Author Archives: Nuckles87

PAX East: Crimson Dragon Preview

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Shut up. Right now.

I realize it’s not wise to tell our readers such a thing, but I thought I’d just get that out of the way now. I don’t care if SEGA’s not on the box, nor that it wasn’t at their booth. This is a SEGA game, if not in reality then in spirit, and I’m writing about it. Ladies and gentleman, Crimson Dragon is Panzer Dragoon 5.

I confess, I haven’t been following this game too closely. I’ve seen far too many Kinect titles I’ve thought had potential crash and burn and I wasn’t about to let myself get my hopes up for a new “Panzer Dragoon”. Upon playing it though, I have to say…Crimson Dragon is the best Kinect game I’ve experienced.

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House of the Dead 4 available now on PSN!

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Yes, it’s out. Go buy it and enjoy some HotD goodness.It’s available exclusively on PSN and is compatible with the Move controller. I had a preview written up for this from PAX, but my ultrabook died so I didn’t have access to it until today…since we won’t have a review up for a little while, maybe I’ll still put it up!

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PAX East: Interview with Hell Yeah! Developer

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During PAX I had a chance to talk with Arkedo boss Camille Guermonprez. During this interview we talk about Arkedo’s relationship with SEGA, Hell Yeah’s game play and various SEGA references, and find out some interesting tidbits about the game. For instance, did members from a certain SEGA studio actually play test the game? If you still aren’t interested in this title, click the video above so that you can get an even better idea of what the game is all about.

Apologies for the weird camera angle, by the way. I had to place it close in order to ensure the sound came out.

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Rhythm Thief still coming to America

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One of the first things I did when I got to PAX was ask a SEGA rep “off the record” if Anarchy Reigns and Rhythm Thief were canned. The reply I essentially got was “we don’t know yet”. Because I asked off the record, and I want that to mean something in the future, I decided to wait until I asked in an actual interview to report it. Then, the next day, Joystiq reported that Rhythm Thief was still coming, as told to them by a SEGA rep. Finally, on Sunday, I asked Kellie Parker the same question, and got the same answer as before: they don’t know.

Who was this SEGA rep who did know? I still have no idea, but Joystiq definitely wasn’t bullshitting: it has now been confirmed by Aaron Webber on the SEGA forums:

As you may have already heard via news from PAX, the game has not been cancelled for the US and yes, it is coming out here.

So…there you have it! It’s coming! Be happy! Buy it! I hear it’s totally awesome, and if you guys really want SEGA to have insentive to keep making games like this in some capacity, you’ve got to vote with your wallet!

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PAX East: Hell Yeah! Preview

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What happens when you take Sega’s special brand of lunacy, a Western developer, a digital platform, and toss it all in a blender? This game. I didn’t really care for Hell Yeah’s debut trailer or initial screens. Perhaps it had something to do with the opening trailer’s focus on gore, I’m not really sure. All I did know was I was disinterested. Needless to say, after playing the demo, my interest has been caught.

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PAX East: Jet Set Radio Preview

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I don’t think it’s unusual for a SEGA fan to get a warm, fuzzy feeling every time he or she remembers the Dreamcast. Everyone knows the drill: it was an amazing swan song for a dying console maker, received more quality content in two years than most other consoles receive in five. While the console itself is fondly remembered, it’s the games that truly make the console. So when SEGA first revealed their line of downloadable Dreamcast games for XBLA and PSN, many fans naturally had designs of finally playing amazing epics like Skies of Arcadia and Shenmue in high definition. Unfortunately, the first two waves of games left something to be desired. Sonic Adventure was a fairly bare-bones port of the slightly inferior PC version, lacking even widescreen. Crazy Taxi lost its entire original soundtrack in the process of being brought over and SEGA Bass Fishing is hardly what one would call a Dreamcast classic. This left Space Chanel 5 Part 2 as the only well done master class Dreamcast title, and even that was ported in lieu of the more well-known original.

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Nuckles87’s PAX EASTer Egg Hunt

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See Shigs, I can do puns to!

Greetings, SEGAbitters. This Nuckles87, talking to you from PAX EAST. Today, I would like to announce a little contest I’ll be running while I’m at PAX: an easter egg hunt. In this case, the easter egg is me, or more specifically, my 3DS’s Mii. You have to street pass me with your 3DS!

My Mii is a rather portly fellow in a blue shirt wearing a pirate hat, named Alex. He greets you with the SEGAbits web address, so you’ll know it’s me! More details below the fold.

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RUMOR: Sonic Adventure 2, More Vintage Titles Revealed for XBLA

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UPDATE: Penny Arcade 3 and Rock Band Blitz have been confirmed giving even more credibility to this list. I believe we can consider SA2 all but confirmed.

A list of upcoming XBLA titles has been leaked onto the web via NEOGAF. Allegedly, the source of this list is Microsoft’s Partnernet service, which has notoriously been the source of numerous leaks in the past, including the infamous Sonic 4 Episode 1 leak back in 2010.

