Crazed Sonic fan traces (literally) obscured artwork
Posted by Nathan. Filed under Nathan, Retro, Sonic. Tagged with Artwork, Fan Stuff, Hirokazu Yasuhara, Sonic the Hedgehog, wallpaper.
One of my good online friends, who goes by the name Koosh Koosh!, is a bit of a Sonic nut. Maybe even moreso than I am. For example, I’m not into the whole fursuits and explicit artwork scenes. Anyhow, he likes Sonic so much that he saw a piece of artwork in a Japanese manual and decided to make a huge version of it. Now this lovely artwork can be downloaded for use as a desktop wallpaper, or possibly printed out and used as a treasure map. A treasure map to eternal virginity.
[Update] Empire: Total War demo tomorrow on Steam
Posted by Nathan. Filed under Nathan, News, PC. Tagged with Demo, Empire: Total War.
The headline says it all: Shacknews reports that a demo for Creative Assembly’s Empire: Total War will be available for download on Valve’s Steam distribution service tomorrow at 4pm GMT (11am EST). Get your modems ready!
Empire: Total War is set for a March 3 release on PC at retailers and on Steam.
[Update: Full press release, including details on the demo, after the break.]
Aliens RPG indefinitely suspended
Posted by Nathan. Filed under Multi-platform, Nathan, News, North America. Tagged with Aliens RPG, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Alpha Protocol.
GameSpot reports that Obsidian’s untitled Aliens RPG has been indefinitely suspended by Sega. While not officially cancelled yet, Sega’s official statement doesn’t sound too promising:
“We will have more news to share about our Aliens franchise games in the near future,” said the rep [to GameSpot]. “Sega does not comment on rumors or speculation about its products… Please stay tuned for future correspondence regarding our products.”
Rumors state that layoffs at Obsidian have also affected Alpha Protocol, which Sega is set to publish before the end of this year. Additionally, Gearbox’s Aliens: Colonial Marines may be in jeopardy as Sega is said to be “reviewing” its fate, according to ShackNews.
Maybe there’ll be some good news tomorrow.
PSA: Sonic 3&K missing from “Ultimate” Genesis Collection
Posted by Nathan. Filed under Microsoft Xbox 360, Multi-platform, Nathan, News, Sonic, Sony PlayStation 3, Worldwide. Tagged with Excuses, Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection.
I would like you all to know that Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection, which ships today for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, does NOT include Sonic 3 & Knuckles as a playable or even unlockable game. This is tragic news for those of us with a passing interest in Sonic’s UGC, as Sonic 3&K is probably my favorite Sonic game ever and its exclusion greatly decreases the likelihood of me bothering with the whole collection in general.
According to Ethan Einhorn, producer of Sonic’s UGC, Sonic 3&K had to be cut in favor of all the extra unlockable games that are included in the collection.
“To shore up the development time necessary to get “Lock-On” to work in Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection, we would have had to drop all of the bonus games from the disc. Faced with an either/or scenario, we chose to retain our title lineup in its entirety.”
Sounds like a really lame excuse to me!
[Source: SEGA America Blog]
UPDATE: And now we know it is, thanks to some more technically knowledgeable Sega fans. Read on for the rest.
Sega Nerds’ favorite games of 2008
Posted by George. Filed under Chris, G, George, Microsoft Xbox 360, Multi-platform, Nathan, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3. Tagged with Condemned 2: Bloodshot, Game of the Year, Valkyria Chronicles, Viking: Battle for Asgard, Yakuza 2.
I was supposed to post this before the year ended, but its hard to get something like this together, especially during the holidays.
Well you know what they say, better late than never. With so many great Sega titles to choose from in 2008 it was hard to pick just one, so hit the jump and find out our personal choices. (Not everyone has the same taste in games after all).
Review: Sonic Unleashed (PS2 and Wii)
Posted by George. Filed under George, Nathan, Nintendo Wii, Review, Sonic, Sony PlayStation 2. Tagged with Sonic Unleashed.
