Sonic Lost World: Frozen Factory preview

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Sega is in full force this week at their Sega Arcade across the street from the San Diego Comic Con. Fans are lining up to play the latest, upcoming Sega titles. Hatsune Miku is drawing a surprisingly huge crowd. Of course, there is no bigger Sega icon than Sonic the Hedgehog and he was there in full force. There’s a giant statue of him in front of the arcade that can’t be missed, a normal-sized statue for taking pictures with and the main Hedgehog himself posing with fans. You can even get a Sonic chili dog out front!

But of course, the biggest attraction for Sonic fans is Sonic Lost World. The E3 demo is available to the public for the first time and folks playing seem delighted. However, Alex and I got a special treat as Aaron Webber came by to show us a “behind closed doors” demo with a brand new level, “Frozen Factory” which… is once again another fake out level name and it is neither frozen, nor a factory. Well, it might be a factory come to think of it. Keep reading for more details on the level and what improvements have been made to the original demo.

Mark Strong to play a role of a general in Total War: Rome 2

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Mark Strong is known for playing various villains in movies (Kick-Ass, Green Lantern and Sherlock Homes) and it seems he might continue this typecasted villain role in Total War: Rome 2. He is set to play General Silanus, a power hungry general that will guide you (the player) though the opening chapters of the campaign.

Even though he is mostly known for his villain roles, he did play the voice of Titus in the Warhammer 40k: Space Marine video game. Which is a pretty damn good game and is now published by SEGA (since it was developed by Relic).

You can check out the press release after the break.

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SEGA 3D Classics series on Nintendo 3DS announced for the United States and Europe

I feel like we’ve been reporting on these forever, but up until now the games in SEGA’s 3D Classics line-up have been exclusive to Japan. However, that isn’t the case anymore! The SEGA Blog and the latest Nintendo Direct from the UK has revealed that we can expect 3D Altered Beast, 3D Ecco the Dolphin, 3D Galaxy Force II, 3D Shinobi III, 3D Sonic The Hedgehog, 3D Space Harrier, 3D Streets of Rage, and 3D Super Hang-On to release “soon” to the Nintendo 3DS eShop in North America and Europe. You can see the announcement for yourself at 5:13 in the above video. Hooray!

After Burner Climax mobile update adds new plane and in-game cinematics

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The SEGA Blog has announced that After Burner Climax for iOS and Google Play will be receiving a free update which will add a new playable plane as well as in-game cinematics. The plane, dubbed the X-47B, is desribed as being “the latest in stealth technology from Northrup Grumman”. The in-game cinematics come from the arcade and console versions, which until now were lacking from the mobile versions. All-in-all a great update, which gives app owners a reason to replay the game again. And again.

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New Sonic Lost World Wii U screens reveal a return of Casino Night Zone

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The Sonic Stadium got their hands on nineteen new screens from the Wii U version of Sonic Lost World, and they’re quite revealing! Desert Ruin is seen in a few screens, showing off a new giant cactus enemy, as well as iconic loops, a sand tornado, and the drill and eagle Wisps in action. A wild jungle stage is seen, which has been previously revealed in the Color Power trailer, also seen is a night stage filled with robotic owls which are seemingly on the lookout for our hero. Sonic Gear Solid? [Update: ONM UK has revealed that this stage is named Silent Forest] Most exciting for classic Sonic fans is the reveal of a Casino Night inspired zone, a stage which was sadly not a full-on action stage in the console version of Sonic Generations.

After the break, check out a full gallery of all the images!

Nintendo trademarks point towards a new Seaman game

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In February of last year, we reported on Nintendo wanting bring other publishers’ classic titles to their handheld, and Seaman was said to be one such game. Even earlier than that in 2010, Seaman creator Yoot Saito hinted that Seaman could very well be seeing a 3DS revival. Now, the blog Esuteru reports that Nintendo has registered trademarks that read very much like the beloved SEGA Dreamcast game. The trademarks are for games entitled “Mysterious Pet: Legend of the Fish With A Human Face” and “Mysterious Partner: Legend of the Fish With A Human Face”. While Vivarium Inc., the Nintendo 3DS, and Seaman himself were not mentioned in the trademarks, the previously mentioned news stories do support the possibility of these trademarks being a Seaman sequel or spiritual successor to Seaman. Siliconera notes that Yoot Saito worked directly with Nintendo on the Gamecube’s Odama and most recently developed Aero Porter for the 3DS.

