Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is only a month away! In anticipation of the game’s release, we here at SEGAbits want to highlight the many All-Stars appearing in SEGA’s racing title. To do this, we’re kicking off a four week salute to the characters appearing in the game. Each week will focus on five SEGA All-Stars. We’ll share why we think these characters are important to SEGA’s history, and why we’re looking forward to racing as them. Let’s kick off part one with the first five, can you guess who they are?
A.J. continues with creepy games during the month of October as he checks out Quake on the SEGA Saturn.
Long before Master Chief, or even the Helghast Empire, there was Quake. You didn’t sit through numerous cutscenes, trying to dazzle you with diamonds only to baffle you with bullshit. With Quake, it dazzled us with atmosphere, bloodshed and firepower….
But how does it look and play with Sega’s 32-bit monster? Walk with me through the Slipgate and we’ll find out.
When SEGA announced Zaxxon Escape, I was very excited. SEGA was doing something they rarely do: resurrecting an 80’s IP that has been dormant since the mid-90’s. For those not in the know, the original Zaxxon was an isometric shooter released by SEGA to arcades in 1982. The game was played from a third person perspective at a top down angle, with simulated 3D pulled off via effects like shadows and an altitude meter. Gameplay involved shooting down as many targets as possible, whilst dodging obstructions such as electric fences, walls and enemy fire. Players also had to keep track of their fuel level, which was replenished by shooting fuel tanks. Zaxxon went on to be ported to numerous platforms and even had three sequels. Now, with Zaxxon Escape, SEGA takes us back to the ending of the first game, as players are tasked with escaping Asteroid City after having defeated Zaxxon.
It looks like SEGA’s Hardlight Studio, the folks behind the Viking PC port, were also busy developing Sonic Jump. In this 15 minute Sonic Jump gameplay video, Hardlight’s logo appears before the game begins, confirming that the developer has shifted focus from Vita games to iOS. While their “unique action adventure” title is still M.I.A., Sonic Jump looks to be a fun smartphone update to the 2005 mobile phone game Sonic Jump. So before you call this a Doodle Jump ripoff, remember than SEGA did it four years before Lima Sky did.
The game features both a story and arcade mode, with the story being as simple as the Genesis originals. Eggman has captured your animal friends, and the player can choose Sonic, Tails or Knuckles as the hero who leaps skyward after Eggman. Series staples including letter grades, red rings, badniks, springs, rings, spikes and power-ups appear. Fans who have searched through the game’s assets have also found character images of Amy, Cream, Rouge, Shadow, Blaze and Silver. No word on if these characters are also playable. The game releases tomorrow, and we hope to have a review up within the week.
SEGA of Japan’s YouTube channel uploaded a sneaky teaser trailer proclaiming “2×5” followed by a series of video game sounds. SEGA fans with keen ears should recognize the sounds to come from Virtua Fighter 2, Fighting Vipers, Sonic the Fighters, Virtua Striker and Cyber Troopers Virtual-On. The title “2X5” most likely refers to SEGA’s Model 2 arcade board and the five aforementioned games. The teaser ends with “See You Tomorrow”, so we can pretty much expect the reveal of these five games for XBLA and PSN either today or tomorrow. Who is excited for some Model 2 arcade action?
We’ve been seeing a LOT of SEGA cameos and crossovers this year: All-Stars Racing, Project X Zone, Samurai and Dragons, Yakuza in Border Break and now Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit! DLC. SEGA has just announced DLC that will be available on October 23 in North America and October 24 in Europe on XBLA, PSN, and PC Digital Download. The Pimp My Rabbit pack ($2.99 /240MSP /£1.99 /€2.49 /AUD$4.25) will offer over 50 masks for Ash and 11 driller skins with appearances from SEGA franchises including Jet Set Radio, Super Monkey Ball and Crazy Taxi. One screen shows off a sweet Shinobi mask and driller skin combo. Another DLC pack will be The Virtual Rabbit Missions ($4.99 /400MSP /£3.69 / €4.49 /AUD$7.75) which adds 50 new challenges totaling over three hours of gameplay. They missed a trick in calling it “Virtua Rabbit”.
After the break, check out additional screens of the DLC!
Halloween month continues with another creepy video review from AJ, this time he dives into the Saturn classic Deep Fear.
You wanna’ see something really scary? Watch The Shinning, or A Nightmare on Elm Street, or Problem Child 3. Now, if you want something dark, moody and interactive, look no further….
This is Deep Fear for Sega Saturn. Sega’s answer to Capcom’s popular Resident Evil/Bio Hazard franchise. You may be saying to yourself, “I had a Saturn back in the day. Why haven’t I heard of it?” That’s easy; it was only released in Japan, England and Europe. There ya’ have it.
Did we miss out? The answer to that question lies in this video.
