After Burner Climax Video Shoots a Lot of MissilesPosted by Mitch on February 23rd, 2010

I don’t know how I missed this trailer, but apparently Sega is bringing After Burner Climax to XBLA and the PSN later this year. The trailer for this game looks freaking sweet, and I can’t wait to play it then promptly give up in frustration.

Fix up the music and you’ve got yourself a sale, Sega. Between this and Sonic the Hedgehog 4 coming to consoles later this year, it looks like Sega is back on the path to winning gamer’s hearts once again. Who’s going to pick this up, and for what system? Do any of you remember playing the old version of this in that massive arcade cabinet?

Leaked Off-Screen Footage of Sonic 4 Revels in NostalgiaPosted by Mitch on February 16th, 2010

Man, people holding preview events behind closed doors need to implement tighter security, because the guy with the camera built into his hat keeps getting through. In the grand tradition of alpha gameplay getting leaked, I now present some off-screen footage of the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1.

So, despite the shakiness, I think it gives us a good indication of where Sonic 4 is headed and that is the series’ salad days of 1994, specifically. I’m still not a fan of his running animation, but if things keep moving in this direction, I’ll pick it up for sure. How about you guys?

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Trailer Begins the Sonic CyclePosted by Mitch on February 4th, 2010

Back in September I posted a teaser video for Sega’s next Sonic game, tentatively titled “Project Needlemouse”. Now, after a few months of waiting, Sega has finally dropped an actual trailer for the game that unintentionally reminds us how long it’s been since we’ve had a true Sonic title. The trailer is a progression of Sonic’s sprites from 1992 to 1994 and then it jumps to 2010 and shows off the new 3D Sonic. Right then and there, becomes clear just how much Sega is betting on nostalgia to sell this game. Take a look at the trailer and never forget.

All bitterness aside, who’s thinking about getting this game? I mean, it is a return to form for the blue bomber, and the split second you see of the game is enough to make the ten-year old me leap for joy. To be fair, a lot of things do that because I have maturity issues. Anyways, sound off! Who’s getting this, and for PSN or 360? And did you notice the little room for an icon with a lock on it? What could that be?

Aliens Vs. Predator Retrospective Is Chest-Bursting Good TimePosted by Anthony on January 29th, 2010

To celebrate the upcoming release of Aliens vs. Predator, on the Sega America Blog,  there is a snazzy little look back at the history of both the Aliens franchise and how it intersects with the Predator franchise. It details, in a summarized manner, the movies, games and comic books, some of which you may have forgotten.

For me, seeing the Alien vs. Predator beat-em-up by Capcom was a blast from the past. I played the hell out of that on the SNES. Ever since I was a kid, I have had a deep fascination with the Alien and it’s sequels. Something about it is just so visceral and scary. The Predator movies are good, too, but nowhere near as awesome to me, personally.

Have you guys played any of these games? Do you prefer Aliens or Predator? What’s your favorite movie of the bunch? GO!

Source: Sega Blog

The Ones Left Behind: Gaming’s Forgotten FranchisesPosted by Anthony on January 13th, 2010

With all this talk of overrated and underrated games, I thought it would be nice if we started talking about franchises that have been left behind by the current generation of consoles. We all have those games that we love and that deserve a sequel, but it never occurs. Year after year goes by with nothing to be heard about our forgotten games…*tear*

Personally, I can’t believe that Square never did more with the Chrono Trigger series. Sure, Chrono Cross was a pseudo-sequel, but the less said about it, the better. Syphon Filter was a popular series back in the PS1 days and aside from some silly PSP offerings, I don’t think anyone has mentioned it in a long time. If you want to blow someone’s mind, mention Panzer Dragoon. That game was responsible for selling systems back in the day.

What games do you think have been wrongfully left behind? What would you like to see get a revival, whether it’s a reboot or a sequel?

GamerSushi Asks: Underrated Games!Posted by Eddy on January 12th, 2010

Man, after the huge amount of response we got to the thread about overrated video games, I figured we were just about begging to get this follow-up. I’d love to see something similar happen here as well.

Basically, I want to know what you guys think are the most underrated games out there. Games that for some reason or another seem to get overlooked by either gamers or the media on the whole. Or perhaps they weren’t overlooked, but just discounted outright or given an unnecessary amount of undue hatred.

For me, I have to say that Suikoden III doesn’t really get the praise I think it deserved as one of the best RPGs of the last generation. In this generation, Saint’s Row 2 was largely ignored in light of Grand Theft Auto IV, when it was probably a better spiritual successor to the series than GTA 4 was, even. 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand was a great shooter that more people definitely needed to play. Likewise, Viva Pinata was another underrated game still that got shoved under the rug because it appeared to be a kid game.

So what about you guys? What do you think are the most underrated games?

GamerSushi Asks: Repeated PlaythroughsPosted by Eddy on December 15th, 2009

These days, I just don’t get a lot of time to replay games all that often. I’m so busy that as soon as I finish a game, I go right past it and move on to the next. I very rarely take the time, even when I’m in the midst of playing it, to stop and enjoy what’s going on with the experience.

Back when I was younger, this was of course very different. I would play through games again and again like my life depended on it. It didn’t matter if I had beaten it a million times, I would load it up repeatedly just to see how quick I could beat it, or to explore every last nook and cranny. This was definitely the case with Starfox, Mario 64 and Metal Gear Solid. While I haven’t done this in years, Dragon Age: Origins has reversed this trend.

I keep finding myself wanting to go back and replay big parts of the story with a new character to see how things might be different. I’ve already gone through nearly every origin story, and I’m tempted to take a new city elf female character to some pretty major plot points. In my mind, it takes a special kind of game to have that effect on me in a time when I’m kind of swamped personally.

So what about you guys? What games do you play over and over again? What game has made you do this the most?

Today’s Awesomeness: The Tetris GodPosted by Eddy on December 8th, 2009

Got to love that video game related humor. It seems that College Humor has posted a new original about the game of Tetris, titled The Tetris God. To explain it would be to do a great disservice to you, since you’re better off just watching it anyway. Needless to say, I think many of my games of Tetris have been dictated as such.

Top Six: Super Mario GamesPosted by Anthony on November 20th, 2009

With the release of New Super Mario Bros Wii for the…uh…Wii, I decided to list my favorite Mario games. Now, this list only covers the traditional platforming Mario games. No Mario Kart (sorry, Eddy), no RPG and no Tennis. I looked at all 13 (including Game Boy games) and this is the list I came up with. It was much harder than I thought, mainly due to much consternation over innovation, originality and replay value. I have already steeled myself for a fan boy beating.
More »

New Super Marios Bros. Trick VideoPosted by Mitch on November 13th, 2009

This game just came out, and there’s already a pretty sweet video showing three players carting Luigi across the level while the lazy ingrate does nothing. Check out the video and prepare to be astounded, bedazzled and other-wise stupefied.

Apparently there’s all sorts of fun to be had with this title, so I’m going to have to dust my Wii off and give it a go. Anyone else pick this up, or is thinking of picking it up?