Karl Smart Avatar Image

Karl Smart

Wantirna, VIC, Australia
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Favorite Games:
  • Street Fighter
  • Resident Evil
  • WWE

69 games reviewed
68.8 average score
80 median score
50.7% of games recommended

Karl Smart's Reviews

An Australian with a very open and honest opinion base. Does not pull punches on reviews or anything else. Is not politically correct at all and proud of it. Worked for 10 years as a member of Wild Talk Radio Network as a podcast co-host, moved onto self made Youtube channel and into the realm of gaming reviews. Has made contacts with some of the top developers and publishers in gaming in under a year. Yearly PAX Australia attendee.
Jul 30, 2020

CARRION is a game that only someone associated with the madhouse publisher that is Devolver Digital could create.

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May 5, 2021

Resident Evil Village is a great entry into the otherwise weird third trilogy of the Resident Evil franchise. Taking a lot of what made Resident Evil 7 work as a great horror experience and adding to it with things that people enjoyed about Resident Evil 4. However, Resident Evil Village does feel like by adding things from Resident Evil 4, that CAPCOM is about to remake some mistakes of old.

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Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is a great introduction to the world of Final Fantasy for both new and old fans of the series, as well as people looking for a new or different MMO to play. While still having a lot of the standard tropes that an MMO does have, along with a lot of ones from the Final Fantasy series, the combination of both are a breath of fresh air for those people who have been stuck inhaling the stench of World of Warcraft for over a decade.

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Oct 9, 2021

Back 4 Blood is a good game, it improves on the Left 4 Dead formula in a way that is challenging and creative. However, the move to forcing people to advance the overall game by going online, being forced to work with randoms in a very badly connected cross-platform multiplayer games where without a solid communication base, resulting in Back 4 Blood being an experience in frustration rather than a very enjoyable game. If Turtle Rock allows for private games where you can do under 4 players with bots instead, then maybe this game can truly be something that is a must-own. But at the moment Back 4 Blood is only worth playing if you have a premade group of friends.

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Final Fantasy XIV Online: Heavensward & Final Fantasy XIV Online: Stormblood are prime examples of how you should follow up a great opening chapter in a multi-game game like Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn. The time spent with Final Fantasy XIV Online now feels like it is really getting somewhere instead of just one long introduction. While Final Fantasy XIV Online: Stormblood doesn't quite balance the leveling experience with the story questline, everything comes together as an overall amazing experience leading into Final Fantasy XIV Online: Shadowbringers.

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Final Fantasy XIV Online: Heavensward & Final Fantasy XIV Online: Stormblood are prime examples of how you should follow up a great opening chapter in a multi-game game like Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn. The time spent with Final Fantasy XIV Online now feels like it is really getting somewhere instead of just one long introduction. While Final Fantasy XIV Online: Stormblood doesn't quite balance the leveling experience with the story questline, everything comes together as an overall amazing experience leading into Final Fantasy XIV Online: Shadowbringers.

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Feb 3, 2022

OlliOlli World looks like the type of game that you would find as a free-to-play mobile experience, but once you get into the grind of things, you'll be kickflipping with excitement as you tackle challenge after challenge that will keep you coming back for more each time.

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Mar 5, 2022

Gran Turismo 7 is probably the best racing simulation game on the market right now, something that every car fanatic needs to own. Gran Turismo 7 allows you to fine-tune everything from the motor, to the circuits, to the paint, and more. Everything can be made just the way you want it to be. Gran Turismo 7 is also the BEST looking game on the PlayStation 5… PERIOD. Everything is reflective, from the paint to the chrome on the wheel covers… It's AMAZING. If you're a racing fanatic, then this is the game for you.

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Mar 9, 2022

WWE 2K22 is one of those games that, as a wrestling fan, I don't mind playing a few times over before using it as a WCW/ECW/AEW simulator game till something else comes along. The MyRise career mode looks to be a highlight of an otherwise limited video game. Now only if WWE could do something about their real-life product (and not fire half the roster before a game release) that can compare to some of the bookings you can do in WWE 2K22 and maybe they might have a chance to return to dominance… Till then, bring on the AEW video game!

