Author: Matthew Arcari

It’s that military shooter end of the year again, and Call of Duty Vanguard is hot on the horizon. A franchise well known for its collection of action-packed World War 2 shooters has come full circle, as developer Sledgehammer Games have opted in to take Call of Duty: Vanguard back in time for an old…

NBA 2K22 couldn’t have arrived at a better time. It’s been a rough couple of seasons for the NBA. A global pandemic, postponed games, bubble playoffs, shortened seasons and play-in tournaments have charted a new future for the sport. The lone beacon of consistency: that the NBA 2K franchise will smash out its annual instalment,…

Believe it or not, Call of Duty: Vanguard was just announced. And with that release trailer barely two weeks old, PlayStation owners got the chance to test a slice of the multiplayer pie that is yet to come; Champion Hill. For what’s being touted as a brand new mode, feels like a callback to the…

If you’re an NBA fan like I am, this time of the year feels different. Spring is on the way for us Australians, and there’s just something special in the air. The fact that a new NBA 2K game is upon us, that is. Even though the wait is almost over, fans were gifted a…

Since the original, No More Heroes has provided its fans with competent combat, expressive visuals and a consistent sense of humour that allows characters with names like Travis Touchdown to remain memorable and relevant. It is with No More Heroes 3 that Travis returns to a world of intergalactic assassins, fourth-wall-breaking jokes and a combat…

The Saints Row franchise is being treated to a welcome reboot. The zany antics and humour the series is known for appear to be back in full force. In a fresh trailer shown at Gamescom 2021, this reboot will simply be titled Saints Row. The trailer is centred around a group of four friends, scouting…

Marvel Madness continues with a new trailer, featuring a combination of some of Marvel’s most popular superheroes, including Wolverine, Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel and Ghost Rider. This is Marvel’s Midnight Suns. Based on the Midnight Sons comic run, the game is touted as a tactical RPG at heart. This cinematic trailer showcased the depth and…

The recent reveal of Call of Duty Vanguard left fans excited for a return to World War 2. However, it wasn’t until this morning’s Gamescom 2021 gameplay walkthrough that we were treated to a much more impressive look at the upcoming campaign. Editor’s note: Covering video games produced by Activision Blizzard is fraught at present….

It’s safe to say that Dying Light 2 has had a lengthy development run leading up to the next generation of consoles. An indefinite delay has turned itself into one of the most promising zombie titles in recent memory, packed with tense action, incredible set pieces, and that smooth parkour that made the first Dying…

The hotly anticipated Flight Simulator DLC, World Update 6, is coming in early September. With Microsoft Flight Simulator releasing on Xbox’s next-generation consoles last month, a whole new group of enthusiasts have been sinking their teeth into one of the best iterations in the long running series, with incredible visuals and clever controller functionality. But…

Sea of Thieves is no stranger to mayhem, nor a good crossover event. The game’s recent resurgence, thanks to Xbox Game Pass, is drawing in more players than ever. So much so, that Pirates of the Caribbean wanted in, bringing Jack Sparrow, the Black Pearl and a range of new and exciting content. If that…

Basketball mania continues! The NBA Finals are drawing to a close, offseason madness is set to begin and we were treated to some sweet NBA 2K22 cover athlete announcements. To top it all off, we got the chance to speak with the team at Visual Concepts and 2K Games as Mike Wang (Gameplay Director), Erick…

You spawn on an open battlefield, side by side with your teammates. As you are given a rousing speech, the match begins. You burst out, sprinting with all your might, letting out an outrageously wonky and exaggerated battlecry, as you hurdle towards the opposing faction. Sword and shield in hand, you crash into a wall…

Returnal is, in many ways, the crowning achievement of Housemarque’s journey as a developer. With recent entries standing out as shining examples, from the likes of Matterfall to Nex Machina, and the impeccable Resogun, it’s incredibly satisfying to see a challenging reflex-based rogue-like experience get the royal treatment. Fast-paced action meets a rogue-like structure in…

From the moment we played the Outriders demo, our impression was of a functional and addictive looter shooter. Strong shooting and interesting powers overshadowed the demo’s repetitive mission structures and unrewarding grind. These are, of course, issues that affect the best in the genre. And, as a complete package, Outriders does indeed reflect the best…

