Geek Culture Reviews

Rob reviews BRZRKR #5... It has been a few weeks since we last caught up with Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt's BRZRKR . The series so far has delved into the undying B's past, whilst not clarifying his future. Yet regardless of this shortfall, the series has been quite a success for both publishers - BOOM! Studios - and the creative team.  BRZRKR #5 is the opening to the series' second story arc. Once again B is re-living his past under the watchful eye of Doctor Diana Ahuja. Throughout the introductory arc, it felt like the doctor was B's only friend, but here I'm not so sure. So this time the duo are analyzing the more human side to B's past as the immortal recounts his many loves - and his eventual losses. It's quite a poignant tale as B recounts who he is, his reality, and what he ultimately wants from life.  Throughout we've caught a glimpse of an existential crisis from the character and here their finally explored in the op...

  Rob reviews 2000 AD Prog 2251... After last weeks bumper jumping-on issue, were back with the continuation of 5-brand new strips. It's a cracking line up that sees the return of some old Prog favorites, mixed in with plenty of new. So, sit down, grab a cup of your favorite Earthlet drink and lets take our weekly trip through the 'Thrillverse' Judge Dredd: The Hard Way - Part 2  'The Hard Way' got off to a brilliant start last week. The Red Queen is mighty peeved that Accounts Judge Maitland keeps foiling her wickedness. So the vengeful gangster has assembled a squad of trained killers to take the Accounts Judge out of the picture. Meanwhile Dredd and Maitland are in Atlantis where MegaCity-1 is attempting to sell its latest Mechanismo unit to Brit-Cit - and its here where the assassins strike.  It's not going well for the Red Queen's hit squad. They've already missed their opening shot on Maitland and now they've got to 'account...

Rob reviews Tormented Souls on Xbox Series X...   Survival horrors have been on the gaming spectrum for quite a few years now. Whilst Capcom and Konami reign supreme with both Resident Evil and Silent Hill , many have attempted to take the top spot. The latest challengers are co- developers  Duel Effect and Abstract Digital  with their offering - Tormented Souls . Much like other titles, the story of Tormented Souls starts under mysterious circumstances. Our protagonist, Caroline Walker is sent a letter that contains a photo of two twin girls and a cryptic message scrawled on the back. Clueless about what it means Caroline heads off to the secluded town of Winterlake. Arriving at the town's hospital - a converted mansion home - Caroline is soon knocked out by an unseen presence. The game begins as Caroline awakens naked within a bathtub with one of her eyes seemingly being amputated. It's from here that you'll assume control and head off into the dark, hor...

Rob reviews Crown Trick on Xbox Series X... Roguelikes and Roguelites seem to be gaining in popularity over the last couple of years. With so many being released, a few of these have diluted the true meaning behind what being a Roguelike(lite) is. Thankfully Team 17 and NEXT Studios ' Crown Trick  knows exactly what the genre is - and more importantly brings something new.  Much like the initial Roguelikes of the late 80's early 90's, Crown Trick perfectly replicates what made these games great. It's fully played via a turn-based system that incorporates both movement and combat. Throw in the complete random factor of procedurally generated maps, and a punishing difficulty setting, Crown Trick is certainly worthy of being part of the cluttered game type genre.  The story sees you play as a mysterious character who finds herself trapped within a dream-like world. To escape this world you'll team up with a talking crown that'll grant your hero plenty...

Rob checks out 2000 AD Prog 2250... Well, we're up to the latest 'jumping-on issue as Prog 2250 has finally hit stores. And what a Prog it is!  Tharg has pulled out the big hitters for this one as we see the start of a new Judge Dredd tale, a Chris Weston created Futureshocks, the beginnings of Pandora Perfect's Prog debut, Anderson, PSI-Division, and finally the returns to Scarlet Traces, The Diaboliks, and The Out.  Phew! So without further ado... Judge Dredd: The Hard Way - Part One Rob Williams ,  Arthur Wyatt, and Jake Lynch  team up to bring another tale featuring - my favourite - Accounts, Judge Maitland. We last saw Maitland in ' Carry The Nine ' which was an epilogue as such to Williams' own ' End of Days '. Maitland had stumbled upon a way to rid MegaCity-1 of crime (and inadvertently the Judges). While this had gained her the attention of the SJS, it was a talk with Dredd that saw the Accounts Judge back down.  This time Maitland ...

