iOS

Review: Crazy Taxi: City Rush (iOS)

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Free-to-play games can be hard to get right. They can either block customers from playing until they pay up or give them too much, making the grinding easy and fun which kills any reason to buy anything. The free to play approach on Sonic Jump Fever and Crazy Taxi: City Rush couldn’t be more different. Sonic Jump Fever is all about the high score by having you follow your Facebook friends and compete with them on the leaderboards. Sadly, the only way to get the best scores is to have that one rare chao that kills all of your enemies, Use your hard-earned in-game currency on items like power ups and more powerful characters, and have an energy bar that depletes super fast.

All of this forces you to pay-to-win, requiring you to pony out dough just to compete with your friends. This may be a free to play game, but I’ve spent $14 on Sonic Jump Fever. Curse you Sonic Stadium’s Adam Tuff and your super-high scores! In Crazy Taxi: City Rush, the “fare” is much more fair and just a better game all around. Read on for why this is one of the better ways to make a free to play game.

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Elysian Shadow developers tease stretch goals

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The guys behind the upcoming Dreamcast indie developed Elysian Shadows RPG have now teased their stretched goals for their upcoming game. We had a chance to talk to them on our podcast and I can tell you these guys are passionate about this project. Definitely a game I’m awaiting release.

Of course the game is also coming out on other platforms like: PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, and Ouya have been confirmed. But don’t worry, other consoles have now been added via their stretch goals. Their Kickstarter is set to kick off on August 1st. 

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Sonic Jump Fever releases worldwide Thursday, July 10th

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SEGA and Hardlight Studio’s followup to the mobile game Sonic Jump, Sonic Jump Fever, has been announced to be releasing worldwide on July 10th. The had a soft launch in Canada back in April, and we went hands-on with the game when we attended E3. From our experience, the game is faster paced and more frantic than Sonic Jump, and it has enough new elements (including Chao gardens!) to make it worth checking out if you enjoyed the original. The game is expected to be free-to-play, so it can’t hurt to download it when it releases in a few days.

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SEGAbits at E3 Preview: Super Monkey Ball Bounce (iOS, Android)

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I’m not really all that experienced with the world of mobile gaming. Though I’ve played my share of Angry Birds and a handful of SEGA games, most of my portable gaming is done on proper handheld systems with buttons and analog sticks. Needless to say, I was a little out of my depth at the SEGA Network party, which was showcasing several upcoming mobile SEGA games to the press, including Super Monkey Ball Bounce.
 

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SEGAbits at E3 Preview: Sonic Jump Fever (iOS, Android)

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While at E3, Nuckles87 and I were invited to a party hosted by SEGA’s mobile division, SEGA Networks, that was dedicated to mingling and showing off SEGA’s mobile titles. It was a great chance to relax after a hard day and to get some free food and drink. Those pretzel bun sandwiches with the roast beef and bacon were out of this world! But mostly, we where there to check out these games that have only been available to the lucky few… million in the Great White North. The one I’ll be talking about in this preview is Sonic Jump Fever, a sequel to the 2012 game that is both harder, easier and more fast-paced than its predecessor. It even has Chao. Yes, Chao are back!

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Sonic Jump Fever releasing to iOS and Android soon – check out the announcement trailer!

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SEGA has released a trailer for Sonic Jump Fever, a sequel to Hardlight Studio’s Sonic Jump, which was in turn a remake of a 2005 mobile title. Sonic Jump Fever had received a soft launch in Canada this past April to test the game, and it appears all went to plan as the game is set to release to other territories soon! The game’s description is as follows: “Prepare to feel the FEVER in an explosive race against the clock! Join Sonic and friends in high-speed bursts of vertical jumping mayhem. Play for free and rack up huge combos to blast past your friends’ high scores. Use boosters, upgrades, unique character abilities and Chao pets to maximize your score. Then kick your game into overdrive with Fever Mode and hit the top of the Leaderboard! With brand new levels and leaderboards every week, the challenge never ends!”

SEGAbits will be attending a VIP mobile event this week which will showcase SEGA’s mobile offerings including Sonic Jump Fever, so expect hands-on impressions soon!

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Super Monkey Ball Bounce coming soon to mobile platforms

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SEGA has announced a new Super Monkey Ball game for mobile platforms entitled Super Monkey Ball Bounce. Slated to release soon to the App Store and Google Play, the game features Aiai and his friends in a pachinko-inspired aim-and-shoot game which touts over 120 levels and 8 playable characters. After the break, check out the full press release.

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Phantasy Star Online 2es now playable on iOS devices

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We already know that the Android version of Phantasy Star Online 2es is out and we told you guys that the iOS version would be out this month. Now, it has officially been released.

Unlike the Android version that allows players to trade stuff with the PC and Vita versions, the iOS version will not allow that sadly. Phantasy Star Online 2es is compatible with iPhone 4s and up, iPad (3rd gen) and the iPad Mini. Check out our hands-on Phantasy Star Online 2es on Android with the Tweaker English patch.

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Dragon Coins available on IOS and Android Devices for free!

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Previously released in Japan, Dragon Coins is now available in western territories on the iTunes and Google Play store for free. The game also supports in-app purchases where players can purchase bags of coins for $6.99 or $2.99.

