Ever since its announcement in 2005, Mass Effect has been on the radar of gamers around the world. With a little under a month until its November 22 release, Microsoft Australia have outlined some bonus goodies that those who pre-order the game can expect to receive.

Starting on November 5, people who pre-order will receive a free disc that contains exclusive gamer pics and themes, a five minutes behind-the-scenes documentary, tracks from the Mass Effect original soundtrack, trailers for Mass Effect, and other upcoming Xbox 360 games. Mass Effect will retail for AU$99.95. Be sure to check out GameSpot AU's recent interview with Bioware's community head Chris Priestly .

We work in an industry full of companies eager to get our attention. Sony is always a big player in this field, sending care packages in the post like the Hollywood Quiz pseudo-film canister press kit to coincide with its major announcements. We've often wondered how much of the company's marketing budget goes into sending us cool things to play with. It looks like perhaps the budget has been stretched thin, as today Hausmann Communications, Sony Australia's PR agency, sent us something a little more rustic.

Waiting in our inbox this morning was a video produced by the girls to promote the brand new R&B version of the popular SingStar franchise which goes on sale this Thursday. I give you their version of Salt-n-Pepa's mid '80s hit "Push It. 10 points for effort and an extra couple for the bling.

The team of musicians responsible for Guitar Hero II and Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s' massive soundtracks has set Free Bird free, with music to be available through distributor INGrooves. Fret not, the songs will be available on all major services including AOL, Napster, Rhapsody, Yahoo!, and the ubiquitous Apple iTunes Music Store.

In total, 97 songs will be available, broken up into seven packs, two for the original Guitar Hero, three for Guitar Hero II's huge track listing, and two for the most recently launched Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s. Each pack contains between 12 and 15 songs as performed by WaveGroup. Full details can be found here.

Here at GameSpot AU we get some pretty spiffy promotional gear from publishers and distributors. Up until yesterday it had been a while since we got something cool and original--but enter Buzz! The Hollywood Quiz.

As you can see, the tin is shaped like it's designed to fit an old-school 70mm film reel.

When we cracked it open, we found a press disc, copy of the game, an envelope (under the portrait), and a black and white portrait of Buzz.

Here's a picture of inside the tin without the portrait covering anything. What's in the envelope? Money? Jewels? Money made out of Jewels?

Sadly no only a Buzz! promo booklet.

On the weekend, GameSpot AU attended the Sydney stop of the Supanova Pop Culture Expo, which was held at the Olympic Park in Homebush. Aside from the many vendors and stalls, the main spectacle at the show were the die-hard cosplay fans. Check out some of the pics below of the best cosplayers we saw.

Agent 47 from the Hitman series was there to promote his new movie and to strangle anyone who looked at him funny.

There were a few Boba Fetts strolling around the convention floor.

Mario took time out of his busy development schedule for Super Mario Galaxy to make an appearance. We don't ever remember Mario wearing a backpack though...

Courtesy of Ubisoft, gamers and anime fans were given the chance to play Naruto: Rise of a Ninja before its release later this month.

One guy dressed up as Naked Snake from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, complete with pistol and CQC knife.

Sonic was strutting his stuff at the EB Games booth promoting his new game Sonic and Mario at the Olympic Games.

Who ever would have guess it was a girl under the helmet? Maybe it was the tummy ring that gave it away.

The Terminator complete with grenade launcher and of plenty ammunition patrolled the floor looking for John Connor.

This guy had gone to considerable lengths to make his costume look authentic. Not only was he wearing a cool gas mask but he even has Umbrella patches on his arm and an ID tag!

Just to give you an idea of how big it was, here is a picture that covers about three quarters of the show room floor.

Many of you will probably know Aussie Krystal Forscutt from Big Brother several years back, as well as her numerous appearances in men's magazines across the land. Forscutt added another string to her bow earlier this year when it was announced that she would appear as one of only two models in EA's Need for Speed ProStreet . Forscutt is the first non-sports Aussie to get the digital treatment in an EA game.

GameSpot AU chatted with Forscutt earlier this week to talk about her experiences with Need for Speed ProStreet, her driving skills both in game and on the road, and much more. Check out the video below. Need for Speed ProStreet comes out on most platforms this November.

Rock Band for Christmas down under? We all hoped, some prayed, but it wasn't to be. Now the Aussies may not be the only ones disappointed come December 25th when the Jolly old bugger rappels his way down chimneys like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible to deliver a sack laden with games for good little boys and girls.

Rumour is beginning to circulate that even those lucky North Americans scheduled to bash out their favourite tracks on drum kits across the nation this Christmas morning may have to wait a little longer. The speculation gives further credence to our story back in August, in which RedOctane co-founder and CEO Charles Huang predicted that multiple territories may be left out in the cold due to the massive undertaking of manufacturing so many peripherals in such a short period of time. Now there's word that unless gamers pony up for the entire Rock Band Bundle, they may have to wait until February '08 to get hold of gear.