Rob reviews Crusi'n Blast on Nintendo Switch... The Cruis’n  series has a somewhat checkered history when it comes to Nintendo. Throughout the generations, the arcade-racing franchise has seen its fair share of releases on most of the Nintendo consoles. Sadly most of these have either been mediocre ( Cruis’n World) or just plain dire ( Crusi'n - Wii). The latest release -  Crusi'n Blast - aims to take the series back to its best, and in doing so brings back that oh-so-familiar feeling of some classic arcade racing.  Crusi'n Blast originally started its life back in 2017 as an arcade exclusive. The brightly lit cabinets allowed for up to 8-players to race across a variety of tracks within plenty of licenced cars. Thankfully the experience has now been brought to the Nintendo Switch, which not only opens the experience up to more players - you'll save a bit of cash too!  Fans of the arcade version will notice that all five tracks are included within th...

Rob reviews Extreme Carnage: Agony #1... Marvel's Extreme Carnage arc has so far been pretty good. It's certainly had its weaker issues, but overall the story has been consistent throughout. This week sees Carnage one step closer to "winning" as we not only head into Symbiote's endgame, we also catch up with the last Life Foundation Symbiote - Agony.  The issue kicks off with a look at the life of Gemma Shin. Shin just happens to be the communication director for Senator Krane. She's underappreciated and is constantly degraded by the Senator's male staff. But away from this, Gemma hides a dark secret, she's also bonded to the Agony Symbiote.  As the penultimate part in this 8-part series, Alyssa Wong starts to bring the plot threads together for their ultimate conclusion. Wong brings a much slower pace to proceedings as we learn about Gemma and what her connection to Carnage is, as well as Carnage's ultimate plan. On the other side of...

Buffy Summers makes her final stand... BOOM! Studios have given a look into their upcoming title - Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer, a brand new four-issue comic book series out December 2021. Heading up this new series is acclaimed writer Casey Gilly ( Femme Magnifique, You Died ) and artist Joe Jaro (Firefly). The duo's take on the famous Slayer will come I'm the form of a dystopian tale about Buffy, like you’ve never seen her before. ' In a world ruled by darkness, Buffy Summers is the last Slayer. A magical catastrophe has ended the Slayer line and nearly blotted out the sun, allowing vampires to prey on humanity unimpeded. Now in her 50s, Buffy wages a desperate one-woman fight against the forces of evil. That is, until she stumbles across something she hasn’t seen in a long time – hope, in the form of a prophecy and the young girl who carries it...' It's been such a privilege to tell a story from Buffy's mid-life years. We so often s...

Rob reviews Power Rangers #11... As the Omega Rangers attempt to convince the Yellow Emissary to help them fight the Empyreal threat, an old enemy makes itself known.  First and foremost due to how this issue ends I won't be discussing too much of the story. It's certainly something that needs to be experienced first hand. All I will say is that Ryan Parrott truly delivered a "holy s***" moment with the reveal, and things will most definitely not be the same for both Ranger teams going forward.  Anyway, what I can say is that Power Rangers #11 picks up where issue #9 left us. The Omega Rangers are out in deep space and are heading to the coordinates that the Yellow Emissary previously divulged to Trini. Expecting to find an ally in fighting the threat of the Empyreals, what the Rangers do find is a Yellow Emissary who's afraid. But not of the encroaching Empyreals, but its death. As the Omega Rangers quiz the Emissary of its unwillingness t...

Rob reviews Merek's Market on Xbox Series X... Merek's Market is a furious couch co-op experience that's comparable to titles such as Overcooked and Moving Out. Developed and published by Big Village Games, Merek's Market takes you back to medieval times and positions you in charge of a small shop. You'll be crafting, negotiating, and trading your way to the top as you handle  a cast of comical characters through an energetic campaign. If that isn't enough a companion can also join in for some crazy blacksmithing entertainment.  So come with me as I open shop and see what Merek's Market is all about... Merek's Market caters for both solo and multiplayer in that it promotes gameplay for both. For solo players, there's quite a campaign to work through with over 50 levels of intensifying difficulty and craziness. Meanwhile, for multiplayer, there's a different 40 level campaign to work through which supports up to four players at once. ...

Rob reviews Boyfriend Dungeon on Xbox Series X... Now and again, a game will come along that's just so random that it screams out to be played. Boyfriend Dungeon  by Kitfox Games is exactly that!  Boyfriend Dungeon is a curious mix of a  Hades -Esq dungeon crawler that's been mixed with Dream Daddy. The twist here is that you'll be dating the weapon that you'll be using to plough through the games various Dunj - that's fancy talk for the dungeon. The story behind  Boyfriend Dungeon - yes there is one - sees you play as a user-created character who's never had any experience with romance. Seeking a fresh start your character moves to the dating playground of Verona Beach. It's here that your cousin decides to hook you up with one of the towns various "unique" characters. As Jesse - your cousin - explains, many of the town's youth can transform into sharp, pointy objects which makes the perfect excuse to date whilst slaying monsters...