Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector review – we're putting together a crew
It's good to be back in this far-flung future world. Like the game that preceded it, Citizen Sleeper 2 is packed with evocative portrayals of everyday life in outer space, from farmers tending zero-G crops in an asteroid greenhouse to water miners rising up against the cartel that controls them, everyone eking out a meagre existence in crumbling space stations left to rot by a long-dead mega corporation.
Once again you're cast as a Sleeper, a robot with a digitised human mind shorn of the memories of the person it was copied from. In the first game you were on the run from the firm that made you, attempting to wean your robot off its reliance on a stabilising drug. In the sequel you play a different Sleeper who has successfully managed to ditch Stabilizer, but at the cost of being enslaved to a gang boss called Laine.
Whereas before the action was confined to a single space station, Erlin's Eye, the second game roves much more widely across a sector of space called the Belt. Your explosive escape from Laine sees you hot-footing it from station to station, with a timer signalling how close on your tail the gang lord is. In this opening section it's a race against time to gather enough fuel and supplies for the next leg of your journey, all the while searching for a way to sever the mysterious link Laine seems to have with your body.
Each destination offers a visual backdrop of wherever you happen to be visiting, whether it's a long-abandoned space border crossing or a populated asteroid, but mostly you'll be reading text descriptions of what's going on and clicking through conversations. As in the previous game you have five dice that are rolled at the start of each day (or 'cycle'), and these can be plugged into various activities at each location, with higher numbers delivering a higher chance of success.
But now, the dice can break. On timed, high-stakes missions, failure accumulates stress, which in turn can damage your dice. If a die's energy reaches zero, it's broken, unable to be used until it's repaired. If all five dice break on normal difficulty, your character gains a permanent glitch: a die that always gives an 80% chance of failure.
You're joined on these contracts by up to two crew members. Like in Mass Effect 2, you can gather crew for your ship, The Rig, and each comes with two dice that are attuned to their specialities. You can also use a 'push' once per cycle, increasing the number on your lowest die at the cost of raising your stress. All of this makes contracts wonderfully tense and involving, as you decide how far to push your luck at the risk of outright failure. And failure stalks Citizen Sleeper 2: whereas many games promise power fantasies, here each day is a valiant struggle (at least at first). Some missions are locked off if you're don't get to them in time. It's a game that encourages repeat plays, to see how things might have turned out differently.
Citizen Sleeper 2 is around twice as big as the first game, with many more locations to visit. But this does mean it feels a little stretched thin compared with the previous title. Rather than getting to know one place intimately, we instead have a scattering of space stations with a handful of activities in each. The crew also feel underused: it's a shame there isn't a way to upgrade their abilities or integrate them more into gameplay.
Yet the characters are also the game's greatest strength, and throughout they are expertly drawn, both literally (with comic book artist Guillaume Singelin once again providing some gorgeous portraits) and in terms of their compelling and heartfelt backstories. Despite its bleakness, the world of Citizen Sleeper 2 is full of compassion, and it's a joy to return to the universe Gareth Damian Martin has created.
Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector is out on 31 January
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The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
The warehouse powering Edinburgh's new era of screen success
But a new era of screen success for the city is now being propelled behind closed doors on the edge of the city's docklands – in a former wave power plant, which was originally built 25 years ago by an engineering company. Matthew Goode and Alexej Manvelov star in the new Edinburgh-set thriller Dept Q. (Image: Netflix) Launched by former record company film producer Bob Last and actor director Jason Connery, son of the Edinburgh-born screen legend Sean Connery, FirstStage is now said to be generating tens of millions of pounds for the economy every year and allowing the city to capitalise on the streaming platform boom. New Netflix series Dept. Q, which stars Leah Byrne, Matthew Goode and Alexej Manvelov, was shot at FirstStage Studios in Leith. (Image: Netflix - Department Q) The conversion of the vast blue warehouse complex into a long-awaited permanent film studio for the city got underway just as the global screen industry was being put into lockdown by the pandemic - and hosted its first major production as soon as Covid restrictions were lifted across the UK. Five years later, FirstStage Studios has played host to some of the biggest players in the lucrative world of 'streamers,' including Amazon, Netflix and Sony, and transformed Edinburgh's ability to play host to productions. Two seasons of the supernatural thriller series The Rig were shot at FirstStage Studios in Leith. (Image: FirstStage Studios) These include two seasons of the supernatural thriller The Rig, which were set in the North Sea and the Arctic Circle, the feature film The Outrun, for scenes set in London's nightclub scene and the time travel fantasy saga Outlander, for a final series expected to be set during the American Revolution. But its most recent production is being seen as another game-changer for the city's screen industry – with FirstStage used for the first time for a new nine-part thriller set in modern-day Edinburgh which is hoped to become a long-running series. The feature film The Outrun was partly shot at FirstStage Studios in Leith. (Image: Bob Last/FirstStage Studios) Locations across the Scottish capital were deployed for the latest Netflix thriller Dept. Q, which focuses on a new cold case unit set up in the heart of a police headquarters in the city. Although detective Carl Morck and his team appear to be based in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle, the inside of the atmospheric HQ and its grimy basement were created from scratch at FirstStage, along with other elaborate sets that feature in the show. A pit that can be used for underwater filming sequences is one of the key assets at FirstStage Studios in Leith. (Image: FirstStage Studios) The Downton Abbey and Crown actor Matthew Goode and a host of Scottish screen stars, including Shirley Henderson, Kate Dickie, Mark Bonnar, Jamie Sives and Leah Byrne, spent around six months making Dept. Q in Edinburgh – with around half of the film done inside the Leith studio. Eagle-eyed viewers may also be able to spot locations as varied as the City Chambers, the Signet Library, Greyfriars Bobby's Bar, Mortonhall Crematorium, Wester Hailes, the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena near Ratho and the Codebase building, on Castle Terrace, which stands in for the exterior of the police HQ. Launching the show in Edinburgh, writer-director Scott Frank, creator of the hit Netflix series the Queen's Gambit, described the extensive shoot on Dept. Q - which is based on Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen's novels - as 'the happiest experience' of his career. He said: 'You have great crews, you have great people and everything about shooting here is easy. 'The weather is interesting. It's the only place I've ever been where you can all four seasons in one day. 'The studio was wonderful. We had some pretty big sets and, partially because of the weather, we shot around half the show there. It was terrific. I loved working there.' Successive generations of Scottish screen industry leaders had lobbied for years for the country to create its own studio facilities. But the long-held dream did not become a reality until the Scottish Government and its screen agency agreed to help support Sony and Starz to find a home for its new show Outlander, which began filming in 2013 in a warehouse complex beside the M80 motorway in Cumbernauld. Four years later, the Leith Docks site, which was lying empty after a wave power company had gone into administration, was used for the first time by Marvel Studios while they spent around seven weeks shooting scenes for the blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War in the city's Old Town. Within months of the superhero being released, the Scottish Government and its Screen Scotland agency had launched a bid to create a permanent studio facility there, with Bob Last and Jason Connery announced as the successful team to take the project forward in March 2020. Bob Last said: 'When I was an independent film producer there was a lot of talk about studios, but I wouldn't have been able to afford to use one if it had been there on the budget of an independent film. 'There wasn't really enough demand for a studio until the streamers started making the level of content that they did. I saw that they were completely changing the way that people consumed content. 