Like this video? Subscribe to the SEGAbits YouTube channel. As a video bonus, after the break check out the Japanese commercial for the game starring Segata Sanshiro!
While we knew this for a while, SEGA has finally officially announced both Genesis/Mega Drive ToeJam & Earl titles for XBLA and PSN. ToeJam & Earl and ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron will be released separately on PSN on November 6th for $4.99 each, and will be packaged together as the SEGA Vintage Collection: ToeJam & Earl for 800 MSP starting November 7th on XBLA. After the break, a second screen! Yeah, we only have two at the moment, but as soon as we get more we’ll share them.
As predicted, Crazy Taxi is hitting the App Store this week! In fact, you might even be able to download it today. Crazy Taxi for iOS, which was announced Monday, has begun to roll out to App Stores around the globe with New Zealand getting it first and the US and Europe to follow later tonight/early tomorrow. The New Zealand product page lists all the features as well as reveals the price. The game will cost £2.99 / $4.99 and is sized at 125 MB. The game is universal, however it does require iOS 4.3 or later. After the break, check out all the game’s features including confirmation of the original soundtrack!
SEGA has officially revealed Danica Patrick’s in-game model and car via three new screens and a new trailer. Also revealed, a retailer exclusive diecast Hot Wheels car which will be available with the purchase of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed at select retailers thanks to a partnership between SEGA and Mattel. Marcella Churchill, Senior Director of Marketing at SEGA of America, had this to say about the partnership:
“Using Danica Patrick’s existing relationship with Mattel and Hot Wheels, we were able to extend our brand beyond the Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed game universe and into consumer products with the creation of this custom toy. The Hot Wheels brand has a reputation for developing beloved childhood toys and our partnership will undoubtedly ignite this nostalgia amongst fans when they get to race this transforming vehicle within the game.”
The trailer also reveals a release date for the Vita and 3DS versions: December 11th, 2012. After the break, screens of Danica and her car the Danicar as well as an image of the diecast toy.
In the last All-Stars Racing title, fans pushed for NiGHTS and Ristar and ended up with NiGHTS making a cameo as the flagman and Ristar appearing alongside the track in the Death Egg DLC. Now, in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, NiGHTS moved his way up to the racing roster leaving the flagman spot open. Sumo Digital hinted that a flying character would take NiGHTS place, and fans speculated on a number of characters including Opa Opa. But in the end, thanks to a preview from ve3tro.com, Ristar has been confirmed as the game’s flagman.
You know the development team tried their best when the race starts and Ristar is cheerfully waving the flag. Each of the courses is a visual treat that will certainly make gamers smile. The various transformations that take place in real time make it even more exciting to look at.
Wreck-It Ralph is becoming one of our best sources for SEGA in the Media. In the latest trailer for the movie, the opening scene features a shot of the arcade changing over the years. In blink and you’ll miss them cameos, three classic SEGA arcade cabinets appear and disappear in the arcade as time passes. Check out the intro to the trailer above and see what games you can spot. After the break, we’ll spoil them for you.
SEGA has posted a short but sweet trailer announcing Crazy Taxi for iOS devices. When does it release? This month! What day? No idea, yet. What will the game contain? From the looks of things, the original game and if the teaser’s music is a hint, part of or the full original soundtrack. Crazy Taxi released to PSN and XBLA back in November 2010, but sadly the game was missing its heart: the rocking soundtrack featuring music from The Offspring and Bad Religion. Even if that sort of music isn’t your thing, you can’t deny that it is a very important part of the game. Crazy Taxi on iOS, with some of or all of the original music, could be a homerun for SEGA. When we learn more, we’ll share it. Hell, given Zaxxon Escape released to the App Store the same week it was announced, we very well could see Crazy Taxi as soon as this friday!
Given the success of the first title on iOS, it was only a matter of time until SEGA and Sumo Digital revealed that an iOS version of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is in the works. According to Gareth Williams, design director at Sumo Digital, the game is “absolutely” hitting the App Store but not until “after Christmas”. What isn’t decided, however, is how they’ll sell it. At the moment, it’s either sell it for a few dollars and include in-app purchases or give it away for free and allow players to buy characters. Whatever payment method they pick, the first game sold over two million so the sequel is sure to be a success.
The image and the headline are all we know for now, but based on the name and platform it looks like Sonic will soon be entering the run and jump genre. To be honest, I don’t know why SEGA hasn’t done this sooner. Sonic the Sketchhog and Nike had run and jump Sonic games, but both were free promos available to play for only a limited time. This time out, they might make some money on it. Either as a free game that relies on in-app purchases or an inexpensive one time purchase.
Edit: I just realized that Sonic Jump was in fact a mobile phone game released back in 2005, which played a bit like Doodle Jump (released in 2009). So this could either be a port or an updated version of the game. After the break, check out some original Sonic Jump gameplay.