What do you think? Would you want a talking fish in your pocket?

SEGA teasing Shadow the Hedgehog for Sonic Dash

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SEGA posted the image above on their Facebook page with the message saying, “Get ready for the ultimate challenge!”. If you have played a bad Sonic the Hedgehog game in the last 10 years, you will probably know who the above character is. Shadow the Hedgehog!

Seems that Sonic Dash will be letting you play as Shadow the Hedgehog soon. If the character will be a free update or a pay to play, we don’t know yet. So far, Sonic Dash is only available on iOS platforms.

SEGA releases the last teaser for Project 575


SEGA has really been dragging this teaser for awhile, we reported on the first teaser almost a month ago, now SEGA is finally releasing its last teaser for its Project 575. The game is set to be revealed in 2 short days.

Well, the obvious is that it seems to be Vocaloid related music game. The song in the background is called ‘Fly Forward, Class!’ by Vocaloid artist Lamaze-P. The red female in the teases is called Azuki and the green one calls herself Maccha. According to hints in previous videos, the girls seem to talk a lot about going to class and practicing (for what?). Maccha also seems to mention evil spirits and demons. Kind of scary, no?

The game is set to be announced by Nico Nico Douga on July 18th.

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SEGAbits Visits SEGA of America, Inc. in Sunny San Francisco – Part 1

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On the list of awesome opportunities that have presented themselves as a result of me becoming a SEGA fan site writer, a visit to SEGA’s San Francisco offices has taken a firm hold of the number one slot. I had already planned to take a trip to California starting in Los Angeles, heading northward via the coastal highway, and ending the San Francisco. When it came to San Fran, SEGA’s offices were at the top of the list of places to check out. At most, I figured I’d pose in front of the building, but given our connections with the SEGA community managers I went out on a limb and reached out. After a short correspondence, a date and time was set and I was in. I was going to visit SEGA’s American HQ! Through the powers of words and photos, come along with me as we step inside SEGA.

New Sonic Lost World trailer reveals color powers and release date

Courtesy of IGN comes a new trailer for Sonic Lost World, which based on the latest footage is very much a “Sonic Colors 2” in spirit. Before we get into the gameplay related bits, it should be highlighted that the trailer reveals a US release date for both Wii U and 3DS versions: October 22nd, 2013. New Wisp color powers are revealed, including Eagle – which allows Sonic to soar like NiGHTS, Astroid – a Void-like Wisp which sucks enemies and pieces of the game world into its orbit, and Rhythm – Sonic turns into a music note and moves through difficult areas to the beat. Drill, Laser, and Rocket are returning color powers. Also seen in the trailer are new zones and enemies.

Give it a watch and tell us what you think in the comments section, or discuss the game in our forums!

Operation Rainfall wants to know what SEGA game you want localized

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There have been a ton of Japanese SEGA games that haven’t made it West and the guys from Operation Rainfall want to know what game you guys want localized. If you never heard of Operation Rainfall, it was a huge movement started because Nintendo refused to localize Xenoblade Chronicles, after the huge response the campaign got, Nintendo eventually released the game in North America.

Seems they want to help localize other games and are aiming their cross-hairs at some SEGA games.  On their site they have a poll with the following games listed:

  • Valkyria Chronicles 3 
  • Yakuza 5
  • Yakuza 1 & 2
  • Shining Hearts 

Right now Valkyria Chronicles 3 is winning with about 50% of the votes. I, on the other hand voted for Yakuza 5,  since I really want to play that game in English. What game did you vote for and why? Leave your opinions in the comment section.