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Review: Zaxxon Escape (iOS)

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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.

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My Life With SEGA dives into the Saturn classic Deep Fear

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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!

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Review: Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit (XBLA/PSN/PC)

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Before I jump into my review of Arkedo and SEGA’s brilliantly demented and gloriously fucked up Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit, I want you to take a good long look at the above image and see what you can spot. The torrents of blood that make up your health meter? The fact that your Loot chest has eyes and teeth? The demonic two-faced being that your headphone-wearing puffy-haired main character is taking out with his rocket launcher?

The fact of the matter is, Hell Yeah! has enough craziness for 10 games; its eagerly demented presentation plays a major role in what makes this XBLA/PSN/PC download title so unique and enjoyable. It may not prove to be everyone’s cup of tea, but if this is your thing, then you’re in for a wildly fun and surprisingly nostalgic (if you’ve been a SEGA fan for a while) journey through the colorful and insane depths of Hell.

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My Life With SEGA gets face hugged in Alien Trilogy

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AJ celebrates Halloween month by showing off creepy games all through October!

Okay, it’s October. It’s high-time My Life with SEGA got down with some thrills and chills.

First up; Alien Trilogy for the SEGA Saturn, based on the Alien film franchise. It doesn’t matter how many shitty sequels or spin-offs this bitch lays, nothing can tarnish Ridley Scott’s original or it’s amazing action-heavy follow-up written and directed by James Cameron….

But what about this game? Can I honestly recommend this one to fellow gamers without regrets, or will I be shouting GET AWAY FROM IT, YOU BITCH?! Let’s find out.

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Review: Jet Set Radio (XBLA/PSN)

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About two weeks ago I found myself standing outside a movie theater, looking up at all the films listed under “Now Playing”. I had the choice to see any one of the many new movies, and yet in the end I went with “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. Despite owning the film on DVD and on blu-ray, and having seen it a number of times, I still enjoyed it as much (if not more than) any new release. About a week later I found myself downloading Jet Set Radio on XBLA, and feeling the same sense of excitement as I did with “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. It wasn’t so much the game itself, I’ve already played through it about eight times on the Dreamcast. It was the promise that I was about to see a crisp, clean, widescreen, HD, enhanced port of one of my favorite games. Sure SEGA promised this with the Dreamcast Collection, but they largely failed to deliver. Games were lacking crucial content, such as soundtracks or fishing controllers, or failed to offer up widescreen support. So how does Jet Set Radio fare, does SEGA’s Heritage Collection promise a bright future for HD SEGA ports? Find out after the break in our review of Jet Set Radiooooo!

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My Life With SEGA remembers the original Virtua Fighter

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This week, AJ looks back on a SEGA classic: Virtua Fighter for the 32X.

Virtua Fighter; an arcade smash in 1993, thanks to its incredible 3D polygon-based fighters – incredible in 1993, that is – and realistic gameplay. It has spawned numerous sequels, spin-offs, not to mention an animated series….

This week, I’m reviewing the game that started it all. Does this sucker have enough fight left in it? Get in the ring and find out, bitch!

Like this video? Subscribe to the SEGAbits YouTube channel!

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My Life With SEGA celebrates 1 year with Technocop

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On September 9th, 2011, the My Life With SEGA series began with the video review of the SEGA Genesis game Technocop. Since then, the series has grown, both in quality and in viewership, and is now a welcomed member of the SEGAbits family. To celebrate the one year anniversary of the series, AJ presents the first episode of the series and we here at SEGAbits present you with a contest: win a digital download code for Jet Set Radio on XBOX Live Arcade.

How to enter: Subscribe to the SEGAbits YouTube channel and comment on the video. It’ll help your chances if you actually comment on the video and don’t just say stuff like “I want JSR!” and “Gimme gimme gimme!”. One winner will be chosen at random on Monday. Good luck and enjoy the video!

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Sonic Talk Episode 12 “Lycett Unleashed”

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UPDATE: [Youtube link]

[Download]

We’re not waiting for you “rush to the interview” people to cut through our podcast this time. We’re starting with it first!

