Yakuza 1&2 HD edition: PS2 vs. PS3 version

Sony has been pumping HD collections for awhile and gamers have had mix opinions, but this time its SEGA’s first time and I’m excited. I’m a big Yakuza fan, so having the first two (especially the 2nd one) in HD with some nice widescreen and softing up of the jaggies.

Want to see more comparisons? Hit up Siliconera’s article with a ton more photos. Sadly no US release date for the collection has been announced.

Playstation Plus members get 80% off Wonder Boy, SMB DLC tomorrow

Sony’s slew of awesome discounts for Playstation Plus members continue tomorrow with both Wonder Boy in Monster World and Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz’s DLC being offered for 80% off.

Wonder Boy in Monster World will be available for $1 when the discount starts tomorrow. It is a classic side scrolling action RPG that dates back to the Genesis era, and a follow up to another SEGA classic also currently available on the Playstation Network, Wonder Boy in Monster Land.

Super Monkey Ball’s DLC will be available for $0.40. The DLC gives players all new content and level pieces to use in the game’s level creator, including a Sonic statue and a SEGA Genesis. I hope all of your SEGA fans picked up this stellar Monkey Ball game, as it’s easily one of the best entries the franchise has seen in a long time.

These prices will go into effect when the Playstation Store update hits tomorrow.

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed on Wii U won’t support voice chat


If you are planning on picking up Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed on the Wii U, I might have some bad news. It seems that the Wii U version will not support voice chat. As you know, Wii U will be online chat capable, but will be done on a game-by-game basis and require you to get a third-party headset instead of using the Wii U GamePad microphone.

“We don’t support voice chat on Wii U for those reasons. One of the side effects of being a launch title basically. Does support it on PS3 and 360 though!” – executive producer Steve Lycett

Seems the problem was time, since the game is a launch title it’s hard to get all the features you want into the game. Other launch games that do support online chat include Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Mass Effect 3: Wii U Edition.

ovOvFliFpNT BV YdzdsBk WjPc d x

Upcoming Yakuza 1&2 HD edition update to make the game easier


Yakuza 1&2 HD edition already has an easy mode, but if that is still too hard for you, you are in luck. SEGA is planning to update the game on November 15th with even easier modes. Like “Easy + Heat Up Mode”. This will keep the enemies easy and give you the ability to reach heat mode faster.

Yakuza 1&2 HD edition comes out in Japan on November 1st. SEGA has announced no plans to release this collection in the West.

Aliens: Colonial Marines let’s you earn XP offline or on


I’m not too big into playing games online, I usually purchase a game strictly for its single player campaigns. Then when I do go online, I get angry due to not having my guns I upgraded in single player. If you are like me, you will want to check out Aliens: Colonial Marines since the developers have confirmed that single player XP will transfer to the online game. So you will always have those awesome weapons.

“The great thing about that is, if you are more into single player, you can get just as many upgrades and weapons before you even play multiplayer for the first time,” senior producer, Matt Powers

Though there is a catch, even though your online Marine (since you can only play Marines single player) will have its single player states, your Xenos will have to be leveled up strictly online.

Viking: Battle for Asgard hits PC next week


Viking: Battle for Asgard was one of my favorite games when it came out back int 2008 on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Now PC users will be able to fight the hoards of undead vikings on their uber powerful PC.
SEGA’s Hardlight Studio dropped a tweet stating that you can expect the game to hit Steam next week. So who is going to pick this one up? Even if it is 4 years too late.

 

Vanquish gets re-released on PSN, bundled with DLC

Vanquish has been re-released on the Japanese Playstation Network, this time it is bundled with all the DLC for the not so low price of 3,600 yen ($46). No word if the game will have a similar release on the US or EU PSN.

What DLC does it include? The limited Weapons pack that was a pre-order item. I guess its not so exciting news.

Yakuza 5: Making ramen and racing chickens

One of the many mini-games in Yakuza 5 is going to be cooking noodles. The game will have you make noodles for customers who come into the shop and order them. It’s a rhythm mini-game, where you have to be careful pressing buttons. If you mash the buttons like crazy you will overcook those noodles and no one likes overcooked noodles.

That’s not all, hit the jump to hear about comedy duo mini-game, racing chickens and more. Including more photos.

SEGA expanding on Hostess dating in Yakuza 5

I know that Yakuza franchise is known for beating the crap out of Japanese gangsters, but it is also known for its hostess mini-games. SEGA is bringing this back (don’t they always?) and expanding on it. In the past games conversations with the hostess where always in text. In Yakuza 5, they will have spoken lines with regional dialects and a new free action system should give players more realistic conversations as well.

If the hostess likes you, you can take her out on a date. This will actually allow you to walk around with her in town and take her places. The more you explore the cities, the more conversation starters you get. Dating will open up side stories for each character you play as, making it unique and expands on the game’s story. Check out more pictures by hitting the jump.

Platinum Games says Bayonetta on PS3 is their biggest failure


Platinum Games developed an instant classic on the Xbox 360, one which received great reviews. The Playstation 3 version on the other hand wasn’t received so kindly. According to Atsushi Inaba, that port was their biggest failure. Not bad, considering that they didn’t develop the port and it was done by an in-house team over at SEGA.

“The biggest failure for Platinum so far, the one that really sticks in my mind, is that port. At the time we didn’t really know how to develop on PS3 all that well, and whether we could have done it… is irrelevant: we made the decision that we couldn’t. But looking back on the result, and especially what ended up being released to users, I regard that as our biggest failure. One thing I will say is that it wasn’t a failure for nothing. We learned that we needed to take responsibility for everything. So on Vanquish we developed both versions in-house. We learned, so it wasn’t a pointless failure, but it was a failure nonetheless.” – Atsushi Inaba

Sadly the team isn’t going to try again on Playstation 3 or the Xbox 360 for that matter, since Bayonetta 2 was announced as a Wii U exclusive.

Virtua Fighter 2 to be playable in Yakuza 5

From Jin115.com and NeoGAF comes news that a fully playable Virtua Fighter 2 will be in Yakuza 5’s virtual arcades. This info appears to come from a recent issue of Famitsu, in which it is also revealed that the game will have both 1 player and 2 player offline gameplay. No further info in known, but once we hear something we’ll be sure to share it! Commence the Inception jokes, Xzibit “Yo Dog” memes and comparisons to Shenmue.

SEGA re-trademarks Skies of Arcadia


No idea if this will mean that the game is coming to digital services, but seeing how we are getting NiGHTS into Dreams and Jet Set Radio, I wouldn’t be shocked if this is announced soon.

It could also mean that SEGA hates us and loves to tease us.

N r XwNNY rH