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Gaming

What are these cute little creatures and why is your kid obsessed with them? (Image: Tina Tiller)

What is Among Us and should I let my kid play it?

It’s the third most streamed game in the world, but what the hell is it?
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By Sam Brooks | 29th December, 2020
Culture Editor
This is about as cool – and as good – as Cyberpunk 2077 gets.

Review: Cyberpunk 2077 is more glitch than game

It was all set to be the biggest game of the year, but Cyberpunk 2077's release has been overshadowed by technical hitches and multiple controversies.
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By Sam Brooks | 17th December, 2020
Culture Editor
Eivor, the protagonist of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, on the verge of pillaging and colonising England. It’s as fun as it sounds. (Photo: Ubisoft)

Review: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla fails to make colonisation fun

In the mood for some good old fashioned pillaging? Then play this. But if you want to have a good time while doing so, best to look elsewhere.
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By Sam Brooks | 2nd December, 2020
Culture Editor
What are these cute little creatures and why is your kid obsessed with them? (Image: Tina Tiller)

What is Among Us and should I let my kid play it?

It’s the third most streamed game in the world, but what the hell is it?
avatar
By Sam Brooks | 9th November, 2020
Culture Editor
The Xbox Series X is a powerful machine, but the games just aren’t there. (Photo: Microsoft, Image: Tina Tiller)

Review: The Xbox Series X is a powerful beast, but where are the games?

It’s big, it’s powerful, it’s packed with impressive new features – but is it worth shelling out $800 for? The Spinoff takes the XBox Series X out for a test drive.
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By Lee Henaghan | 7th November, 2020
Guest writer
Look at that big fella! It’s the PS5. (Photo: Sony, Image: Tina Tiller)

Review: The PlayStation 5 is a delightful big boy of a console

The Playstation 5 is Sony's entry into the new generation of gaming. How does the big unit fare?
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By Sam Brooks | 7th November, 2020
Culture Editor
Photo: Supplied

Why the jigsaw puzzle is 2020’s greatest stress buster

The right puzzle speaks to me like poetry, an active meditation.
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By Rebecca Wadey | 17th October, 2020
Guest writer
Pulling off combos like it ain’t no thing, even though you haven’t done it since you were a kid? That, my friend, is science. (Image: Tina Tiller)

Here’s why you still remember how to play Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 20 years later

It's been two decades, so how is it you can still pull off a kickflip like it was yesterday?
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By Sam Brooks | 10th September, 2020
Culture Editor
If only the game was as fun as this screenshot looked. (Photo: Supplied)

Review: No Straight Roads is more fun to watch than it is to play

While musically and visually on point, much-anticipated indie game No Straight Roads is all sensory overload and little substance.
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By Sam Brooks | 28th August, 2020
Culture Editor
Need more doggos in your life? Look no further than the first game from Starcolt Studios, Best Friend Forever.

The Wellington studio behind this year’s cutest (and most inclusive) dating sim

Do you like cute dogs? Do you like cute people? Wellington-based Starcolt Studios' first game, Best Friend Forever, might just be the one for you. 
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By Sam Brooks | 27th August, 2020
Culture Editor
Ghost of Tsushima, from studio Sucker Punch, is a fitting end to the PS4. It’s slick, it’s solid, and it’s huge. (Photo: Supplied)

Review: Ghost of Tsushima is a slick conclusion to the PS4’s lifecycle

Another PS4 exclusive, another game about the cost of violence.
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By Sam Brooks | 17th July, 2020
Culture Editor
See this man of iron? This could be you, in Iron Man VR.

Review: Iron Man VR is superhero wish fulfilment, pure and simple

Ever wanted to be Iron Man? Sam Brooks prefers Pepper Potts, but he had a great time stepping into the iron suit anyway.
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By Sam Brooks | 10th July, 2020
Culture Editor
Just another damn zombie, from The Last of Us Part II.
Opinion

We don’t need any more zombie games

The use of zombies in video games is getting the world's most inventive artform stuck in the mud, ready to have its brains eaten out.
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By Sam Brooks | 1st July, 2020
Culture Editor
The box cover art for Deus Ex, released for the PC in the year 2000.

The 20-year legacy of the greatest game ever made: Deus Ex

Many call it the greatest game of all time, but where does its legacy sit now?
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By Sam Brooks | 23rd June, 2020
Culture Editor
Ellie plays the guitar in a brief moment of respite in The Last of Us Part II. (Photo: SIIE)

Review: The Last of Us Part II is great for what it means, not for what it is

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By Sam Brooks | 12th June, 2020
Culture Editor
Stills from Umurangi Generation.

What a video game about a futuristic Tauranga can tell us about our present

A new first-person photography game set in a dystopian Tauranga under lockdown is the best work of Māori science-fiction this decade, writes Dan Taipua.
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By Dan Taipua | 29th May, 2020
Guest writer
A new bill being passed through parliament affects all of these industries, but just how bad could it be?
Opinion

There and back again: The bill targeting workers’ right in the screen industry

A bill is currently being read in parliament that could radically shift employee rights in our screen and gaming industries.
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By Mickey Treadwell | 20th May, 2020
Guest writer
Is there anything more idyllic looking than a game of Animal Crossings: New Horizons? Photo: Tom Neunzerling.

Turnip for what? Two calming months of Animal Crossing: New Horizons

How did this quaint village-making game become one of the biggest sellers of its generation?
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By Sam Brooks | 19th May, 2020
Culture Editor
The cast of Sakura Wars, looking as anime as ever. (Photo: Supplied)

Review: Dating sim legend Sakura Wars returns

Sam Brooks reviews dating sim legend Sakura Wars, which returns after 15 years with a soft reboot.
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By Sam Brooks | 3rd May, 2020
Culture Editor
A remade Cloud looks up at a remade Shinra Building, in the fantastic Final Fantasy VII remake. Photo: Supplied.

Review: The Final Fantasy VII Remake is the definitive version of Final Fantasy VII

Sam Brooks reviews the most anticipated game of the year: the Final Fantasy VII Remake.
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By Sam Brooks | 6th April, 2020
Culture Editor

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