On the surface, Outriders may seem like your average looter shooter. In many ways, it is. Outriders feels like an iteration of recent looter shooter RPG titles like Destiny 2 or The Division. It’s filled with mechanics and systems we’ve seen many times before. In saying that, there is still plenty to love about Outriders’…

For longer than we’d care to admit, Cyberpunk 2077 has been on our minds. First revealed way back 2013, the wait for release has been long and occasionally frustrating. Thankfully, the worst appears to be behind us: following multiple delays in 2020 alone, Cyberpunk 2077 is now set to launch next week, December 10th. The…

Like the sudden lift in temperature that tells you summer is on its way, the arrival of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War tells you exactly what time of year it is. Developer Treyarch takes its flagship Call of Duty series to the early 1980’s, determined to bring down the iron curtain with nothing but…

We recently sat down with a number developers from the Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War team at Treyarch and Raven Software. Among them: Lead Game Designer Matt Scronce, Lead Designer on weapons, equipment and gameplay Tony Flame, and Creative Director at Raven Dan Vondrak, whose team crafted this year’s campaign. Our conversation touched…

We recently had the chance to chat to Executive Producer Erick Boenisch and Gameplay Director Mike Wang of Visual Concepts to outline some of the new modes and mechanics making their way to the next-generation build of NBA 2K21. Built from the ground up, this edition will bring with it a deeper WNBA presence in…

The Pro Evolution Soccer series has always been a personal favourite of mine, and while I love the exciting modes and interesting iterations that FIFA brings to the table, I have always admired the PES series for it’s tactical nature, and solid gameplay. eFootball PES 2021: Season Update has been aptly named, as it’s basically…

Spider-Man is my favourite Marvel superhero, and because Miles Morales is also Spider-Man, he’s my favourite too. Miles’ first appearance was in Ultimate Fallout #4 in August 2011. Created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli, the character struck an immediate chord with readers. His popularity was a bit of a surprise —…

NBA 2K21’s next generation counterpart will be introducing ‘The W’, a new portion of the game dedicated to the WNBA. Narrated by WNBA legend Candace Parker, the trailer revealed a new fully fledged career mode, which allows players to take their own custom created character through the ranks of the WNBA. It’s worth noting that…

The Godfather is my favourite film of all time, and it was my love of gangster films that led me to Mafia. Released in 2002, it is one of the most underrated and nuanced mobster stories of that or any hardware generation. Since then, the series has both vanished and returned to the fold, along…

As crammed as the name suggests, WWE 2K Battlegrounds introduces yet another entry to 2K’s “Grounds” series, off the heels of NBA 2K Playgrounds 2. The crux of these experiences revolves around the fact that they never take themselves too seriously. Over the top game play and stylised visuals keep this game from feeling like…

Oh how we’ve missed you, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. If you were a gamer in the mid to late 90’s, then you would have most definitely played a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, I’m sure of it. But before we get stuck into this review, let’s start off with a fun fact; the original Tony Hawk’s…

After a crazy year, it’s safe to say the NBA has followed suit, enduring a long suspension, resulting in the introduction of the NBA bubble, a facility located in Disneyland, Orlando, solely created to see through the completion of this season. It’s unfortunate that NBA 2K21 isn’t as much as a departure from the norm;…

That Marvel’s Avengers released when it did could be considered great timing. With the MCU coming to a grinding halt, I was looking forward to this as a perfect replacement. But after a worrying beta filled with repetitive gameplay and awkward mission structure, Marvel’s Avengers left me with a few concerns. Its full release is…

Much of the foundation EA’s UFC series that was laid back in 2014 has developed nicely, but each sequel, while an improvement, felt like an authentic experience that frustrated fans, and alienated others. Solid mechanics and slick visuals impressed, but a clunky ground game left fans like myself, sticking to strikes and knockouts to avoid…

My first few days with Project Cars 3 proved to be an incredibly polarising experience. I consider myself a true fan of racing sims, and while Project Cars 2 stands out as one of my favourites, Project Cars 3 does not; but not in the way you would think. It’s safe to say that Project…