Geek Culture Reviews

Rob reviews London Gothic Chapter 1... London Gothic is the debut graphic novel from writer  Nick Henry . Across this opening issue, Henry takes us on a supernatural journey across a London landscape that's very different from our own.  On the surface, the story of London Gothic is pretty straightforward. Over the centuries two rival factions have been battling a secret war. On one side is the Brotherhood of Sinistre and its leader Lord Finnius Cromwell. With world domination being the Sinistre's main goal, they'll need to obtain certain relics to unleash demon-kind onto the unsuspecting populous. Standing in their way is The Tuttori. As humanity's shield against this evil, the Tuttori have protected the world since the times of Christ. Now, their last known member; The Duke - with the aid of his faithful companion Jellico - is all that stands in the way of Finnius Cromwell and his goons.  As stories go, London Gothic is a pretty decent debut. Not content wi

Rob reviews 2000 AD Prog 2296 [Regened]... Tharg is back on his holidays this week and as such has handed the helm of "The Galaxy's Greatest" to his nephew Joko-Jargo. As always, it's five standalone strips that highlight the weird and wonderfulness of the 2000 AD universe. So what does Joko-Jargo have in store?  Cadet Dredd: Two Tribes We're back into Joe Dredd's early years as the young Cadet heads out on his maiden voyage into the Cursed Earth. Tagging along is Dredd's instructor Judge Meechum who's evaluating Dredd on a simple mapping task. Of course, it's never that simple and before long Dredd is on his own tackling a band of slavers - all in a day's work for a Cadet Judge, eh?  ' Two Tribes' is a great slice into what makes Judge Dredd great. The character has such a rich history that it's great to see his earlier years highlighted. Not only does this allow writer James Peaty to loosen the reigns, but he also doe

Rob reviews Blackguards 2 on Nintendo Switch... Initially appearing back in 2015 as a PC exclusive, Blackguards 2 soon found its way onto both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. For Nintendo Switch owners the wait has been a little longer. Now, 6-years after its initial release Blackguards 2 has found its way onto the hybrid console.  But was the wait worth it?  Developed by the good folks over at Daedlic , Blackguards 2 takes place three years after the original game. The game starts with Cassia - a noblewoman - who soon finds herself thrown into a sprawling dungeon beneath the city's streets. During Cassia's aforementioned years trapped in the dungeon, the throne of Aventuria has been usurped by the evil Marwan. This then spurs Cassia to finally escape the dungeon and set things right. Playing out as both a prologue and a tutorial, this opening eases you into the mechanics of the game before jumping three years into its future.  The gameplay is very si

Rob reviews Madshot on PC... Madshot is a fast-paced platforming shooter with rogue-lite elements. Across its various levels, you'll be battling a multitude of Lovecraftian horrors as you make your way towards the monstrous Cthulhu. With hints of Hades and Dead Cells , Madshot aims to be seated at the back of the roguelike bus - but does it get tripped up along the way?  Roguelite is a genre that I'd like to think of myself as a bit of a veteran. Hades , Dead Cells , and Curse of the Dead Gods are often featured in my mixture of "go-to" games when I can't decide on what to play. While Madshot doesn't quite reach the same levels as these heavyweights, developer Overflow does come close. And with the title being part of Steam's Early Access...well they have time for refinement. As with any other roguelike title, the narrative begins with  Madshot being very thin on the ground. When starting the game you'll be introduced to your character

Rob reviews Citizen Sleeper on Xbox Series X... To best describe Citizen Sleeper is to call it a visual novel that also plays homage to both classic board games, and a table-top RPG. Throughout the game, you'll take your character across a pretty standard sci-fi plot, yet the journey along the way is one full of intrigue and dice rolls. While Citizen Sleeper won't beat everyone's beat, it's a perfect slice for someone looking for THAT game that tries to be different.  So what's it about?  The story behind Citizen Sleeper is pretty standard. You play a character who's sold their life to a corporation. Now in the future, their memories and personality live on thanks to the wonders of science. As a Sleeper, you find yourself now inhabiting an artificial body, that also happens to be on board a vast space station. Played from a top-down perspective, it's then your job to guide your character across the narrative, whilst aiming to do the right thing. But when eve

Rob reviews 2000 AD Prog #2295... With the next instalment Regened  hitting stores next week, Prog #2295 is the calm before the all-ages storm. It's just the four strips this week as we get a double helping of Brink as ' Mercury Retrograde' reaches its shocking conclusion. And if you think that Dan Abnett 's space opera is a bit too long in the tooth...well this episode may change your mind!  And if to solidify the fact, check out that INJ Culbard cover!  Away from Brink and it's the same line-up as before. Judge Dredd teams up with Moe Hallam for another tongue-in-cheek tale - ' Naked Lunch ', Nolan is the last one left in ' Skip Tracer: Valhalla , and finally there are more rumbles in the toxic jungle in ' Jaegir: Ferox '. Judge Dredd: Naked Lunch Ken Niemand is back for another perusal into the weird and wonderful side of Mega-City One. This time it's returning character Moe Hallam who's still living with that handy muta

Rob reviews Century: Age of Ashes on Xbox Series X... As the vast universe of video games goes, the humble dragon is a relatively untapped source. Aside from the superb Panzer Dragoon, Divinity: Dragon Commander, and Skyrim - I can't think of many more titles that allow you to control these fire-breathing beasts.  Enter Century: Age of Ashes , a new free-to-play title from developer Playwing. Being an aerial combat game,  Century: Age of Ashes   sees you soaring across the skies of a fantasy world, whilst battling against a rival team with your teammates.  With a strong emphasis on its "vehicle" combat, does Century: Age of Ashes fly high? Or does it suffer the same icy fate as poor Viserion? With plenty of dragon-puns in hand, come with me as I find out. As I mentioned above,  Century: Age of Ashes is a free-to-play game that sees you taking to the skies as a dragon-riding warrior. Choosing one of four available classes, you'll be working with your squad

Rob reviews Power Rangers #22... As the Power Rangers universe heads to that special oversized 100th issue, Ryan Parrott gives us his swansong story for the Omega Rangers. The setup for #100 being set up across Power Rangers for several months now. With the Death Ranger finally making his introduction - and subsequent power play - Power Rangers #22 (Legacy #99) is the issue where everything changes.  Much like with Lord Zedd's origin story way back in  Mighty Morphin #10, I'm going to approach this review with as few spoilers as possible. While I won't delve into the bulk of the plot - be warned that some minor details may slip through.  Power Rangers #22 continues to follow the two battles that kicked off during the last issue. On Safehaven, Journey and Kevor are still dealing with Garrison Vox and his followers who have taken Arkon hostage. With all this going on we then have the Omega Rangers who have seemingly fallen straight into Andros' plan and now c