'When I was introduced to this building it was the first time that I felt there was a viable way of providing the scale that these huge shows needed. If we were going to attract shows to Scotland it was all going to be about competitive cost. "There used to be a lot of talk about building new studios from scratch in Scotland. But the cost of that would have meant that any such studio would have priced itself out of the market. 'We've been extremely busy since we opened pretty much on the first day of lockdown. We've had Amazon, Sony and Netlix shows in now, and have also been doing a rolling programme of work on the building, which has all sorts of unique and extraordinary elements. 'The pit that we use as a tank is one of the most interesting assets we have. If you were building a studio from scratch it would be insanely expensive to build, but it has turned out to be extremely useful. 'We also have 60 tonne and 20 tonne cranes, which have also been used by productions. You would never install them in a studio.' Chloe Pirrie is one of the stars of the new Netflix series Dept. Q, which is set in Edinburgh. (Image: free)The Scottish Government's film and TV agency Screen Scotland describes FirstStage Studios as a 'unique proposition' due to its size and facilities. The complex, which covers 8.9 acres, boasts 115,000 sq ft of shooting space up to 82 ft high, as well as offices, workshops and on-site parking for more than 200 vehicles. A spokesperson said: 'FirstStage has a number of key advantages. "It is one of very few UK-based studios to host a tank for underwater shooting, which has been used in productions including The Rig and The Outrun. 'Because of its height, FirstStage also has the capacity for very large set builds, and the large backlot as well as production offices and ancillary buildings on site. 'On its opening in 2020, once Covid restrictions were lifted it immediately became home to The Rig, Amazon's first UK drama commission. Created by Portobello-based writer David Macpherson, it perfectly highlighted the versatility and quality of the studio. An incredibly ambitious project, it was shot entirely in Scotland, and largely inside the FirstStage studio and surrounding lot. "Dept. Q from Netflix has built further on the potential first realised by The Rig and has again shown that FirstStage can deliver against the expectations and requirements of large-scale international productions.' Bob Last said: "If we knew the budgets of our customers we wouldn't be able to talk about them. "When a big show comes in here they will spend a lot of money in the city. We can have 200 people working here at the same time. "We are certainly anchoring tens of millions of pounds in direct spending ever year." Rosie Ellison, film commissioner at Film Edinburgh, the city's long-running film office, highlighted the transformation of the screen industry since the advent of the Leith studio. 'Edinburgh used to pick up a couple of days of or maybe a week or two of filming on productions. 'A production based at FirstStage might be here for a full six months of filming, plus another two or three months of preparation, plus another month or so winding down the production. 'The economic impact of a production and the opportunities it creates are very different to what they were before we had the studio. Productions are spending a lot when they are here, they are hiring local services and creating jobs for our young people to get involved in the industry. 'Dept Q was based at FirstStage, but they were also out and about every month, making use of our urban, rural and coastal locations, different kinds of architecture and office spaces. All sorts of landscapes will appear in that show, including places that people have never been seen on screen before." FirstStage Studios in Leith has been up and running for more than five years. (Image: FirstStage Studios)Hugh Gourlay, supervising location manager on Dept. Q said: "We filmed in something like 13 of the city's 17 council wards. 'There's such a variance in the architecture in Edinburgh: you've got the New Town, the medieval parts, the narrow closes, the wide streets, and the high-rise flats of parts of the city." For Bob Last, the city itself is a major selling point to help attract big-budget productions to FirstStage. 'Ware now on that global map because of the shows that have been here. When people are sitting in LA going down a list of studios we are on that list. That's where we need to be. "For us, Edinburgh as a city for someone to come and live and work in for six months is a massively important asset. There are five stars hotels near the studio and Michelin-starred restaurants literally walking distance away. 'These kind of shows are bringing people in from a global talent pool. If you're going to live and work somewhere for six months Edinburgh is a pretty cool place to do that.' Speaking at the Dept Q premiere in Edinburgh, showrunner Scott Frank said: 'When I came to Edinburgh I immediately knew we had to shoot here. I felt instantly inspired. 'It made me want to work even more in terms of the story to make it work more for Edinburgh. It was a really easy decision to film here. 'I loved living here and it was very easy to work here. I found Edinburgh very inspiring. 'I would love to come back. We'd all love to come back. We really enjoyed ourselves and I think we all got very close. I think we have a really good way of doing the second season. I hope people watch the show and we get to do it again.'
