I’ll be the judge of that

In 1995 Sylvestor Stallone stumbled into one of the worst calamities of his career; agreeing to take on the role of 2000AD comic book anti-hero, Judge Dredd. Set to the backdrop of a futuristic, dystopian, crime-ridden normality, Dredd is framed for murder by his own psychotic half-brother, Rico. Ironically, the police officer, judge, jury, and executioner spends much of the movie attempting to extricate himself from false imprisonment, fighting the injustice of the justice system that motivates and defines him to the core. It's a dour, humourless, charisma-free affair with little plot to speak of and no redeeming qualities.

Arriving 5 years earlier, the action-platformer Amiga game of the same name couldn't possibly have been based on the movie. Nevertheless, as it revolves around the same characters and source material, I assess them in tandem to discover if they are equally insipid and forgettable. In the game 'Sly' patrols six themed landscapes either on foot or riding/flying his trademark Lawmaster motorbike in an effort to keep a lid on Mega City One's escalating crime rate. On two wheels we travel much faster, yet are hobbled by the caveat of being unable to arrest or shoot the local criminal reprobates. Novelty mini-games and end of level boss battles add a dash of variety, or at least a diversion from the standard tedium on offer.