Author: Matthew Arcari

If we knew very little about Ghostwire: Tokyo up until this week, the tables have truly turned. We got the chance to check out 30 minutes of gameplay last month, and our impressions sent us through a loophole of spooky enemies, whacky finger guns, and a soul-saving mission that sends you throughout the hollow streets…

With just over a month to go until the release of Gran Turismo 7, PlayStation’s first State of Play stream for the year decided to spend an entire 30 minutes devoted to the racing sim. With an admittedly impressive amount of things to unpack in such a short amount of time, one thing is clear;…

PlayStation has announced the first State of Play stream for 2022, with a focus on the upcoming Gran Turismo 7. The 30-minute stream will most likely show off a lengthy look at some gameplay footage before the game’s release on March 4th. However, we would be lying if we weren’t hoping for some additional titles…

If you’re feeling as though a new publisher or developer has been acquired with each passing week, you’re not going crazy. While it’s not on the scale of Microsoft’s whopping $68.7 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard last month, PlayStation has announced that they will be purchasing Destiny creator Bungie for $3.6 billion US dollars. While…

In a stunning move, Microsoft has purchased publisher Activision Blizzard for a whopping sum of $68.7 billion. If Microsoft had stumbled in recent years with exclusives and variety of games, they’re definitely back on track. While it’s no secret that Activision Blizzard has been dealing with a number of discrimination and mistreatment allegations and legal…

The next entry in the wildly popular Rainbow Six series admittedly feels like untapped territory. For a series built on realism and the nature of a tactical approach, I was excited to experience that same level of tension and pace against a new alien threat. Our hands-on preview of Rainbow Six Extraction unveiled a number…

2021 has been a special year for gamers and non-gamers alike. For reasons we won’t dive deeper into, this year has forced us to stay inside. Away from those we love, places we cherish and experiences we usually take for granted. This time around, the games and technology team here at The AU Review have…

Bethesda ANZ has announced that their Bethesda Holiday Special Stream will highlight a partnership with Game On Cancer™, an initiative of the Australian Charity, Cure Cancer. This stream will look to bring together a variety of both local and global talent, including UFC middleweight star Rob Whittaker and Rich Lambert, Creative Director of The Elder…

The Game Awards has become a rather interesting platform for major gaming announcements over the past few years. Thankfully for fans, 2021’s iteration brought the goods. Before we proceed, we would just like to take a second to congratulate It Takes Two for winning the coveted Game of the Year Award, along with all award-winners…

On this, the 20th anniversary of the franchise and the Xbox platform as a whole, Halo has sparked many questions in the minds of its fans. Has the series run its course? Is the Master Chief a relevant hero for the modern age? Can such a dated franchise really exist without pushing new boundaries? Well…

Geoff Keighley’s annual Video Game Awards presentation has rolled around again for 2021, handing out accolades for the best the year has had to offer in gaming. It’s admittedly been a tough year for game delays, with many of the year’s hotly anticipated games pushed to 2022, from the likes of God of War Ragnarok…

December’s PlayStation Plus offering is as well-rounded as it is critically acclaimed; for the most part. Godfall: Challenger Edition stands as the PlayStation 5 entry for this month, while Lego DC Super Villains and Mortal Shell follow as forward compatible PlayStation 4 titles for those on next generation consoles. While it’s clear Godfall is looking…

Gaming fans and foodies alike can rejoice as PlayStation launches PlayStation to Plate, giving Aussies across Sydney and Melbourne a taste of the many exclusives the platform has to offer. From 3 December, three restaurants will bring to life meals inspired by classic franchises including The Last of Us, Ratchet and Clank and Uncharted. Dish 1:…

For a franchise centred around the conflict of war, covering several eras and stories, it’s clear that Battlefield 2042 had one target left in mind; itself. What follows is an incredibly frustrating blend of smooth action and refined gunplay, paired with numerous bugs and glitches, and the overall lack of depth within its mainline modes….

