Multiplayer gaming has moved from the lounge to the headset – and it’s not necessarily a good thing. Jesse Dekel writes about where multiplayer gaming is now, and why she’s never really enjoyed it. For me, it really comes down to this simple assessment: developers and publishers have apparently decided they’d rather not integrate multiplayer … Read more
You’ve seen the YouTube ads, you’ve seen the ads on your phone. But what the hell is World of Tanks? Adam Goodall went on an adventure to find out. For the last twelve months, my friend Tim has been bugging me to join him on an adventure. To travel with him around the world, from the … Read more
If you participate in a certain dark corner of the internet, you’ll know that a lot of people are talking about video game breasts – and the fight to keep them unrealistic. Sam Brooks investigates. Last week in an interview with Gamespot, Yohei Shimbura, the director of Dead or Alive 6 said about the latest entry in … Read more
Is the much maligned Final Fantasy VII sequel/spinoff Dirge of Cerberus really as bad as everyone says? I was 17 when Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII came out. As a longtime Final Fantasy nerd at the height of my obligatory emo phase, the idea of a new game focused on Vincent Valentine, everyone’s favourite … Read more
Lots of people can’t drive, including Haimona Gray. He talks to a few famous people who are similarly impaired, and gets behind the wheel in the only way he knows how: video games. My first memory of driving a car involves the 1994 Sega arcade classic, Daytona USA. As of writing, it remains the closest … Read more
In the midst of the bad prequels, after a slew of bad video games, and before the contested sequels, there was Knights of the Old Republic. Sam Brooks looks back at the critically acclaimed Star Wars game on its fifteenth anniversary. In 2003, the idea of a good Star Wars game was like the idea of a Star Wars sequel at … Read more
Welcome back to Waterdeep Mountain High, a Dungeons & Dragons podcast set in a below average school in the mystical land of Faerun. “I’ve decided to use the only thing left in my arsenal…my sexuality.” A fight-filled episode as our heroes try to destroy some book monsters while Forrest attempts to heal the heart of … Read more
Could this be the gayest video game guide ever? Kermath shares his definitive guide to the games coming up over the next 12 months – and which Grindr tribe they belong to. The main game announcements for 2018/early 2019 have pretty much all been made. Outside it’s cold, work is shit, and you have nothing … Read more
Is New Zealand missing out on the chance to cash in on the gaming boom? And would more government support make a difference? This piece was originally published on Newshub. Video games are a multibillion-dollar global entertainment industry, and experts say New Zealand should be doing more to seize the opportunity. Gaming is worth $524m … Read more
Adam Goodall talks to the developers of Kiwi game Grabity about soccer cars, flailing swords and big honking machines. I’m playing Grabity online and I’m getting absolutely caned by this person named Chinnaru. They’re showing up in every other game and wrecking my shop, boosting over to my side of the map and firing off … Read more
Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Lara Croft, Mario – these characters defined gaming in culture for so long. So what happened to them? An orange bandicoot, a purple dragon, a long ponytailed archaelogist, an electric rat, a male green lizard that could lay eggs, a terrifying yellow circle. These were the representatives of gaming for so long; … Read more
Welcome back to Waterdeep Mountain High, a Dungeons & Dragons podcast set in a below average school in the mystical land of Faerun. After the horrors they faced in the tunnels beneath Mt Waterdeep, our heroes emerge to find their beloved schools has changed in some very significant and disturbing ways… Starring Nic Sampson, Alice … Read more
Rare’s popular-ish platformer Banjo-Kazooie turns 20 this year. Uther Dean reflects on what the series meant for him back then – and what it means now. Banjo-Kazooie is 20 years old. Time is cruel. These things are connected. Time is cruel because it can’t be 20 years since I first played the wild frolic through a … Read more
The Binding of Isaac was the indie cult hit of 2014. Josh Davies examines what makes this game so compelling four years on. I am addicted to this game called The Binding of Isaac. I love it. I have been playing it since it was released and don’t plan on stopping. Instead I am going to convince … Read more