Scottish Sun
03-05-2025
- Scottish Sun
Line of Duty's Martin Compston breaks silence on hit BBC drama's return – insisting it will ‘be for the right reasons'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LINE of Duty's Martin Compston has broken his silence on the hit BBC drama's return - saying it will be 'for the right reasons'. The Sun exclusively revealed Line of Duty would be returning next year for a seventh series. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 4 Line of Duty's Martin Compston has broken his silence on the hit drama returning Credit: AP 4 The show aired from 2012 up until 2021 Credit: BBC 4 Viewers best know Martin for playing DS Steve Arnott Credit: BBC The six-parter will reportedly see Martin, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar all reprise their beloved roles for filming in January. When speaking to The Sun's TV Mag, the actor was grilled about rumours of the show making a comeback. Martin shared: 'We're always talking about possibilities and schedules and whatnot. "Everybody's got stuff going on at the minute, so I think anything, unfortunately, would be a way off. "You know, the day people stop asking about the show will be a sad day, so I'm delighted that people are still excited about it. "We'd all love to work together again at some point. We still all meet up. "I met with Jed [Mercurio, the show's creator], Adrian [Dunbar] and Vicky [McClure] in London before Christmas - we went out for dinner, to hear what everyone's up to." He added: 'It's amazing. It's the best feeling as an actor when you feel like the whole country's in the palm of your hand with what's coming next, and there's only a couple of you in that secret of who's surviving and what's going on. "But because we're all so close and we all want the best for the show, we wouldn't do it again just for the sake of it. "If it was just about doing it for the sake of it, we'd have probably done another three series by now. Line of Duty stars spark new episode rumours as they reunite for night out "We really care about the quality of it. So if we come back, it would be for the right reasons. "It won't just be: 'Get another one done.' It'll be because Jed thinks there's a story to tell." A TV insider previously told The Sun: 'This is the news Line of Duty fans have been waiting for since the sixth season left them deflated when it aired back in 2021. 'The BBC almost immediately requested more episodes to continue the story, but the success of the show meant Vicky, Martin and Adrian were instantly snapped up for other projects. 'But after several meetings with Jed [Mercurio, creator and writer] and the production team, they've finally managed to clear space in their calendars next year to commit to making the show.' The Sun first revealed in 2022 that the show, which drew up to 13million viewers, would return. The stars have been attached to other projects - Martin with supernatural thriller The Rig, Vicky with bomb squad drama Trigger Point, and Adrian with jazz singer detective show Ridley. Many of the 13million who saw the sixth series felt it a huge anti-climax to learn buffoon Det Supt Ian Buckells (Nigel Boyle) was H, the elusive mastermind with links to organised crime. Fans had wondered if it was a genuine end after nine years of nail-biting storylines, or a red herring by creator Jed Mercurio. TV Mag is available for free every Saturday, only in The Sun.