This week, we got none other than Sumo Digital’s executive producer, Steve Lycett along with design director, Gareth Wilson! We’ll be chatting with him on all things Sonic and All Stars Racing and giving you some juicy, new details. Also, we have a die-hard Sega (and Sakura Wars) fan as a guest. You may remember seeing him cosplaying as Joe Musashi at Sonic Boom, Patrick Gardner. We’ll also be talking about the latest news of course, Sonic #240 and Sonic Unleashed as the main game topic along with a few musical breaks. Check out the show notes in the comments section.

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Can My Life With SEGA master fighting in Fighting Masters?

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You’d think he had his fill with Ballz, but AJ has returned to the fighting arena with the SEGA Genesis oddity Fighting Masters. How does the game fare? Check out the video!

It’s another 2-Man Scramble where Mickey Mac and I fend off insanity as we button-mash our way through Fighting Masters for the Sega Genesis….

What, ya’ haven’t heard of it? That’s okay; neither did I when I bought it.

Anyway, you better strap yourselves in, ladies and gentleman. This bout’s gonna’ be stellar.

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Retro Review: Cannon Spike

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The Dreamcast’s greatest strength is easily its selection of arcade perfect ports. Few games exemplify this trait better then Capcom’s Cannon Spike. This game is a pure arcade shooter through and through and a nice little love letter to Capcom fans. It also holds the increasingly rare distinction of being a Dreamcast exclusive. Cannon Spike was a difficult game for me to find. I have only seen it a half dozen times since its release, and its price has been increasing for years. When I finally decided to buy it, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but my hopes were high. I’ve picked up a couple fan favorite Capcom games over the last few years, like Project Justice and Power Stone 2, and they had yet to disappoint. I am grateful to report that Cannon Spike doesn’t break that trend, though it’s also not quite what I was hoping it was. Eleven years after its release, is Cannon Spike still worth checking out?

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The Weekly Five: 5 games best experienced on Dreamcast

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The Dreamcast’s birthday is right around the corner, and you know what that means? That’s right, Dreamcast articles! As a big fan of many of the Dreamcast’s more obscure games I enjoy writing about Dreamcast games that even many Dreamcast owners, over a decade later, haven’t played yet. The five games in this list are games that are still relevant, games that Dreamcast owners should still pick up even years later. These games have aged gracefully and while not necessarily unique to the Dreamcast, are still games that need to be experienced on the Dreamcast.

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Why the SEGA Nomad is Awesome

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The Mona Lisa

SEGA’s last handheld caught a lot of flack in its day. It was large, clunky, and while I’ve found accusations of the battery life to be rather outlandish, its paltry 3-5 hours of battery life was nothing compared to its contemporaries, particularly the hugely successful Game Boy.

In the days since, though, it seems people have grown a little more appreciative of the Nomad. The system has sold regularly on eBay for between $70 and $150 for over a decade now, having become sought after by collectors and Genesis fans alike as an ideal way to experience the vast Genesis library.

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My Life With SEGA remembers it all in Flashback

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This week on My Life With SEGA, AJ plays the SEGA Genesis classic Flashback: The Quest for Identity. Here’s a question: if it’s titled “Flashback”, why does it take place in the future? Anyway, here’s what AJ has to say about this week’s show:

This is largely considered one of the best cinematic platformers ever made, along with Prince of Persia and Another World. It had one of the most ambitious marketing campaigns I’ve ever seen, boldly exclaiming it’s “A CD-ROM game in a CARTRIDGE!”. My brother and I were amazed….back in 1993.

Is it a flashback worth having, or should we data-dump it like a fresh brownie?

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Sonic Talk Episode 11 “Skype sucks”

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[Download]

The internet is a very confusing thing to me sometimes. It carries a ton of data at insane speeds over phone lines and even wireless. The same kind of phone lines that we’ve been using for decades to have conversations. SO WHY CAN’T WE HAVE A PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS US TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS THAT DON’T DROP OFF?!! It’s really insane. It was so bad, I gave up a few times and this episode was originally in six pieces until I wrangled everything together. If you didn’t care for Episode 10’s 3-Hour podcast, you’ll be happy to know that this one comes in just barely over an hour.

Also, sorry for the poor audio quality of the intro. I was trying to do something funny and failed. (Also, I need to keep my fan away from the mic.) Read on for this week’s topics.

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