Editorials

Why SEGA should stick with PlatinumGames

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The closure of Clover Studio several years back was a sad day for the gaming industry, not only because they had just developed a multiple Game of the Year award winner (the beautiful Okami) but also because it was such a shame to see the developer of some of Capcom’s most interesting and innovative content getting the axe. It was a dose of reality: a reminder that originality and innovation doesn’t always pay off (and SEGA knows that probably better than anybody) in an industry that’s rapidly becoming more and more hit-driven and sequel-based.

The good news came shortly after, when it was revealed that the heads of Clover Studios had no intention of folding back inside Capcom. Instead, key developers Atsushi Inaba, Hideki Kamiya, and co. formed what would eventually become PlatinumGames, taking many former Clover Studios developers with them. In a move of pure brilliance, SEGA picked up the partnership, what turned out to be an incredible fit.

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Hands On: Super Monkey Ball Ticket Blitz

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I am very fortunate to live near a brand new Round 1 Arcade. It’s a bowling, Karakoe, UFO Ctacher and Video Arcade that originated from Japan. They tend to have the most brand new video arcade games out there. One they just recently got was Super Monkey Ball: Ticket Blitz. A fairly different take on Monkey Ball that rewards you with prize tickets.

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Greg Miller/IGN’s Yakuza 4 Review – My Thoughts

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Usually at Segabits we would stay clear of critic bashing but I really feel this needs to be said.

This is of course in regards to the review score Greg Miller of IGN has just given Yakuza 4 (6.5/10).

Just about everyone who has played the Japanese version of the game, be it the Japanese people I’ve spoken to about it or the Westerners who have imported the game, seem to all agree that Yakuza 4 is one of the best games in the series yet.  On the other side of the coin, it’s generally agreed by most fans that Yakuza 3 was the weakest installment in the series so far with a very slow start with its baby sitting children and rather monotonous fetch quests making up the first quarter of the game.

However not Greg Miller it seems, who, throughout his review, speaks about how much he enjoyed Yakuza 3’s story and, even more jarring, how Yakuza 4 has a weak story which seems to contradict what every other Yakuza fan has said.

Hit the jump for MORE!

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Hands On Impressions: Yakuza Of The End

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I’ve recently played through the Japanese demo of Sega’s upcoming Yakuza of the End. A spinoff sequel to Sega’s popular Yakuza franchise where zombies help take a bite out of (organized) crime. (With all due respects to Mcgruff the crime dog.) Is there enough meat in this demo to sink your teeth into? (Okay, that was lame.)

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The Last Boss: White Fang

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Now, when you think of a game based around Die Hard, you would think the last boss would be Hans Gruber. Not so in Sega’s Die Hard Arcade though, this time you get to beat White Fang (better known as ‘The last guy from Die Hard Arcade’) into unconsciousness with the Presidential golf clubs. This Die Hard also features killer death robots that shoot laser beams, and giant Mexican Wrestlers called ‘Jocko’ so that kinda sets the tone for things to come, really.

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Crushing Disappointments: Shadow the Hedgehog

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Let’s face it, SEGA can’t knock them all out of the park. No company can. Games have budgets and deadlines, and more often than not it’s more profitable to release a bad game and make some of your money back then cancel it and make none. SEGA is regrettably no stranger to bad games, especially in its awkward early years as a third party.

Among these bad games was a game that ultimately marked the decline of the company’s mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog, into a pit of mediocrity. A pit the character wouldn’t even begin to climb out of until the release of Sonic Colors last year. This game was Shadow the Hedgehog.

Full article after the break.

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The Last Boss: Michael Jackson vs Stray Dogs

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When I heard that the new Michael Jackson video games for Wii, DS and Kinect were going to be dance games I was hugely disappointed. “What else would you expect them to be?” you may ask, and that is a fair question. I knew it was unlikely, but a small part of me was hoping that we would see some kind of follow up to the classic Sega title Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker. That game had it all; a Michael Jackson soundtrack, scrolling beat-em-up action and some great boss fights, not least of which was the legendary Stray Dogs. Yes, there was a video game where you used Michael Jackson to kick the ever-living shit out of a bunch of dogs.

Why this game doesn’t have a sequel is beyond me…

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Misconceptions about SEGA’s 2010 games

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Something that I hate is when one someone writes something about a game that gets echoed everywhere I go. These people that keep on babbling on about how this game has these issues or its  a clone of some other mainstream game, most of the time these individuals never end up actually playing the game in question for themselves.

I have decided to give my 2 cents on what I consider false assumptions of SEGA’s 2010 games.

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Classic SEGA Magazine Corner: EGM May 1991

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Continuing an article series started by SEGAbits writer MadeManG74, I present another classic SEGA magazine: Electronic Gaming Monthly Number 22, released May 1991. SEGA and Sonic fans of course recognize May ’91 as the month before Sonic the Hedgehog hit stores. American magazine EGM joined the hype wagon and gave Sonic his own cover and a two page preview spread. Check out the article that was, most likely, the first real preview many had seen of the now classic SEGA series!

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Shenmue 10th Anniversary!

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Yes! It is 10 whole years to the day… Erm, yesterday. But close enough right?

Shenmue was one of the most ambitious games ever made, it cost a whopping 70 million dollars in total, is the best series I’ve ever played and… Still isn’t bloody finished.

If you have yet to play Shenmue, well you may be a ‘gamer’ but you’ve still got your training wheels on, that’s for sure. Get your act together, go buy a cheap Dreamcast and enjoy a true classic.

If you have, fantastic you are a real man. Here’s to more Shenmue, sometime in the next 10 years! Come on Sega…

Until then, Shenmue City anyone?

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Sonic Adventure Vanquish Remix

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Earlier this week I picked up Vanquish in Kmart’s awesome sale, and I am totally in love with the game. The opening cinematic is crazy, brutal, epic and reminded me of another great SEGA game. So, using the powers of YouTube and iMovie I’ve mashed up two intros into one. Take note that this may be a tiny spoiler to those who haven’t seen the first few minutes of Vanquish and the game is rated M for Muthaf*ckin’ Mayhem. Enjoy!

If you haven’t picked up this modern day classic yet, do so now! The sale is still going on, though the game is out of stock online. So run to your local Kmart and get the game.

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