The Herald Scotland
23-04-2025
- The Herald Scotland
Netflix and Amazon now making better Scottish drama than BBC or STV
Increasingly the answer is: yes they can. Netflix scored the year's biggest hit with Adolescence, notionally set in a fictional northern English town but tethered pretty firmly to South Yorkshire through its script (Doncaster was mentioned) and its filming locations (exteriors in Sheffield, interiors at Production Park studio near Pontefract). Then there was Martin Compston's well-received outing for Amazon, the three-part psychological thriller, Fear. It was set in Glasgow and saw Compston using his own accent, as he did in another Scottish-set Amazon show, The Rig. It's currently on its second series and, while season three hasn't been officially announced, the noises from cast members such as Compston's co-star Iain Glen are positive. 'It does feel that we haven't completed that journey,' Mr Glen told the Radio Times. 'It does feel that we've done the middle chapter. There is more to tell.' The next Scottish-set offering from the streamers – it is starting to feel a little like a conveyor belt – is nine parter Dept. Q, which premieres on Netflix on May 29. It's based on an acclaimed series of cold case crime novels by Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen, but in the hands of Oscar nominated American writer and show-runner Scott Frank it has been removed from Copenhagen to a city with the same latitude but (slightly) cheaper beer – Edinburgh. Emily Hampshire and Iain Glen in The Rig (Image: free) Does that nullify the cultural specificity argument? The proof will be in the watching, but not necessarily. For a start, filming took place at various locations in Edinburgh, as shown by the first set of images released recently by Netflix. Second, one of Frank's co-writers is local(-ish) boy Stephen Greenhorn, creator of River City and Sunshine On Leith. Third, the casting is a Caledonian treat. English actor Matthew Goode stars, but he's joined in the credits by top Scottish acting talent in the form of Kelly Macdonald, Shirley Henderson, Kate Dickie, Mark Bonnar, Jamie Sives and Chloe Pirrie. Goode, who is thankfully not being asked to wrestle with the Edinburgh accent, plays a cantankerous and little liked English detective assigned to the cold case department by his boss (Dickie). He assembles as team of misfits and oddballs and, well, you can probably imagine the rest. Or you may even have seen some of the several Swedish film versions of the novel series. Well, nobody claimed it was original. No matter. Good or bad, acclaimed or otherwise, what it does do is once more underline that fact that where representations of Scotland and Scottish life are concerned, our home-based broadcasters are no longer the only game in town – which brings other, tricker questions than the one I opened with. Read more Club ties I thought the kailyard battles of old were well behind us – by which I mean I thought we had buried a sentimentalised notion of what Scottish culture is, stopped peddling it to the outside world (except in the tartan tat tourist shops) and convinced ourselves and everybody else that we have artists, DJs, musicians, writers, producers and film-makers as cutting edge as any you'll find in (insert super-cool city or country here). However a line in Marissa MacWhirter's interview for The Herald with Sub Club managing director Mike Grieve makes me stop and think. The Scottish Government, he says, only sees and promotes what he calls 'the kilts and shortbread culture. They don't actually see what we do as being cultural in the right way … They certainly don't support it financially.' Are there right and wrong ways of being cultural? Again, that's an argument we have been having for a long time. Mr Grieve's particular complaint centres on the poor health of what's known as the night-time economy. In particular he bemoans the loss of Scotland's nightclubs – down from 125 to 83 between June 2020 and June 2024. The Sub Club, one of the most storied house and techno venues in Europe, is well enough protected, but the wider ecosystem is clearly in danger, with definite cultural consequences. Ahead of the planned publication of a manifesto for Scotland's night-time economy, Mr Grieve's words are worth a read – doubly so if you know your dubstep from you future funk. And remember this: one decade's club flyers is another decade's museum exhibition. Click here to read the piece And finally Reboots, re-imaginings and reunions dominate this week's cargo of reviews from The Herald's critics. Theatre critic Neil Cooper was at the Lochgelly Centre in Fife for Frankie Stein, Julia Taudevin's musical update of Mary Shelley's evergreen horror novel for the Stellar Quines company. 'Big, bright and bold' is his verdict. Neil also took in a re-imagining by Nikki Kalkman of the Greek myth of Jocasta, Queen of Thebes and mother of Oedipus. That one, part of Òran Mór's A Play, A Pie And A Pint season, was directed by Kate Nelson and starred Zoë Hunter in 'a mighty solo turn' as Jocasta. Then, at Edinburgh's Festival Theatre, something completely different: Calamity Jane, in a touring production of Nikolai Foster's 2014 reboot (the boot here being of the cowboy variety, of course). As for the re-union, that was on show at the Glasgow Hydro where Teddy Jamieson had his highly polished dancing shoes on for the first ever arena tour by Noughties pop legends Sugababes, now reformed. Did they play Overload? Hell, they opened with it. Freak Like Me? You betcha. Read our reviews here
