Review: Parking Garage Rally Circuit (Walaber)

If you yearn to revisit the glorious need for speed that Sega provided you with stellar 90’s arcade racers like Daytona USA, Sega Rally Championship, or Manx TT Superbike, you’re not the only one. A few developers have begun taking a crack at recapturing that spirit with some brand new games. Today, we’re putting a spotlight on one of the newest games of that bunch: Parking Garage Rally Circuit. Developed by Walaber, whom we’ve had the pleasure of speaking to about this game before, PGRC aims to be the Sega Saturn racing hit that never was. A frantic time trial racer that aims to emulate the look of 90’s 3D console racers to an extreme degree, a lot of passion for that unforgettable time in gaming history is as clear as the blue, blue skies the game graces you with, but does that passion equal a game that’s as worthy of your time as most any racer Sega had developed during that decade? Find a cozy parking spot to sit back, relax, and read through our review of Parking Garage Rally Circuit after the break.

(A Steam copy of the game was provided by Walaber for the purpose of this review. They have not influenced the review in any other way and have not read it before it went online.)

Taxman’s Sonic the Hedgehog 1 & 2 Definitive Mobile Ports Finally get Decompiled by Fans Allowing Unofficial PSVita and PC ports

I will admit that I’m not really well versed on how this whole reverse engineering works, but thankfully twitter user Rubberduckycooly does and has now decompiled Christian “Taxman” Whitehead’s Sonic the Hedgehog 1 & 2 mobile ports, which are considered by fans as the definitive versions of these titles.

You can check out Rubberduckycooly’s github page for future updates on this project.

This project would allow us to run Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2 mobile ports on other platforms natively. So far we have seen people posting that its working on Windows, Mac, Linux, and the PlayStation Vita! This could also mean we can get fan ports on other hacked handhelds or consoles as well, but we shall see where the project goes. From what I understand, rubberduckycooly used the Sonic CD SDK base to get these ports on PC, Vita; so we shall see what happens in the future.

Really though, why hasn’t SEGA released these versions on all current consoles? Am I the only one that things its a waste to keep them mobile only?

Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Classics now available for Linux and Mac – featuring Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Ecco games

Following the console release of Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Classics, SEGA has quietly released the collection to Linux and Mac. The game is also available for Windows. The collection features the same features as the console releases, meaning the new multiplayer and challenge modes have been added. Interestingly, this version features more games than the console release. Most notable is the inclusion of Sonic 3 & Knuckles, though it is unknown if the games are available without lock-on. Also included are the three Ecco games, Eternal Champions and Sonic CD. The inclusion of these games are one major drawback to the console release, and it’s nice to see them included here though it does call into question what legal stipulations are holding back these games on home console.

UPDATE: I installed the hub on my Mac and it runs smoothly however it looks like Sonic CD is Windows only and launches separately as it has in the past. It does not appear within the collection.

Motorsport Manager releasing to PC on November 10th

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Back in mid May of this year it was announced that SEGA would be publishing Playsport Games’ Motorsport Manager to PC, Mac and Linux internationally in late 2016. Initially, a September timeframe was given, but now the official date has been announced to be November 10th, based on a Tweet from the developer. Motorsport Manager joins SEGA’s family of management games, complete with a faceless male mascot. The game features a racing management simulation in which players hire drivers, build cars and view the resulting races.

 

The SEGA Manager family grows with Motorsport Manager, releasing to PC, Mac and Linux in 2016

Yesterday we reported that SEGA and Playsport Games had an announcement incoming, and now we have all the details. Motorsport Manager, which was a hit on mobile devices, is seeing a new game in the franchise releasing to PC, Mac and Linux internationally in September 2016. While the game is only being published by SEGA, it appears that they are marketing it as another one of their Manager titles, as the tradition of faceless male mascots continues with Motorsport Manager. The game is described as a highly detailed, best-in-class racing management game in which players hire the drivers, build the cars and embed themselves in the dynamic world of motor racing.

Cnet had a hands on with the game and shared their impressions, which you can check out here. The game also has a Steam page, which you can check out here. Once we have more details, including pricing and an exact release date, we’ll be sure to share.

Kickstarter launches for Xenocider, a 3D shooter for Dreamcast, PC, Mac, Linux & 3DS

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The Kickstarter campaign for Xenocider, a new indie SEGA Dreamcast game, has launched. The game is unique as it is one of the first fully 3D indie Dreamcast games, and the gameplay itself takes inspiration from classic SEGA arcade games including Space Harrier and Nintendo’s Sin & Punishment. The game’s development team Retro Sumus describes themselves as “a small, independent game development team who got together to revisit genres and concepts we felt were underused, or not explored in depth back in their time.”