Let’s get one thing out of the way. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is without a doubt my favourite entry in the Grand Theft Auto franchise and one of my favourite games of all time. So you can imagine my excitement when Rockstar had announced Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy: The Definitive Edition, containing Grand Theft…

Call of Duty: Vanguard’s return to a World War II setting is not without its merit. Since Call of Duty: WWII, the franchise had cycled back around to a Modern Warfare revival and two Black Ops titles. But was this era worth revisiting? In many respects, yes; and no. Call of Duty: Vanguard plays its…

My time with Bright Memory: Infinite has been interesting, to say the least. As I loaded up my assault rifle, picking off enemies in the distance, I quickly navigated my surroundings. I bounced off walls to get across precarious chasms. I hacked and slashed my way through obtrusive enemies. I participated in lighting fast quick…

We recently got the chance to participate in a Closed Network Test of Elden Ring, developer FromSoftware’s Souls-inspired epic. This beta version of the game featured a contained portion of its open world, allowing us to explore, battle and most importantly, survive. I would liken my time with Elden Ring to Dark Souls 3 –…

We recently got the chance to chat with Narrative Designer, Alexa Ray Corriea and Associate Narrative Designer, Belinda Garcia from Sledgehammer Games about the upcoming World War 2 shooter, Call of Duty Vanguard, and the engaging narrative that binds four unique characters together. What sets this WW2 story apart from previous WW2 campaigns within the…

The screen is dark. The sound of an engine roaring pierces the air, as the back on a cargo plane opens. Suddenly, your vehicle drops out of the back, parachuting down to a dense, colourful Mexican landscape. As soon as you land, you blast onto the road, on your way to your first Horizon Festival….

I owe the Mario Party franchise a great deal of credit. It’s responsible for some of the best gaming moments I’ve had on a Nintendo console. While Mario Party 3 will always remain my favourite, it’s safe to say that the franchise faltered in recent years, prompting me to drift away from the iconic mini-games…

I have to be honest. After publisher Square Enix’s last Marvel themed outing, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy instilled a sizeable amount of doubt within me. Sure, Marvel’s Avengers was a fun cooperative experience, but it lacked any depth and heart. It seems as though the second time is the charm, as Marvel’s Guardians of…

PlayStation’s October State of Play rolled around this morning, with a fresh focus on third party titles and indie games. While some announcements unveiled some entirely new and unseen projects, it was also nice to see some indie games getting the love with some expanse updates. And with that, let’s have a look at the…

If you’re old enough, you might remember getting your first taste of Age of Empires, along with a bite of nutritious cereal, from a Nutri-Grain box. It’s also hard to believe that sweet moment from my childhood was also almost 20-years ago. Damn. Well apparently so do the team at Microsoft were fond of this…

343 Industries revealed the latest look at Halo Infinite overnight, presenting an action-packed look at what Halo fans can expect from the campaign, when it launches on December 8. Accompanied by that sweet, glorious Halo theme, we get to see Master Chief embark on a quest to track down what remains of Cortana, as the…

As a fan of both the Rocky film series and the sport of boxing in general, I often wonder about the next definitive boxing game. Believe it or not, it’s been a decade since EA Sport’s Fight Night Champion, which I still dip back into until this very day. And then I saw it; the…

Leave it to Hideo Kojima to release Death Stranding Director’s Cut, the expanded version of a game over which he had complete creative control. It’s no secret that Death Stranding landed amid huge anticipation and excitement. It was then met with either an overwhelming sense of confusion and, in some circles, accusations of pretentiousness, or…

The Far Cry series has faltered over the past few years. Recent iterations were either lacking immersive worlds, memorable villains, innovative gameplay, or all three. While far from terrible, it’s clear that nothing has been as good as the darling that is Far Cry 3. And it seems as though Ubisoft has heard. Far Cry…

Battlefield 2042 might just be enough to bring me back to Battlefield. In BF’s recent absence, Warzone and Modern Warfare have drawn many competitive shooter fans over to the Call of Duty franchise in the past few years. myself included. But a recent hands-on with Battlefield 2042’s Open Beta reminded me exactly why I’ve missed the…

FIFA 22 takes the term “next-generation” pretty seriously. And it should. With every new console generation, the FIFA franchise takes major steps forward. New hardware presents an opportunity to reinvent FIFA‘s visuals, mechanics and add a range of new game modes. However, I wouldn’t blame fans for feeling disillusioned with the series in recent years. Most…