The Weekly Five: You’re a SLACKER, SEGA!

Obviously, I love me my SEGA. Why else would I be writing for this place? But just because I love them, doesn’t mean I can’t be a little bit peeved with them when it comes to a few things. In this week’s Weekly Five, I’ll be going down my list of areas in which SEGA is slacking.

Swingin’ Report Show #16: Comical Pants Zone

I’m hosting this week, joined by Sharky and Aki-at as we discuss the news of the week, traditional Muslim values, debate about zombies and much more. Oh, if you are looking for the stage layout of Chemical Plant Zone that we are talking about, its right here.

[audio:http://www.segabits.com/wp-content/uploads/Swingin_Report_Show_16_Comical_Pants_Zone.mp3]

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Review: Captain America: Super Soldier (Wii)

When Nuckles87 assigned me to do the hands on for Captain America on Wii during E3, I wasn’t too happy. The game just looked like another washed down, crappy port. I was surprised however, at the level of quality the game had. The game is handled by High Voltage. Mainly the HV team that handled Tournament of Legends (poorly reviewed but I thought it was okay). Now, I bought the PS3 version which I love despite how some may feel (No offense Aki), but after playing and beating the Wii version, does it hold up well or is it just another watered-down Wii port? Read on. Read further down for a Bonus Feature.

Swingin’ Report Show #15: Shark Week

This is Shark week because Sharky returns on the podcast. Me and him sit down to talk about Binary Domain’s graphics, Sonic physics and much more. This podcast is not for one that is easily offended. Enjoy

[audio:http://www.segabits.com/wp-content/uploads/Swingin_Report_Show_15_Shark_Week.mp3]

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The Weekly Five: The Best VMU Games

Despite being over ten years old, VMU games can still be fun! Sure they pale in comparison to modern day handheld devices, but even back when VMUs were new they couldn’t compete with the handhelds of the early 00’s. The main purpose of a VMU was to save your game data, the fact that they could play mini-games was the cherry on top. While the VMU didn’t change the world, at least SEGA didn’t advertise it as the standout feature of the console (subtle dig at the Wii U). While I don’t carry a VMU about with me like I did back in ’99, I still make it a point to occasionally pick up some CR2032 batteries to bring my VMU back to life. What follows are my personal favorite VMU games.

Want to play these yourself, but don’t have all the Dreamcast titles that offer these extra features? Check out Blue Swirl’s VMU Tool. An awesome application for the Dreamcast which allows you to make a number of (safe) modifications to existing VMUs as well as download game saves and VMU games from the entire Dreamcast library. It even has a VMU emulator, for those too lazy to play an actual VMU.

SEGA in the Media: Sonic and the Simpsons

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As a child of the late 80’s and early 90’s, two of my biggest obsessions were Sonic the Hedgehog and The Simpsons. Despite having very little to do with each other, both franchises were at their heights in the early 90’s. Sonic’s first game saw release in the summer of 1991, just as The Simpsons were nearing the end of their second season, debuting a number of episodes that came to define the series and showed that they had greatly improved upon the so-so first season. The Simpsons had also invaded the world of video games in 1991, with the release of Konami’s The Simpsons Arcade and, of note to SEGA fans, a number of Master System, Game Gear and Genesis titles. 1993 saw the release of The Simpsons Comics series and Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog, both still in print to this day, a rare feat for licensed comics.

It was only a matter of time before The Simpsons and Sonic crossed paths by way of The Simpsons propensity to reference popular culture. In this week’s SEGA in the Media we take a look at all the moments Sonic appeared on The Simpsons!

Swingin’ Report Show #14: Capes and Tights

Shigs joins us this week to talk about his sexy trip to Comic Con, we talk about this weeks news including the fact that SEGA Is loosing money and much more. Classic game talk this week is Comix Zone. Underrated masterpiece or overrated junk?

[audio:http://www.segabits.com/wp-content/uploads/Swingin_Report_Show_14_Tights_and_capes.mp3]

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Sonic Generations interview with Aaron Webber

UPDATE: Extra comment at the end of the interview.

