Geek Culture Reviews

Rob reviews Gleylancer on Nintendo Switch... If there's one thing that the Switch isn't short of its console ports of arcade hits. Normally these either come as a complete remaster, with flashy visuals and all the mod cons. Or they're just a barebones port of the original that's asking for a premium price. I like to think that I'm a bit of a shmup aficionado and through my 35-years on planet Earth I've played more than my fair share of both types. However, when it comes to Gleylancer I'm a complete novice.  Originally released in 1992 on the Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) this 16-bit shooter never made its way to Western shores, and only saw a limited release in Japan and South Korea. Even when the title made its way onto the Wii (as part of the Virtual Console) it still only saw an Eastern audience. Now jump to 2021 and Ratalaika Games have brought the original Gleylancer to modern consoles. So 27-years after its debut this much-celebrated shmup fin

Rob reviews 2000 AD Prog 2255... Things start to slow down this week as Joko-Jargo returns yet again in next week's Prog 2256.  As such we're saying goodbye to ' The Hard Way',    'Pandora Perfect', and 'The Diaboliks' . However everything else is retuning after a 2-week break.  So with the collective "not another Regened!" groan behind us...let's get on with the show. Judge Dredd: The Hard Way - Part 6 (Final Part)  Rob Williams and  Arthur Wyatt 's weird and wonderful assassination tale comes to an end this week. With help arriving from both Brit-Cit and the Meg in the forms of 'The Griffin' and HMS Queen Meghan, things are finally looking up for the Cits of Atlantis. However, Dredd and Maitland still have to deal with Trapper Hag.  Williams and Wyatt bring The Hard Way to a satisfying conclusion. Naturally this isn't the last that we'll see of La Reine Rouge. And considering that a handpicked team of assas

Rob reviews Hermitage: Strange Case Files on Xbox Series X... As long time readers of my reviews will know - I'm not a massive fan of visual novels. Sure there has been some that I've liked - Seers Isle , and Along The Edge . But there has been more than a few that I've just not got on with - Root Double: Before Crime * After Days Extended Edition - for example. When it comes to developer Arrowiz ' horror/mystery title Hermitage... well it sits firmly in the middle.  The main narrative of Hermitage: Strange Case Files focuses on an unnamed bookstore owner and the strange people who frequent his bookshop - The Hermitage. The narrative soon divulges that the city is experiencing a unique phenomenon, where people are disappearing to then return with no memory of the events. It then falls to our unknown protagonist to investigate as he becomes a cross between Giles from Buffy The Vampire Slayer , and Sherlock Holmes.  However, due to "reasons", you

Rob reviews The Magic Order 2 #1... Mark Millar is no stranger to the comic world. From writing epics such as Marvel 's Civil War , Jupiter's Legac y, and even a stint as a regular writer for 2000 AD . To most Millar is a legend and as such, there's always an air of anticipation around the writers next work.  This opening issue serves as both a catch up to Cordelia and her family, as well as introducing the next big threat. For the most part, the issue takes a fairly dark tone, but it does have some lighter tones too. If anything this opening is certainly an eye-opener to this world and Mark Millar 's imagination.  The issue opens with an introduction to the Korne family - a group of magic-users based in Bucharest. They're certainly the bad guys of the issue as we get to see just how they use their "gift", and what exactly their future plans are. We then switch perspectives as we catch up to Eddie and Regan, who have arrived at the scene of a

Rob reviews YouTubers Life 2 on Xbox Series X... We currently live in a world where Internet stardom is part and parcel of life. Platforms such as YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, and Tiktok offer numerous ways to create various content for potential viewers. But being an Internet personality is quite hard work. While many believe that it's just as simple as playing video games and talking a load of nonsense to an online audience. It's incredibly hard work that not only demands a lot of time but there's never a guarantee that you'll "make it". Not only that you'll need to keep up with current trends, as well as audience engagement, and that all important networking.  Youtubers Life 2 takes a somewhat cliché look at what being an Internet star means. While it's certainly not a simulation, it is an over the top exaggeration of Internet life. You could say rather than being a game it's a look into the brain of every 12-year old Fortnite playe

Rob reviews Star Wars: The High Republic #10... So far The High Republic has been an incredible series that's managed to capture everything that makes Star Wars great. The story has been superb with writer, Cavan Scott bringing plenty of twists and turns to his take on the Star Wars spectrum.  The story has seen all manner of trials for the Jedi of Starlight Beacon. While only just managing to see off the threat of the Drengir, the Jedi have now turned their attention back to the Nihil threat. This has seen the Jedi Keeve Trennis and Terec defect to the pirate faction. However, this is just the beginning as the young Jedi will soon face a tougher challenge. To prove her loyalty, Keeve has to execute the Hutt, Myarga - the Jedi's former ally against the Drengir. The High Republic #10 picks off straight after the events of #9. Keeve and Terec are really in the thick of it. With Myarga's life on the line, and the whole mission to capture "The Eye" at sta

Rob reviews 2000 AD Prog 2254... As we steamroll ever forward into the break for the next Regened Prog, everything current is starting to either wind down or move towards its mid-season cliffhanger.  It's again another outing for the usual suspects this week. Dredd and Maitland deal with the assassins in ' The Hard Way , panic in the Vatican with The Diaboliks , my craft madness in Pandora Perfect , it's battle of the planets in Scarlet Traces , and finally, Cyd does more human thing in The Out .  Judge Dredd: The Hard Way - Part 5 The Hard Way has been an incredibly fun read. There's been plenty of classic Dredd moments, a crazy bunch of villains, and small callbacks to past stories. This week is no different. With MegaCity-1 and Brit-Cit sending reinforcements to Atlantis, the Red Queen's band of assassins don't have long to finish Maitland off. This week this comes in the form of the hacked Mechanismo units and an assassin that makes the rest look

Rob speaks to Michael Carroll about Dreadnoughts Book 1: Breaking Ground... Dreadnoughts: Breaking Ground is the opening tale to what's essentially the history to both the Justice System and the Justice Department. Set in 2035AD, the Justice Department and the Judges have just come into being. While these "Judges" are low in number, they are already taking over from the outdated judicial service which is causing quite a stir. Written by Michael Carrol l (Judges, Proteus Vex) with art by  John Higgins (Before Watchmen, Batman: The Killing Joke) and colour by  Sally Jane Hurst (Before Watchmen), Dreadnoughts explores the origins of Judge Dredd's dystopian police state and, in doing so, provides chilling insight into our own historical moment. Breaking Ground follows "rookie" Judge Glover as she's sent to Boulder, Colarado to reinforce a four-man Judge team stationed there. As the story unfolds we see the slow decline in democracy, which will