Tag Archives: Sega
Aliens: Colonial Marines Review – I’m Having Chest Pains
Platforms: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Gearbox Software (supposedly), Demiurge Studios, Nerve Software, TimeGate Studios
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Release Date: February 12, 2013
ESRB Rating: Mature
The Aliens franchise has suffered through ups and downs in movies and video games over the years. It seems more down than ever after Aliens: Colonial Marines. Gearbox has been involved with picking up the developmental wreckage of two games in recent years. Duke Nukem Forever landed with a resounding thud, but Aliens: CM was to be the triumphant return of the Aliens franchise shepherded by Gearbox. It’s a good thing they still have Borderlands…
The whole concept seems like a no-brainer. There isn’t a better jump on point than following up on the events of Aliens (the second movie.) We can just pretend the garbage occurring after it never happened. The USCM aboard the USS Sephora receive a distress call from the USS Sulaco orbiting LV-426 seventeen weeks after the events of Aliens. The marines sent to investigate find the Sulaco infested with xenomorphs born of USMC hosts and the Weyland-Yutani Corporation at the forefront of the conspiracy. Fighting breaks out between the two sides and both the Sulaco and Sephora are destroyed with our marine heroes escaping to Hadley’s Hope on LV-426. Things sound pretty good so far, but it’s all in the execution and that kills any good faith in this project.
Total War: ROME II Gets First Gameplay Trailer
Total War: ROME II is the highly anticipated second entry in the popular series, and it will take place in 146 BC. A brilliant roman tactician named Scipio Aemilianus is tasked by Rome to break the 3 year siege of Carthage, which is considered a blemish on the Roman Empire.
There isn’t a whole lot shown in the trailer below, but the game already has many people excited for its release next year. Check out the video and let us know what you think in the comments section.
Aliens: Colonial Marines “Escape Mode” Trailer
One of the competitive multiplayer modes in the upcoming Aliens: Colonial Marines is called “Escape Mode”. I’m assuming by the title that your main objective as the marines will be to escape, which sounds like a fairly solid plan when being chased by murderous aliens with absurdly large heads. The trailer below is filled with tension and screaming, accompanied by a lot of gunfire.
Check out the trailer and let us know what you think in the comments section. Are you excited for this game? Also be sure to notice that the game releases just in time for Valentine’s Day next year, because nothing says “I love you” like buying your significant other a video game where you can hunt them down and impale them with your tail while they run for their lives.
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
That’s right folks; the fastest blue hedgehog in gaming is back for another lap in kart racing. This time around Sonic and the gang are no longer confined to solely racing on the track’s asphalt. All racers will now have access to transformable karts with the ability to travel on land, blast through bodies of water, and soar through the air. To celebrate this announcement Sega of America has this special trailer. Enjoy!
Shogun 2: Total War – Fall of the Samurai Review: A Fantastic Clash of Old and New
Publisher: SEGA
Developer: The Creative Assembly
Genre: Turn-Based Historical Strategy
Platform: PC
Release Date: March 22nd 2012
ESRB: T – Teen
Without a doubt The Creative Assembly’s newest addition to their Total War series, Shogun 2, is one of the best historical strategy games out there right now. On top of that Shogun 2 itself also happens to be the most polished and well crafted installment in the long-running franchise to date which speaks novels when looking at past titles like Rome and Medieval 2 – both of which are still enjoyed by PC gamers today thanks to an active, hard working modding community.
Since its release in 2011, Shogun 2 has seen two significant releases: the mini-campaign Rise of the Samurai which threw players into the Genpei War of the 12th century and the new Fall of the Samurai expansion that follows the tumultuous period leading up to and including the Meiji Restoration of the late 19th century. The latter of the two is what we’re going to specifically be looking at today.
Retro Review: Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega Technical Institute
Genre: Platform
Players: 1-2
Release Date: November 1992
Rated: E – Everyone
Sonic 2, originally released for the Sega Genesis in November 1992, is one of simple action sidescrollers iconic of that time period. The game is still widely played, having been adapted multiple times for nearly every generation of consoles. Many of the early stages featured in the Genesis era segment of the recently released Sonic Generations were redesigned variations of the levels from this classic title. So why is it still so popular after nearly two decades?