SEGA has stated that the game is a combination of role playing game battles and a party management system with a pick-up and play arcade coin-dozer fun. Here is a description of the title taken from the iTunes and Google Play stores. Also for more information on features in the game, be sure to hit the jump.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 2 remastered secrets uncovered: Egg Gauntlet Zone & Proto Palace Zone

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Sonic the Hedgehog 2 remastered for mobile devices, which was one of our favorite games of 2013, has apparently been hiding a few juicy secrets. Via developer Taxman in the Sonic Retro forums, early versions of the game had a few additional zones planned out. The first, dubbed Egg Gauntlet Zone, was a mode in which the player went through each boss one after another. Unfortunately, this feature was not included in the final game and not all the assets are available. However, crafty fans have been able to resurrect the mode via a bit of modding. Unfortunately, a recent software update has removed the assets needed to play the stage. Thankfully, the stage has been preserved for all to see in the video above.

The second secret stage, entitled Proto Palace Zone, has not been cut and can be accessed via some simple codes!

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Phantasy Star Online 2es coming to iOS in May

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(Above is a Let’s Play, which was done through our Twitch channel. Follow us!)

Phantasy Star Online 2es is already out for Android in Japan, but it will soon hit Apple devices in May. The Android version has broke 100,000 downloads since it was released on April 7th. That is pretty impressive.

As of right now, SEGA West hasn’t made any more statements about Phantasy Star Online 2 or Phantasy Star Online 2es coming to the West. But if you are on Android and want to play PSO2es, there is already an English patch. To see the English patch in action, check out our hands-on video above.

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Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed now free on mobile devices

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SEGA has dropped Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed‘s mobile price down to $0.00 (£0.00 in Great Britain), making the game now a free-to-play title. “Sonic & All Star Racing Transformed is now FREE!”, says the game’s revised description, “If you previously bought the game you still have the VIP Pass for FREE.” The game itself is quite an impressive port of the game, easily beating out the 3DS version when it comes to resolution, framerate and bugs, which the 3DS suffered from. You can download the game today from the App Store or from Google Play. Also of note, both versions now support Everyplay, which allows players to record and share video clips of favorite gameplay moments.

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Could SEGA and Google’s Street View be joining forces for a Sonic competition?

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The Sonic Stadium have uncovered an interesting mobile game entitled The Search for Sonic’s Sidekick. Proposed as a collaboration between SEGA and Google’s Street View, the game was discovered in slides from DDB Tribal ad agency artist Michael Nagy’s website. The game appears to be a word wide competition in which fans create an anthropomorphic avatar and race their character around Google Street Views of twelve cities. Players log their best times to a leaderboard and the fastest player would win the chance to see their character in the next Sonic game. The competition is said to visit a new city each month.

The official description is as follows:

We have created an online game using Google Street view where you compete to become Sonic’s sidekick. Your online avatar will be in the next game that is produced for Sonic. The competition will run for 11 months and move to a different city every month across the globe. The cities include Tokyo, Hong Kong, Berlin, Paris, London, Cape Town, Toronto, New York, San Francisco, Rio De Janeiro and Sydney.

It is unknown if this is a leak of an upcoming competition, perhaps in time for Sonic’s anniversary, or if it is simply a proposal by DDB Tribal that SEGA passed on. Once we learn more, we’ll be sure to share it!

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Sonic Jump Fever now available to download from the Canadian App Store

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Update: It has been noted that this is a soft launch for the game to the Canadian App Store, which would explain why those elsewhere are unable to find it in their region’s app store.

How’s this for a surprise release? A sequel to Sonic Jump, entitled Sonic Jump Fever, has appeared out of nowhere on the iOS App Store! The App Store description reads: “Prepare to feel the FEVER in an explosive race against the clock! Join Sonic and friends in high-speed bursts of vertical jumping mayhem. Play for free and rack up huge combos to blast past your friends’ high scores. Use boosters, upgrades, unique character abilities and Chao pets to maximize your score. Then kick your game into overdrive with Fever Mode and hit the top of the Leaderboard! With brand new levels and leaderboards every week, the challenge never ends!”

The game, which is free to download, features “an all-new Sonic Jump experience” with a Fever Mode that causes the player to “enter hyper-speed” to earn combos. The sequel also features weekly challenges, new levels, new upgrades, and the ability to recruit Chao to help you beat badniks, and search for hidden rings and abilities.

As mentioned, you can download the game today – give it a try and let us know what you think!

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Crazy Taxi City Rush receives a soft-launch on the Canadian App Store

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Canadian SEGA fans who want to get their hands on Crazy Taxi City Rush early can do so now, as the previously revealed soft-launch has begun with the Canadian App Store being the first to receive the game. The free to play game is to feature in-app purchases, and the Canadian App Store page for the game lists the following IAP tiers: Loose change $2.99, Sack of diamonds $9.99, Executive case $9.99, Box of diamonds $19.99, High roller $19.99. Note that these prices are in Canadian currency.

How in-app-purchases work was detailed in our interview with Hardlight Studio’s senior designer Scott West who told us “The main loop of the game consists of the player buying their own Taxi and then completing a series of 7 HQ missions in each District. As these missions get progressively harder, the player will have to upgrade their Taxi to improve its performance and lower the difficulty rating of the HQ Missions. In order to do this, the player can take part in a variety of other missions which are available throughout the district at any one time.”

After the break, check out the full App Store description of the game, and if you’re a Canadian download the game today and tell us what you think!

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