Why Dreamcast fans should be hyped for Sturmwind

The world of independent Dreamcast games has been quiet since the release of NG:DEV.TEAM’s Fast Striker. Established indie Dreamcast games publisher RedSpotGames is looking to break that silence with the upcoming shoot ’em up Sturmwind. While Sturmwind IS another shoot ’em up aka shmup, a popular genre in the Dreamcast indie scene, don’t let that fact dissuade you from checking out the title when it releases this year. In this week’s Weekly Five we’ll run through the reasons why Sturmwind may be worth your time (and money).

Want to go down a sexy lady? Super Monkeyball: Banana Splitz has your back!

For long term fans of the series, having a woman in a bikini may be the last thing you would expect but here we are, with SEGA confirming that Gravure model Yukie Kawamura will have a level designed around her, how to say, assets? As AiAi charges down to the goal post, players will have to make sure they navigate past the bumps in the level.

But those expecting this level to be available in the Western versions will be disappointed, as the Japanese version of the title is rated C (One rating level below the adult rating in Japan) whilst the game is E for Everyone, though perhaps yet another indication that this Monkey Ball is aimed at adults unlike the recent releases in the series. Hit the jump after the break for more screenshots.

Rhythm Thief bombs in the UK (News/Rant)

The good news? Rhythm Thief was not one of the cancellations reportedly occuring in the wake of SEGA’s recent financial woes; the game saw release in Europe earlier this month. The bad news? Nobody bought it. Though exact numbers are not currently known, SEGA’s forray back into Samba De Amigo-styled rhythm games failed to make the UK top 40 in its debut week, and its chart position remained missing in action in week 2.

I apologise in advance if this comes off as a rant; my intention is certainly not to upset anybody, but it’s hard for me to respond in any other way to what I find to be such an incredibly shocking turn of events. How is it that even with the fan outcry for more quirky, Japanese-style fare from SEGA, that with the good reviews and the lack of competition on the system, that with an ad campaign and Nintendo as a distributor…how is it that this didn’t sell? If niche Japanese beat-em-up Pandora’s Tower (on the Wii of all systems) can make this same chart (debuted last week at 38) then is it a stretch to expect a game being billed as one of the best rhythm games in years to find at least similar success?

Follow us on Instagram to get your daily dose of SEGA pictures

Most of you are probably seeing this and talking about how we sold out to the social media trends. But lets be honest, wouldn’t you want to have random SEGA nostalgia pictures daily on your phone? I know most people use Instagram to show off what they are eating or what they are wearing, not us. We are sharing some interesting SEGA pictures. You love interesting SEGA pictures, don’t you?

Instagram is only an app right now, that means no web interface. So how do you add us? Easy, hit the search button and type in SEGAbits. Easy! Instagram is available on both Android and iOS devices.

[Got some pretty interesting SEGA pictures? Send them our way!]

Project X Zone website updates with character voice samples

 

[SPACE HARRIER AND OPA-OPA!!!]

If you go here you will see the official Project X Zone website. right away you will be treated to the game’s theme song. Wow, isn’t that a catchy song? Now that you are finished rocking out, you can click on ‘Entry Title’ to view character voice samples. If you look on the left you will see company logo with Japanese lettering beneath it. Those Japanese letters are list of characters. Click randomly for random voices.

If you haven’t seen our article on characters that have been revealed yet, then check that out here.

PAX East: Crimson Dragon Preview

Shut up. Right now.

I realize it’s not wise to tell our readers such a thing, but I thought I’d just get that out of the way now. I don’t care if SEGA’s not on the box, nor that it wasn’t at their booth. This is a SEGA game, if not in reality then in spirit, and I’m writing about it. Ladies and gentleman, Crimson Dragon is Panzer Dragoon 5.

I confess, I haven’t been following this game too closely. I’ve seen far too many Kinect titles I’ve thought had potential crash and burn and I wasn’t about to let myself get my hopes up for a new “Panzer Dragoon”. Upon playing it though, I have to say…Crimson Dragon is the best Kinect game I’ve experienced.

Sonic Talk #5: This episode is totally Metal!

Sorry for how late this episode is and we have no extra guest this week. But we’ll make up for that next week with IAN FLYNN!! For now, it’s just me and Nux talkin’ all things Sonic.

This week, we talk about the Sonic 2 HD fiasco, the reboot rumor, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic 4-2 Avatar items and of course, Sonic 4 Episode Metal. In comic talk we’ll discuss Sonic Universe #38 along with a little of #39, the weepfest that is Sonic #235 and I’ll tell you EXACTLY who the supposed “traitor” is! (I’m using quotation marks cuz technically, there is no traitor.) If I’m wrong, Ian Flynn can shave my head at the San Diego Comic-Con! All this and our game topic of the week is the awesome Sonic Triple Trouble!

If you have a question for Ian Flynn leave it in our comment section by Thursday morning and it may make it on the air.

