FutureFive New Zealand - Consumer technology news & reviews from the future

About Darren

Darren Price mugshot photo
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

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Hands-on review: Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UX3405
This month
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reviews
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tablets & laptops
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asus
The new Asus Zenbook 14 OLED is one of the first of a new generation of notebooks sporting an Intel Meteor Lake Core Ultra processor.
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Hands-on review: Intel Core Ultra 7 155H AI-enabled notebook processor
Last month
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mobility
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tablets & laptops
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reviews
At CES 2024, Intel allowed Techday to test the AI capabilities of its new Core Ultra notebook processors.
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Hands-on review: D-Link Aquila Pro AI AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 Smart Mesh System
Last month
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cloud services
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reviews
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technology gifts
The M30 routers have a clean aesthetic design and easy-to-use set-up, but underneath, they have all the advanced features that enthusiasts expect.
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Hands-on review: CRKD Nitro Deck for Nintendo Switch
Last month
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gaming
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reviews
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monitors
With the eye-catching Game Boy Advance/Game Cube looks, the Nitro Deck fits nicely in your hand, giving players a great new way to play their Switch games.
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Hands-on review: Mokibo Fusion MKB420 Bluetooth keyboard
Last month
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reviews
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technology gifts
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bluetooth
The Mokibo’s Fusion MKB420 keyboard is really easy to use and, apart from a few of the more advanced functions, pretty intuitive.
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Game review: Tekken 8 (PC)
Wed, 31st Jan 2024
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
Tekken 8 introduces new aggressive fight mechanics, with characters being able to unload “Heat” moves and devastating “Rage Art” attacks.
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Hands-on review: ASRock Phantom Gaming Z790 Nova WiFi motherboard
Wed, 24th Jan 2024
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gaming
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endpoint protection
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reviews
ASRock's Phantom Gaming Z790 Nova WiFi is one of the new "refresh" LGA 1700 motherboards released in time for the launch of Intel's 14th-gen CPUs, themselves a refresh of last year's Raptor Lake processors. .
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AI: The focus of Intel and its partners at CES 24 Intel Client Open House
Tue, 16th Jan 2024
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cloud services
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endpoint protection
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edr
Intel, its partners and rivals are all investing in AI technology that will change the way we work, play and get around, likely sooner rather than later.
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Hands-on review: Meta Quest 3 VR headset
Mon, 15th Jan 2024
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
With the addition of mixed reality via the device's colour pass-through cameras, could this be the next generation of consumer VR headsets?.
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Hands-on review: Jackery Explorer 300 Plus portable power station and SolarSaga 80W solar panel
Fri, 22nd Dec 2023
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sustainable it
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reviews
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power / energy
The Jackery Explorer 300 Plus portable power station and SolarSaga 80W solar panel is a great combo for anyone camping in an isolated place or just wanting to get into powering their camp in an environmentally friendly way.
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Xbox Cloud Gaming comes to Meta Quest headsets
Tue, 19th Dec 2023
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gaming
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microsoft
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technology gifts
Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming is now available for Meta Quest 2, 3, and Pro headsets.
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Game review: Lego Bricktales (Meta Quest 3)
Wed, 13th Dec 2023
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
Lego Bricktales gets an exclusive virtual reality version for the Meta Quest Pro, Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest 3. Techday’s Darren Price checks out the game on the Meta Quest 3 headset.
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Hands-on review: Intel Core i9-14900K and Intel Core i5-14600K 14th -generation CPUs
Tue, 28th Nov 2023
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pc hardware
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endpoint protection
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reviews
Intel has unleashed the company's new 14th-generation desktop processors. We check out the Core i9-14900K flagship CPU and its little sibling, the Core i5-14600K.
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Game review: EA Sports WRC (PC)
Thu, 9th Nov 2023
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
EA Sports' expert motor racing studio, Codemasters, has finally got its hands on the World Rally Championship licence.
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The Intel Extreme Masters returns to Sydney
Fri, 27th Oct 2023
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gaming
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technology gifts
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intel
The Intel Extreme Masters tournament returned to Sydney for an epic live esports competition, featuring Counter-Strike 2 as the game of choice.
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Hands-on review: HTC Vive XR Elite
Fri, 20th Oct 2023
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technology gifts
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reviews
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vr
The HTC Vive XR Elite is a next-generation VR headset that offers a lighter, more comfortable experience for users, but with a hefty price tag of £2,000.
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Hands-on review: Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 and the Phantom Liberty DLC expansion (PC)
Mon, 2nd Oct 2023
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
With the release of the 2.0 update and the DLC expansion, is Cyberpunk 2077 finally the game promised to fans almost three years ago?.
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Game review: Red Dead Redemption (Nintendo Switch)
Wed, 20th Sep 2023
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
Rockstar's thirteen-year-old cowboy simulator, Red Dead Redemption, has had a surprise re-release on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.
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Hands-on review: AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT
Tue, 19th Sep 2023
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pc hardware
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gaming
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reviews
We were sent an AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT reference card to test, which was perfect timing with the release of Bethesda’s AMD-optimised Starfield.
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Hands-on review: EPOS EXPAND Vision 1 4K webcam
Wed, 6th Sep 2023
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reviews
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technology gifts
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webcam
The EPOS EXPAND Vision 1 is a 4K personal webcam designed for video conferencing. Epos Australia sent one of its webcams over for us to take a love at..
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Hands-on review: Aspera AS8 smartphone
Mon, 4th Sep 2023
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smartphones
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reviews
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technology gifts
The Aspera AS8: an affordable Australian smartphone that doesn't compromise on quality or features. Read our review.
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Hands-on review: HyperX Cloud Stinger 2 gaming headset for PlayStation
Wed, 30th Aug 2023
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gaming
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reviews
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technology gifts
HyperX releases Cloud Stinger 2 headset for PlayStation 4 and 5, boasting a lightweight design and high-quality audio for an affordable price.
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Hands-on review: WD My Passport SSD Review - Simplifying Storage!
Mon, 7th Aug 2023
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storage
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reviews
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technology gifts
The WD My Passport SSD is a high-speed, palm-sized portable storage device that offers impressive performance and a sleek design.
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Hands-on review: Bluetti AC200P Portable Power Station
Mon, 3rd Jul 2023
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gaming
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reviews
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power / energy
Bluetti's AC200P Portable Power Station offers up to 2,000W of portable AC and DC power for outdoor activities away from mains electricity.