Video Games

John Romero just released his first new DOOM level in 21 years

John Romero, legendary co-creator of the classic first-person shooter DOOM, has returned with his first new level for the game in 21 years.

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Netflix to shut down access via proxy and region unblockers

For a long time before they came to our shores, the only way to access Netflix in Australia was via a proxy or region unblocker to skirt the eternally reviled international geoblock. These services continue to allow Netflix users to access international content libraries that differ from their own and Netflix have officially had enough of it.

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Hitman alters the deal again, goes “fully episodic”

Following its sudden pulling of pre-orders from the PlayStation Store late last week, Square Enix and Io Interactive are altering their release plans for their new Hitman title once again. The game will now be “a truly episodic AAA game experience, with a major live component.” So what exactly does that mean?

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Xbox Live is having some problems today and no-one’s angrier about it than Snoop Dogg

Xbox Live has apparently suffering from a few performance issues today that are keeping players from accessing cloud storage, finding friends, Game DVR, leaderboards and matchmaking in-game. That’s according to Microsoft themselves. If that wasn’t bad enough, Snoop Dogg has taken to his Instagram to register his displeasure with the situation.

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Square Enix cancels Hitman PlayStation Store preorders, but don’t freak out

A few keen Hitman afficianados who had already pre-ordered Square Enix’s next entry in the series, simply titled Hitman, got a worrying message from Sony earlier today advising that their pre-order had been cancelled by the publisher.

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Tom Clancy’s The Division gets a new trailer, its actually pretty good

It’s been a few years since Ubisoft first unveiled The Division and its long road to release has left wondering if it was all now a case of too little too late. If the game’s latest trailer is any indication, Ubi still seem confident that they’ve got something special on their hands. Check it out after the…

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Exceptional GTA 5 mod lets you play as Lemmy Kilmister

A brand new mod for Grand Theft Auto V is allowing players to become the late, great Lemmy Kilmister, founding member of legendary British metal band Mötorhead and take him on a suitably debauched tour  of Los Santos. The mod lets you play as Lemmy himself and comes with a surprisingly faithful character model to boot. All…

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Pokéfans, you can pick up mythical Pokémon Hoopa from certain Australian retailers starting next week

Nintendo have announced that fans of Pokémon X, Y, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire will be able to add the mythical pokémon Hoopa to their collections simply by stopping by specific retailers. Find out which ones after the jump.

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Video Games Review: Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India (PS4, 2016)

It’s been a little while since we’ve seen a game in Ubisoft’s series of 2.5D Assassin’s Creed sidescrollers. At one point they were set to release throughout 2015 but after Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China didn’t quite set the world on fire, they dropped off the radar a little. Now, Ubi plans to release the remaining…

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Opinion: We just don’t get as long to review games as we used to

I have a confession to make: I was wrong about a game I reviewed last year. Given that my judgement is understood to be both unassailably correct and final as if etched in granite, know that I am as shocked as you are. But how does something like that happen? I’m a critic – shouldn’t…

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With two weeks to go, RTX Australia 2016 is now sold out

In great news for the local gaming convention scene, the first RTX Australia gaming convention has officially sold out ahead of its January debut according to Rooster Teeth Productions and Hanabee.

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EA unveils real-world Need for Speed car designed by fans

Back in November, EA announced that fans of the just-released Need for Speed reboot would be able to vote on the design of an in-game car. The car that emerged at the end of that process would be custom-built IRL and fans would be taken through the game-to-real-world construction process. The promised time is at hand….

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UPDATED: Oculus Rift pre-orders are now open and it’s really, really expensive

Following an announcement on Monday, pre-orders for the Oculus Rift VR headset have opened this morning in 20 countries around the world. Oculus says that the device will start shipping March 28.

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Confirmed: Activision really did buy MLG, wants to create its own eSports TV channel

You may have seen a rumour spreading around the web like wildfire yesterday regarding a potential all-in purchase of long-running eSports streamer Major League Gaming and this morning that news was confirmed via the New York Times.

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CES 2016: Nvidia just revealed the Drive PX 2, a water-cooled AI supercomputer that drives your car

Nvidia have kicked off their CES 2015 press conference with the unexpected reveal of a second version of their Drive PX in-car computer. This new machine is the equivalent of 150 MacBook Pro’s and it will drive your damn car.

