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CONTENTS

ISSUE 228 OCT 2023

GAMING 5 Take 5/Game changers! 6 Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 8 Forza Motorsport 10 Assassin’s Creed Mirage 12 EA Sports UFC 5 14 MSI gaming laptops 16 Super Mario Bros. Wonder 18 Out this month 20 Fast forward/Q5/Wham, bam, game exam! MOVIES & TV 22 Intro/Take 5 23 Merch of the Month/Charts 24 Transformers Roll Out 26 Back to the Further - Insidious: The Red Door 28 Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story 30 Talk to Me / The Cost 32 The latest on 4K: Horror for Halloween 34 New from Imprint Films 36 Out this month TECH 38 Intro 40 Outdoor tech buying checklist 42 Staying connected when out and about 44-46 Keep on track with a smartwatch 48 Capture the moment with a digital camera 50 Dash cams and content creator gear 52 Level up with an action camera 54 Take to the skies with a compact drone 56-58 Electric scooters are your ticket to ride 60 Earbud essentials 62 Mobile music with a Bluetooth speaker 64 Does the UE Epicboom shake the room? 66 Move it, move it with the Sonos Move 2 68 Portable cinema and power banks 70 Stay in charge with a portable power station 72-76 Pamper yourself with the new beauty and wellness tech 78 New tech at JB MUSIC FLIP MAG AND READ FROM BACK 4-10 The Music Room: Chats with Angie McMahon, Diesel and more 12-13 Cover feature: Diamonds Are The Stones’ Best Friends 14 Lifting the Lid: John Farnham’s Age of Reason (1988) 16 Album reviews 18 Vital Vinyl 19 This Month @ JB

WELCOME

How many hours did you lose to Spider-Man back in 2018? A platform-defining game, the PlayStation exclusive combined an expansive open world with excellent gameplay elements, backed with a compelling story. It was a title that kept on giving, and the good news is the follow-up, Spider-Man 2 , releases in October, and we caught up with senior creative director Bryan Intihar to get the inside word. The perennial Rolling Stones unleash their first long player in 18 years this month. Called Hackney Diamonds after old East London slang for glass from broken car windows (“It’s a London band,” said Mick Jagger in the press conference reveal), the album features an array of A-List cameos from Paul McCartney and Elton John to Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder, and we peruse the history of the Rolling Stones’ friendship (or foeship!) with each of these guest artists. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts leads October’s movie line-up, and there’s more than meets the eye to this sequel to Bumblebee , which introduces the Beast Wars sub franchise to the series and pays homage to the Saturday morning cartoons of old. October also brings Halloween, and horror fans are well served with new releases like Talk to Me and Insidious: The Red Door , plus a range of classics hitting 4K. And with spring in the air, it’s time to get out about, and we’ve rounded up all the portable tech you shouldn’t leave home without – from electric scooters and smartwatches, to cameras, drones, Bluetooth speakers and a whole lot more. You’ll also be left looking and feeling fabulous with our deep dive into the latest beauty and wellbeing tech. Paul Jones, Editor-in-Chief

jbhifi.com.au/stack

Founder Nic Short Editor-in-Chief Paul Jones Tech Editor Scott Hocking Music Editor Zoë Radas

Music Consultant Mike Glynn Marketing Manager Fleur Parker

Social Media Manager Glenn Cochrane Production Manager Craig Patterson Correspondence STACK editor@stack.com.au

Chief Contributors Gill Pringle, Bob Jones Contributors Bryget Chrisfield, Jeff Jenkins,

Games & Online Editor Amy Flower Movie & TV Editor Glenn Cochrane Creative Director Gary Siewert Movies Consultant Kerrie Taylor Games Consultant Sachi Fernando

Simon Lukic, Billy Pinnell, Denise Hylands, Simon Winkler, Jake Cleland, Holly Pereira, Adam Colby, Bec Summer, Dan Nicholson, Alex Deutrom, Michael Irving, Jacqui Picone

RATINGS GUIDE

Parental guidance recommended

Recommended for mature audiences

Not suitable for people under 15. Under 15s must be accommpanied by a parent or adult guardian

Restricted to 18 and over

General

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