Sonic Unleashed on 360 marveled some with its next-gen graphics. But what about the last-gen version? Did Sonic Team put up as much care into this version as they did for its next-gen counterpart? This review covers the PS2 and Wii versions of Unleashed.
Sega Deals: Valkyria Chronicles $49.99 shipped
Posted by Nathan. Filed under Nathan, News, North America, Sony PlayStation 3. Tagged with Sega Deals, Valkyria Chronicles.
Did buying a PlayStation3 leave your wallet and bank account low on funds? Are you skipping meals to save money for the impending holidays? Fear not, impecunious Sega Nerds, I am here for you.
Amazon has Sega’s recently released Valkyria Chronicles for $49.99 with free shipping. Quite the deal, considering the game came out just this past week and is easily one of the best games from our favorite developer/publisher in a long time. (Our review should be up soon!)
Go ahead, save yourself $10 and thank me later.
[via Amazon]
Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection - Blurriness Optional
Posted by Nathan. Filed under Microsoft Xbox 360, Multi-platform, Nathan, News, Sony PlayStation 3. Tagged with Sega Mega Drive Collection, Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection.
The recently announced Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection (aka Sega Mega Drive Collection in Europe) is now confirmed to have an option to disable its graphics filter. The same graphics filter that performs the functional equivalent of smearing Vaseline all over your TV and glasses. Pixelly goodness for the masses sounds like a good thing to me.
Speaking to RPGSite, a Sega PR representative confirmed that the filter which proved controversial with fans would be optional. “I’ve had confirmation that the filter can indeed be switched off,” Martin Snelling of Sega UK told us. “And the games will display at whatever ratio your console is set at – 4:3 or 16:9. If playing in 16:9 the game will fit and not have black borders at the side.” he added, confirming another feature that will please fans.
What worries me now is the mention of games displaying automatically in your aspect ratio - without black bars. Excuse me, Sega, I want to play Streets of Rage in its correct ratio, and not stretched out on my beautiful widescreen 1080p TV. Blaze should not look like she needs a diet. Give me black bars or give me death.
[via RPGSite]
Meet Valkyria Chronicles’s Alicia; U.S. Demo Details Announced
Posted by Nathan. Filed under Nathan, News, North America. Tagged with Qore, Valkyria Chronicles.
GameTrailers has a video introducing us to Alicia Melchiott, the scout class of Valkyria Chronicles and Squad 7’s second-in-command. What an adorably anime sweetheart! Anime anime anime anime anime anime anime anime anime.
Seriously though, this game is going to be great, and we finally have details regarding a demo for us North Americans itching to try it out. Unfortunately, the news isn’t so great. According to PlayStation.blog, the demo will be exclusively available in the upcoming issue of Qore, Sony’s digital online magazine thingamajigger for PlayStation Network. This means that the demo costs $2.99 for those of us that aren’t subscribed to Qore (an annual, 13-episode Qore subscription costs $24.99). Say it with me now: LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME.
This month’s issue of Qore will be available this Thursday in the weekly PSN update. Valkyria Chronicles is set for a November 11, 2008 release in North America.
[via GameTrailers, PlayStation.blog]
Phantasy Star Zero debut trailer
Posted by Nathan. Filed under Japan, Nathan, News, Nintendo DS. Tagged with Phantasy Star Online, Phantasy Star Universe, Phantasy Star Zero.
GameTrailers has the first trailer for Sega’s latest entry in the Phantasy Star series of multiplayer RPGs: Phantasy Star Zero for the Nintendo DS. We first heard about this game last month from Famitsu, and now we can finally see it in action.
The art style looks similar to the previous Phantasy Star Online, Universe and Portable games, except all the playable characters look a lot younger. Almost like children. In fact, the characters in the game itself also look similarly young, and Phantasy Star Zero resultantly looks like a cross between Phantasy Star Universe and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is up to you. (It’s bad.)
The game looks like it doesn’t stray far from the established mechanics of slash/shoot/run, with support for four players, probably locally and online. We’ll have to wait and see if this turns out as gimped as I imagine a game like this on the DS would be, or if Sega can somehow pull a full-fledged Phantasy Star multiplayer game out of their hat.
[via GameTrailers]
