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The Spinoff Live


    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.
    avatar
    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.
    avatar
    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?
    avatar
    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.
    avatar
    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?
    avatar
    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.
    avatar
    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. 
    avatar
    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.
    avatar
    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.
    avatar
    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.
    avatar
    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?
    avatar
    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

    avatar
    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.
    avatar
    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.
    avatar
    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?
    avatar
    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.
    avatar
    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.
    avatar
    By Sam Brooks | 6th April, 2020
    Culture Editor

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