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New report suggests Assassin’s Creed taking 2016 off, new game set in Egypt

It would seem that the next game in the Assassin’s Creed series will head to ancient Egypt. The news comes out of a new report by Kotaku that suggests the new game is currently progressing under the working title “Empire” and may actually release in 2017.

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Back to work: Gaming news you may have missed over the holidays

Welcome back, boys and girls! We’re back at work and getting ready for CES 2016 in just a few days time. Thing is, while we were enjoying the holidays, news kept rolling in – Steam had themselves a Big Winter Fail, Oculus hit a stumbling block and there was good news for Final Fantasy fans….

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The Iris Games & Tech Top 15 Games of 2015, plus our Runners Up and Biggest Letdowns of the Year

What a year it’s been for gaming. The surge of fantastic indie titles shows no signs of slowing and, after a horror year in 2014, the AAA side of the industry has made a clear effort to pick itself up by the bootstraps and deliver titles of quality. There was a lot to like out…

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Video Games Review: Mario & Luigi Paper Jam Bros (Nintendo 3DS, 2015)

AlphaDream’s Mario & Luigi series has consistently been one of the best and brightest franchises on the Nintendo 3DS, pulling on the rich universe that the Mario brand has created for itself for an expansive, and inventive mix of nostalgia and progression. Nostalgia because most of the humour relies on our attachment to these characters…

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Video Games Review: Fat Princess Adventures (PS4, 2015)

It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from the Fat Princess franchise. The original game, a blend of single- or multiplayer action and strategy, debuted on the PS4 back in 2009. Things went quiet after that until its sequel, Fat Princess Adventures, was announced and quickly released all within December 2015. Departing from its more strategic…

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Video Games Review: Yo-Kai Watch (3DS, 2015)

Level-5 have been sitting on a western release for their Yo-Kai Watch franchise for some time. There were a lot of reasons for this, chief among them being just how steeped in Japanese culture the series is – indeed, Yo-Kai Watch has achieved the same kind of towering popularity in its homeland that the now-waning…

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So what exactly is Yo-Kai Watch anyway?

There’s a name many parents might be hearing a lot right now. Yo-Kai Watch. It’s a game, it’s a TV show, it’s getting a lot of ad play, and your kids want it for Christmas. The thing is, you’ve also heard that it’s a massive cultural phenomenon with millions of fans … so why are…

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Video Games Review: Beyond: Two Souls (PS4, 2015)

The thing about Beyond: Two Souls is that, as a video game, it’s rather bad. That might seem like an especially harsh way open a review, but a game that puts as high a premium on storytelling Beyond does means actual gameplay isn’t given a lot of consideration if it doesn’t advance the plot. This…

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It’s official: Hideo Kojima no longer at Konami, reportedly creating new studio

It’s been a long, weird road to this point. Hideo Kojima, the creator of the popular Metal Gear series, has officially left his long-time creative partnership with publisher Konami as of December 15. The news comes from a new report from Japan’s Nikkei.

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Bayonetta is coming to Smash Bros in February, new amiibo inbound

The final Nintendo Direct episode for 2015, focused solely on Super Smash Bros, just wrapped up. The presentation made a number of character and amiibo announcements, including the winner of this year’s Character Ballot. You can watch the full 30-minute video after the jump.

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Games Review: The Crew (PS4, 2014)

When I downloaded The Crew onto my PS4, I was only able to play through a dense prologue before the game informed me that it wasn’t finished installing yet. There was nothing to indicate that an install was still going on aside from this screen with a percentage marker, no slowly-filling bar in or out…

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Fable Legends open beta slips to 2016

Lionhead Studios have announced that Fable Legends‘ open beta has been delayed from a planned holiday 2015 release until some time in Q2 2016.

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EA Competitive Gaming Division marks big move into eSports, Peter Moore in charge

Electronic Arts has made a huge stride into the world of competition eSports with the launch of the company’s latest branch, the EA Competitive Gaming Division. The announcement was madeby current EA CEO Andrew Wilson.

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Assassin’s Creed Syndicate‘s Jack the Ripper DLC looks incredibly dark

Owners of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate‘s Season Pass will start reaping its benefits when the first story-based DLC featuring Jack the Ripper is released on December 15.

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