Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt at the V&A review: A fascinating deep dive into videogame design and culture September 7, 2018 Exhibitions about videogames frequently land wide of the mark. Either they’re bogged down in dusty arcade nostalgia – that decades old aesthetic of Pac-Man pixel art and bleepy chiptunes that just won’t go away – or they have the desperate air of a culturally sidelined medium crying out to be taken seriously by art critics. [...]
American Animals review: An audacious and twisting heist movie September 7, 2018 Director Bart Layton is the man behind 2012’s audacious docu-thriller The Imposter, about a French con artist who bamboozles a Texan family into believing he is their long lost son. The film braided fact and fiction into a chunky dramatic rope, drawing on talking head testimony from the real world players, interspersed with very credible [...]
Ollie Phillips: Leicester need to manage expectations after O’Connor’s departure, Lam has Bristol aiming high and Cipriani pulling strings for Gloucester September 6, 2018 Anyone who plays Exeter away from home first game of the season are always going to be in for a rough ride. But Leicester Tigers’ crushing 40-6 defeat last weekend had far-reaching consequences, with head coach Matt O’Connor sacked just 48 hours later. Typically after one game you don’t change coach. It’s unusual behaviour and [...]
Why Fifa and the Premier League are at odds over an imminent overhaul of the transfer market September 6, 2018 The great and the good of football head to London later this month to settle a contentious matter: the recipients of the 2018 instalment of Fifa’s The Best awards. But an even thornier topic is also set to be debated in the capital, with many of the game’s most influential stakeholders in town. The issue [...]
Marvel’s Spider-Man review: Insomniac’s web-slinging open world brawler is Spidey at his absolute best September 5, 2018 There’s a very simple recipe for making a decent Spider-Man game, or at least there seems like there is to people who think that making games is simple. First, it needs to be open world. Not even open world, just open Manhattan, a city that has been accurately recreated in games so many times now [...]
Uefa Nations League: Unpicking Europe’s new competition September 5, 2018 September means different things to different people. It can symbolise the start of a new school year, a grim occasion for teachers and children alike. It can also represent the harvest season for farmers, or the return of the Great British Bake Off – a clear moment of rejoicing across the nation. To football fans, [...]
Chris Tremlett: Alastair Cook was a fantastic opener and a brilliant professional – his retirement leaves a big hole to fill for England September 5, 2018 Friday’s final Test against India at The Oval marks the end of the career of England’s greatest ever run-scorer and Alastair Cook is fully deserving of all the accolades that come his way. Cook came into the side in 2006, scored a hundred on debut in Nagpur and hasn’t looked back since. He’s been the [...]
Q&A: What will Brexit’s impact be on the Premier League? September 5, 2018 Leading immigration lawyer Owen Jones assesses the possible consequences of Brexit on the Premier League. What's the issue? A key uncertainty around Brexit is to what extent, if any, EU nationals should be given immigration advantages. Read more: New poll says UK would vote against Brexit today It has been rumoured that the government favours [...]
KSI v Logan Paul: What traditional sport can learn from the online influencers’ boxing match September 5, 2018 Just over a week ago, 20,000 fans packed into Manchester Arena to watch one of the most talked about UK boxing events in recent history. Several million more watched online. This wasn’t a professional fight, however; rather a white-collar event involving two of the world’s biggest YouTubers and online influencers, KSI – real name Olajide [...]
Sam Torrance: Thomas Bjorn’s Ryder Cup decision over Matt Wallace rests on rookie factor September 4, 2018 I find it unbelievable that a player can win three times on the European Tour this year and still not earn an automatic place on the Ryder Cup team, but that’s the case for Englishman Matt Wallace. Wallace was magnificent at the weekend to win the final tournament of the qualifying process in Denmark – [...]