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New Sonic Mania Green Hill Zone Act 2 gameplay revealed, new badnik introduced

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In the latest reveal for the upcoming Sonic Mania, Sonic the Hedgehog brand social media manager, Aaron Webber, gave a special first look at Green Hill Zone Act 2 and how transitions work between acts similar to Sonic 3 & Knuckles. The second act of Green Hill Zone demonstrates a new mechanic such as the zip line, interactivity with the elemental shields to enter secret routes, and reveals a much closer look of the mountains and waterfalls in the background.

Aaron also noted that the background layout of Act 2 is a reference to the early prototype of the original Sonic the Hedgehog. While the boss for Act 2 cannot be revealed at the time, Aaron has mentioned that are brand new badniks introduced in Sonic Mania known as the Hard Boiled Heavies and Heavy Gunner which have been revealed on the Sonic Twitter account and are detailed in a new article from Game Informer. What are your thoughts on Green Hill Zone Act 2? Feel free to leave a comment below.

For the video without the commentary and artwork of the new badniks, be sure to hit the jump below.

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SEGA News Bits: What does Nintendo Switch mean for Project Sonic 2017?

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On this SEGA News Bits, we are doing things a bit differently since SEGA news seems to be slow. This week we will be discussing what Nintendo Switch means for Project Sonic 2017. While the Nintendo Switch is a nice piece of portable hardware, there is a big difference between Nintendo Switch and its competitors when it comes to power. Tune in to hear us talk about what we think the differences between the full game’s graphics will be, if Sonic the Hedgehog games need state of the art graphics and the idea of taking a Sonic the Hedgehog console game on the go. Let us know what you think of all this in the comments below.

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us. Give us a sub, if you are already subscribed you can always like the video.

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SEGA acquires Crytek Black Sea, forms Creative Assembly Sofia

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SEGA Europe and Creative Assembly have finished acquiring Crytek’s former Black Sea studio and have now created a new team known as Creative Assembly Sofia. The studio was best known for the 2004 game Knights of Honor, a historical real-time strategy game. The team was picked up by Crytek in 2008 and renamed Crytek Black Sea. Under the name Crytek Black Sea they finished one game in 2015, a free-to-play MOBA title named Arena of Fate which only made it to close beta before having its plugged pulled.

The new team Creative Assembly Sofia will be developing brand new titles and has 60 employees based in Bulgaria. With these new employees under the Creative Assembly umbrella, it means that the developer has grown by 37%, taking the developer to over 500 employees. Last year Creative Assembly continued to grow increasing its development space by 88% by adding a new 45-camera motion-capture studio and dedicated audio suites.

This is what Tim Heaton, Creative Assembly studio director had to say about the acquisition:

“Now in our 30th year of games development, with an army of multi-million selling titles to our name and a history of world-renowned partnerships, Creative Assembly is proof of the UK games industry’s potential for global success. Due to this success, we are further expanding our UK base and developing additional projects overseas, whilst pursuing top talent from across the globe to join us, all in support of our commitment to creating high quality, authentic gaming experiences.Our continued growth allows us to be dynamic with our future projects, constantly seeking new opportunities and reaching a wider audience with our games.”

It seems that SEGA Europe’s new team, Creative Assembly Sofia will be part of the big Creative Assembly machine helping work on unannounced titles that we will be covering in the near future. While more of our readers care more about console games, its nice to have SEGA find big success in the PC market and expand with Creative Assembly Sofia. Check out a quote from Jurgen Post after the jump.

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SEGA News Bits: Shenmue I & II HD Remasters coming in 2017?

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Hello everyone and welcome to a new episode of the SEGA News Bits. This time George and Barry discuss the rumored Shenmue I & II HD Remasters that are suppose to come out by the end of 2017. We discuss the details of the rumor, how we feel SEGA should treat these classic games and what the Shenmue I & II HD Remasters should include. What are your thoughts on this Shenmue I & II HD Remasters rumor and do you think its true? Let us know in the comments below!

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us. Give us a sub, if you are already subscribed you can always like the video.

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Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III beta survey goes live

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dawn-of-war-iii-09-23-16-4If you are are looking forward to playing SEGA and Relic’s Dawn of War III, you are in luck as beta sign-ups have already gone live. The survey asks you questions on your history with Warhammer franchise, where you play your games and experience with strategy games. If you are a SEGA fan that have always wanted to give a franchise like Dawn of War III a chance, I’d recommend signing up.

Beta Survey

Dawn of War III is set to blend aspects of what made Dawn of War and Dawn of War II some of the best selling strategy PC games of all time. Dawn of War III is set to release sometime this year, seven years after the release of Dawn of War II.