Among the games listed are Sonic Adventure 2 and Vintage titles Streets of Rage and Golden Axe. Another leaked title, Rock Band Blitz, could be the title to make or break the validity of this list, as that game’s developer, Harmonix, is expected to debut their next title this weekend at PAX East. If anything becomes of these rumors, we’ll be sure to report it.

Until then, you can find the complete list of leaked titles at the source below.

Update: Rock Band Blitz has been revealed on G4.

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SEGA Tunes: Bayonetta’s Fly Me to the Moon

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Bayonetta had a great soundtrack, but it’s clear the game’s director had an obsession with one, All-American classic: Fly Me to the Moon, one of my favorite songs from the great American songbook. Originally written by Bart Howard in 1954, it’s been performed by all the greats, including Frank Sinatra.

Perhaps the most notable part about this song’s inclusion in Bayonetta is the fact that it was integrated so deeply into the game. It wasn’t just a once used track, or something used in the end credits, but a song heard constantly throughout the game. Bayonetta herself even whispered the song in a scene.

This version, performed by Belgian singer Helena Noguerra, gives this age old classic a nice little SEGA twist. The background music sounds like something that would be perfectly at home in a multitude of SEGA arcade titles. All that said, I must admit I do prefer the version in the end credits, a 1963 by Brenda Lee. That will be getting its own Tuesday Tunes one day.

Below is my favorite version of this song, sung by Frank Sinatra

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Weekly Five: Five Game Gear Games that Need to Be on 3DS

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There are some interesting similarities between 3DS and the Game Gear. They both have 5-6 hours of battery life, they both have oversized peripherals that defeated the whole “portable” concept, and now…they both have Game Gear games! Last week, the Game Gear debuted on the 3DS’ Virtual Console service with a strong trio of titles: Sonic Triple Trouble, Shinobi, and the rogue-like Dragon Crystal. The line-up was a good way of introducing a new generation of gamers to what the Game Gear had to offer. The Game Gear has way more to offer then these three though, and hopefully SEGA will send some of the titles I’ve listed below our way in the coming months.

I would also like to make some special notes: we did not record these videos, and we recommend that if you want to see more, you click them and visit the creator’s Youtube channels. Also, I would like to note that the sound in the final game on this list isn’t as bad as it is in the video.

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SEGA Tunes: Outrun 2’s Magical Sound Shower

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http://youtu.be/39L1f6CKaoo

You know what’s the mark of a good soundtrack? When you can’t remember which one of the tracks was your favorite. Was it Splash Wave? Maybe Risky Ride? In the end, I just went with Magical Sound Shower!

Beyond being a really fun arcade game, Outrun 2 also had one of the best SEGA soundtracks of the last decade. Almost every single track had a unique personality and a really great beat. It sounded like a track right out of SEGA’s mid 90s arcade library. Magical Sound Shower is probably the richest tracks. It mixes drum beats and electrical instruments with a really superb saxophone, all set to a nice tropical island theme. A gorgeous track for a gorgeous game!

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Iizuka says Sonic Dimensions a Hoax, Comments on Sonic’s Future

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Remember those rumors regarding a Sonic Colors sucessor incoming for the Wii U? Well, Takashi Iizuka has finally spoken out on thematter in a SPOnG Sonic 4 Episode 2 interview:

SPOnG: Can you say whether the rumour of a game called Sonic Dimensions on the Wii U is true or false? Takashi Iizuka: Sonic Dimensions? [Laughs] I think it’s a complete hoax. [Laughs]

In that same interview, Iizuka commented on Sonic’s future. We have a sample of his comments posted below. For the full comment, as well as the entire interview, please head over to SPOnG.

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SEGA Tunes: Sky Sanctuary

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So, I thought I’d give us all a break from orchestrations this week, to post up an oldie but a goodie: Sky Sanctuary Zone. I loved this song back in the day, and it’s still the classic Sonic theme I best remember. I still remember when I first loaded up Sky Sanctuary and was greeted with this tune. It was so…different from anything else I had ever heard in a Sonic game before, and it instantly gave Sky Sanctuary this huge breathtaking feel that went perfectly together with it’s scope. This theme is one of the primary reasons why I wanted the level to be included in Generations.

Speaking of which, I am including two very awesome remixes of this song below the fold, one put together by Kanjika and the other from Sonic Generations. I HIGHLY encourage you listen to both. It’s really surprising what Kanjika is able to do with this.

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Another Sonic 4 Video, Another Release Date

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Another, longer, higher quality Sonic 4 video, this one with a presentation from a SEGA rep. Not much new information in this video, except for one piece of info: the game is still coming out in May. This flies in the face of what Phandroid reported earlier with their video, though it does pretty much lock down a Spring release window for the game. The SEGA rep also confirms that the game is launching on Tegra powered devices a few weeks before it’s released on other consoles.

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