Jasper Williams

Master's graduate keen to enter journalism as a career. I've been writing student journalism since 2018 in politics and gaming

The Oxford Student •

Tony Hawk’s Underground – How to create a wannabe skater –

Image description: a green and blue skateboard lying face down diagonally on the side of a pavement

There is no shortage of amazing games in the market right now. From captivating narratives like The Last of Us, to immersive RPGs like Fallout, to indie feats like Hades, and even to love-them-or-hate-thems like Cyberpunk 2077. It may therefore seem odd that I find a skating game from 2003 to be one of the best games ever made. Yet strap in as I tell you how this game has me playing it to complet
Backbench •

Boris’ ‘New Deal’ is historically illiterate

On November 8, 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president of the United States. He promised a radical departure from the way his predecessor had dealt with the Great Depression in the form of a ‘New Deal’ – a series of public works, reforms, and financial regulations.

On June 30, 2020, Boris Johnson, the leader of the Conservative Party which has been in power for the last ten years similarly announced a ‘New Deal’ for Britain in the wake of the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus.
Backbench •

NHSX's App is the latest expansion of an incompetent tech surveillance state

As we move into the next stages of dealing with the current crisis, NHSX has developed a COVID-19 tracking app which is supposed to be an integral part of the government’s new ‘test, track and trace’ strategy.

The decision to go with a bespoke centralised model rather than work with Apple and Google to create a decentralised one has raised a fair amount of concern, with particular attention paid to the infringements upon individual privacy this brings.

On the surface this model may seem ration
Backbench •

Coronavirus may cement a four-year redefining of the left-right divide

The quintessential divide in politics, that of the ‘left’ and the ‘right’, can trace its origins back to the French Revolution. In the National Assembly, supporters of the king would sit on the right of the chamber, whilst supporters of the revolution would sit on the left.

Nowadays, this divide is based more on economics. The left generally supports redistributive policies in an attempt to achieve equality, whereas the right champions capitalism and private property.

The ideology behind the l
The Oxford Student •

Xbox Game Pass: The future of the industry? –

Launched in 2017, Xbox Game Pass is certainly not the first video game subscription service, but has the potential to be the most important for the future of the industry. For a monthly fee, Game Pass allows you access to its wide array of games, available to download on PC and Xbox to play at your leisure. For slightly more each month, you also have the option to stream some of these games to your phone for gaming on the go, although you will need a compatible controller for this. Having access
The Oxford Student •

The Witcher 3: an overhyped disappointment –

Released in 2015, The Witcher 3 is the latest instalment in The Witcher franchise from CD Projekt Red. Many consider this game to be the definitive RPG experience, and it will almost always make the top five in any ‘Best Games of the Last Generation’ list, if not taking the top spot. The game is well-loved, receiving hundreds of awards, and helping to encourage the production of a Netflix series based on the books.

I should say at this point that I have completed the game, its DLCs, and sunk ne
The Oxford Student •

The End of the Console Wars? –

Microsoft and Sony fanatics should lay down their arms, for the console wars are over. Or, at least, they are set to be completely different this upcoming generation. Despite what the fact that GTA V getting its fourth release on its third generation of consoles may suggest, the industry is moving forward. And in exciting new directions.

Whilst both Sony and Microsoft are releasing two consoles each next month, their business strategies are set to differ significantly, taking them out of the di
Backbench •

Jeremy Corbyn is a poor lens through which to view Bernie Sanders' campaign

As Bernie Sanders edges ever closer to the Democratic nomination, journalists and politicians have begun the inevitable comparisons to Jeremy Corbyn and the ill-fated 2019 General Election. A piece for the Independent suggests that Sanders is taking lessons straight out of the Corbynista playbook. And a New York piece claims that the closer you look, the more parallels you find between the two, and given that Corbyn did not even win in 2017, Sanders may stand little chance as well. Even the BBC