EB North America has already changed the pre-release date on their website for the standalone microphone, drum kit and wireless Fender guitar controllers to February on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms. Amazon has followed suit, but with the slightly more optimistic ship date of January 31, 2008.

Ploy to sell more Rock Band bundles, or did they simply undershoot the order?

Sony Computer Entertainment Australia today officially announced the soon-to-be-released SingStar R&B, the latest installment in the hit music/rhythm singing genre for the Playstation 2.

The announcement of SingStar R&B takes the game count to 11, and gives wannabe divas and "divo" (that's bloke singers) the chance to strut their stuff with mic in hand to R&B pop songs such as Anastacia's "I'm Outta Love", and Destiny's Child "Bootylicious", alongside genre-defining acts like Diana Ross & the Supremes. The 30-track game is scheduled to hit shelves on October 25th.

The full tracklist is as follows:

• Amerie – "1 Thing"
• Amy Winehouse – "Back To Black"
• Anastacia – "I'm Outta Love"
• Beverley Knight – "Come As You Are"
• Black Eyed Peas – "Pump It"
• Chris Brown – "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)"
• Christina Milian – "AM 2 PM"
• Corinne Bailey Rae – "I'd Liked To"
• Destiny's Child – "Bootylicious"
• Diana Ross & The Supremes – "Baby Love"
• DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince – "Summertime"
• Edwin Starr – "WAR"
• En Vogue – "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)"
• The Four Tops – "Can't Help Myself"
• Gwen Stefani – "Hollerback Girl"
• Inner City – "Good Life"
• Jamelia – "Thank You"
• Jamiroquai – "Alright"
• Luther Vandross – "Never To Much"
• Mark Ronson feat. Daniel Merriweather – "Stop Me"
• Martha Reeve & The Vandellas – "Dancing In The Street"
• Marvin Gaye & Tammii Tarrelle – "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"
• OutKast – "Idlewind Blue (Don't Chu Worru 'Bout Me)"
• Pussycat Dolls – "Buttons"
• Rihanna – "We Ride"
• Salt N Pepa – "Push It"
• Sugababes – "Ugly"
• The 411 – "Dumb"
• Whitney Houston – "Your Love Is My Love"
• Womack & Womack - "Teardrops"

Fellow GameSpot editor Brian Ekberg wrote an extensive preview after his time with the title, and we're happy to report that nothing major has changed in the time since Leipzig.

Our session consisted of a short demo by the Rockstar team before they let us get our grubby little mitts on the Wiimotes. The game looks about on par with the Xbox 360 version if not a little scaled for the maximum resolution 480p Wii to handle. Character facial animations and movement were just as fluid as the original, although realistically once the game starts up you won't have time to concentrate on anything but the ball as it leaps across the net towards your opponent's throat.

Much the same as Wii Sports tennis swinging the movement of the Wiimote will determine the direction, speed, and your shot. It's all in the snap of the wrist, so you won't need to flail wildly unless you want a workout. This becomes particularly important when you're facing an evenly matched foe and rallies can quickly run to 100 shots apiece. Table Tennis is not best known as a sport won by attrition.

We played our first match using the everyone-friendly "standard" controller type which only uses the Wiimote. Here you'll just need to swing your wrist nice and early to wind up a shot. First-timers will enjoy returning shots with no hassles. Serving is as simple as pressing the A button to enter the service mode, tossing the ball up with one flick, and a second movement launches the ball when it's in the power zone you want. Pressing either left or right on the D-pad gives your shots spin in the appropriate direction, with the up and down buttons used to apply top and backspin on the ball and make it dip or zip as required. Angled presses on the D-pad buttons produce a combined effect, giving you deadly curving topspin or cutting dipping backspin shots. It's basic, but it gets the job done and it's extremely accessible, consider this the party mode.

"Sharp Shooter" is the second controller profile and introduces the player to the nunchuck attachment. In this mode you'll use the nunchuck's analogue stick to control your shot's direction--the shot itself is still determined by the Wiimote swing movement. Designed for intermediate users who have their head around the gameplay mechanics but want a little more fine control over the ball, this one is for you, and our pick for more advanced, but fun play.

The third and final control scheme "Control Freak" is as advanced as it gets in RGPTT and lets you use the analogue stick on the nunchuck to control your player. After mastering the first two modes, this one can still be a bit daunting. We found that while moving your player around the table, preparing the desired spin, and juggling the power-up focus mode you always seem to forget to do something, like say for example, swing your arm to return the ball. This is definitely the advanced control system and while you'll master it over time, it can be a bit much for newcomers.

After spending time with the title, it looks to be shaping up nicely for its impending October Australian release. We're looking forward to getting even more intimate with the control system, particularly wrapping our head around Control Freak. With some more practice Wii Sports tennis may soon need to take a backseat at the next office party for this timeless sport revisited.