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Rumor: Shenmue I & II HD Remasters coming by the end of 2017

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According to Rice Digital, an online gaming shop who has had close sources in Atlus and leaked announcements in the past has said that Shenmue I & II HD Remasters are in the works. The source also tells Rice Digital that the games could be released together and should be out before the end of the year. The same person leaking this information over at Rice Digital also leaked that Atlus was publishing King of Fighters XIV, which turned out to be true.

Here is the weird part of the rumor, Shenmue I & II HD Remasters are said to be set for PC/Steam release but doesn’t indicate other consoles such as PlayStation 4, Xbox One or Nintendo Switch. While I personally game on PC and would be more inclined to play it on PC, it also needs to be on at least the PlayStation 4. Of course the rumor doesn’t rule out that it could be coming to consoles, only that they know there is a PC/Steam release. Shenmue I & II HD Remasters are looking more and more like a solid thing. Remember a few months back we talked about the leaked domains, last year in September SEGA teased saying the Shenmue I & II HD remasters had their full attention and now this rumor starts popping up. What is your thoughts on this rumor and what would like to see changed or updated for the Shenmue I & II HD Remasters? Let us know in the comments below.

 

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Dawn of War III’s latest trailer prophecies war

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SEGA and Relic Entertainment are marching towards war, especially with the latest Dawn of War III trailer ‘Prophecy of War‘. Dawn of War III is the latest installment in the highly popular series, the last expansion released was back in 2011 with Dawn of War II: Retribution. While Dawn of War and Dawn of War II differ greatly in gameplay, Relic Entertainment has said that they are mixing aspects of both games to create Dawn of War III.

If you watch the trailer, you get a sneak peek at the Imperial Guardsmen, a faction that hasn’t been announced yet. Sadly Dawn of War III still doesn’t have a release date, all we know is that its releasing this year on Microsoft powered PCs.

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Phantasy Star Online 2 gets new Japanese ad showing off new updates

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While we never got Phantasy Star Online 2 in the west, it doesn’t mean that the game is dead in Japan. At least, not according to SEGA who are still pumping money into new content and this new television ad above. Its crazy, especially since we are coming up on the Phantasy Star online 2‘s fifth year anniversary (this July).

The commercial features high pitched, dead eye starring Japanese girls and quick cuts that show what new users can expect in the latest Phantasy Star Online 2 update. From what I gather they show off new outfits, combat and even casino games. If you want to comment with the mandatory ‘SEGA bring this game to the west’, you can do so below. If you want my take on the whole thing, you can read my article about how Phantasy Star Online 2 not coming west is a bad sign for SEGA. You can also just play on the Japanese server with a fan created English patch… 

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Lighting mod for Sonic Adventure DX restores Dreamcast lighting effects

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Sonic Retro user Morph and several others have gone through Sonic Adventure DX and created a mod that restores the lighting effects that were previously seen in the original Sonic Adventure into the PC version. The difference gives off more vibrant colors in the environment that also reacts to objects and characters. You can download the mod from the discussion thread in Sonic Retro’s forums.

Lighting can be used to set a specific tone or mood in an environment. But why is it such a difficult thing to remain consistent when converting this to other game platforms? The game featured an artistic shift that occurred when the game was converted to other platforms. A combination of technical hurdles and creative liberties can dampen the original artistic intent, and Sonic Adventure is no exception. The original Dreamcast version featured a “Lantern” engine which provided impressive looking lighting effects using palettes on SEGA’s then cutting edge game console. However the dozens of ports of the game left out these lighting effects in favor of using drop shadows instead, until now. Check out additional videos, comparison screenshots and an interview with Morph on the mod after the jump!

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Humble Monthly Bundle has Total War: Warhammer for $12

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humbletotalwarmonthlybundleSEGA has teamed up with Humble Bundle, a charity driven PC game store to offer gamers Total War: Warhammer for $12 bucks. Getting Total War: Warhammer for $12 bucks is a huge deal, considering that this seems to be the lowest price for the title. But there’s more, you also unlock at least six more games at the end of the month. Last month’s bundle had big titles like X-COM 2, Ryse: Son of Rome, Abzu, and more. If you pay the monthly fee of $12 dollars now, you can download Total War: Warhammer today and start enjoying the game. Just make sure that at the end of the month, when all the games unlock, you cancel your membership or they’ll charge you for the next month.

