Review: The Typing of the Dead Overkill

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Droppin’ F-bombs like a mother…

The original The Typing of the Dead was a misunderstood sleeper hit when it came out for the Dreamcast. The keyboard accessory may have been useful in the eyes of consumers for games like Quake III Arena, but it didn’t immediately become apparent that a typing game spin-off would make for an amazing, fast paced alternative. The original game appeared in Japanese arcades prior, and when it arrived on PC shortly after it had done well enough to spawn several more sequels and updates on the platform, in Japan. Outside of Japan it would be seen as an outdated arcade game that would be shunned, yet had become the cult hit which emitted an outcry of diehard fans in their never ending list of seemingly implausible demands for a new entry in the series. Years later, after SEGA and Headstrong’s release of The House of the Dead: Overkill on the Wii, it had seen an update with The House of the Dead: Overkill Extended Cut on Playstation 3 and on the week of Halloween has seen an update on Steam for PC as part of a semi two game bundle, literally out of the blue with no fanfare and nearly cancelled by now defunct Blitz Games. Despite these hurdles, it was still the ideal platform to put out this modern update to the franchise that encompasses its cheesiness and over the top absurdity to much higher levels, probably higher than people would expect or possibly want.

Review: Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F

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Warning: the review you are about to read is very bright and colorful. If you hate bright neon and colorful things, well.. you have been warned 😉

So it’s finally happened, a Hatsune Miku game has been translated to English and released in the Western hemisphere. Is the Project Diva series as good as people say it is? Read on to find out how I have experienced my first Hatsune Miku game.

Review: The House of the Dead: Overkill – The Lost Reels (iOS)

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Despite SEGA West whittling down the number of franchises they’ll be focusing on, the longtime classic franchise The House of the Dead has been kept alive (no pun intended, seriously) as of recent thanks to rereleases of arcade classics and expanded enhanced ports of the franchise’s most recent title The House of the Dead: Overkill. The 2009 Wii release became a cult classic, featuring a crazy re-imagining of the light gun shooter as a grindhouse flick complete with over the top gore, 70’s film stock effects, and gratuitous language. In 2011, The House of the Dead: Overkill Extended Cut released to the PS3 with enhanced visuals and new modes and stages. We thought that was it for the Overkill titles, but we were wrong. Dead wrong. SEGA has released The House of the Dead: Overkill once again, this time on iOS and Android devices. Enough with the introductions, let’s tear into this f***er!

Retro Review: Zombies Ate My Neighbors

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The following Retro Review of Zombies Ate My Neighbors was written by SEGAbits third anniversary contest winner Nicholas C.

Our current era juxtaposes AAA titles, with huge expectations on presentation and endless cutscenes, and smaller package XBLA/PSN/Steam/etc budget titles. There’s a lot to love on both ends and in between. But a few elements many recent games lack, for me, are local co-op. The ability to not take yourself too seriously, and simply being able to pick up and play the game (sadly, there are only so many levels to Earth Defense Force 2017).

Video Review: Aliens: Colonial Marines


Welcome to our review of Aliens: Colonial Marines. See that YouTube video embedded above? It is our very first SEGAbits Video Review! We’re trying to sort out a way to get these video reviews put up for all upcoming games. Seeing as how this is our first one, there is always room to improve. So positive criticism is definitely welcomed. Let us know what you think in the comments section. After the break, an old school written review.

Review: Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (3DS)

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Released to home consoles in November of last year, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed ended up being one of the best games SEGA released in 2012. Marketing for the game was dead-on in proclaiming “It’s Not Just Racing. It’s Racing Transformed!”, as the game was both a huge step up from the previous game and a contender for the best character kart racer around. As the months went on, other versions of the game released with a Vita version in December and a PC version released just last month. The latest, and possibly final version of the game to be released, is for the 3DS. Despite being the most underpowered of the platforms, I was anxious to see how SEGA and Sumo were able to translate the console title to Nintendo’s handheld.

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.

Review: Anarchy Reigns (Xbox 360)

Let’s all take just a second to look back to what feels like an eternity ago: the year 2006. It was in this year that Capcom announced the closure of Clover Studio, a developer of such incredibly unique gaming experiences. It was a move that painted a rather bleak picture for the future of innovation and risk-taking from major Japanese publishers, and fans of Clover and the awesome games they created had little choice but to wait it out and see, eager to learn what, if anything, would happen to this legendary staff.

As it turned out, they needn’t have worried too much. Platinum Games was the ultimate result, and their partnership with SEGA was a surprising and exciting move for both companies. Things are a bit different today, with Anarchy Reigns representing, at least for now, the final game in Platinum’s publishing agreement with SEGA. The question is, is this online-driven beat-em-up any good?

Review: Sonic Adventure 2 (XBLA/PSN)

SEGA’s rerelease of Jet Set Radio was, in my opinion, excellent. After the so-so Dreamcast Collection rereleases, the first game of the SEGA Heritage Collection was a breath of fresh air. HD visuals, widescreen support and SEGA trying their best to retain as much of the original game as they could. My hope was that this trend would continue with the next two Heritage titles. Does Sonic Adventure 2, a game that is considered one of Sonic’s best 3D outings, carry on the SEGA Heritage quality or is it a step back? Read on to find out!

Review: Jet Set Radio (XBLA/PSN)

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!

Review: Jack Lumber (iOS)

Announced and released on the same day, Jack Lumber, was both a surprise and a curiosity. As the first SEGA Alliance title, Jack Lumber was developed by an external independent developer by the name of Owlchemy Labs and published by SEGA. Per the SEGA Alliance description, SEGA also provided marketing and production support as well as creative consultation. The end result is a fun and unique game that definitely has that SEGA spirit, despite being developed by an external developer.

My Life with SEGA reviews one of the worst fighting games on Genesis, Slaughter Sport

I think the first few seconds of the video should sum up the game pretty well. What the fuck indeed. Did someone say fuck? Must be an episode of My Life with SEGA!

“It’s a very special episode of My Life with SEGA this week. With my special guest star, Mickey Mac, we review one of the absolute worst fighting games ever released on the Sega Genesis.”

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Famitsu gives Anarchy Reigns high marks – so can we have the game already, SEGA?

I’m really getting sick of opening articles with a rundown of Anarchy Reigns delay in the west, so I’ll keep it short: SEGA delayed the game again and again, it now looks to be coming in 2013, and it pisses me off. To add salt to the wound, Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu reviewed the game, which releases July 5th in Japan by the name of Max Anarchy. What did they rate it? Straight 9’s for both XBOX 360 and Playstation 3 versions. So it appears the game is very, very good. 9,9,9,9 good. So tell my again why SEGA continues to delay the game? Excuse me while I belt out an old chestnut from Doctor Robotnik: “DUMBOTS!!!”

Review: Binary Domain

Like the rest of the world, when SEGA announced Binary Domain, the new IP by Toshihiro Nagoshi, I was wondering to myself if a Japanese studio could make a great third-person shooter. At least one that could stand up against the offerings of western developers. Now that Binary Domain has released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, did Nagoshi’s team deliver in the end, or should they have stuck with the Yakuza series?