[powerpress url=”https://segabits.com/wp-content/uploads/SonicTalk05.mp3″]
[Download]

House of the Dead 4 available now on PSN!

Yes, it’s out. Go buy it and enjoy some HotD goodness.It’s available exclusively on PSN and is compatible with the Move controller. I had a preview written up for this from PAX, but my ultrabook died so I didn’t have access to it until today…since we won’t have a review up for a little while, maybe I’ll still put it up!

Rare hires design chief from SEGA West

 

Simon Woodroffe has been in the gaming industry for 20+ years working on titles like Simon the Sorcerer and Call of Cthulthu. But if you frequent this site, you probably recall his name from his work at SEGA, including working on titles like Renegade Ops and Sonic Generations. Simon Woodroffe is ready to move on and took the position of Creative Director over at Rare.

“Simon’s vast experience and knowledge are a fantastic addition to Rare’s strong Design team. He has worked on many innovative titles over the years, including some really impressive R&D prototyping projects. He is a terrific all-rounder and the ideal person to head up our Design department. Rare is committed to making the best possible games experiences that inspire everyone to play, and we believe the best way to do that is to attract the brightest and best talent in the business.” – Rare’s senior studio director Craig Duncan.

Its always good to see people that work on SEGA move on to bigger studios to work on more games.

Binary Domain coming to PC on April 27th

The release date for the digital version of Binary Domain has gotten a release date. You can download yourself a copy of the game on April 27th, aka in 10 days. SEGA has confirmed there are pre-order bonuses for both digital and boxed versions of the game, meaning there will be a retail version of the PC game. One of the pre-order bonuses is the ‘Dan Marshall Pack’ which gives the lead character more bionic upgrades and weapons. There is also the ‘Multiplayer Pack’ that adds Ninja as a playable class in multiplayer.

So who is going to pick this game up?

Arts and Crafts: Make your own Sonic 4 Episode 2 Genesis box, manual and cartridge!

With only a month until the game’s digital release, I thought it would be fun to once again create a retro Genesis box design for Sonic 4’s next episode. The first time I designed a fake Genesis box was for Sonic 4 Episode 1, which I shared over at my personal blog The Nomad Junkyard [Update: Here is the new Sonic 4 Episode 1 download link]. I used the original Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis box design as inspiration for Episode 1, so I thought it would be fitting to use Sonic 2’s original Genesis box as my inspiration for Episode 2. After the break, a download link, instructions and a photo gallery for those too lazy to make it themselves.

SEGA Tunes: What about the future?

http://youtu.be/CeoK6x1IP-U

I’m not entirely done with Hideki Naganuma yet, (as you’ll see, I have another one of his songs after the break) but thought I’d give Richard Jacques a little attention this week, as well as shift the focus towards the future….Jet Set Radio Future, that is. One of the lucky IP created during the Dreamcast era to receive not a port, but a sequel, on next gen hardware, the evolution of the Jet Set Radio series was shocking in just how much was changed from one game to the other. Taking more of the form of a reboot than a sequel, Jet Set Radio Future introduced not only a staggaring number of gameplay changes, but its soundtrack too took on a very different form.

I can’t help but grin when I hear tracks like this one nowadays, with electrohouse and dubstep taking a firm hold on mainstream culture; I feel like playing JSRF back in the day exposed me to dubstep before dubstep was dubstep. (Wikipedia states that dubstep as we currently know it first came to be in 1998, with the genre coming into its own in around 2001-2002, so, if that’s true, such an assertion is actually not too far off.)

Either way, regardless of where you fall on the whole electrohouse thing, this is a pretty cool track. I’ve always associated it with SEGA’s bold dive into 3rd party publishing, and the adventure and high hopes that went along with it. Richard Jacques’ track is exciting, it carries with it a cool futuristic vibe, and it sounds different from everything that existed in the original Jet Set Radio; an underrated gem. But speaking of futuristic tracks, here’s one from Hideki Naganuma, also fitting in with JSRF’s futuristic motif. Hit the good ol’ “Continue Reading” button to check that one out.

SEGA Amusement teasing ‘R&D Spy Cam’ on Facebook

Seems that SEGA Amusement is teasing a new product or cabinet on social sites. They have posted the picture above in an album called “R&D Spy Cam”, what it is or what it will do is not really known. But that isn’t all they posted, they also posted a clue in the discreption.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ S™

What is it and what could it be? Your guess is as good as mine.

Binary Domain sells just 20,000 units in North America

The NPD has just released their sales data for the month of March, and though it’ll hardly come as a surprise to most, the results aren’t looking good for SEGA’s robot-themed third person shooter. Binary Domain has reportedly sold just 20,000 copies in its first full month on North American shelves, while Mass Effect 3, despite a significant amount of fan backlash, managed 65 times that, selling 1.3 million for the month, not including its digital sales.