model Review: Lateral thinking with withered technology

The Switch OLED represents the best version of the Nintendo Switch hardware to date. In the four years since the launch, the core Switch hardware has received one prior refresh. The 2019 model featured a higher capacity battery and made a small change to the shape of the Joy-Cons. The Switch OLED is, largely, more…

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Elder Scrolls Online Blackwood

Gallery: The art of The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood

If you can look at this Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood concept art and not hear the Skyrim theme, you might be fibbing. Bethesda’s popular MMORPG is enjoying something of a golden age. The return of daedric lord Mehrunes Dagon has drawn many old and relapsed fans back into the fold. The latest in a string…

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Switch OLED

Where to see Friday’s Nintendo Direct in Australian times

If you’re hunting for where you can see this week’s Nintendo Direct in Australian times, look no further. The tradition of the late-September Nintendo Direct broadcast lives on. Nintendo announced its next direct-to-consumer broadcast is coming tomorrow — Friday, September 24, 2021. Nintendo said on socials that the broadcast will run for around 40 minutes….

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Balenciaga Fortnite

Balenciaga drops Fortnite fits in-game and IRL

Fortnite has partnered with luxury fashion label Balenciaga on a run of clothing both in-game and IRL. The collaboration includes updated (and highly fashionable) skins for fan-favourite characters Doggo, Ramirez, Knight, and Banshee. Certain skins are reactive and will change colour in concert with your actions during play. You can pick up each skin individually …

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Deathloop

Deathloop Review: Deja vu, I’ve just been in this place before

Deathloop is a brand new IP from Arkane Studios, the team behind Dishonored and Prey. Arkane makes “immersive sims,” a school of game design that considers player agency to be of paramount importance. Whatever idea the player might have, in whatever way they choose to tackle an objective, the game should accommodate for it. This…

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Marvel's Spider-Man 2

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 trailer confirms Venom as major villain

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has been formally unveiled during this morning’s PlayStation Showcase. The biggest news from the trailer is that fan-favourite villain Venom is along for the ride. The trailer is short and sweet, with a voice-over intoning threats toward both Peter Parker and Miles Morales. The game will be the sequel to one of…

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Marvel's Wolverine

Marvel’s Wolverine in development at Insomniac

Marvel’s Wolverine was just about the last thing we expected to see from Insomniac Games today. The title was revealed during today’s PlayStation Showcase with a short cinematic teaser. We see Logan himself, alone at a bar with his back to the camera. A close up on his hand reveals bloody knuckles, suggesting he’s been…

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Uncharted Legacy of Thieves

Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection brings PS4 adventure to next-gen

Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection will bring both PS4 era games in the beloved series to the PlayStation 5. Both Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy are included in the package. Both titles have been remastered for play on the PS5 hardware. But the special surprise is that the package will…

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Forsaken

New Forspoken trailer gives glimpse of powers, fantasy world

Forspoken is one of a few brand new IP in the spotlight during today’s PlayStation Showcase. Originally unveiled at the PS5 Showcase last November, this new Forspoken trailer plays a bit like a young adult novel. We have a plucky young protagonist named Frey, who hails from our own real-world. Frey is pulled across dimensions…

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Knights of the Old Republic Remake

A Knights of the Old Republic Remake is coming. This is not a drill.

A Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake is coming. Yes, you read the headline correctly. The promised time is finally at hand. Developed by Aspyr in partnership with LucasFilm Games and Sony Interactive Entertainment, the game is a ground-up remake of the beloved 2003 Bioware RPG. Set over a thousand years prior to…

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Tiny Tina's Wonderlands

New Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands trailer features D&D, guns, and Babymetal

A brand new Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands trailer dropped during today’s PlayStation Showcase. Allow us for a moment to put Bill Hader’s Stefan voice because this trailer has ~everything~. It’s got Dungeons & Dragons. It’s got Borderlands gunplay and looting. The great Ashly Burch returning to the role of Tiny Tina. It even has Babymetal‘s seminal…

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God of War Ragnarok

New God of War Ragnarok trailer suggests Asgard is very angry

We’ve waited a long time for information on God of War Ragnarok. Today, at last, the drought is over. A brand new story trailer debuted at today’s PlayStation Showcase. The trailer features a rush of images from the next phase of Kratos and Atreyu’s journey into Norse mythology. It appears the game takes place several…

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Elder Scrolls Online

Bethesda’s CJ Grebb on the art of The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood

CJ Grebb has been at Bethesda’s ZeniMax Online Studios for nearly 10 years. The beating art heart of Mythic Entertainment, later BioWare Mythic, Grebb was art director on titles like Dark Age of Camelot and Imperator before heading to ZOS in 2012. Since January of 2019, he’s been the art director for The Elder Scrolls…

