Geek Culture Reviews

Can a vampire survive this hostile environment? It’s been quite a few weeks since I’ve delved into the Thrillverse. While my reviews of the “Galaxy’s Greatest’ have taken a hiatus, I’ve still been enjoying the Prog and all it’s thrills. So with last last weeks Regend putting a pause on proceedings, I thought what better time to make a return!  And with that, let’s get on with the show!  Stewart Kennedy Moore is on cover duties this week. It’s always a pleasure seeing Moore’s work, and his Portals & Black Goo inspiration this week takes a different style to his usual psychedelic delights. Meanwhile, under the hood and we find… Dredd gets closer to Kyle Asher in Judge Dredd: A Fallen Man, we say goodbye to Portals & Black Goo, Dexter blasts his way through the new world in Azimuth, Hershey’s past returns with a bang in  Cold In The Bones, and finally, Tharg returns with another 3Riller.  Judge Dredd: A Fallen Man - Part 6 ( Ken Niemand, Tom Foster, Chris Blyth, Annie Parkhouse) 

Garth Ennis takes a journey back to NU-Earth… Today, August 29th marks a pivotal moment in 2000 AD history. Back in 1981, Gerry Findley-Day and Dave Gibbons introduced GI Rogue Trooper. As a Genetic Infantry, Rogue is bred to survive the harsh war-torn environment of NU-Earth. Soon betrayed by his superiors, Rogue is forced to seek his revenge while traversing the dangerous battlefield that NU-Earth has become. With the bio-chip personalities of his former comrades as his only allies, Rogue spent the next few years tracking down the Traitor General.  Fast-forward to today, and 2000 AD have announced that ‘Blighty Valley’  , Garth Ennis and Patrick Goddard’s recent foray into NU-Earth is being released in a trade paperback collection. ‘ Blighty Valley is Rogue’s first regular appearance in 2000 AD in a number of years – a thirteen-part story set at 'Night’s Horizon', the annual event where Nu Earth’s orbit carries it closest to a nearby black hole. The Norts call it Zvartchvinte

Rob reviews Blasphemous 2 on Xbox Series X… Blasphemous 2 is the reality of all those childish nightmares about monsters under the bed. It’s a surreal dream-like experience that’s filled with enough horrors that’ll make Clive Barker, and Guillermo del Torro blush. Whether it’s the Penitent One, or one of the games many terrors, The Game Kitchen have turned the often cute art of pixel imagery into a hellish collection. While the same can also be attributed to the original Blasphemous, here The Game Kitchen have taken their art to the next level. Inspired by the folklore, architecture, and iconography of the Spanish and Andalusian cultures, the developer have created a high gothic landscape that’s steeped in its own illustrious history, as well as it’s hideous present.  On every aspect that took the shine off of the original, The Game Kitchen have made considerable improvements. While Blasphemous 2 retains the great mix of Metroidvania and Soulslike that made the first game a hit - it al

Rob reviews Gord on PlayStation 5… When it comes to base-building sims, you don’t often find the genre appearing on consoles. Head on over to Steam and you’ll be thrown into a figurative world of base-building delights. However, on consoles aside from the likes of Halo Wars , it’s hard for me to even think of a recent example.  Gord, which has been developed by Covenant.dev, and published by Team17 is a grim base-building experience that’s found it’s way onto consoles (as well as PC). Taking inspiration from Western Europe’s Dark Ages, Gord tasks you with taming the wild lands for your King, and surviving to tell the tale.  As Steward to the King, it’s all down to you on how this crusade will go. Get your decisions wrong, and your people will soon meet their maker. Thankfully you're not alone in this task and you’ll have the ear of three advisors to give you some well needed guidance. First off is local tribe leader Bogdhan who teams up with you to then offer his own people as you

Rob reviews Sentinel Issue #14: Heartbreak Spotel… Back after the phenomenal tribute to the late Dave Evans that is Bolt-01 , Alan Holloway returns with another adventure in the realms of Sentinel.  Teaming up with artist, Paul Spence, Holloway brings a semi-sequel to previous Sentinel tale - A Fair To Remember. With a crime-caper plot that’s chock full of Fawlty Towers inspired shenanigans, Heartbreak Spotel will certainly raise a few chuckles from those who grew up with Basil Fawlty, and his hapless personality. However, if like me and you checked out of Fawlty Towers, does Holloway leave you stranded at check in?  As you’ve probably guessed, I’m not a fan of Fawlty Towers. While John Cleese and Connie Booth’s creation has gain a legion of fans - and numerous awards - for me it never really clicked. The kind-of sad point to this is that the punch line to many of Holloway’s jokes were meaningless without the context provided by the British sitcom. Either way, even without this forekno

Titan Comics releases Conan The Barbarian #2 on 30th August and we have the official preview below… “ CONAN and his new ally, BRISSA – a deadly Pictish scout, fight back-to-back against a savage horde… only to discover that each success creates a new obstacle to victory over the “ARMY OF THE LOST.” Conan The Barbarian #2 is scheduled to reach comic book shelves on 30th August 2023! 

Rob reviews Adore on Xbox Series X… When it comes to games that have monsters battling monsters, Pokémon is the one game that everyone turns their attention to. Whenever Nintendo and the Pokémon Company announce a new game, fans of battling monsters head into a few or pitch of rumours and speculation. It also comes as no surprise that over the years other video game developers have attempted their own spin on the Pokémon concept. While many of these titles remain faithful to the classic turn-based format, there sometimes comes a title that aims to mix it up a little.  With Adore , this monster-catching RPG is the later. Combining the catching/training element of Pokémon , and mixing it with Bastion , with a hint of Avatar: The Last Airbender , Adore aims to bring fast-arcade action to the genre. However, does it succeed?  The world of Adore is you typical fantasy world. With a world filled with deadly creatures, some of its inhabitants train as ‘Adoras’. These Adoras then head out in

Conan the Barbarian enters the age of Titan Comics… Over the last few months Titan Comics have really been pushing the hype on social media for their newest series; Conan the Barbarian . While Robert E. Howard ’s Cimmerian barbarian has had a lengthy stay over at Marvel, his adventures did start to lose their touch. However, with Titan Comics taking over and retaining veteran Conan scribe Jim Zub, Conan is set to rediscover his (shall we say) more mature side.  With fan expectations at an all time high (I’m looking at you Ed Doyle!), does Conan the Barbarian #1 tick the boxes? Let’s enter the world of Hyboria and find out.  Plot wise and this opening seems to play things pretty safe. We get a lot of substance that’s very similar to the characters early exploits, and fans will most certainly see som of the classics. While there is plenty of undead hordes, and roaming bands of fiendish mercenaries, Zub does use the familiarity to move his narrative forward into unexpected territory. Com

Rob reviews Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach on Xbox Series X… Over the last couple of nights I’ve found myself fully enthralled with FNAF: Security Breach . It’s not my first rodeo within Scott Cawthon’s world, however it’s the one that’s captured my attention the most. The vast interconnected world of the Freddy Fazbear Mega Pizza Plex is a far cry from the cramp corridors of the traditional pizzeria that made the original such a cult classic. Not only does Cawthon give us a bigger playground to get lost in, it allows for a greater narrative to be shared across. When you also factor in that the whole Five Nights at Freddy’s narrative has been entwined since it’s debut - more story is a good thing!  The narrative in Security Breach is more robust than previous titles in the series. Taking the role of Gregory, a young boy who finds himself trapped within the Mega Pizza Plex, along with an unexpected ally, Gregory will have to survive the night whilst trying to uncover the dark