Is Total War: Warhammer worth the $12 dollars? Well the game has mix ratings over on Steam but manage to score well with critics. Why the mix feelings from fans? Most fans say this is the best Total War game created but are a bit disappointed on how SEGA and Creative Assembly have implemented DLC. Looking at the DLC for the game I don’t blame them, having two packs costing $18.99 for new races is a bit steep. There is also a few free pieces of DLC like Grombrindal the White Dwarf and Wurrzag.

Going to be honest, I think Total War: Warhammer for $12 plus more games at the end of the month is a steal. If you like Total War or these type of strategy PC games, give it a shot. There is also a Mac compatible version for those readers not running Windows.

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Interview: Gistix, team lead on fan made Sonic ’06 Unity

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What do you say when the words “fan-made Sonic 2006 PC port” jump at you? What sort of images, reactions, and most importantly, questions, pop into your head when this prospect meets your mind? Is it perplexing? Audacious? Blasphemous? These were of course all reactions I saw when news broke of a demo for a full fan-made recreation of the ill-fated and infamous Sonic 06 in Unity. However, much against others’ reactions, mine was of…curiosity.

Rather than stick with a few fleeting moments of “hey that’s a thing”, the very idea stuck to me so hard that it gave me a jolt of energy. Not because I like Sonic 06, god no, but because I am a huge lover of weird games and weird ports. And to me, a Unity port of this maligned title was far too weird to pass up. So, faced with a lack of information, and a thirst to spread the good will of odd, ambitious projects, I went straight to the source. Ladies and gentlemen and others, I present to you, hopefully everything you’d want to know about the ins and outs of the Sonic 2006 PC port, from the mouth of its current leader, Gistix!

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic 2006 being remade for PC by fans with Unity, demo first impressions

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Sonic 2006 is being remade in Unity by a small team headed by Gistix. A demo, playable on PC, has just released showcasing their progress in the form of the game’s original demo. We downloaded it and now talk about it in the first SEGA News Bits of 2017! Download the Sonic The Hedgehog (2006) Unity demo for yourself here.

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us, give us a sub. If you are already subscribed you can always like the video.

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SEGA News Bits: What to expect from SEGA in 2017

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On this episode of the SEGA News Bits we see a end to 2016 and get ready for another year full of SEGA games. Well, at least SEGA in 2017 will be having bigger titles than they had this year. We discuss all the games that SEGA have officially confirmed for 2017, discuss the SEGA games we are looking forward to and even throw some predictions for announcements that might be made by SEGA in 2017. So listen in and tell us what titles you are looking forward to, what are some predictions about SEGA in 2017 you have and what you wish was announced for next year in the comments below!

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us. Give us a sub, if you are already subscribed you can always like the video.

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Phantasy Star Online 2 to feature NieR: Automata DLC

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phantasystaronline2NierAutomataSeems that the Phantasy Star Online 2 promotions continue, this time with NieR: Automata themed DLC. Square Enix announced that DLC cross promotions will be happening on not only Phantasy Star Online 2 but also Hunter Frontier Z.

It seems that Phantasy Star Online 2 will be getting weapons and armor taken directly from the upcoming Square Enix title. Not much is known but Square Enix has suggested that they will share more information on what the items are in NieR: Automata after New Years. Since Phantasy Star Online 2 hasn’t made it west, we will be missing out on all these cool cross promotions that Japan gets to enjoy. I even whined about this, remember?

NieR: Automata hits Japanese retail on February 23, North America on March 7 and Europe on March 10,2017. While Phantasy Star Online 2 isn’t released in English speaking countries, you can always use a fan patch and play on the Japanese servers. What are your thoughts on this cross promotion?

[Source: Siliconera]

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Shenmue III PC pre-orders open on December 15, new footage soon

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Shenmue3While most of us hardcore Shenmue III fans already put up our money when Yu Suzuki launched his Kickstarter, it seems there are quite a few people demanding for the studio to put up pre-orders for the game. Yu Suzuki stated in the latest Famitsu magazine that Shenmue III PC pre-orders will open up in a few days.

“Development is entering the final stage headed towards full-scale production. Early in the new year, I think we’ll be able to show you things such as new videos.

“We will continue progressing with development so that our backers and those who experience the world of Shenmue for the first time can do so with pleasure.

“Also, at noon on December 15, we will start pre-order sales for the PC version of Shenmue III, which received a lot of requests.Those interested in Shenmue III, please check the official website.”

It is interesting considering that the studio hasn’t really put out much Shenmue III in-game footage. What they have shown has never been finalized. It seems that the work on Shenmue III is barely starting, if they are barely entering full-scale production, do you think the studio should be putting up pre-orders without actual in-game screenshots? Let us know in the comments below.

[Via: Gematsu]

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