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every PlayStation Showcase

Every trailer from today’s PlayStation Showcase stream

If you’re looking for every trailer from today’s PlayStation Showcase presentation, look no further. Sony rolled out a series of heavyweight swings from its first-party studios and its third-party partners. We had surprises like Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic Remake and Marvel’s Wolverine. We had long-awaited first-looks at God of War Ragnarok and…

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every PlayStation Showcase

Where to see the PlayStation Showcase in Australian times

PlayStation Showcase will kick off this Friday, September 10, 2021, with a look at upcoming titles from Sony’s first-party video game studios. It’s an interesting time of year for PlayStation to hold a show like this, though unsurprising if we’re honest. Since pulling out of E3 several years ago, and its relative lack of presence…

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Tsushima Director's Cut

Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut Review: The unbearable weight of compromise

Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut marks the second time this game has come along at the right moment. Originally arriving at the end of the PlayStation 4 era, it was an amalgam of the ways game design had changed since the console’s inception. It was the last hurrah, a way to bring the PS4 era…

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Overwatch to rename McCree, no future characters to be named after staff

Activision Blizzard will rename Overwatch character Jesse McCree in a future update. The announcement came via a social media post on official Overwatch channels. A message from the Overwatch team. pic.twitter.com/2W3AV7Pv6X — Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) August 26, 2021 “As we continue to discuss how we best live up to our values and to demonstrate our commitment…

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Far Cry 6 Gamescom

Far Cry 6 gets Gamescom 2021 trailer, Giancarlo still chewing the scenery

Ubisoft has unveiled yet another cinematic story trailer for Far Cry 6 during the Gamescom Opening Night Live broadcast. The trailer is heavy on character, and once again placed Giancarlo Esposito’s villain Anton Castillo at its centre. The trailer provides yet another glimpse of his young son, brutally and strictly trained to follow in his…

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Forza Horizon 5

Forza Horizon 5 gets Gamescom deep dive

Forza Horizon 5 developer Playground Games appeared on the Xbox Gamescom Stream for a deep dive into their upcoming game. As announced at E3 this year, Forza Horizon 5 heads to Mexico. The first trailer features the game’s opening sequence, in which players arrive in Mexico for the first time. Players are dropped out of…

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EPOS H3 Headphones Review: High-end competitor

The EPOS H3 is the latest gaming headset from Sennheiser’s nascent gaming arm. Though Senny has released scores of gaming headsets in the GSP series, the EPOS label now picks up the slack. I feel good In the H3, EPOS seems to be trying hard to veer away from the chunky, heavy GSP range and…

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Xbox Gamescom 2021 Australian

Where to watch the Xbox Gamescom 2021 conference in Australian times

Looking for where you can see the Xbox conference at Gamescom 2021 in Australian times? Look no further. Despite feeling like E3 only just ended a few minutes ago, Gamescom is upon us. The biggest video game trade show in the world, Gamescom is usually held in Cologne, Germany in the last week of August….

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PAX Aus 2021

PAX Aus 2021 has been cancelled

PAX Aus 2021 will not go ahead. Show organisers made the announcement via the PAX Aus social media channels this morning. This marks the second time the ReedPop-managed convention has been cancelled due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. When announced earlier this year, organisers were confident it would move ahead as planned. Sadly, with Australia’s…

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EPOS B20

EPOS B20 Microphone Review: A new challenger approaches

The EPOS B20 microphone is a rock-solid, workhorse microphone for streamers and anyone who needs high-quality vocal audio at home. That’s the elevator pitch. Let’s talk about it. Design & Features EPOS is one of the newest kids on the block in terms of PC peripherals. For this newly formalised gaming partner of audio giant…

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F1 2021

F1 2021 Review: A farewell to the Hybrid Era

F1 2021, like the real motorsport it’s based on, has a lot of moving parts. This is developer Codemasters’ first F1 since its acquisition by Electronic Arts. As such, it bears a few now-classic EA Sports hallmarks. EA Sports titles need to serve several masters, and therefore so does F1 2021. The first thing it needs…

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Xbox Aqua Shift

The new Xbox Aqua Shift controller is excessively pretty and we want one

The new Xbox Aqua Shift Special Edition is the latest to join a growing roster of striking coloured controllers. Xbox has moved to capitalise on a growing contingent of fans eager to collect controllers. It’s a mindset similar to that of sneaker collectors — the goal is not to use these controllers, only to have…

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Flight Simulator Xbox

Microsoft Flight Simulator (Xbox) Review: Clear skies ahead

Microsoft Flight Simulator on Xbox was being requested by fans before the PC version had even launched last year. To launch on a modern console is a first for Microsoft’s legendary series of flight sims. This is a franchise that predates both Microsoft Office and the Windows operating system and yet has never been available…

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