About Darren
Darren Price
Consumer & Gaming Writer - Australia
Darren 'VicBStard' Price has been playing video-games for nearly 40 years and writing about them for the last ten. Darren hates sport, but loves sports video games - which he puts down to a mixture of being annoyingly contrary and extremely lazy. While he is completely tone deaf, he considers Rock Band and Guitar Hero to be his guilty pleasures. A geek from way back, Darren builds his own computers, collects comic books, owns several lightsabers and is a sucker for video-gaming merchandise. Since 2012 he has lived in Sydney where he writes reviews and reports back on the local gaming scene.
Stories by Darren - Page 2
Hands-on review: Kingston 2TB NV2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
Fri, 18th Nov 2022
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storage
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gaming
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reviews
Kingston’s NV2 is a fast PCIe 4.0 NVMe (non-volatile memory express) M.2 solid-state data storage drive. It is primarily intended for laptops and small form-factor PCs.
Hands-on review: Asus CM3 Chromebook
Mon, 14th Nov 2022
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gaming
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microsoft
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reviews
Does the Asus 10.5-inch CM3 Chromebook offer a viable alternative to a Windows notebook? TechDay’s Darren Price finds out.
Hands-on review: Kobo Clara 2E eReader
Fri, 11th Nov 2022
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
I’ve never used an eReader before. I’m old school and prefer paper books, hardbacks if possible. But I was keen to see if the Kobo Clara 2E would sway me.
Game preview: The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me (PC)
Tue, 1st Nov 2022
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
The Devil in Me is the fourth title in The Dark Pictures Anthology. The series of games are presented in a manner very similar to that of a TV show
Hands-on review: Poly Voyager 4320 UC headset
Thu, 27th Oct 2022
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reviews
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gaming
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technology gifts
The headset is made from black plastic with a flexible metal headband, which can extend to fit. Even when extended, the headband feels very robust.
Hands-on review: Intel 13th Generation “Raptor Lake” Core i9-13900K CPU
Tue, 25th Oct 2022
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
Boasting 24 cores and 32 threads with a maximum boost clock of 5.80 GHz, does this new processor have the chops across productivity, creative, and gaming applications? We take a look.
Game review: No Man’s Sky (Nintendo Switch)
Fri, 21st Oct 2022
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
Players control an unnamed explorer who awakens on an alien planet near a damaged starship in need of repairs and refuelling.
Hands-on review: AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and Ryzen 9 7950X
Thu, 20th Oct 2022
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
AMD has unleashed its Ryzen 7000 series desktop CPUs based on the company’s 5nm Zen 4 architecture. We were sent a Ryzen 7 7700X and a Ryzen 9 7950X to test.
Game review: Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection (PC)
Thu, 20th Oct 2022
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
At long last PC gamers get to join Nathan Drake and friends with Naughty Dog’s Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection.
Game review: Return to Monkey Island (PC)
Mon, 17th Oct 2022
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
The creator of the classic Monkey Island games, the legendary Ron Gilbert, returns to the franchise with the aptly named Return to Monkey Island
Hands-on review: Corsair K60 RGB Pro TKL keyboard
Fri, 7th Oct 2022
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
The Corsair K60 Pro TKL is an optical-mechanical wired RGB keyboard designed to take up less desk real estate.
Hands-on review: Dynabook Portégé X40L-K laptop
Wed, 5th Oct 2022
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mobility
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tablets & laptops
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gaming
The Dynabook Portégé X40L-K is an Intel Evo ultra-thin lightweight laptop designed for office and creative use.
Game review: NBA 2K23 (PlayStation 5)
Fri, 30th Sep 2022
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
This year NBA 2K23 goes bigger and bolder promising fans even more next-gen basketball on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Game preview: PGA Tour 2K23 (PC)
Fri, 23rd Sep 2022
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
FutureFive got to spend some time with a preview version of 2K’s upcoming PGA Tour 2K23 golf game.
Game review: Splatoon 3 (Nintendo Switch)
Thu, 22nd Sep 2022
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
Nintendo’s Splatoon 3 offers another instalment of the surprisingly kid-friendly third-person puzzle/shooter.
Game review: Madden NFL 23 (PlayStation 5)
Mon, 19th Sep 2022
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
Madden NFL 23 is also the first release of this iconic franchise since the sad passing of John Madden late last year.
Hands-on review: SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 gaming headset
Fri, 16th Sep 2022
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 is more than just a wired headset. Plugging the headset into a PC, using one of the included USB cables, creates a new audio device on your system.
Hands-on review: HTC Vive Flow headset
Mon, 12th Sep 2022
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smartphones
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gaming
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reviews
HTC Australia sent over one of their Vive Flow headsets plus a compatible Oppo mobile phone for me to try out “The immersive VR glasses for on-the-go wellness”.
Hands-on review: Bose Frames Tempo Style Bluetooth audio sports sunglasses
Thu, 8th Sep 2022
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digital music
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gaming
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reviews
The Bose Frames Tempo Style sunglasses look very good. The best-looking of the entire Frames range, in my opinion.
Game review: Saints Row (PC)
Thu, 1st Sep 2022
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
The Saints are back in this reboot/prequel, of the over-the-top open-world crime series simply titled Saints Row.
Game review: Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered (PC)
Tue, 30th Aug 2022
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
Conversion kings Nixxies take Insomniac’s web-swinging PlayStation 5 game, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, and polish it up for PC.
Hands-on review: Campfire Audio X Astell & Kern Pathfinder earphones
Fri, 26th Aug 2022
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gaming
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digital music
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reviews
The Pathfinder earphones, or IEMs (in-ear monitors), are a collaboration between premium earphone manufacturer Campfire Audio and the high-fidelity digital audio system gurus at Astell & Kern.
Game review: Rollerdrome (PC)
Tue, 23rd Aug 2022
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
The game’s visuals take the cel-shaded design style up a notch, looking more like comic book pages than an animated cartoon.
Game review: Sweet Transit (PC Steam early access)
Tue, 16th Aug 2022
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
Team 17’s Sweet Transit invites players to build a thriving colony in a world whereby trains are the only form of transport.