Hands-on preview: House of the Dead: Overkill
Posted by Graham. Filed under Europe, G, News, Nintendo Wii, Preview. Tagged with Hands on, Headstrong Games, House of the Dead, Overkill.
The more observant of you might have noticed my little Twitter message (see right-hand column on site), so hopefully some of you will have seen this coming.
Earlier this week, Sega Nerds was invited by those sexy chaps at Sega Europe to get some hands-on time with the upcoming Wii-exclusive House of the Dead: Overkill.
Unfortunately, as the game is still in development, I wasn’t able to play a full version. Instead my hands-on time was spent with a specially made demo, which contained just the second level from the game - Bayou County General Hospital.
While Overkill is the latest installment in the franchise, the game is actually a prequel to the original Arcade and Saturn title. Because of this earlier setting, developer Headstrong Games has opted to give the title a cheesy 1970’s horror movie vibe, complete with film grain effects, bad acting and some wonderfully over-the-top voice-overs.
Valkyria Chronicles: In-depth, hands-on preview
Posted by Graham. Filed under Europe, G, News, Preview, Sony PlayStation 3. Tagged with Hands on, Valkyria Chronicles.
We were fortunate enough to get our hands on the Japanese version of the soon-to-be-released Valkyria Chronicles a while back, but since it didn’t have English subtitles, you can imagine the difficulty we had trying to understand anything going on.
Fortunately for us, and for you, Sega of Europe recently invited us to come to their offices for an extended gaming session of the English version.
Rather than focus too much on the gameplay aspects, which we have covered previously, and you can find out on any of the Japanese reviews, we are going to delve into some of the finer aspects of the game.
Samba De Amigo (Wii) hands-on impressions
Posted by Graham. Filed under G, Nintendo Wii, Preview, Video. Tagged with Music, Samba De Amigo.
~To help show off the way the game is played Sega asked us to record our footage showing both the screen and people playing - which is something they have said to every other site. Â Â So apologies of the angle is bit weird, we had no one else to hold the camera - so had to prop it up on a cupboard, with my jumper… and some cake~
~And yes, I am the one with the stupid hat on~
SGD08: Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood hands on
Posted by George. Filed under George, Nintendo DS, North America, Preview. Tagged with event, Hands on, SGD08, Sonic Chronicles.
If anyone fights over what they think Sonic should be, it’s definitely Sonic fans. I swear, he has some of the most passionate fans on the planet. However, I’m not going to judge Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood as a Sonic game. I mean, I already knew it wasn’t going to be fast!
So does a turn-based RPG work with Sonic characters?
SGD08: Samba de Amigo hands on
Posted by George. Filed under George, Nintendo Wii, Preview. Tagged with event, Samba De Amigo, SGD08.
Samba de Amigo is one of those underrated party games. It’s a great game to make a complete fool of yourself after a few drinks, but guess what? You don’t care, cause you’re having so much fun.
I don’t like the game’s music or the type of music in it, but it really grows on you. I’m glad that Gearbox decided to give this game a second chance. Everyone was afraid that they would screw up. Did they?
Continue reading and find out.
SGD08: Golden Axe: Beast Rider preview
Posted by George. Filed under George, Microsoft Xbox 360, Multi-platform, Preview, Sony PlayStation 3. Tagged with event, Golden Axe Beast Rider, SGD08.
I don’t know what it is about Golden Axe: Beast Rider, but there are a lot of people out there looking forward to it. I guess that happens every time Sega revives an old IP. Everyone in the forum so far has mixed reactions on this game. Some say it looks horrible, others good, and most are on the edge.
Like with Sonic Unleashed, I didn’t actually get a chance to play it myself. A Sega rep took the reins, so to speak. Sure it’s not as good as getting to play it myself, but it’s still more than we’ve gotten since it was first announced!
Hit the jump for the rest of the preview.
SGD08: Sonic Unleashed preview
Posted by George. Filed under George, Multi-platform, Preview. Tagged with event, SGD08, Sonic Unleashed.
(This is the first of many posts we’ll be making here at Sega Nerds today, covering the news and games shown at the Sega Gamer’s Day 08 event, which our very own George was able to attend. Keep checking back throughout the day for previews, hands-on impressions, news and screenshots!)
I have been waiting to get my hands on this game, so it’s too bad we weren’t allowed to at this event. However, we did get to see someone else play the game. Representatives from Sega said that the preview build we saw was about 80 percent complete, so some of my complaints could be fixed in the next six or so months left in development.
I know a lot of fans have been claiming that this game is the return of Sonic … that this game will make everything right again. I really hope it does.
Hit the jump for a full preview.
CVG previews Samba De Amigo (Wii)
Posted by Graham. Filed under G, News, Nintendo Wii, Preview, Retro. Tagged with Dreamcast, Peripheral, Samba De Amigo.
CVG has posted up a preview, from NGamer, for the upcoming Wii version of Samba De Amigo. The preview conveys some mixed emotions.
On the one hand the Wiimote and Nunchuck controls are (apparently) perfectly fine, and the controls are tight enough for players to make some funky beats.
“Mechanically, Gearbox have done a sound job. The concept is as simple as it ever was: a right maraca and a left maraca, you just have to shake each one at the height the game tells you.”
However it seems that, even with good reactions, the Wii’s controller is still no match for holding the Dreamcast original’s big, plastic maracas in hand.
Preview: Condemned 2: Bloodshot
Posted by Graham. Filed under Europe, G, Microsoft Xbox 360, News, Preview, Sony PlayStation 3, Video. Tagged with Condemned.
Some of you may know, (and more probably won’t know), that I had the opportunity to visit Sega Europe a couple of weeks ago. Over at Sega HQ, I and several other journalists were lucky enough to get our hands on The Club and Condemned 2, and also we had a chance to interview two of the guys from Bizarre Creations, who worked on The Club. It was all very exciting.
Unfortunately we were told to keep our mouths shut about Condemned 2 or someone would forced feed our grandmothers marmite sandwiches. Fortunately my grandmother likes marmite, the crazy old broad. So I am free to bring you guys the goods on Condemned 2: Bloodshot. Hooray!
To start off, we were given a quick introduction, which also involved some drinks, cakes and pastry treats, and then got down to the nitty gritty by playing Condemned 2’s multiplayer.
Now, what I should emphasize is the build we played wasn’t finished, so hopefully, the major flaws will be ironed out come release time.
Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! Demo Impressions
Posted by JamesC. Filed under James, Japan, Preview. Tagged with Impressions, PlayStation Network, Ryu ga Gotoku, Yakuza, Yakuza 2.
As the release of Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! quickly approaches from over the distant horizon, Playstation 3 owners who live in the Land of the Rising Sun have been treated to an influx of downloadable content which Sega hopes will show the greatness of their latest big title.
With the release of two separate demos, as well as a trailer which stretches to over four minutes long, it’s clear that Sega is putting a good amount of press and hype into this, the newest game from Toshihiro Nagoshi. Not a surprising fact, as Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! has the largest budget of any game the company’s produced since Shenmue on the Dreamcast.