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Resident Evil Village: Gold Edition is a perfect package of improvements and additions to the main game that makes it well worth the purchase. The improvement of adding the third-person viewing option gives access to more people who will now be able to play the game for the first time while giving people who have already played Resident Evil Village: Gold Edition a reason to revisit the game. The addition of Shadows of Rose shows that the developers know they raised the bar with Resident Evil Village and wanted to top it with a more frightening and grounded atmosphere while keeping things as outlandish as they were in Resident Evil Village.

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Nov 4, 2022

God of War: Ragnarok is every bit as good as God of War: Ragnarok was 4 years ago. However, God of War: Ragnarok brings to light limitations that the industry seems to have hit in terms of graphical display and mechanics that shouldn't be something that even exists at all, let alone in one of the biggest games of the year.

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Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is a great musical adventure through the past of the Final Fantasy series and celebrates everything from the 8-bit chiptune days to the crystal clear renditions of the Final Fantasy VII remake, the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV Online (With an expanded free trial which you can play through the entirety of A Realm Reborn and the award-winning Heavensward expansion up to level 60 for free with no restrictions on playtime.), and Final Fantasy XV. While those of us with less than 20/20 vision might struggle with the speed and location of the notes, others will have a toe-tapping good time from start to finish.

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Mar 3, 2023

Dead Space does a good job of being a remaster with enough changes to give enough of a challenge for returning players but also improves the scares enough that the new generation of gamers who are more used to gore will be shaking when something goes bump in the night. However, if you have played 2008 originally, it's going to be hard to justify paying full price for Dead Space in 2023. If you haven't played this game before, buy it. If you have played it before, find a sale before you buy it.

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Oct 18, 2023

Mortal Kombat 1 brings the idea of a whole new universe into light with an amazing, but really fast-paced, story mode. However, the rest of the game feels like Mortal Kombat as a franchise has stagnated in terms of gameplay with nothing really innovating things outside of the cameo fighter system. Then we have the impending microtransaction additions that you know are coming, and I hate those with a passion.

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Oct 26, 2023

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is a good game, a solid outing for Spider-Man fans. However, there are some issues under the hood of this game that really need to be addressed in patches over time, or just let Insomniac do the Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales 2 that they really want to do instead of pushing them to keep doing Peter Parker Spider-Man stories that they clearly no longer want to do… I hope they make it up to Venom fans with some good DLC.

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Oct 24, 2016

WWE 2K17 tries very hard to innovate itself back into what the game was at the height of the THQ era, but also tries too hard to be a complex simulator. While simulation works for it's other sports titles, 2K didn't need to morph the WWE series into the same thing. 2K continues to try and turn players away with their innovation in everything but DLC practices and graphics. This is what WWE games should have been 3 games ago, now it just feels like stagnation... Like watching WWE RAW.

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Feb 27, 2017

Dragon Ball Fusions is a wish forfilment to some degree. While it gives us the concept of being able to fuse any character we want, the rest of the game doesn't live up to that one mechanic. Personally I blame the release of it on the Nintendo 3DS as it limited the other aspects of the game in order to pull off the main mechanic. The game is still fun to play, if not easy to abuse. Dragon Ball Fusions is a game that is going to cater to the casual Dragon Ball fan and the hardcore alike, but the hardcores might not like the overall package once the thrill of fan service wears off.

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Micro Machines World Series is a game that could have been great but squanders it all with bad controls and a push towards modes that aren't as fun as the racing mode should have been. Maybe if there were some gameplay patches and some more Hasbro themed style levels (Where's my G1 Transformers track guys?) that could make the game somewhat more interesting than the cheap cash in that we're left with today.

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Jan 29, 2018

Dragon Ball FighterZ looks pretty as hell, almost as good as the anime these days. However the game has a serious balancing issue, the company has a serious greed issue. Overall the more you play the game, the less you're going to like it unless you enjoy grinding against people who will combo lock you into hell. Single player gets boring quickly, leaving a terrible online experience. Expect this game to disappear into the next dimension when the next flashy anime style fighting game arrives.

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Apr 5, 2020

Resident Evil 3 is a solid remake, it looks and feels fresh compared to the original. But when you take a look at the much better Resident Evil 2 you notice that the time and care taken with the two games is much different thus creating a very different experience from the previous game.

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