Video Games

Minecraft: Story Mode feels like a bit of a narrative passing of the torch in a lot of respects. Its first two episodes are filled with clever references that kids who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s will pounce on but the bulk of its story is aimed squarely at the next generation of…

Harmonix are set to release the first major update for their rhythm game revival Rock Band 4 next month. The update will bring better calibration, new score challenges and more.

Avalanche Studios have released a new trailer that offers the clearest look yet at their upcoming third-person action/adventure/mayhem simulator Just Cause 3. I say clearest because the trailer comes in delicious, crystalline 4K.

When you think of video game genres that have their home on the PC, there’s only a few that spring readily to mind. In the 90’s and early 2000’s, real time strategy ruled the PC platform but in recent years it has all but died out, killed off by the very monster it created, the…

In the days prior to BlizzCon 2015, we got to the chance to chat briefly with Kristopher Howl, senior level designer on Blizzard’s StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void about the game’s campaign, new units and the new modes that will make it easier than ever for new players to jump into the game’s notoriously competitive multiplayer.

Nintendo took a break from their regular Nintendo Direct announcement livestreams following the death of company president Satoru Iwata earlier this year. The broadcasts have returned with Nintendo of America President/loveable dork Reggie Fils-Aime at the helm, and man did they have some cool stuff to talk about.

In many ways, Call of Duty: Black Ops III has to deal with the same design problems that Advanced Warfare, and even Ghosts, had to deal with. What can you do to keep a franchise that ruled the roost in one hardware generation fresh and interesting while still providing new ideas and features that move…

For people who were lucky enough to own an N64 back in the day, Screencheat is a true nostalgia bomb. Pulling inspiration from some true classics, it’s everything you forgot you loved about games of that era, with truly original point of difference. It’s also some of the most pure multiplayer fun I’ve had in…

Love it or hate it, your current Xbox One user interface is going away tomorrow. It’s being replaced with the Windows 10-inspired New Xbox One Experience, notable for the introduction of Xbox 360 backwards compatibility.

Crystal Dynamics breathed new life into the aging Tomb Raider series with their acclaimed 2013 self-titled reboot. Its sequel, Rise of the Tomb Raider, sees a hardier, more prepared Lara Croft venturing into Siberia to find an artefact said to hold the key to immortality. But does Rise of the Tomb Raider, like it’s heroine,…

Friends and adventurers, the promised time is at hand. Vault 111 is opening and the Commonwealth awaits. War. War never changes.

With many fans of the series still wary after last year’s disastrous Assassin’s Creed Unity, Ubisoft are aware that they need to stick the landing with Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. The good news is that Syndicate, though it has problems of its own, is never weighed down by them and constitutes a welcome return to form.

The Need for Speed franchise has been a lot of things to a lot of different audiences over the years. But with such a large back catalogue comes bloat and mis-steps as the well of new ideas goes dry. With the back-to-basics reboot Need for Speed, the series is given the chance to head in some…

A few years ago when I played Far Cry 3 (co-incidentally, another Ubisoft title), Vaas, the game’s villain posed me a question: “Did I ever tell you what the definition of insanity is? It’s doing the same thing over and over again and expecting shit to change.” That’s kind of what it feels like to…

In huge news for Blizzard fans, the developer’s team-shooter Overwatch will come to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in tandem with its release on PC.

Blizzard have revealed two new retail editions for their upcoming shooter Overwatch during the game’s panel at the BlizzCon fan convention. They also dropped a trailer that reveals the game’s final three playable characters.

The sixth expansion for Blizzard’s enduring MMORPG World of Warcraft, called Legion, will arrive “summer 2016”. The announcement came during the BlizzCon 2015 opening ceremonies today.

Blizzard have revealed a number of new goodies for their free-to-play MOBA/brawler Heroes of the Storm, including new Heroes and a brand new Arena mode.

Blizzard have announced the newest adventure expansion for for their free-to-play online CCG Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. Called League of Explorers, it’s a single-player campaign that will send players into “ancient temples fulled with relics, treasures and traps.”

This year’s PAX AUS convention felt like it was trading on the lessons learned from its two previous events. The problems found at the 2013 and 2014 shows were fewer, while a handful of new ones sprang up to take its place. To that end, we’ve put together a short list of what we thought…

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the JRPG Tales series, developers Bandai Namco Studios and tri-Crescendo have returned to their bread and butter for the 15th iteration in the series, Tales From Zestiria. Where 2011 and 2012s Tales of Xillia games attempted a one off trip into a modern setting, Zestiria draws the gap on…

If you’ve played one Just Dance title, you’ve kind of played them all. That’s the vibe I got from Just Dance 2016, despite its many attempts to keep the formula fresh with new modes and a suite of new songs. For the faithful, that may be enough. For everyone else, it may be a different…

Gearbox’s forthcoming MOBA-inspired shooter Battleborn will miss it’s February 9 release date, slipping to May 3, according to publisher 2K Games.

Blizzard’s annual fan convention BlizzCon kicks off this Saturday, November 7, and will bring all the usual goodies that fans of the developer crave – panels, tourneys and previews. Hit the jump to see what’s on where and you can watch it all online.

Greens senator Scott Ludlam had some very choice words for the Australian government on the Boss Level panel at PAXAus on Saturday, saying in no uncertain terms that they are not doing enough to support the local games industry.

There’s been a resurgence in games that trade in the nostalgia surrounding the 8-bit NES-era in the last few years. Where many of the games that seek to capitalise in the look and feel of those games, they rarely capture what really made them special. Shovel Knight isn’t one of those games. Shovel Knight doesn’t…

With our legs a little sore, we headed back to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on Saturday for PAX Aus Day 2.

So what the hell did we get up to on the first day of PAX Aus 2015?

Halo 5: Guardians feels like it has more crosses to bear than is entirely reasonable. 343 Industries still have a lot to prove to fans of the series – Halo 4 was a critical darling but its online player base vanished almost overnight and it can’t be denied that the multiplayer component in last year’s…

The most important three days on the Australian gaming community calendar are here again at last. Now in it’s third year, PAX Australia has become the nation’s premiere festival for every corner of the gaming hobby. From tabletop to virtual reality, if you love games then PAX loves you. If you’re having trouble deciding what…