Ubisoft’s partnership with collaborative content creation company HitRecord on the game Beyond Good and Evil 2 has caused an outcry among freelancers, who argue the game’s ‘fan engagement strategy’ is exploitation, plain and simple. Ubisoft’s opening salvo at E3 this year – after their annual celebration of Just Dance – was a ten minute presentation for Beyond … Read more
This year’s E3 was quite possibly the gayest E3 ever. Of course, Sony’s naughty kiss was one of the main head-turners, but there was a lot more simmering under the surface during the 2018 expo. E3 takes place in Los Angeles, home of the first ever Pride Parade. Now in its 48th year, the parade … Read more
Welcome back to Waterdeep Mountain High, a Dungeons & Dragons podcast set in a below average school in the mystical land of Faerun. “In Dungeons and Dragons are dogs, dogs? Or are they like, esteemed members of the community?” Deep in the tunnels beneath Mount Waterdeep our heroes race against time to complete the infamous … Read more
E3 is a whirlwind of press conferences, trailers and gamer reactions, and so much happens that it’s almost impossible to keep up with it all. Sam Brooks has your essential E3 cheat sheet. If you’re deep in a certain part of the internet, your social media feed right now is probably a maelstrom of E3 … Read more
Nintendo had their E3 press conference today – and obviously the most important part was who’s being added to the new Super Smash Bros. game. Sam Brooks takes a look at the new characters. If you grew up as a nineties kid – or even more egregiously, an aughties kid – then you’ll recognise Super Smash … Read more
The new trailer for the much-anticipated latest entry in the Final Fantasy/Disney crossover series Kingdom Hearts premiered at E3 today. Sam Brooks tries to make sense of it. If you’re not familiar with Kingdom Hearts, good god, why are you starting now? You’re sixteen years too late. Trying to understand this series at this point is like trying to … Read more
The JRPG has been in decline for the past decade, but the Tales series continues to attract a dedicated audience. Sam Brooks investigates how it has survived so long. The first Tales game I ever played was a good ten years after its debut. It was 2005, the year where we pre-emptively gave Reese Witherspoon an Oscar for playing … Read more
What happens to the unused Pokemon who never make it to a game? They get leaked 20 years later and ruthlessly insulted. Last week, an uploaded ROM (essentially an illegal copy of a game) of Pokemon Gold and Silver was uploaded to the internet, and has since been meticulously unpacked by fans at The Cutting Room Floor. The … Read more
Born after 1980? Going to be renting your entire life with no end in sight? House Flipper is the game to simulate a renovation future you’ll never see. Adam Goodall reviews. When I was a kid and my parents made me go to Mitre 10 Palmerston North with them, I would go straight to the part … Read more
Welcome back to Waterdeep Mountain High, a Dungeons & Dragons podcast set in a below average school in the mystical land of Faerun. “Yesterday we literally found some dead kids, and they didn’t even give us the next day off.” Barely recovered from the traumatic events of their afternoon in detention, our heroes are tasked … Read more
The mighty John Madden Football series turns 30 today – a huge achievement for any game series. Haimona Gray looks at how the series has matured and mutated over the past three decades. Picture 22 athletes at the top of their fields competing at a level they had to forgo the majority of childhood to … Read more
A new David Cage game comes with a lot of hype and a lot of high promises. Does Detroit: Become Human meet the hype for the first time in Cage’s career? Sam Brooks reviews. This is a completely spoiler-free review for this game, so you can safely read this if you want to play the game and … Read more
It’s no secret that horror writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft had bigoted attitudes to race and class. Duy Le examines how these aspects of Lovecraft’s writing are critiqued in FromSoftware’s Bloodborne. It’s not an exaggeration to say that many of HP Lovecraft’s works are subtly underpinned by his bigotry; his letters made his views all but transparent. … Read more
The highly anticipated sequel to the 2013’s cult hit State of Decay 2 feels like three steps forward and two steps back. Baz Macdonald reviews. It’s a time-honoured nerd tradition to discuss the ways in which you would survive a zombie apocalypse. Some opt for the assault approach, equipping themselves with an arsenal and holing up … Read more
It’s the second episode of our new comedy Dungeons and Dragons podcast! Welcome back to Waterdeep Mountain High, a below average school in the mystical land of Faerun. “It’s like Hugh Grant vs Colin Firth” In the second episode of Waterdeep Mountain High our heroes Forrest Rivers, Kate Shepherd, Hillardo Morrison, and Peng the Goblin … Read more