The small team is a mix of individuals who are both new and old to the indie Dreamcast development scene, including Lead Programmer Daniel Lancha who reprogrammed Pier Solar for modern platforms and developed Hucast’s Ghost Blade. Also involved is Carlos Oliveros who heads up the team’s Communications and who in the past handled Pier Solar‘s Spanish translation. So it should be no surprise that Tulio Goncalves, former president and founder of Watermelon games and creator of Pier Solar, is on the team serving as the Producer. All-in-all, it looks like Xenocider has a solid team with Dreamcast development experience, but if that still doesn’t sway you they have put together a real working demo of the game for the Dreamcast that you can play right now! Just click on over to their campaign page for Windows, Mac, Linux and Dreamcast download links.

Dreamcast isn’t the only planned platform, as the game will also be playable on PC, Mac, Linux and Nintendo 3DS. The team hopes to raise $92,000 to realize their vision. After the break, a full list of what the team plans for the game to make it extra special. Check out the campaign today, and if you like what you see give them your support!

Volgarr the Viking gets a Dreamcast port

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Volgarr the Viking
is a 16-bit style, tough-as-nails, retro-styled action game published by the crazy people at Adult Swim. The game has made it across multiple platforms including PC, Xbox One, 3DS, Wii U, PS4, and Vita. But what if you wanted to play this game on your Dreamcast?

Now you can, thanks to one of the developers of the orginal game, who did a side project to port the game on SEGA’s white dream machine. Since its Marc Hall’s personal port, this project is ‘unofficial’ and labeled as freeware, but works as you’d expect. The game even supports VGA, if you want a crisper picture.

Click here to download the ISO and start stabbing!

Swingin’ Report Show #74: Drift Stage – Interview with Super Systems Softworks

The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show returns for 2015, featuring brand new interviews with talented people connected to and inspired by SEGA! On our 74th show we’re joined by Super Systems Softworks, developers of the 80s and 90s inspired racer Drift Stage. Chase Pettit (Programmer), Charles Blanchard (Art), and Hugh Myrone (Music) talk about the genesis of the project, their inspirations, and their plans for the final version of the game. We also take a trip down memory lane, talking about our favorite and least favorite racing games, as well as memories of SEGA-AM2’s classic OutRun.

Visit Drift Stage’s Kickstarter page, give the demo a try – and if you like what you see, back the game!
Demo: supersystems.itch.io/driftstagealpha
Official Site: driftstagegame.com

[Download] [RSS] [iTunes] [Archive]

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. 

Pier Solar HD gets delayed again due to failing Microsoft’s certification process

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Its hard to believe that games actually go through a certification process before you buy said product. I want to know who approved games like Sonic the Hedgehog 2006, but that isn’t what we are here to talk about. It seems Pier Solar HD has hit another bump in the road when they missed their certification from Microsoft.

“Microsoft already evaluated Pier Solar as well but we failed some internal requirements on the certification and we’re correcting them for the next submission. This also impacts Wii U and PlayStation(s) submissions since we want to send it as clean as possible so that we don’t get another failed certification. Luckily, the process doesn’t take as long as we thought, so the perspectives to getting a release date gets better. As soon as we’re certified on all platforms we’ll announce the date and put it on the street.”

Solar Pier HD is headed to Linux, Mac, Windows,  Ouya, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Wii U, and of course the Dreamcast. It seems only consoles will be affected by the delay.

Review: The Cave


How could I not be excited for The Cave when SEGA was publishing, Double Fine was developing, and the man behind The Secret of Monkey Island, Ron Gilbert, was behind this title? Now that I have finished the game, was it everything that I expected it to be? Were my hopes too high? Read on and find out.

Spiral Knights – Launch Trailer

Check out the launch trailer for Spiral Knights!

Sega published and Three Rings developed Spiral Knights is out of beta and available now to everyone! The game is completely free to install and play. While the game does adopt a in game shop system where you pay real money it is entirely possible to play the game for free.

If you were ever a fan of Phantasy Star Online, then I suggest giving Spiral Knights a try. The game features real time combat and is easy to pick up and play. You can go from the log in screen to knee deep in battle with four companions in less than a minute! The enemies are inventive and the sound track deserves a special mention. It also has a unique system were you personally can effect the lay out of the levels!

The game is available to play on pretty much every operating system including Windows, Mac OS and Linux

If you want to try it out and you really have no excuse not to, you can get started at www.spiralknights.com