Sega had a very strong presence at the San Diego Comic Con this year. Not only did they have a Sega Arcade down in the Gaslamp Quarter, but on the floor they had Captain America at the Marvel booth and two demo stations of Sonic Generations at the Archie Comics booth. Surprisingly (or maybe not), there was no 3DS Generations demo anywhere to be found.

At one of the demo stations, I found Sonic brand manager Aaron Webber. Trust me when I say there’s no more likable fella working at Sega. Look at him. He’s just so gosh darn huggable ya wanna stuff him in your Warner Bros Comic Con bag and take him home with “AHEM!” Anyway, as he manned the station, many people were checking out the demo. Mostly the modern version. In fact, one fan kept coming back every day and managed to beat Aaron’s record on modern by one second! When he had some time, we went to the back of the Archie booth and set up an interview. (I wanted to snuggle, but he refused. XD Kidding, kidding.)

SEGA Sequel Saturdays: What is Anarchy Reigns?

We’re at Episode 25 of SEGA Sequel Saturdays, and for this edition I’m compelled to ask a simple question: what the heck is Anarchy Reigns? Though SEGA has, from the start, released a relatively consistent stream of footage and tidbits of into, I can’t shake the feeling that I have no idea what the game is going to be, and each new bit of footage or information we receive has the effect of confusing me more and more. To be fair to SEGA, the game’s not planned for release until January 2012, which means we’re still a long way off, but today I’m asking a couple of questions that I really want to have answered, in some form, for me to ultimately decide whether I’m excited for this game or not.

Swingin’ Report Show #13: Hippo Wipe


We have a blamtastic podcast for you this week. Me (George), -nSEGA- (Ben) and SEGA Source writer Sanus (Cory) go super off topic. We tip our hats to hippos and Capcom. We also talk about the manly Golden Axe franchise, new Sonic Generations information and much more. Listen, we don’t bite.

[audio:http://www.segabits.com/wp-content/uploads/swining_reportshow_13.mp3]

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Review: Captain America: Super Soldier (PS3)

With the release of Captain America: Super Soldier, SEGA will be bringing a close to the licensing deal that they started with Marvel several years ago. So after four tie-ins with Marvel Entertainment, has SEGA improved in the quality of their licensed output? Read on to find out in my extensive review on the last game in their Marvel movie tie-in, Captain America: Super Soldier.

The Weekly Five: Lesser Known Dreamcast Exclusives

I make it no secret that I am a big time Dreamcast fan. It is the SEGA console I own the most games for (around 120 last time I counted) and every September 9th I take the day off from work to host a nine hour Dreamcast marathon. There are many reasons why I love the console, but the number one would have to be the exclusives. Jet Set Radio, Shenmue and Crazy Taxi 2 are fantastic games and have yet to appear on any other console, and I’m totally cool with that. It’s a perfect reason for my Dreamcast to remain hooked up next to my current generation consoles.

But as time goes on, SEGA has been porting more and more Dreamcast classics to other consoles. Great for the gaming community, bad for the Dreamcast. Less exclusives mean less of a reason for gamers to pick up a used console. I know it sounds like I’m being overly dramatic, however this past May I did witness a kid turning down the purchase of a Dreamcast due to SEGA’s recently released Dreamcast Collection. As such, I thought I’d share five lesser known Dreamcast games that remain exclusive to the console and show no sign of receiving a rerelease. If you want these, you need a Dreamcast.

Review: Virtua Tennis 4 (PS3)

SEGA’s lovable arcade franchise returns, this time with the original series creators behind the development. Many fans have been asking how much new things the team could bring to the table, after already having 2 Virtua Tennis releases on HD consoles this generation. Well, let’s crack open this review and see how the game stacks.

Check out our new review score cards!

Check out our review cards. These cards will now go on the bottom of our reviews to display scores. I hope you guys like the art. The artwork for the Amigo heads was done by our forum member, Radrappy. Thanks for submitting!

As for the design of the card, that credit goes to our lovely staff member, Barry The Nomad. Tell us what you think! See the rest after the break.