After you conquer the oddly colored liquid obstacles in the Chemical Plant Zone (if you can, that is) you’ll start to appreciate Sonic 2 for what it truly is: A fun, challenging, and highly memorable gameplay experience.
Capcom x Namco Bandai x Sega = Project X Zone
Famitsu revealed that the triple decker crossover involving Capcom, Namco Bandai, and Sega is called Project X Zone (X pronounced as cross, of course). Take characters from all three companies and throw them into a game that is not what you think it is. It is a strategy RPG for the Nintendo 3DS (let out the collective sigh) that will feature characters from the companies teaming up with their respective partners in battle scenes. A list of characters was posted on Andriasang, but the list does not actually include some of the characters revealed in the strange color-coded barcode images that have been teased for a while now.
Capcom
Ryu & Ken (Street Fighter 0), X and Zero (Mega Man), Demitri and Dante (Darkstalkers and Devil May Cry), Chris and Jill (Resident Evil)
Sega
Shinguji Sakura and Ogami Ichiro (Sakura Wars), Pai and Akira (Virtua Fighter), Kurt and Riela (Valkyria Chronicles), Ulala and Touma (Space Channel 5 and Shining Force EXA)
Namco Bandai
Sanger Somvold (Super Robot Wars), Jin and Ling Xiaoyu (Tekken), Kos-Mos and T-elos (Xenosaga), Yurie and Estel (Tales of Vesperia), Kaito and Black Rose (.hack)
Mysterious Sega, Capcom, and Namco Bandai 3DS Game Will Soon Be Revealed
Back in February Nintendo had a conference that revealed many new games for the 3DS. Most of the games announced had no mystery wrapped around them. We know what we are getting with a new Mario Tennis and Brain Age, but there was one game that left us a little curious. The announcement of a game simply said it was a 3DS game developed by Sega, Capcom, and Namco Bandai. As of today we still don’t know anything about the game, but it looks like we will find what it’s going to be by April 12th. A teaser site went up starting the countdown to the date.
We’ll update you when the countdown reaches zero on April 12th.
Teaser Site: pxz.channel.or.jp
Source: Nintendo Life
Sega Restructuring Again, Bleak Outlook For Jobs & Games
The last time Sega restructured it was to focus on a digital platform and shifting administrative duties and traditional console development to its London office. This organizational restructure is much more drastic and more jobs and games are on the line as their new forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31st drops from 38 million yen ($462 million) to 20 million yen ($243 million). The restructuring has a direct affect on those numbers, but nevertheless, they are losing money.
As to how many jobs and what games are on the chopping block? No announcement on that. They are going to streamline their operations to focus on proven revenue generating IPs like Aliens, Football Manager, Sonic, and Total War. I’m not even sure what that means for Sonic since they’ve already abandoned the episodic Sonic 4 and a follow up to Bayonetta is probably all out of the question now.
It seems that Sega can’t shake troubles that plague them every few years. Here’s hoping they can pull out of this one because it sure looks bleak for jobs first and foremost, but also some fantastic IPs in their stable.
Source: Notice of Extraordinary Loss and Adjustment to the Forecast of Operating Results, Concerning Structural Reform of Consumer Business at SEGA CORPORATION
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Ep. 2 Not Coming to WiiWare
In an interview conducted by EuroGamer, Sega has announced that the next episode of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 will not be arriving on the Wii’s WiiWare service. The reason why you ask? The file size restrictions on Nintendo’s download service. Here’s a quote straight from the horse’s mouth:
“Our intention was to release Episode 2 on Wii as well. But, there’s a limitation on the size of the game you can release on WiiWare. Because Sonic 4 Episode 2 has cutscenes, and the graphics aren’t 2D pre-rendered images – it’s all 3D – all those things together made the game too big to be released as a WiiWare title. So, unfortunately, this time we had to give up on releasing it on the Wii platform.” – SEGA rep
Sorry Wii fans, it looks like you won’t be able to continue from the previous episode. Hopefully things on the Wii U will be different.
Check out the rest of the interview here.
